Star Wars Rebels

Does anyone else watch this great series?

Thoughts?

I've binge watched my way to about half way through the first season today. I've heard it kicks off big style in season 2 so I'm well looking forward to it.

Hera ftw.

I kind of want to, but I've also been wanting to get through The Clone Wars first. I'll probably have the urge to continue binge watching again soon, and then I think I'll be ready to move on to Rebels!

I think one day I'll attempt The Clone Wars, but there were quite a few seasons so it was daunting to think I might be on it for months. That said, I really really do want to see the Ahsoka arc, so I'll have to delve in at some point!

Does Rebels follow on from Clone Wars, then? I must admit, I would like to see more of Ahsoka's story, she was one of the more interesting characters in Clone Wars.

It is set 13 years after RotS

Rebels is absolutely worth a watch, particularly if you liked the Clone Wars as this is more or less a continuation of it with references to its events and characters although one can watch it and enjoy it even without having ever watched a single episode of the Clone Wars. The crew of the Ghost gets fleshed out well, and you learn some surprising things about each of them. More importantly even seemingly insignificant events from so-called "filler" episodes come back in big ways in later episodes, making it all feel very cohesive. I guess this is part of the Greg Weisman touch as he did contribute to the series for the first season. :)

The series has some very interesting appearances from characters of the Original and Prequel Trilogies as well as the Clone Wars, and their inclusion in this or that episode always makes sense considering where they're supposed to be at this moment in the Star Wars timeline. Although the series does have a somewhat lighthearted adventure feel at times, it also doesn't shy from darker, horrific events, which makes me liken it to the balance of light and dark stuff in A New Hope. It's interesting to see how the series recanonizes certain events, locations, characters and races from the old Legends continuity while making a new spin on some of them.

The animation's quite smooth and, much to my delight, takes a lot of inspiration from Ralph McQuarrie's stylish concept art for the Original Trilogy in the design although at times I feel the characters emote a bit too much.

Kevin Kiner's score continues from his work for the Clone Wars and, despite using synths most of the time, is quite beautiful and pays tribute to John Williams's and even James Horner's style most of the time while still doing its own thing the Kiner way. However, there's one scene with incidental music that resembles an 80s rock song which is quite jarring (you'll know the scene when you see it in Season 2) and makes me wonder why they didn't have another take of it to have it fit better into the SW universe. I do like how Kiner juggles themes from not only the PT and OT but also CW in the score while introducing new themes for the protagonists and antagonists of the series, tying them all together into the larger SW musical tapestry.

At times the characterization can be a bit off, and I'm not fond of making certain characters feel powerful and skilled at the wrong times such as having a character survive an attack which would've killed any other mook, or have what should be a more inexperienced character win a duel against a hardened war veteran. What also irks me is the handling of Stormtroopers who are depicted as less of a threat to the heroes unless they show up in big numbers; it's as if the makers didn't even watch A New Hope closely to realize that the Stormtroopers' seemingly bumbling actions on the Death Star were all part of the plan to let the Rebels escape to reveal the location of their hidden base, and how they could be deadly when needed. The series's handling of Inquisitors, Vader's Jedi-hunting agents, also leaves a bit to be desired although they do manage to be menacing at times; I just feel that the story could've done more with them than what we've been shown although at least they provide a few interesting twists to the story. Aside from these, the antagonists do manage to get the job done at times when required and when those moments of dread take place in the story, the heroes will feel it as each of such events raises the stakes a whole lot. Thankfully the series doesn't fully rely on black&white morality; certain heroes and antagonists thankfully receive shades of grey during the seasons, which makes their interactions all the more interesting and entertaining.

Voice acting is, as expected from the standard set up by the Clone Wars, top notch. All the actors do a great job, and it's delightful to hear certain people from the PT and OT in particular reprise their roles from the films. There's a moment in S2 in particular where a character suddenly gains an accent while having a very emotional debate, and this tidbit alone reveals so much about said character's past and how they view the person they're talking to in a subtle but welcome manner. It's little touches like that which really help the narrative and makes the characters interesting and relatable.

I should also point out that the finales for both S1 and S2 have been quite good, leaving the narrative at points where you can't wait to see what will happen to the characters next. It's clear that Dave Filoni and company have plotted out a bigger arc spanning multiple seasons and tying the narrative to events that will lead to A New Hope, but how that all plays out in the end remains to be seen. Rebels also appears to follow the Clone Wars formula of a next season becoming better than the season preceding it as the team gets more comfortable with telling stories with this cast of characters with the technology and budget available to them.

So yeah, if you have any interest in events leading up to A New Hope and seeing how the Rebels were formed as well as how the adventures of this band of misfits tie into it, I recommend checking out Rebels. Just remember that just like the Clone Wars, it may take a few episodes for the series to find its footing before you see what it's really all about. :)