SPOILER Legacy

The "details" given regarding Ezra's parent's deaths seem to give yet one more direct (intentional) allusion to (or even foreshadowing of) a "hero's sacrifice" type of demise, –which generally seems to be the popular opinion regarding the likely future of some or most of the main characters in this series.

As we're all aware- it can easily be argued that the entire theme of the series is a slowly building crescendo, –inevitably culminating in a "Leonidas at the pass" scenario– with the loss of hope for one group of rebels allowing for the possibility of "A New Hope" for another.

But hey– who knows– this is the science fiction/fantasy genre, and nearly anything can happen. The main hope I maintain is that the writing/storytelling remains "good"– or even transcends to "excellent".

Anyway- Still loving it. Especially the Ahsoka bits. (Let's not talk about the future of that one right now...ok? I'm just not ready to admit to the likelihood of that ending!)

 

Spoiler: Foreshadow much?

At least you have a 2 pack to play it out differently... Or over and over?

 

That got a genuine "lol" out of me.

...I'll sob about it later.

 

Hey, I bought that toy set (DON'T JUDGE ME)!

BTW, funny story: I noticed that Darth Vader's robes were covering his shoulder pads. At first I thought it was a mistake by the animators until I saw his images in ANH (it's also were I realized his eyes were slightly red just like in the show). So to Dave Filoni & friends, I say good job on the little details!

 

No judging... I considered it
But I decided to wait for a Finn vs Kylo pack (they have to have one of those, right?)

 

While I found the episode would have been better as a two parter, I loved it, even though it was very tightly packed.

I loved the family vibe that came from the Ghost crew, I loved how Ezra dipped into his darker emotions and how Kanan handled it, both with the blaster shot and his talking to Ezra and acknowledging his emotions.
And I lvoed the ending. I loved getting my heart broken by it.

I just kept thinking: Had Obi-Wan tried to be less of a perfect Jedi and just accepted Anakin's emotions of grief and pain instead of holding onto his attechment to the Jedi dogma of "let it go", the galaxy might be a different place.

Kanan is truly becoming a wise master to the little blueberry and it pays off with Ezra opening up and freely sharing even the emotions that the Jedi order would have dubbed "unwanted" and this might just be what keeps his Padwan from tipping over to the dark side, unlike Anakin.

We had some nice discussions about that subject on tumblr, concerning Yoda's line and Mace'

Mace is famous for handling his dark side tendencies by pouring them into the service of the light and in the Kanan comics it becomes obvious that Depa, too, teaches open acceptance of emotions, without being rules by them.
Now we're seeing the same with Kanan.

Yoda on the other hand seems to be very much in favor of suppressing emotions to force a state of calmth and that teaching seems to be what keeps Obi-Wan always at arms length from Anakin.
It might be telling here that Yado has not one, but two Sith in his line.

 

What if Darth Maul had run over Anakin with his speeder bike and killed him before he ever left his home planet.

I don't know why anyone but Anakin and to a lesser extent Palpatine would be to blame for Anakin turning to the dark side. Although Anakin did have daddy issues with Obi. Why is he holding me back blah blah. He was a hero at times but prequel Anankin was kind of a jerk.

 

The meta is that the Jedi order as it was under Yoda left Anakin vulnerable to exploitation by Palpatine.
Of course the decision was Anakin's and the manipulation was Palpatine's, but nothing is ever that black and white. To make someone that open and vulnerable to the dark side who started out as a young hopeful person the environment must be the right one.

For someone to exploit a weakness it must be a weakness in the first place. Caring for someone and emotion are only then a weakness if they're forbidden and the threat of being expelled from the order if he dared to feel too much was in the end what drove Anakin to Palpatine, because there was not one Jedi he could was talked about his fears without repercussions.

 

Now we are blaming Yoda for the environment. Yoda didn't create the environment that turned him to the dark side.

There are always repercussions. So Anakin could risk getting kicked out of the Jedi or he could risk becoming a mass murder which one should he have picked. He could have said I love Padme and I can't do this anymore. He tried to have it all and things don't work that way. Anakin is a perfect example of why the Jedi had their rules. The mistake they made that can be laid at their feet was allowing Anakin in the order in the first place we they had so many concerns about him.

 

This is an interesting sidebar conversation; I do not believe Yoda was directly responsible for Anakin's fate, but there is some merit to the argument that the Jedi Council - and from my perspective, Mace Windu in particular - played a major part in Anakin's fall. The constant disdain they showed to him, coupled with their consistent lack of trust in him fostered an environment of hostility and mistrust which allowed Palpatine to worm his way into both Anakin's good graces as well as his fragile psyche and begin to warp him.

The Jedi Order's entire approach to relationships, love, attachment, etc. was also not conducive to this either. It's not a new concept, but we've seen many occasions where close friendships have developed, romantic relationships, etc...even probing into "Dark Disciple", you can see how a Jedi Master such as Quinlan Vos was pretty much an infant when it came to discussing and experiencing such feelings. Woefully short sighted on the Order's part to essentially say "don't do or feel this and that's that".

But that may be a conversation best left for another thread.

---

I see a few folks feel this episode was anti-climactic and a bit of a letdown. Maybe it's because I'm a parent and I watch this with my two sons (aged 6 and 3), but this episode hit me like a punch in the stomach, especially in its final moments. Ezra discovering his parents' fate, having his moment with them via his connection to the Force, and having him lean on his adopted family - especially Kanan - was perhaps the finest emotional touch we've yet been given in Star Wars: Rebels thus far. Fall marks to Taylor Gray and Freddie Prinze Jr. for a fine episode of vocal work, and it's always a delight to hear Clancy Brown's dulcet tones.

I think the powers that be made the correct call in resolving Ezra's family situation this way, or it could have and likely would have played out in too similar a vein to stories we've already seen before. Family and parents have been a long established trope in Star Wars, so having Ezra fully realize that his mission to find his parents is at an end and that he must stand on his own two feet - with the occasional helping hand of the crew of the Ghost - allows Rebels to stand apart from the norm. I like it.

One quib about the episode is that I do wish Kanan and Ezra had gotten an opportunity to discuss Ezra's temperament in the episode. He was certainly leading with his anger when he charged not only Agent Kallus, but the Inquisitors. He's clearly becoming a powerful warrior, but that impulse to attack the Inquisitors could have gotten him killed if not for Kanan's quick thinking. Full marks to Kanan - for someone who was such an incomplete a best, and ill-trained at worst, Jedi Knight, he does seem to have full command of his emotions and tempers. No mean feat for someone who was basically on his own from his early teen years onward.

One other small complaint - if the Star Wars movies made Imperial Stormtroopers seem like canon fodder, Star Wars: Rebels is accomplishing the same thing with Star Destroyers. We've seen the Rebels directly attack and even infiltrate Star Destroyers with supreme ease, and now we get Hera directly taking one on and crashing into its tractor beam in order to facilitate an escape. It just seems all too easy for Hera, and I actually think it somewhat undermines Han Solo's brilliance, particularly in the Empire Strikes Back, when he was on the run from an entire fleet. His flying theatrics - nosediving to force them to collide, hiding on the back of the bridge, heading into an asteroid field - are being somewhat cheapened by the new and inventive ways they have Hera conquer Star Destroyers single-handed on the show.

Filoni has gone on record as saying that the Rebels will be "shaken to their core" in the latter half of the season, and I hope it's true. I think there's a sense of peril that is missing from these proceedings - when the Ghost is confronted by a fleet of Star Destroyers, I feel like I should be worried, not thinking "Hera will get out of this one in about thirty seconds flat".

Anyway - those complaints aside, I found this to be an emotionally poignant episode that brought a satisfying, albeit devastating, conclusion to Ezra's search for his parents. I hope they intend to address his temperament in future episodes, but I'm not too worried about him going dark. He seemed to arrive at a place of peace at the conclusion of Legacy, rather than a promise of vengeance.

Looking forward to the second half of Season 2. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Kwanza, Happy Hanukkah to all here.

 

The Kallus thing it will be Zeb who kills him also i think Kallus has better armor than stormtrooper's

 

I loved this episode, it was still sad that Ezra's parents never made it out to have a reunion with their son, they would have been proud.