Chris Cooper reviews the eleventh episode of Star Wars Rebels season 2…
Not every episode of Rebels has to be really heavy and add a lot to the overall story. If I was in a harsh mood I’d call these types of episode ‘filler’.
The latest episode however avoids that, just about. I’ve moaned in the past about Sabine’s lack of development, so I was pleased to see her take a bigger role. I don’t think the amount of screen time Sabine receives is equal to the amount of development she gets, but we do learn more about her history. Her anger, single-mindedness, and willingness to kill make her interesting to watch at least.
Design wise, the group of Mandalorians we meet are basically ‘Boba Fett lite’, with the design of their armour. What is far cooler is their ships, their rotating wings and lasers that remind me of Episode II Slave I, being a high point of the entire episode. They’re pretty vicious, and I’m hoping I get to see them in the X-Wing Miniatures Game I regularly play. Rebels has been really good for creating their own style, even with old characters. but it’s good to see them designing new things and making them really cool.
The story moves along at light speed, setting up why the Rebels need to visit Concord Dawn and having everyone go pear-shaped really quickly. If anything that part of the story goes by too quickly, but the Mandalorians don’t strike me as the type to muck around so I can let it slide. Sabine and Kanan haven’t had much time together alone so it’s good to have them on a mission together; their conflicting approaches to the situation both make sense and sit well with their histories as a bounty hunter and a Jedi. They don’t argue for the sake of the story and it feels real.
I’m fully aware that this is a very light review. That’s because the episode itself isn’t the heaviest. On the cool scale it’s right up there, but I didn’t find masses of story to dig into. They don’t all need to be main arc, but I know Rebels can put more meat on the bones of a story in 20 minutes.
Chris Cooper is a Flickering Myth Staff Writer, and owner of the blog Super Duper Stuff. Follow him on Twitter @SDCCooper or visit the blog’s Facebook page.
Originally published February 3, 2016. Updated November 7, 2019.
