Star Wars Rebels S2 - Episode 20: Finale

After nineteen episodes of buildup, it is finally time for the final showdown, in this twice-as-long, emotional, action-packed finale where every kind of things happened all at once: Twilight of the Apprentice. As this review would also be twice as long, there will be heavy spoilers here.

As Yoda has told them to, Ezra, Kanan, and Ahsoka went to Malachor V, a place seeped with the Dark, with what happened during Knights of the Old Republic II. I haven't actually played that game, though.

My first impressions: Oh wow. Those monoliths are just surreal, and the lighting is perfect.

Then, there was the Sith Temple, hidden underground. Once more I shall say: surreal setting and perfect lighting.

Here, it's interesting that they should search for forbidden knowledge, as Ahsoka had put it out; I thought the Jedi are better--but the Force has its own ways.

With the appearance of a new Inquisitor, they launched into a quick fight where Ezra was thrown deeper underground.

There, he met... Darth Maul. Cleverly covered up at first, and now old and frail, with a matching and believable voice. Wow, he survived yet again. This raises the question, how did he end up here instead of being executed by Sidious near the end of The Clone Wars? Needless to say, I got a bad feeling about him, for a darksider like Maul won't be swayed easily.

So it seems all Inquisitors are brash, approaching groups of enemies alone. Chopper arrived in the scene in time, and hijacked the Inquisitor's own TIE fighter and fired at him, leading to his capture. Gotta say, pretty amusing scene where Chopper did it right (again) this time.

Meanwhile, Ezra and Maul has reached the Temple gate. Here, it gets tense: Ezra must risk all he had learned as a Jedi to think with the enemy's mind, as Maul said. Channeling his emotions, they worked together to open the door. Fascinating mechanism, and they even managed to make the scene have a sense of urgency, for if Ezra gives way, they would be crushed under the gate.

Will this be the start of the Dark Side seeping in to Ezra? Maul fed his desire for revenge, and recited parts of the Sith Code. Nice tie-in to the universe.

And, it seems, Ezra's young nature made him put his trust in Maul, who presented himself. Not a Darth anymore, now.

Anyway, it seems Ezra could trust anyone easily, when he told Maul to boost him to the platform on the other side of the abyss to get the holocron.

Naturally, the place will collapse, and it did make us think whether Maul will only grab the holocron--but he saved Ezra at the edge.

The two went out to find a two versus three duel with the Inquisitors. Ahsoka and Kanan, perhaps for the wiser, did not trust Maul, however he charged the Inquisitors anyway, resulting in a triple duel. Now this never happened before, the fluidity of the movements combined with sheer amount of action.

The Inquisitors fled, leaving the group to decide on a truce with Maul, and they headed to the top of the pyramid to install the holocron. The way up was indeed interesting, Tomb Raider-ish, with old mechanisms which  architecture were finely thought out: ominous.

Ezra got a chance to privately talk to Kanan on the way up, and it became apparent that trust is a major problem: Ezra just wanted to be trusted. Thus, he proceeded with Maul

And so, they met the Inquisitors again. Again, they battled. We have no shortage of lightsaber duels in this episode.

One scene that really stuck was when Maul choked the Sister, and ordered Ezra to cut her down. Conflicted as he was, Maul struck her down himself. More Dark seeps in Ezra, then.

Also, it seems Rebels is still shy on the graphic scenes. Perhaps it is still targeted for younger audiences.

Maul reinforced Kanan and Ahsoka, which were pinned down on the other side of the pyramid, killing the big Brother in a flurry and damaged the new Brother's lightsaber, which broke when he tried to helicopter out of the place. The helicopter-lightsaber was, in itself, already ridiculous, though.

So this is it--the three Inquisitors out of the way for A New Hope. Shame that new guy died in one episode, but perhaps it's for the best so that it won't be too repetitive for the next season.

But didn't our three heroes fall further at the beginning?

Then, Maul said that Ezra was his apprentice.

Then, he blinded Kanan. Talk about consequenses--this is permanent. And graphic.

His true nature revealed once more, he said that Ezra is on his way to activate the temple, which was actually a superweapon. Ah yes, Malachor was devastated by a weapon that it became a Wound in the Force. Perhaps this is the same contraption.

In the meantime, Ezra has put the holocron in another ominous obelisk, activating it (which sounds like Ventress from the Clone Wars), which reveals itself as a weapon.

It seems Kanan could rely on the Force, grabbing a Jedi mask, sensing Maul's attacks. This duel became even more interesting, for Kanan could only feel through the Force, but still blocks every attack and hurling Maul from the floor. The same demise as in The Phantom Menace.

I am not kidding when I told you that this episode has so many stuff going on. With Maul down, Lord Vader himself arrived--in style. Best villain entrance, ever. Ezra didn't stand a chance.

...But Ahsoka did. Vader said Anakin is gone, and now she would avenge him, for she wasn't bound to the Jedi code. Ahsoka saying "I'm not a Jedi" was pretty bold, definitely a memorable scene of the episode.

The long-awaited lightsaber fight came, and it did not disappoint, where the apprentice fights her old master.

Now, Kanan arrived at the scene, his blindness apparent to Ezra. Apparently only master and apprentice could retrieve the holocron--which was questionable, as neither were Sith, and Kanan won't dare think of the Dark. Or... he's just as frustrated.

Then, predictably, the place must collapse.

The climax was... emotional. That describes it perfectly.

Ahsoka slashes open Vader's mask, revealing Anakin's face...his old face, and his old voice, which Ahsoka tried to redeem. The wall of darkness still stood high, though, Vader still consumed by anger, and a showdown was inevitable.

Ahsoka pushed Ezra away, to let them escape from the blast that was about to come.

Then, the somber music kicked louder, and the end became... dreamy, according to some. No dialogues, as the images are enough. Such was Rebels' cinematography.

In the end, a reunion. All of them have changed. Kanan really lost his eyes, Ahsoka lost, and Ezra is shaken, to be sure.

Also: that sunset.

Maul survived, the tough bastard. Perhaps he would rise to be the main villain on the next season, alongside Vader?

Speaking of whom, Vader walks away from the rubble, not victorious. His pride was almost never injured in the movies, and this might signify something... perhaps Ahsoka has broken through to Anakin Skywalker?

Ahsoka, too, might be alive, if that is not her Force Ghost. We shall see, as Vader is alive, after all.

Which brings us to the end of the episode, with Ezra opening the holocron. Perhaps, is there now darkness dwelling in him?

Oh my, such an ending where everything happened at once, setting the stage for season three of Star Wars Rebels. Enough said, as this had already been one long article. Until this autumn, perhaps, when we would see what shall happen with these people.

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Star Wars Rebels is a series by Disney Lucasfilms.

Star Wars Rebels S2 - Episode 19: Arachnid-Infested Base

It's time to settle in the base that they found last episode. Apparently, they named it after the one that found it, according to the name of this episode nineteen: The Mystery of Chopper Base. Now, we'll prepare for Ezra and Kanan's final face-off with the Inquisitors with a one-off story concerning the false safety of the new base. Spoilers, intentional or otherwise are ahead. 

Arachnophobes beware as well.

The episode kicked off with Kanan and Ezra sparring. Apart from the action, which was fluid as usual, we could see the apprehension in Hera's eyes as Kanan seemed to be drilling his apprentice a little too hard. Also, later we shall learn that a part of her reluctance of those drills was because she would hate to see her friend go off in a dangerous journey. Nice subtle clues.

Then there was the sunset scene. Actually, this scene came after part of the story that comes after, but this one also showed that Zeb will indeed miss Ezra when he is away.

The one thing that I'll comment in this scene is the art. Wow, the sunset. Also, this gives a different kind of vibe than the usual Rebels, just relaxing and listening to music.

Meanwhile, scouts are missing, so Sabine and Rex went to search for the culprit. Apparently, they found that there are spiders, huge ones. They took Rex, so they must stage a rescue.

During the rescue, they ventured in the spiders' nest. Zeb becomes comically and stereotypically afraid of spiders.

Again, we see Hera's dislike of Kanan's ideas, where she forces herself to let the non-jedi on one team so that they could be used to them not being there. Meanwhile, once again Kanan scolds Ezra too harshly as he fails to connect with the spiders.

With Rex found, as predicted, they must blast through many spiders to get out of the nest.

One thing with the gunfights this episode is that they weren't fighting stormtroopers with guns. They fought these monsters which were almost impregnable--again, a different kind of sequences compared to the usual Rebels, except for that one other episode in Season One.

And, unfortunately, they seem to have only recycled the plot of that season one episode, by having them fear the sensor beacons this time, instead of the light.

Thus, they made Sabine fetch the beacon to distract the spiders while they cut the Ghost free, which was stuck on spiderwebs.

In the end, as expected, Kanan and Hera made peace with each other, and ended in the embrace which tells us that they do concern for each other, but Kanan still needs to do his job.

Another thing this scene reminds us is that they aren't part of the Jedi Order proper, as now romance is not regulated. This could turn into something later on.

One last thing: that sunset. I am indeed a sucker for sunsets, and this one nailed it.

Ezra failed to connect with the spiders once more, and Ahsoka said that there are many things about the Force unanswered.

There are still many things unanswered for Ezra, and the next episodes will be the climax of the season. Well, this episode reuses a season one plot. However, upon closer inspection, it did have layers of meaning in preparation for the final duel.

Also, it had beautiful sunsets.

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Star Wars Rebels - Episode 18: A Droid Duo

Well, another little one-off adventure after that hiatus. Shame, we didn't have anything exciting, getting nearer to the end of the season. But oh well, we'll make do. This episode 18, The Forgotten Droid, has a surprisingly interesting story and background on... Chopper--a much forgotten and ignored droid himself. Spoilers ahead, intentional or otherwise.

So Chopper got distracted in a mission by a leg to replace his mismatched one. (Actually, I just realized his legs are mismatched.) Nothing really big enough to be raised during Chopper's time with the piglike trader; a little hilarious, if nothing.

Anyway, when he got distracted, I immediately thought: Oh great, another story where a character got separated. Indeed, Chopper did get separated, boarding an Empire freighter to escape. 

Actually, the story did manage to capture the character of the droids. Chopper met an inventory droid, and to convince him not to report to the captain about an intruder, he told about his background: he was in the Clone Wars, and saved by Hera. Nice to see Chopper finally fleshed out, if only a little.

The new guy is also interesting. His slow, droning way of talking establishes his personality, and he also served in the Clone Wars. Perhaps this'll be out R2 - C3PO duo in the series.

The two encountered the captain, and to save the droid (whose name I still haven't remembered, or rather Forgotten) from being torched by him, Chopper attacked with the leg he stole.

Well, what can I say here. We seldom see just droids taking down people. Interesting fight, with only tasers and beating as opposed to the usual saber and blasters.

With the captain promptly knocked out, Chopper proceeded to rounding up the stormtroopers in the cargo compartment. It's quite hilarious again to see him corralling the stormtroopers, and it did get pretty intense when Chopper got shot and struggled to the exit. But, as this is Rebels, he must survive.

Yet another space battle, quite a short one with the usual gunning down TIEs. A nice bit where the Ghost came in hot to the carrier to refuel her. Never saw that thing coming.

Also, it's nice to see Ketsu, Sabine's Blood Sister, helping out in her fighter. Perhaps she'll join in the finale?

It got quite tense in the bridge of the Imperial vessel, now commandeered by Chopper and the other droid (I'm bad with names). First, it turned out that the planet that was to become the rebel base was already scouted by the Empire. Then, the captain came about.

First, it became quite philosophical for the droid, as he realized that he doesn't need to become a slave for this useless captain. After that, another fight with Chopper, who actually got knocked out this time.

Just when the droid managed to send the new coordinates to Hera, he was gunned down by the captain. Chopper, out of anger, charged the captain, perhaps killing him good this time. We won't know.

That sad part was indeed very emotional. The new droid calling Chopper his friend, not wanting to forget him, was almost unthinkable, as they are robots. Praise to Star Wars Rebels for giving these robots a life essence, then.

As said before, in Rebels, heroes shall survive. And the droid did survive, after being repaired back to full operation. Judging from what we saw at the end, this could indeed be the droid duo for the rest of the show.

And for the rest of the show, we'll wait for the nearing finale.

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Star Wars Rebels S2 - Episode 17: The Jedi Way

Finally, my mid-term tests are done. DONE. I do usually post this yesterday, however I took too long to finish a drawing, and fell asleep. Oh well. Anyway.

...thus, Star Wars Rebels' episode 17 of season 2: Shroud of Darkness is the perfect, perfect show to end the week. We get to see much lightsaber duels, then the trip to the Jedi Temple brought us many throwbacks to the past, and a certain little green Jedi Master... plus a certain brash Jedi Knight. Spoiler alert, intentional or otherwise.

The episode surprisingly started with a lightsaber duel--two, in fact. The inquisitors found Kanan and Ezra during their search for a place for a secret rebel base. Nice scenery, nice action, and it seems Kanan and Ezra force-pushing each other will be a repeatedly used tactic for them.

One complaint: when Ezra got thrown off the cliff, couldn't Kanan just force pulled him in instead of hanging on to his foot? But it seems that way Ezra could connect with the manta-like creatures... Ezra may be something special.

After escaping the battle via mantas, Kanan called upon Ahsoka for guidance. Ezra came in first, and... ANAKIN! Looks better in the Clone Wars, I say, but didn't expect him to show up. Ahsoka reminisced those times. Memories. But she said that the last time she saw him was when Anakin was running off to save the Chancellor, at the beginning of Revenge of the Sith. So, did she see him once more after she left, or was the end of the Clone Wars series really that close with the fall of the Republic?

Now, she said that they usually asked Obi-Wan or Yoda during times like these. As it happened, our group had met with Yoda last season, in the Jedi Temple at Lothal.

One thing that I find interesting is that Ahsoka declined on raising the Temple as she was no longer a Jedi, but the end she followed behind. Perhaps, she really could not open the temple? Well, little point, but this does remind us that she's no longer a true Jedi.

Thus, they went there, and meditated.

Once more, a nice atmosphere for Rebels' lighting.

Kanan went alone in a doorway, and went inside a Jedi training arena (or whatever it's called), a Force illusion, no doubt. Inside, a Temple Guard awaited, saying that Kanan must destroy Ezra before he turned to the dark side.

One: this may foreshadow what could happen to Ezra to set things off for A New Hope. Two: the Guard's voice and build was quite similar to the Grand Inquisitor. And finally: we have another lightsaber fight.

Meanwhile, while talking about Yoda with Ahsoka, we see him in person! Got to say, he looks weirder here, rounder face, and an even raspier voice. Full of riddles, as usual, when Ezra asked him how to destroy the Inquisitors. 

The duel between Kanan and the Temple Guard got even more tense as Kanan needed to pick up a lightsaber--which turned out to be red. Once more, this may foreshadow the conflicts in the future, of our two Jedi torn between light and dark.

And then, Ahsoka heard Anakin calling her, and had a vision where Anakin condemned her for leaving him when he needed her most. Now, he's Vader. Pretty emotional moment, when Ahsoka broke down and struck the vision with her white saber.

There were now three Temple Guards, who decisively beat Kanan, forced on his knees and accept his fate... to be knighted. This was one big moment for Kanan.

Also, the Guard was indeed revealed to be the Grand Inquisitor. So, guess he was also a fallen Jedi.

Yoda left Ezra with words of warning, that the way of violence was not the Jedi way (sort of; I took the liberty to assume his meanings), giving Ezra the vision of the Grand Army of the Republic. And then he disappeared.

And wow, they used a scene from Attack of the Clones! Amusing that it could pass off as CG. Also, recycled image from the Clone Wars.

The two Inquisitors have raised the Temple, and went inside, where they met the Force illusion that was the Grand Inquisitor, who had said to Kanan that he shall delay the enemy. Once more, lightsabers danced in a dark background: stunning.

The three ran off, but Ahsoka saw Yoda, smiling and waving at her. That's just... emotional.

And finally, Vader returned! What plans does the Emperor have, this time? Wow, this episode brought us much to think, and expect for the next few episodes. Many action, and all-around Star Wars vibe. That's it for this week.

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Star Wars Rebels S2 - Episode 16: Cooperation of the Honorable Ones

I know, I've only been doing reviews lately, but I got piling work, and the mid term is coming. These reviews are just quicker to do and is already a mainstay, and besides, I could train my writing. So here we go:

Last episode, Hera fixed up her relationship with her father, while bringing a new carrier for the Fleet. Now, once more we focus on Zeb, and unexpectedly enough, Agent Kallus, in episode sixteen of Star Wars Rebels: The Honorable Ones. Be alerted for spoilers, intentional or otherwise.

The first thing I thought about was: Rex! and: Geonosis! Such great parts of The Clone Wars. However, I am reminded that this is Star Wars Rebels and not The Clone Wars. As expected, Rex will not have a large role, sadly enough. Geonosis won't be a large setting here, either.

The Rebels approached Geonosis, seeing a large orbital construction of the Empire. Upon scanning the surface of the planet, Chopper got no Geonosians on the sensors, and thus the rebels investigated the station. Unsurprisingly, the place became a trap of the Empire's. As the stormtroopers pin the rebels, Zeb got separated and faced off with Agent Kallus. Unable to reinforce, the others were forced to flee.

The scenes where the rebels flee were quite entertaining, with the Ghost doing barrel rolls (just for show), blasting TIEs and walkers in the base. I thought we'll never see walkers in space again after that one episode of The Clone Wars.

Yeah, I'm always going to be nostalgic with the Clone Wars, even if it was only a year ago since I've watched it.

And so, Zeb got off in an escape pod, and Agent Kallus got trapped in the same pod, which crash-landed in one of Geonosis' moons.

Now, while the characters and settings are completely different from The Clone Wars, the premise is exactly the same as when Obi-Wan and Anakin got captured with Count Dooku by the pirates. They'll need to work together at the end.

However, Kallus is not Dooku.

The two exchanged their views, as expected. They needed to work together in the instance, so why not use the moment to make the other submit to their faction? Kallus asked Zeb to surrender, while Zeb pointed out that all the Empire had done were unfair. However, it all started to change when the lantern died. We start to see Kallus' personality leaking out, feeble like the Empire stereotype. 

Before continuing, I'll comment on the atmosphere once more, right away. This cave gives a good setting for the contrast in lighting Rebels have always been great in, with that glowing meteorite.

The cave wasn't empty. This cross of a pterodactyl and a lizard appeared and tried to eat Zeb, who hid in the pod. Here, their real teamwork began, as Kallus picked up his bo-rifle and fired on the dragon with Zeb. Nice and tense action, by the way.

Things cooled back down, and Zeb took a look at Kallus' bo-rifle. Here, we got to his story: where he met a Lasat that gave him his rifle as he was a honorable opponent. And another story, when he was a cadet, only he survived an attack from a Lasat warrior. Indeed, Zeb could relate to him now.

Before, Kallus seems only like the usual villain, answering only to the Emperor. But who knew he has another side, his tragic past. Perhaps, he might change sides.

They made their escape together, as two creatures attacked. They swung from column to stalactite, pulling off more tense moves. Just another great job in the action, here. Now out from the cave, the two activated the transponder and waited.

As the Ghost lands, Zeb bid farewell to Kallus, who returned to an Empire cruiser with an empty feeling. Very emotional ending, and this emotional ending shall make us think what shall become of Kallus through the next episodes.

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Star Wars Rebels is a series by Disney Lucasfilms.