swiftsnowmane | Thoughts on s3 of Rebels thus far.... (Reply)

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Someone on tumblr recently asked me if I was still watching Rebels, and, if so, what were my thoughts on Season 3 thus far. Well, as of the mid-season finale at least, I'm still enjoying it. I wasn’t sure what to expect after Twilight of the Apprentice in terms of the direction of the show, but thus far I think they have handled things fairly well. Overall, the tone feels a little bit different, but that is expected as the stakes continue to get higher.

The incorporation of Thrawn as a major villain has been a slow-build, but interesting. (And the less that Vader is on-screen the better, imo. Disney currently has a very bad habit of overusing him for crass commercial reasons, but I digress…)

Some things are still the same – the Ghost Crew is still the adorable Spacefamily that we know and love. Chopper’s ornery antics continue to make me lol. I appreciate the inclusion of other characters at times, especially Captain Rex, and the fact that they’ve managed to bring in Wedge Antilles (I mean, how adorable is the animated Wedge, omg), complete with a convincing and compelling backstory. And now, most recently, we have [spoiler!] the long-awaited confirmation that Agent Kallus is, in fact, secretly helping the Rebellion, much to his own peril.

Of course, no show is perfect and there have been a few elements I didn’t care for as much (the random appearances of Hondo seem a bit forced at times, despite the fact I actually love that character and always enjoyed him in TCW). But one thing I *have* been especially happy about is that they’ve expanded on Sabine’s character this season and given her a lot more screen-time. This was a long time coming and I’ve greatly enjoyed seeing more of her and her Mandalorian heritage. Sabine has always been one member of the Ghost Crew that I felt like I didn’t ‘know’ very well, and I’m extremely relieved that this is no longer the case. :)

During this season, we’ve also seen that Kanan and Ezra’s dynamic has shifted, but in a good way. Kanan is not as directly involved for obvious reasons, but his role is no less potent. (I absolutely LOVED the moment when he could ‘see’ Ezra through the Force during The Holocrons of Fate episode!) People were expecting Ezra to go super dark this season, but I’m glad that he seems to instead be maturing and trying to find a middle way. (*cough* Grey Jedi *cough*) I love that through their relationship (and Kanan's relationship with Hera) we see how a Jedi can be both a wise and patient Master and also a warm and loving father figure (and husband!) at the same time. (The irony of course being that this would not have been possible without the destruction of the Jedi Order – the very order that forbade its members from having or being part of families to begin with.)

And while there hasn’t been a ton of blatant Kanera this season, there have been all these seemingly ‘little’ moments of them touching each other, being Spaceparents together, and then that wonderful scene at the end of Hera’s Heroes, with Kanan and her father drinking and toasting together. I was grinning like a fool at that scene…so ‘Spacemarried’. :’)

Speaking of which, one thing I’ve loved but which has also been extremely heart-wrenching for me has been the continued references and callbacks to The Clone Wars….aka, my favourite Star Wars thing ever. The most obvious episode for this being of course The Last Battle. My heart was in my throat the whole time….first Rex’s ptsd, and then seeing a Clone and a Jedi + padawan fighting alongside one another again. And then how they resolved the conflict, by realizing who the true enemy was. It was all so ‘meta’, as though Filoni was trying to ‘end’ and resolve that wonderful series that was cut too short on his own terms, and it was extremely effective. (And it also made sense. After all, during the Clone War period itself, the face of the true enemy was hidden. That was the whole point. But now, smack in the midst of the Dark Times of the Empire, there is no longer any question about who was truly benefiting from that war.)

One thing I haven’t mentioned but which is extremely important to me is the vision that Maul and Ezra have toward the beginning of the season, aka….the twin suns of Tatooine. This vision was reconfirmed once again in the most recent episode, during that Mortis arc-esque moment on Dathomir, when Tatooine and the twin suns appeared in the green smoke-like mist (very much a direct reference and contrasting parallel to the scene in TCW when Anakin has the anguished vision of himself as Vader as the image of the helmet appears in the sky above him.) Both Maul and Ezra conclude that this vision points to Obi-Wan Kenobi, whom it appears they will now both be seeking out (for very different reasons, obviously).

However, because Ezra was seeking the ‘key to destroying the Sith’, *MY* personal takeaway is that the vision actually points to the person Obi-Wan is protecting and watching over from afar…..aka, none other than Luke Skywalker. I’ve always interpreted the twin suns to be symbolic of Anakin (the dark sun) and Luke (the light) – and, combined, together they do indeed provide the key to destroying the Sith. That ‘key’ is none other than the love between a father and a son, which is what is needed to redeem the The Chosen One so he can finally fulfill his destiny.

Now, how this is all going to pan out in *Rebels* remains to be seen. But it seems highly likely that we will be visiting Tatooine and seeing Obi-Wan at some point in the near future. (Perhaps a confrontation with Maul is in store, though I admit that would disappoint me somewhat as I’d rather not see a rehash of Obi-Wan vs. Maul, aka the Duel of the Fates from The Phantom Menace, but hopefully I will be proven wrong and it will turn out better/differently than I expect.)

As Tatooine and its connection to the Skywalker saga is one of the most important and beloved SW subjects for me, I have to admit that the possibility of seeing something related to this on-screen in the ‘new canon’ makes me extremely nervous. (After TFA, I just don’t trust Disney anymore with the Skywalker saga and prefer them to leave my beloved Skywalkers alone!!) But I *am* trying to trust in Filoni, who at least seems to truly understand and care about *all* the SW characters, not just his own creations, and who thus far has contributed some extremely memorable moments to the SW universe in general, both in TCW and now in Rebels.

*** Original post here.