SPOILER Rebels Season 3 EP 14: "Trials of the Darksaber"

Ahh yes, I stand corrected.

 

superb episode. how superb? well it's difficult to judge as i personally think that ep 13 was one of the worst, so whatever followed was bound to look good lol.

Bendu's brief appearance was an eye opener. a being that claims to be the center of the force between light & dark, and who was only awakened by sensing Kanan's imbalance... why is he popping up? She was gone a long time.. did Bendu speak to her? is she FS? if she is.. is this a bigger story than we first thought?

i didn't hear that when i watched it last night... i'll go through it again later.

that would really twist our noodles if your right.

 

I think the brief appearance by Bendu was just to serve as a reminder that he is still around as well as let us know exactly where Kanan had taken them to train (you can see the entrance to the spider cave earlier in the episode).

 

I wonder how the timeline works. Was the Mando Jedi before or after the Mando Jedi war? I also like the further explanation of how a lightsaber works in this episode which ties in well to the catalyst book. I know some people wanted lightsaber use to be limited to force users, but this episode makes it seem without someone to teach you the deeper understanding of a lightsaber you would have a hard time truly mastering it.

 

I honestly really liked this episode. I loved the little bits Kanan was throwing in about the Force and tactile/practical aspects of wielding a saber. Having him say the Force resides in everyone and a proper mindset being necessary was a legit squee moment for me. It doesn’t contradict midichlorians, but it made my heart happy.

I’m getting more and more confused on how old Sabine is though. She had a significant place with her people, then she was making (designing?) weapons for the Empire, then she was a bounty hunter, then she was a lone Rebel, now she’s with this team and possible leader of Mandalore? Did she do a turn at moisture farming too? Maybe some pod-racing on the side?

 

The accomplishments within such a young age is really starting to bug me. Actually it has always bugged me, but it was more in the background. With this episode, it makes it even more prominent, and more odd. She apparently had a REALLY productive time between age 10-15. Really?

That mini-rant aside, I really enjoyed this episode. Unlike most, I've never been a huge fan of the Mando arcs from TCW. Like almost everyone, I too was a mando super-fan when they were these mysterious people that Boba Fett's armor came from, but the hype just hasn't led up to what they did with it in TCW. "We're all warriors, wait now we're all Pacifists, wait now after a couple speeches we're all warriors again!"

OK, that mini-rant aside - I really did enjoy this episode. I'm curious where they go with this. There is really no reference to Mandos in the Rebellion in the OT, so there is a lot they could do, that's more than just "Sabine brought them into the Rebellion to fight with us"

I loved the emotion that was present in the episode. I liked that Sabine's lack of performance in the training wasn't about her skills, but about her being scared to accept her new calling. People do that so often - they know what they need to do, but are scared to do it, and put roadblocks in their way to attempt to undermine their progress. I loved how Hera was the one who recognized this, and let Kanan know that by having her use the Darksaber in training would do two things - make it "real" for her taking on it's use, as well as showing kana's confidence in her ability to wield it.

The Bendu appearance was strange. I don't really think it was meant to imply that they had a conversation, but as someone mentioned more to show where they were on the planet. Still, it was kind of odd.

 

Yeah, I don’t want to invoke the dreaded ‘Mary Sue’, but it’s a little eye-rolly for me at times. It’s a kid’s show though, so I’m pretty forgiving.

Agreed. It reminded me somewhat of Luke’s stunted development with Yoda in ESB. His progress was hindered by mental constraints, not physical ones. He needed to overcome his conceptual limitations in order to move forward. To quote another franchise: “You're faster than this. Don't THINK you are. KNOW you are.”

 

Her accomplishments don't bother me for two reasons. I think it's been established in the show Sabine is gifted. No matter what she ended up doing she wasn't going to be average. The other thing this is Star Wars. Drastic changes is always been a part of this franchise. From farm boy to Jedi, from selfish smuggler to self sacrificing rebel hero. From apathetic wanderer to rebel hero. It's been at the heart of almost every SW story arc.

 

Amazing episode! The animation has been improving episode by episode and I loved how you could see tiny details as Sabine's hair moving and little stuff like that.

I loved that too!!! +1000

Do. Not. Mess. With. Ahsoka.

I definitely ended up watching this episode wanting to give both of them a big hug. Sigh.

Mmmm even if I was motivated to see this episode one more time already, this add into the reasons behind lol.

Awww love Kanan and Hera.

As a matter of fact, I thought of it while watching it too.

Seriously, would love either a movie, a book, a comic or a TV series about the Jedi-Mandalorian war.

I'm not bothered by her accomplishments either because we have had other characters developing and being accomplished at a younger age. Anakin, Padme, Leia, even Boba freaking Fett was leading a bounty hunter cell at a young age! And well, if we look into History in real life, we have had historical figures who had shone even from their early years - for example, King Ferdinand V of Aragon was leading armies and performing diplomatic duties by the age of 14; his no-less famous wife Queen Isabella of Castile managed to be crowned as her brother's heir at the age of 16. Just to mention some examples.

 

My issue (and it’s not even really that) isn’t how someone her age could be capable. It’s the simple logistics of the timeline. I’m confused as to when all these phases of her backstory took place. She doesn’t seem to be very old, so a heck of a lot must have happened to her in a very short amount of time. That’s certainly not unprecedented for this for franchise, it’s just a little noggin scratching for me. I imagine we’ll be getting more background for her pretty soon here though.

 

Well... sometimes I get the feeling that time is quite a subjective matter in the Star Wars universe lol.

Forgot to mention Jyn Erso, who according to Saw Gerrera was the best soldier in his cadre by the age of 16.

*goes back to listen "Jyn's Theme and Hope Suite" again while sobbing*

 

In one episode last year Sabine is toying with the storm troopers as they shoot at her. She jumps around just like a Jedi. In my mind I thought maybe she is force sensitive. Then when I'm watching this episode with my son he said "she didn't start beating kanan until she started using the dark side." It was obvious to him that she was using the force.

 

I think the appearance of Bendu may have been to remind the viewers that neutral force users can exist. Perhaps Sabine's path will be somewhere between the light and dark sides. Not a Jedi or Sith, but something different.

 

If Sabine was using the Force then the subplot of Kanan being hesitant to train her, due to her lack of Force ability, wouldn’t make much sense. Sabine isn't using the darkside.

The whole point of her confrontation with Kanan was to achieve ‘catharsis’. To move forward, she needed to overcome the emotional burdens that were holding her back. She wasn’t focusing her hate and pain - she was facing her personal demons, overcoming them, and becoming a stronger person for it. That was Kanan’s goal and that’s what was achieved.

 

Yeah. I'm with you. Maybe she was making advanced weapons at 6.

Ultimately though, I'm starting to like the character this season, so the bizzare backstory doesn't bother me much.

I think the show just exaggerates jumping. @porkozone pointed out how over the top Kanan's jump was in the genosis arc, but Sabines been able to jump 10 feet in the air since the animated short.

I think certain actions are not supposed to have literally happened, much like how video games are super over the top.

 

Interesting spoiler.

 

You mean the Jedi didn’t lose?!! Aw, man, I had money riding on that

 

Did anyone notice that when Sabine sits down (on Bendu...) and stares off into the distance, we are shown a lingering moment of a sunset and some oddly shaped plant formations on the left side of the frame. this is about halfway through the episode, just before Ez finds her. There are two interesting formations stacked on top of each other. The lower one looks like an open palm, and it is pointing toward the right of the frame. Just above it, from the same stalk, I guess, is a formation that looks like a cat or similar creature. It might be ready to pounce or perhaps running.

Did anyone else notice? The open palm certainly makes sense as in the opening of her mind or heart to accept the truth. But what about the cat-like image. Suggestive of anything?