Star Wars Rebels

[Park Kraken]

Mid-Season Trailer for Season 3 has been released, looking forward to the second half of the season;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upN-7ALj2OU&t=10s

[Park Kraken]

So Season 3 is coming to a head....

For those wanting to review or catch up, a brief summary of the season as a whole;

The main theme is Grand Admiral Thrawn coming in, who so far has studied the artwork and tactics of each individual Rebel of the Ghost Crew, along with some of the other Rebel Commanders, while trying to pinpoint the location of the Rebel base along with the main Rebel fleet. Along the way the Empire has introduced both the TIE Interceptor and the TIE Defender, with the latter just beginning to enter production. On the Rebel side of things, they've mainly been working to gather men and material for the impending strike on Lothal, including Y-wings for General Dodonna's command (which we later see with Gold Squadron and Commander Vander). In the latest episode Mon Mothma defects from the Imperial Senate and calls for the various Rebel cells to unite at Dantooine, which they do with a fleet including an MC80 Star Cruiser, the local cell fleet, a bunch of Nebulon-B Frigates, transports, and maybe a Dornean Gunship. In the meantime Sabine has been working out her issues with her family and has successfully reconciled with her mother, defeated Gar Saxon (who was killed), and thrown the yoke of Imperial rule off Mandalore after returning home with the Darksaber. On the force side of things, Kanan encounters Bendu, a neutral force monk that helps him work out his blindess issues, after which he helps Ezra come back from the brink of darkness. Maul is heading to a planet with twin suns to resolve lingering issues. Agent Kallus is the new Fulcrum after his encounter with Zeb in season 2, but has been found out by Thrawn who decides to use him.

Still to come from the various season trailers.....

The Rebel fleet runs into a little trouble from the Imperial Fleet, the latter of which in one shot has 8 Imperial Star Destroyer and an Interdictor Cruiser. The Mandalorians arrive at one point during the battle to assist. At least one Nebulon-B Frigate is destroyed. The Rebel base is discovered and bombarded by the Imperial Fleet. Maul confronts Obi-Wan on Tatooine.

[Park Kraken]

So has anyone else watched the Twin Suns episode yet?

[Captain Untouchable]

I have!

I thought Maul's end was beautifully handled. I have thoroughly enjoyed what Clone Wars and Rebels has done with the character, and while I have spent the last few weeks getting thoroughly pumped for their final showdown, I'm so glad it was handled in such a classy samurai movie way. Even in those few seconds it still told a story, right down to Maul trying the same move that killed Qui Gon, and Obi Wan being ready for it. I am sad that this is the end of Sam Witwer's stellar job voicing the character, but it was done in such a satisfying way.

Also, I felt that Obi Wan's appearance in the show was dealt with in the best possible way. There'll be a lot of people who will hate the idea of him being in Rebels at all, just as there are a lot of people who were desperate to see it. I thought the fact that they gave us a fulfilling Obi Wan encounter, while at the same time making it abundantly clear why he doesn't leave Tatooine (and why no one should ask him to), was brilliant. For me, it adds extra weight to A New Hope as well: for a long time, my theory/interpretation has been that if Anakin was "supposed to be my brother", then that means Obi Wan sees himself as an uncle, and in the end he only agreed to help - which he agreed to do pretty much instantly - because it was his "niece" who did the asking. (But then I'm Obi Wan Kenobi's biggest fan, and could easily write an essay about this sort of thing).

I may need a time machine in the next few days, though. A week until the finale is too damn long.

[Charley]

Oh my god that episode. Holy shit.

[Captain Untouchable]

Zero Hour, you guys.

That was an absolutely fantastic hour-ish of television. I can't wait to rewatch this endlessly with a Rogue One chaser.


Initial thoughts -

Holy Galactic Civil War, Batman! Interdictors being used as part of a fleet! Orbital bombardment! Y-Wings being Y-Wings! Rebel blockade runners running a bloody blockade! Even the snippets of Mandalorian insight, the idea that everyone has their own wars to fight and can't always help out... Rebels is delivering on what it promised so freaking hard. If this is the trend they're setting for next Season? Holy Hannah.

RIP Commander Sato. I knew you were going to die, but HOLY SHIT WAY TO GO OUT LIKE A BADASS.

Finally, we know why the Bendu was there. He's not the balance between good and evil: he's the embodiment of neutrality. For the GCW to truly begin, for the Empire to ever fall, then neutrality has to die. With stakes this high, there is no middle. The Empire doesn't give anyone that choice. It's such a great little metaphor, and Bendu getting to break Thrawn's spirit at the end was sublime.

I am sorry l ever disliked you, Agent Kallus. I'm so glad he survived, and can't wait to see him as a full blown Rebel. The Rogue One visual guide calls Cassian Andor a Fulcrum Agent - I wonder if we're about to see Kallus become the new boss of Alliance Intelligence. Loved everything about him this episode: the fight with Thrawn, the hair out of place, the way he lived up to being rebellious. One of the best character arcs, in a show full of best character arcs.

WEDGE ANTILLES FLYING AN A-WING PAINTED LIKE JADEN'S!!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!

[Park Kraken]

Things I'm looking forward to possibly seeing next season;
#1: A return to guerilla warfare, with occasional capital ships coming the rescue or getting destroyed here or there.
#2: The next test facing the Jedi. With even Vader having failed previously, perhaps the Emperor sends a personal agent of his own?
#3: Probably in next season we'll see where X-wings come from, if they stick with the original storyline (helping the Incom engineers to defect with the prototypes) which would actually be suited for Rebels.
#4: Co-Op missions between Zeb and Kallus.
#5: The return of Iron Squadron, with Sato's nephew at least stopping by briefly to talk about his uncle, if not joining up with the main effort.
#6: Hera moving up the ranks.
#7: Sabine and the Mandalorian conflict.