SPOILER The occupation/flight of the defender discussion

Enjoyed these episodes. Anything worth saying has been said only I think the Wolf and Cat are going to have a big payoff.

 

To me perhaps the most notable is that this season continues Sabine and Ezra tied at the hip. Every single episode has to do with the two of them together. Whatever their fate is, it would seem connected to each other.

Personally, I couldn't help but wonder, will they ever leave Lothal again. We know Hera does, but the rest?

 

I couldn't agree more. Filoni or someone at LFG put out before the season aired in one of the talking points that this season was going to heavily focus on Sabine and Ezra learning to rely on each other apart from the rest of the crew, and so far that seems to be spot on. 6 out of 6 episodes so far have them working as a paid, tied at the hip as you say. Where one goes, the other goes. I can't say where exactly, but that has to be leading somewhere.

And I think they will leave Lothal. My money is on Lothal being destroyed. Not blown up or anything, but maybe stripped of all resources, most if not all the people killed or imprisoned. I think they will succeed in halting the Defender development, since we don't see them in the OT, but I think Lothal is ultimately going to be lost leaving Ezra without a home.

 

Judging from the trailers for Season 4, we will see more wolves in the upcoming episodes.

 

Being on the last season of Rebels means wrapping up storylines for a number of involved characters and possibly locations as well. In this week's two-parter, the Rebels head back to Lothal, the place where it all began, and find some bitter truths. Were these bitter truths enjoyable storytelling? Let's find out!




SPOILERS BELOW!!!!






What worked for me:

- The Return to Lothal

When we last left Lothal, it was a pretty planet full of green hills and fields. Now that the Empire has settled what it intended to accomplish on the planet, it has been turned into a smoky, brown-covered dirt pile. I used to complain about staying on Lothal all the time, but getting used to those surroundings set me up for the impact of seeing it completely defiled later.



- Seeing the Tie Defender in action.

The Tie Defender comes from the EU and it's making its presence known on Rebels. The Empire are using Lothal as a base of operations to complete the prototype of the Tie Defender. Seeing this thing in action was a real treat. The animation movements are so Star Wars, and at the same time are quite unique to the Defender itself. It would be VERY easy to just mimic a regular Tie Fighter, but the Defender moves with a heaviness that the other classes don't have.


- The action and animation

Even though we are back on Lothal and the action wasn't full-scale war, I really liked the way the show handled its action-packed moments. These episodes include some real swashbuckling, and instead of Ezra being silly with a jet pack, we get Ezra doing a great job holding his own without Kanan's help AND not being annoying in the process. Usually when Ezra is by himself in action sequences, he tends to have too much of a childish quality (I fully understand this is a kids show, btw). The difference here, IMO, is that Ezra came off more mature and you don't see the silliness as much as you would before.



Loth Wolf

Probably my favorite aspect of Star Wars is the fantasy element. I love the mysticism of the Force and the stories that are told with it as the focus. We don't get an answer as to who or what the Loth Wolf is (IT'S NOT AHSOKA), but we get an idea that this cute little pupper is more than just a regular old creature. It seems to have an connection to Ezra. Is that because this wolf is some special Force being? Is it someone reincarnated? (I hope the latter isn't true). Either way, its inclusion is awfully interesting and the questions only leave me wanting more.



What didn't work for me:

- Death Troopers speaking Basic clearly

I didn't want complain about this on last week's reviews, but after the second week...it bothers me. There must be some reason that the Death Troopers sound like Bane is talking as if he were on a bad acid trip with marbles in his mouth. Otherwise, it ruins the mystique of their appearance in Rogue One...at least a little (I still love Rogue One to death).


Quick Hitters:

Loth Cats are pretty cute. I actually prefer them to Porgs...for now.





Anyone else see the Last Straighter ship when you see the Tie Defender?




I like Puffer pigs. I am not joking.




It was nice seeing Vizago again. I always liked his character.



I really enjoyed these last two episodes and I think this season could be shaping out to be the best yet. The stories, action, and pacing feel more like traditional Star Wars to me, compared to some of the previous seasons. I only hope it keeps this streak going!

Can't wait to read what you all think!

Paul

Follow me on Twitter @Hermann22
Follow my Star Wars podcast on Twitter @Blastercanonpod

 

despite some silliness, these have been my favorite episodes so far this season. the really glaring moment for me was Sabine not more deliberately trying to take out Thrawn. she could have shot up the whole kit and kaboodle: the rest of the fighters, the port, the shuttle, etc. seems to me that would have been the obvious thing to do. especially since he was just standing there watching with his teeth in his mouth. eh, it's not that big of deal, but it stuck out to me.

i weirdly love Agent Kallus (hated him so much originally ~ but he's developed nicely).

 

I can't believe no is mentioning one of the biggest aspects of this episode. Jai Kell is back. He is force sensitive. I know Kanan can't take him on as a Padawan but he can at least help him use and understand his abilities a little. I've been Dying to get Zare back into Rebel and a follow up on his sister and the force sensitive kids we saw during earlier seasons.

 

agree, he's def one of my favorites.

i think i agree.
i was really looking forward to the Saw Gerrera stuff, but it was a bit of a let down if i'm being honest.


I absolutely love the Loth Wolf !

 

Just caught up. Flight of the Defender is definitely my favorite episode of the season so far.

I know it's a pretty unfair criticism to have considering it was still so early on the in the season, but prior to this past week I was kind of disappointed with how the season was progressing. I've enjoyed all the episodes, it didn't feel like a final season, this episode gave me that feeling though, especially with what Kanan says at the end.

 

According to Pablo (from this past Rebels Recon), they can speak Basic when they need too.

“Well, the main reason is because they have information that they need to convey that we wanted the audience to understand and that’s the easiest way to do that. But we tend to think Death Troopers, though they may talk to each other in that garbled sound, when they need to talk to people who aren’t Death Troopers they could speak basic just like you and me.”

 

It for sure said "Dume" which leads people to believe the Wolf is potentially reincarnate version of Kanan's old fallen master.

 

You are a little off there. Kanan went into hiding and changed his name. Kanan is an alias. His real name is Caleb Dume. His Master was Depa Billaba. It's definitely going to get interesting.

 

It is clear that the wolves are connected to the Force. Because Kanan is still alive, the wolf cannot be Caleb Dume. It could be his old master, Depa Billaba, but it would then be rather odd that the wolf did not seek contact with Kanan but with Ezra. We have seen Kanan meditate, so why would he not have sensed her presence? Furthermore, it would raise questions about the other wolves that we had seen in the trailer. Are they former Jedi too? Do all Jedi become wolves? What or whoever the wolf will be, I am intrigued.

EDIT: It turns out that Kanan may be sensing something after all https://io9.gizmodo.com/in-this-new...&utm_source=io9_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

 

It would make sense if he is sensing something and the Wolves sensed him. Maybe they contacted Ezra first because while Kanan is the stronger force user Ezra has the stronger connection with animals. FYI Kanan was able to contact the Bendu because of his meditation.

 

All the animal stuff, the temple, and the actual dialogue, just convinces me that Ezra's going down with the planet like a captain going down with the ship.

 

I really enjoyed these two episodes

Quick hits:

• Seeing Lothal ravaged
• Having our group in costume - a nice change of pace
• I enjoyed the TIE Defender - it’s speed and movement felt real; it felt like a “heavy” ship, but still had moves - not just a floating UFO, which even the TIEs sometimes feel like
• the callback to TIE kill switch - I have always loved how well the writers pepper in lots of callbacks throughout the seasons
• “Dume” as an answer to why the LothWolf came - maybe because Kanan has been meditating and connecting to the Force that is inherent on Lothal (we’ve already seen its strength in the Force, with it’s Jedi temple, etc
• Sabine’s armor feels more realistic and fitting with Mando patterns, instead of just teenage doodling

 

i really love the change of "costumes" and when the costumes evolve too! there's something wonderful about the familiarity of what they're wearing, but also you figure they gotta have more than one outfit--what do they do when they need to wash? sit around naked waiting for the dryer cycle to complete?

but seriously. i also loved in TCW when people put on disguises or updated their look.
the costumes in Star Wars are deceptively simple (at least in the OT and the ST so far).
but when you really start to study them, you find all kinds of nuances and details and character. : D

 

yes! i guess technically there's some kind of dry sonic wash? don't know if they would have to take their clothes off to do it.
Rebels is the first Star Wars we've had that's shown us a refresher/toilet, so i say in this last season they should give us laundry too ~ hahahaha