SPOILER Rebels Review S02 Premiere: "The Siege Of Lothal"

Just saw a really choppy version from A New Hope. Hoping to get a smoother version soon on Animeflavor. Despite the technical difficulties, I really enjoyed it.

 

Quick note: why did we not see the emperor?! It seems strange that he was kept offscreen!

I reckon the Emperor could want Ashoka for that reason or one of two other potential reasons: firstly, to kill her off so that Vader loses yet another remaining piece of his old life that could sway him back to the light; or secondly, to use her as a tool to hone the edges of Vader's anger and suffering. For example, good old Sheevy boy could hold Ashoka captive and torture her, which would undoubtedly be somewhat painful for Vader to watch, since he was tasked with protecting and teaching her.

I likewise enjoyed the Kenobi mention. It's easy to forget just how much hatred Vader holds for him. It makes me question how he felt after the duel in ANH. You see Vader kicking his robe in confusion, but it almost seems like he's disappointed; as if the moment he'd waited so long for didn't end his suffering or bring any consolation to his woes as he thought it would.

Vader's portrayal thus far has been great. I think Lords of the Sith had him be too athletic, so it's good to see here, 10 years or so later, that he has that strength and prowess without needing to spin about (despite it being a good trick).

Also, thanks for the AND quote! It's been nearly a year since I read it and it doesn't hold well in my memory, but excerpts like that (particularly after watching Rebels series 1 and reading the comic so far) really help me realise how good it is!

 

Did anyone else notice something off about Vader's voice? He sounded different than in the movies. I know he was voiced by James Earl Jones, but the voice didn't seem quite the same. It sounded different.

 

Yeah, I am glad they are using the original actors. I wonder why they didn't get Ian McDiarmid to voice Emperor Palpatine.

 

I don't think they will use Starkiller. They will probably go in a different direction.

 

In the case of Billy Dee I think they are using a different treatment for the hole character and the way he talks reflects that, he is much more relaxed, is way more different than how he talked in ESB or ROTJ. He's a more confident, younger, relaxed Lando all the time, and for that I can understand the way he talks now. He doesn't has too many responsibilities at this moment

For Vader I did noticed the difference too... But I think James Earl Jones did the best he can. I really enjoyed listen to him

 

JEJ sounds, in a sense, younger. And with audio editing tech today, if they needed to, they could create an overlay over present-day JEJ to make him sound like he is in the movies. I honestly think that they want the type of voice to show that, yes, the age is creeping up, but it's still not a ANH, where he is older, more middle-aged than a young man.

 

Awesome episode.Great to see Vader in his prime.Looking forward for the rest.Thanks to the link provider as well.

 

Kanan, I sense much fear in you.

 

Lucky you.

 

Only from a storytelling point of view. The show is on a tight budget and won't make an entirely new model for 10 seconds of screen time.

 

I liked this episode a lot. It was nice to see Vader before ANH. Though I wonder what Tua knew that had been ordered by the Emperor himself? Unless it's due to the kyber crystals on Lothal and a certain spacestation that is under construction.

 

Yeah, I suppose you're right! I hadn't considered the effort vs. the time. Then again, they'd surely use the model later in the series! Ah, well! It was a nitpick anyway; phenomenal episode overall!

 

I may be slightly miss-remembering, but for the clone wars Filoni said they could generally only afford one new character model per episode, (ocassionally they'd get 2 or 3 for a premier).

That's why all of Hondo's pirates are identical with different gear on. Season 1 of rebels would reuse the same 4 or so background characters :S. The imperial helmsmen are all clones (not in universe) with tipped down hats to hide that fact.

If the emperor doesn't get a big role, I wouldn't be surprised if they never build a model for him. He might just be a robed imperial helmsman with his face hidden entirely in shadow.

 

It's a shame really; I was excited to see a Rebels-style take on Palpatine. I didn't realise the average of 1 model per episode in TCW though, that's insane!

 

All I can really add having not seen the show past what was shown on ABC (I hope I can, sooner than later) is this: Kanan is a Padawan who was never told he had become a Jedi--though, maybe he is a Jedi, now. Asohka is a Jedi who passed her trials, and walked away. It will be interesting to see how these two "Jedi" manage to exist together in a time where they are but the few, and if their actions impact the Jedi that come after RotJ.