Star Wars Rebels S2E5 Brothers of the Broken Harm Recap/Review (Spoilers!): Fun but Pointless

Brothers of the Broken Harm while a fun adventure story is otherwise pointless. Ezra is having a bought of teenage angst. He doesn’t want to train with Rex and he doesn’t want to do his Jedi training with Kanan. Like most teenagers he wants to do his own thing and not be tied down. This sets him on the path of stealing the Phantom to go help Vizago Overall this was the weakest episode of the season. It was still a fun half-hour of television, but did not affect the overall show in any major regard.

When Ezra goes to investigate the distress signal Vizago ship is giving off he finds the pirate Hondo on board. Thus ensues twenty minutes of Ezra and Hondo lying to each other and trying to make sure they each get the upper hand. They go and try and sell some power sources. They are able to escape a double cross in an exciting but predictable fight scene. It was good to see Ezra use the force to save Hondo, but it could open another avenue for the Empire to eventually track our band of Rebels down. This is my hope were the eventual effects of the episode take us. Ezra going off half-cocked and not thinking his actions through will have consequences. It didn’t seem like this was the case in this episode. He flew off had an adventure, saved the day and realized he would rather be with the Ghost’s crew than a pirate.

What I would like to see happen is Hondo being captured by the Empire or the Inquisitors and giving away our Rebels location. I want Ezra’s actions to have some ramifications. However this is still a young adult/children’s show they may want to throw in a few of these lighthearted episodes. Since the tone of the season is supposed to be trending darker they may want to have some simple and fun episodes to keep the younger audience engaged. I still think what Ezra did during this episode should affect later events. I’m assuming since they introduced Hondo he is going be used again. We know he has very low scruples from the Clone Wars, and wouldn’t be a stretch for him to betray and give up the Rebels.

Did this episode affect Ezra status as a Jedi? Is he more likely to turn dark after the events of this episode? I would actually lean the other way. He does the right thing over and over again in this episode. The only wrong decision he made was taking the Phantom without asking. He saved Hondo. He worked hard to obtain the power source for the Rebels. He, in the end, decided the perfect place for him to be is with the crew of the Ghost. Yes at first he wanted to run away, but I chalk this up to typical teenage melodrama. He wanted to get away and get out of his responsibilities for a while. Hell I can relate to this as an adult sometimes (Who am I kidding most of the timeJ). It doesn’t mean he is going to turn into a Dark Jedi. My new thoughts on where his story is eventually heading is him going on one of these adventures and not come back. This will deal a major blow to Kanan and the rest of the Ghost’s crew. Just a theory, but from the last two episodes I see this eventuality more likely than him turning dark and Kanan having to fight him. It might not happen this season, but eventually.

I found tonight a bit of a step back from the first few episodes of the season. It was still enjoyable, but not as impactful as the first few. This is understandable for a longer season, but I would have much rather seen last week’s episode stretched to two weeks.  Hopefully the actions of in this episode do have an effect on the overall season’s story. I could still see this episode just being a one off and used to show Ezra’s growth. Either way it was still an enjoyable half hour, just not as impactful or meaningful as the first few of the season.

What did you think of tonight’s episode? Did you think it was the weakest of the season, or was another episode worse? Comment and let me know.