June 20 was the Season Two premiere for Disney’s first outing with Star Wars as an animated show. The kickoff was decent but nothing terribly revealing other than Darth Vader appearing and giving the two low-end Jedi Knights a serious ass kicking. What was impressive is they managed to land James Earl Jones to provide the voice.
As for the first season, Rebels was impressive across the board. The guests, the plots and the foreshadowing of what we all know from first trilogy.
This show takes place five years before Star Wars; I refuse to call it by any other name, anyone with an IQ over 75 understands the difference between the first movie and the franchise. Initially, the story begins on the remote world Lothal which is also in the Outer Rim like Tatooine. There Ezra discovers he’s not alone in annoying the large Imperial presence but instead of just stealing food to get by, these five people (droids included) are highly organized and they go after big targets, namely the military installation on Lothal. What makes Lothal different from Tatooine, this planet has a factory that constructs the iconic Imperial vehicles.
The saboteurs’ co-commander Kanan convinces the others to allow Ezra to join the crew of The Ghost (their main vessel) for a couple reasons. Firstly, they always help anyone in need and Ezra is an orphan, where else can he go? Secondly, Kanan is a former Jedi apprentice and he senses Ezra’s potential; the Clone Wars prevented Kanan from graduating past his padawan stage. Rounding out the crew are co-commander/pilot Ursa, demolitions expert Sabine, all-around grouch/tough alien Zeb and cranky astromech Chopper (designation C1-10P). The opposition is twofold. To investigate the validity of a possible Jedi problem is The Inquisitor who can use the Dark Side yet isn’t powerful enough to be a Sith Lord. To eliminate the Rebel problem is Agent Kallus, he’s a soldier of sorts but operates outside the Imperial command structure.
The episodes consist of missions to cripple the Imperials on Lothal, mercy runs to give supplies to a nearby Tarkin Town (a Star Wars version a Reagan Ranch) and Ezra learning more about the Force through Kanan. All the while, the characters learn to trust each other more and reveal their secrets or motivations which led to them to fight against the Empire.
What makes Rebels cool is Disney poached the key people behind Clone Wars so the pacing is brisk much like how the latter show became before cancellation. They also decided to change the look and base it more upon concept artist Ralph McQuarrie’s earlier designs: Zeb was an early Wookie, the helmets of Imperial vehicle operators are flat and humanoid droids bear stronger resemblances to Maria from Metropolis. The cameo voices were cool too: Pee Wee Herman as a shuttle pilot (he’s the pilot on Star Tours), Billy Dee Williams for Lando, Anthony Daniels for C-3P0 and Phil Lamar as Senator Bail Organa (Clone Wars).
More surprises happened near the end and many are expected in this upcoming season. I recommend the show if you’re a huge Star Wars fan or in my case, a recovering one. Dave Filoni and crew have been rebuilding my faith in the franchise I used to love via the cartoons. Mavel Comics has helped too.