Chris Cooper reviews Star Wars Rebels – ‘Relics of the Old Republic’…
Now this is a bit more like it. After the extremely impressive opening film/double episode, last week’s episode was a quite disappointing with it’s lumpy pacy. Relics of the Old Republic introduces a classic vehicle whilst providing some very tense scenes and cool force usage.
Our heroes are left in a rather perilous position, with both teams left stranded and needing repairs. It does give the rebels a chance to see more of the clones though, and that’s the single biggest positive of this episode.The clones understand what’s it’s like to be in a war, so despite them seemingly not wanting to get involved they do provide a different type of support. Zeb and Ezra both benefit from this, the scenes of Rex instructing Ezra in use of their walkers weapons is actually quite touching. Kanan may be his mentor when it comes to the force, but Rex could be the father figure he so desperately needs. Will there be a further conflict there?
The second biggest positive are several scenes that filled me with tension. The sight of some fearsome Imperial machinery on the horizon turns a bad situation into a potentially ruinous one. Obi-Wan told us long ago that “your eyes can deceive you, don’t trust them”, and that advice comes to the fore here. Rex’s faith in both Ezra and Jedi as a whole is well placed.
Not having seen a lot of The Clone Wars, I looked into how the clones were programmed with Order 66. I always figured it was psychological, drummed into them covertly from a young age. But you can see the scars on each clone where they removed their chip. A bit grisly. Rex and his team clearly cared a lot about their Jedi counterparts. Perhaps finding new ones will give them more purpose than just staying out of trouble. They do handle it well afterall.
Kallus amuses me. I thought he was going to be slightly more switched on than most Imperials, but he falls into the same over-confidence and hubris that generally is the Empire’s downfall. He makes some decent tactical choices, but why wouldn’t he just bomb the rebels from orbit and be done with it? I guess we wouldn’t have much of a story then.
This was a much stronger episode, with several nicely placed quotes, well played out action and some touching moments. Relics? The clones don’t look outdated to me.
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.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=W04aXcyQ0NQ
Originally published October 30, 2015. Updated November 7, 2019.
