Spinning out of the #CloneWarsRewatch comes #RebelsRewatch. As we prepare for season two of “Star Wars: Resistance,” “The Mandalorian,” “Rise of Skywalker” and the final season of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” I will continue to rewatch the animated Star Wars projects and bridge the gaps between the past and present of The Skywalker Saga. S1E1 Spark of Rebellion Part One: Recap: Five years before “A New Hope” and 14 years after the Empire took control of the galaxy, Imperial forces have come to Lothal. We meet Ezra Bridger and the Ghost Crew (Hera Syndulla, Sabine Wren, Zeb Orrelios and Kanan Jarrus) as they rebel against the Empire. Connecting the Canon The first episode opens with ships panning from a star field just like the movies do. It was a little jarring not to have the Clone Wars intro because I’ve gotten so used to that. James Earl Jones reprises his role as Darth Vader We are quickly introduced to the villain, The Inquisitor. Children of the Force must be destroyed or serve the Empire. Interesting. The Rebels intro comes after a cold open and I love that. The Empire has come to Lothal and we meet Ezra. We are immediately to understand that Ezra is force sensitive and is being guided to Kanan. At this point the Ghost crew is already working against the Empire. Hera and Kanan meet in Star Wars: A New Dawn. The style is more reminiscent of Ralph McQuarrie Hera has called Kanan “love” since episode one. The explosions of the tie fighters are gorgeous. Even Lothal is more gorgeous than I remember. We meet Agent Kallus, an imperial who is prominent in the series. Tarkintown, named for Grand Moff Tarkin, governor of the Outer Rim. His rise to power is chronicled in the novel “Tarkin.” Vizago. And Tarkintown become important to the story. Immediately, it’s great to see Ezra challenged with what his purpose is. We are introduced to a Jedi Holocron and Kanan’s lightsaber. The credits say that Chopper plays “himself.” This is a running gag. S1E2 Spark of Rebellion Part Two: Recap: Ezra finds a new home with the Ghost Crew after they rescue him from imperial clutches. Kanan Jarrus agrees to train Ezra in the ways of the force. Connecting the Canon Chopper acts as the grumpy droid for this show instead of R2D2. Ezra makes reference to Jabba the Hutt and The Emperor. A message from Obi-Wan Kenobi (reprised by James Arnold Taylor) after the end of The Clone Wars is shown from the Holocron. When Ezra says “I don’t have parents” you can just tell that Hera is a maternal figure. There are Wookie slaves on the Spice Mines of Kessel. We saw this again in “Solo” which is set 10 years earlier. This means this is the second Wookie liberation on Kessel. “Star Wars Rebels” takes place five years before “A New Hope.” Kanan is probably one of the first Jedi that the Empire has seen in over a decade. Kanan’s story is told in a comic “Star Wars: Kanan.” In the Vader comic we see the inquisitors hunting down the last of the Jedi after “Revenge of the Sith.” The animation style is a little hard to get used to after “The Clone Wars” but it’s still great. Jason Isaacs plays the Inquisitor. Opening the Jedi Holocron was a test for Ezra. “Trust in the Force…a new hope will emerge” Obi-Wan says. This is a wonderful bridge and introduction to Ezra. S1E3 Droids in Distress Recap: The Ghost Crew encounter a secret mission by R2 and C3PO and intercept a shipment of disruptors. Ezra unlocks his force abilities for the first time and the crew garner the attention of Bail Organa. Connecting the Canon We see R2D2 and C3-PO and RX-24 in this episode. R2 and 3PO are under the orders of Imperial Minister Tua, RX-24 is voiced by Paul Reubens who voiced the droid for Star Tours and DJ R3X for Galaxy’s Edge. Agent Kallus tells Zeb that he was there when his planet fell and that he gave the order to use the disruptors on his people. This is important four seasons later. Ezra learns how to use the force for the first time. We find out that Bail Organa sent R2 and 3PO on an undercover mission. This is important because we know Ahsoka is working for Bail Organa and this hints at rise of the rebellion. S1E4 Fighter Flight Recap: Ezra and Zeb are struggling to get along, so Hera sends them on a market run. They attract unwanted attention from the Empire. Connecting the Canon We meet Ezra’s friend, Morad Sumar, who we see again later in the series. Ezra and Zeb steal a tie fighter which we see again in the season finale. Ezra mentions that in some cultures when saving a life, you become their servant. We’ve seen this with Gungans and Wookies. Zeb is a Lasat. Sumar is being forced to sell his land to the Empire. The Empire takes Sumar as prisoner after destroying his home. S1E5 Rise of the Old Masters Recap: A Holonet recording shows that Jedi Master Luminara Unduli is being held prisoner. However, it is a trap set by the inquisitor to lure Ezra and Kanan into the Empire’s clutches. Connecting the Canon Kanan begins training Ezra. He recounts Yoda telling him to “do or do not, there is no try.” Kanan says that one always confused him. Kanan says “having a laser sword doesn’t make you a Jedi” which is sort of like Luke’s line in “the Last Jedi.” I didn’t realize the length of lightsaber blades are adjustable. We find out what happened to Jedi Master Luminara Unduli. Her bones are used to lure the last jedi to their ends. This is the first time we see the Holonet news. This is the first time we see the Inquisitor in action. He is able to throw and rotate his blade. This episode was important to show that Ezra and Kanan are destined to be master and apprentice. However, the scene at the end tossing rocks at the lightsaber (meant to look like tossing a baseball) is a little on the nose. Both Ahsoka and Ezra had to learn patience, but they were smart. Kaz in “Star Wars: Resistance” still has a lot to live up to. S1E6 Breaking Ranks Recap: Ezra goes undercover at the Lothal Imperial Academy while looking to steal an imperial decoder that contains the location of a powerful kyber crystal. Connecting the Canon The stormtrooper training is reminiscent of the Clone training from “The Clone Wars.” We see the Inquisitor as he is trying to secure force sensitive children, something that The Emperor was doing back when he was Chancellor Palpatine. S1E7 Out of Darkness
Recap: Sabine wants to be trusted with more information. She goes with Hera on a mission given to them by the Fulcrum. Connecting the Canon We hear the name “Fulcrum” for the first time. Hera is getting intel and taking missions from the person with this name. We learn that Sabine was in the imperial academy. I am really curious to know how much Hera knows about the rebellion at this point. Fort Anaxes and Rhydonium were both things seen in “The Clone Wars.” A lot of the music for this series is revamped versions of original trilogy familiar scores. Their ship is called the Ghost and the pods are Phantom One and Phantom Two. Clever. Hera says that they won’t always be fighting this battle alone. The rebellion is growing. BEST OF THE BATCH This week’s award for best singular episode goes to “Droids in Distress.” Getting a chance to see C3PO and R2D2 again was the cherry on top for me. Coming in second would be the “Spark of Resistance” hour-long premiere. "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" is in theaters December 20. May the Force be with you, always. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia
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PRELUDE: #RebelsRewatch – Countdown to ‘Rise of Skywalker’ & #CloneWarsSaved - Before the series9/21/2019 Spinning out of the #CloneWarsRewatch comes #RebelsRewatch. As we prepare for season two of “Star Wars: Resistance,” “The Mandalorian,” “Rise of Skywalker” and the final season of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” I will continue to rewatch the animated Star Wars projects and bridge the gaps between the past and present of The Skywalker Saga. STAR WARS: A NEW DAWN (The first canon novel)"Star Wars: A New Dawn" sees Hera and Kanan meeting for the first time. The origins of the Ghost crew start here. STAR WARS: DARTH VADER - 2017 (Marvel Comic)Not to be confused with the previous Darth Vader comic of the same name, this 2017 comic sees Vader's first steps after "Revenge of the Sith," literally. We see the origins or the inquisitors as they hunt down the remaining Jedi "Star Wars Kanan" shows the origins or Caleb Dume, who later goes by Kanan Jarrus. This is essential reading for "Rebels" fans. STAR WARS: TARKIN"Star Wars: Tarkin" tells the story of Grand Moff Tarkin, Governor of the Outer Rim, since we last saw him in "The Clone Wars." Tarkin becomes more vile than we ever thought.
"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" is in theaters December 20. May the Force be with you, always. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia |
Erick L. Graham Wood
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