Star Wars Rebels (and other Star Wars)

[Ravenhull]

Anybody else here is watching Star Wars Rebels? I just started a few weeks ago, and have just caught up. It's been enjoyable, and I really like the team, especially the ladies on The Ghost. Not without some flaws, but still pretty good.

One of these days, I may have to go watch The Clone Wars.

[Tenjen]

the recent episode had a lot of references to the clone wars series. The green girl was a child rescued by two of the named clones in it, infact she's wearing one of their armor pieces on her one shoulder

[Artemisia]

I've loved how this past season they have been going into depth on the characters' backgrounds and not just Ezra's. Hera being the daughter of a famous Clone Wars general, background on Zeb (truthfully, I love finding out his people were not wiped out and that his home planet was a colony. I think stories of 'the last of X race' tend to paint one into a huge corner. They have a behind the scenes series on YouTube, btw. They answer like a question a week. Sometimes two.

Yeah, someday I'll need to watch Clone Wars. Originally, they were kind of reluctant about bringing in the Clone Wars stuff, but that really changed during this season. They've talked about possibly bringing back a few characters who were lost Revenge of the Sith. The one thing I'd love to know is how this all fits into the movies. What happens to the crew after Return of the Jedi. Have Kanan and Ezra forged their own path and abandoned the Jedi ways? They make it clear that while Jedi and Sith are the most common followers of the Force, the rest of they aren't the only path to following the Force.

[Dirty n Evil]

Yup, I've been watching this since the first episode myself. Like Artemisia, I like how this season they've been going into the backgrounds of each of the characters too... and I also like how they've lampshaded the "last of his kind" aspect of Zeb. The one character I think they dropped the ball on was Sabine Wren - personally, I think she has a fantastic character design (really strong color choices) and a slightly enigmatic personality. However, the episode where they touched on her own history didn't impress me as much. They almost did a better job on exploring the Mandalorian aspect of her in the recent episode where she snuck off with Kanan to coerce/convince the other group of Mandalorians to let the rebels pass through their quandrant.

One thing I think is quite funny is the design for Zeb. If you look at him, you realize that they've done an homage to the original Chewbacca concept sketches done by Ralph McQuarrie.


Which is why it was so funny in that early episode when they tried to pass him off as a Wookie, despite the fact that he looks nothing like one. It was a playful tip of that hat that made me chuckle.

[Ravenhull]

Personally, I love how, when they brought Vader in, they made him terrifying. That bit with him lifting up the fallen walkers almost casually... Good way of maintaining a scary villain.

[Radbaron]

I love the show, but I hate the fluctuations in quality/nuances.

The opening scene from episode one, if you consider the troopers as "dead when shot" , you have 15 deaths. Making this a very adult-themed show. It was past Clone Wars in realism where they hardly showed anyone shot, let alone injured.

But then, you get episodes like the ones involving the Governess... all talk, grand flourishes with the arms and silly clothing , naive politics that would make any first year Poly-Sci student ill. They don't seem to fit.

[Artemisia]

There are some problems when it comes to the consistency, but that can be said for any show. I think part of the problem they have had is that they painted themselves into a few too many corners and there was an awkwardness in getting out of them. Sabine is one of those spots, in fact. They made her a little too stuffed with background without really thinking "this won't really work smoothly".

Incidentally, D&E, they have used a lot of the original sketches for inspiration. The AT-AT's that we see are based off of the original designs, and so are the TIE's. A lot of the designs that they use as past generations of the tech they took from the original sketch work, if possible. Some things like the Stormtrooper armor, they haven't, obviously.

I love that they've used Vader so little. That really keeps him a solid villain.

[Ravenhull]

Some cosplay I have seen on Tumblr:




And some Sabine fanart...

[Ravenhull]

Apparently this is from the officially linked comic for Star Wars Rebels. I am sure the Kanan fans would appreciate it:


Edit: More shots from this issue:

[Ravenhull]

So, any thoughts on "The Honorable Ones". Seems to me that they are setting Kallus up to go rogue. I don't see him as the type that would join The Rebellion, but I could see him going rogue, but saying that he supports the idea of the Empire, but that the current state of the Empire needs fixing.

[Dirty n Evil]

I don't think Kallus will leave the Empire - I think this latest episode was simply to show that despite being a villain he's still a normal person. He has a motivation for his actions, he thinks he's doing what's right. The furthest I'll go is saying that this might be a set up for a future episode where Zeb and Kallus have another brief head-to-head and Zeb tells Kallus he has to trust him... which at the last second, he does. Kallus strikes me as the sort of person who believes in maintaining order, and that if the rebellion could only see that if everyone played by the same rules it would be best for everyone. The problem being (that Zeb pointed out), Kallus doesn't ask enough questions as who's making the rules.

Maybe I'm being more critical than I should because it's a kid's show, but it felt just a bit too heavy handed for my tastes. That, and the trope of stranding two secondary characters from opposite sides for an episode is something I've seen done on more than one show.

[Tenjen]

JJ fanart is the best fanart.

I felt the same as DnE. Even on the "stranded enemies" bit, which i remember even when i was in single digits.

[Artemisia]

From what the crew has said about the episode and Kallus, he is going to stay a villain, but I think that this episode was more to underline the fact that the Empire is this cold, forbidding place without the camaraderie and friendship that we see in the Ghost and the Rebellion. This episode was also designed to give more depth to the villains, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see more about the Inquisitors in the long run. (Btw, the female Inquisitor is played by Sarah Michelle Geller, which I didn't know, and her hubby is the voice of Kanan...) Yes, it was heavy handed in many ways, but I think it showed something that was sorely lacking with regards to Kallus, and that was depth. He's gone from being a stock villain to a villain who has motivations. While he believes in the Empire and in Order, I doubt that he feels that the slaughter or enslavement of whole populations is good or even right.

[Ravenhull]

Well, Season 2 of Star Wars Rebels is over with a big flourish... At least one fanfic idea I had was blown out the window without it needing a LOT of modifications.

But I enjoyed it, and looking forward to Season 3.

MAJOR spoilers below:

Once again, they did a good job of showing just how powerful the higher trained force users were, with Maul kicking Inquisitor ass, Vader being as meanacing as ever, and Ahsoka able to go toe-to-toe with him whereas Kanan and Ezra were utterly outclassed.

And is it just me, or did Vader watch Megamind, and used that knowledge of how to show that he wasn't just a villain, but a super villain. That entrance just screamed "Presentation!!!!"

Kinda sad to see the Seventh Sister gone, she was such a fun villain, full of menace. And the way she died was quite brutal. (Apparently Sarah Michelle Geller, when she hired on for the role, had one rule, Kanan (voiced by her husband) couldn't be the one to kill her.)

[Artemisia]

I never thought that Iron Bull would kill her...but wow....bringing back Darth Maul (who was resurrected in Clone Wars, for those who don't know)...and the rest of the episode. I want S3 to start ASAP! I hope that Ahsoka isn't gone, but I am sad to see the Inquisitors die.