Trials of the Darksaber, the fourteenth episode for Season
three of Star Wars Rebels, is focused on Sabine. The crew want Sabine to learn
how to wield the Darksaber to try and unite Mandalore behind her to join the
Rebellion. Sabine from the start of the episode has mixed feelings on trying to
achieve this. No reason as to why she joined the Rebel crew has ever been
given, but there was a falling out with her family when she left the Imperial
Academy. The only reason Sabine is entertaining the thought of trying to go
back to Mandalore is because Hera and the other members of the crew ask her to
do it. This interaction at the start of the episode is highly dramatic and
impactful, and set the stage for the entire episode.
Trials of the Darksaber is one of the most dramatic episodes
the series has ever attempted, and it succeeds on almost every level. There is
an insane amount of content packed into the short twenty-two-minute episode.
The story of the first Jedi Mandalorian who made the Darksaber started the
episode off with some fantastically integrated exposition. The 2D animation
used to explore this brief story was well done and flowed within the show. This
brief story setup the conference between Sabine and the rest of the crew, and
there is an immediate tension. Sabine does not want anything to do with
Mandalore or trying to unite them behind her. She will try because it is
needed, but her heart is not in the effort.
The episode doesn’t have much action, but it doesn’t need
any due to the content of the story. The entire episode is out in the desert of
the planet with Sabine being trained by Kanan and Ezra. The entire dynamic of
how her training progresses is built perfectly. The struggle Kanan goes through about how to effectively
train her is told and explored extremely well. Every action he takes with
Sabine is explained and explored as to why he wants to proceed a certain way. Kanan
is having to walk a delicate line with her training and he doesn’t know if he
doing it the best way. He second guesses his actions, and realizes when he
makes a mistake by not allowing her to train with the actual Darksaber. Once he
does the ensuing bout between them is emotional and powerful. The episode
builds to the dramatic reveal of why Sabine left Mandalore and how she feels
betrayed by her parents and people. Her reveal is emotional and Tiya Sircar,
who voices Sabine, does a masterful job in her performance. The emotion of the
last fight can truly be felt, and for an animated series geared for kids this
is impressive.
This was an episode more geared for adults who watch the
show. It has a few moments for the younger audience, but overall if you are an
older viewer the character driven episode had more impact. The only small
complaint I had with Trials of the Darksaber where the interactions with Ezra
and how whiney he became at a few points during the episode. His teenage angst
felt misplaced in this story. Ezra did have one fantastic moment when bringing
up his parents, but a few other times he didn’t add anything of value to the
episode. His presence and jokes may have
been the only thing tying in the younger audience, so I understand his need to
be there, it just didn’t mesh as well with the overall tone.
The episode set up a short series arc. The next episode will
follow up this story and can be viewed as a long two-part story the way The Clone
Wars show used to do. Trials of the Darksaber was the first act in hopefully a
fantastic two or three-part arc which will draw the Mandalorians into the conflict
with the Empire. There were also hints of Sabine being force sensitive in the
episode. The Bendu made a brief appearance and knowing glance at Sabine. I’m
hoping she isn’t force sensitive, but there does seem to be more people in Star
Wars who could be “force aware”. For example, Chirrut Imwe from Rogue One, or
Jyn Erso’s mom from Catalyst. They are aware of the force and can feel it, but
not necessarily control it. Sabine could help confirm this type of individual in
the Star Wars Universe.
Comment and let me know what you thought about Sabine and
the character arc in this episode. Did you find any major problems with it?
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