LttP: Star Wars Rebels

[SolVanderlyn]

At first, I really wasn't too keen on this show. Season 1 was pretty rough, and seemed written for a younger audience than the later seasons of Clone Wars. I could also feel the "Disney sheen" on several of the characters (Sabine being a hipster Mandalorian girl with dyed hair and a graffiti theme going on, Zeb and Ezra's antics feeling childish, etc.) which put me off. There are some things I liked from the beginning, though, like Kanan's character, the time period, and the linear storytelling.

Safe to say the series kept getting better. The characters really do grow throughout the four seasons. Story threads from Clone Wars are continued or wrapped up in very satisfying ways. Ahsoka being more mature, Maul being a creepy evil mentor to Ezra, Ezra growing from Space Aladdin to a real Jedi, Ezra slowly taking over the leadership role from Kanan, the small rebellion growing into the one we know from the OT. All good stuff.

Stuff I really liked:

-Everything with Ahsoka and Vader
-Ezra's growth from Season 3 onward
-Maul
-Seeing what happened to Rex and company (I even like that they tried to retcon Rex into beard guy from Episode VI)
-The planet and world design
-The space/time world Ezra goes into was really cool
-Hera was a very down to earth and likable character, and also the first Twi'lek I've really enjoyed being on screen
-Thrawn and the Inquisitors were very satisfying and threatening villains

Stuff that was not so good:

-Forced cameos like Wedge and Lando
-Chopper and Zeb could feel a bit TOO cartoony a lot of the time
-The art style for the lightsabers was a bad call - the toothpick design doesn't do it for me
-Takes too long to really get going
-Has a lower ceiling for greatness than Clone Wars overall

All in all, though, I enjoyed my time with it at the end of the day, even if I did find myself zoning out during some of the less amazing episodes.

 

[H.Cornerstone]

At first, I really wasn't too keen on this show. Season 1 was pretty rough, and seemed written for a younger audience than the later seasons of Clone Wars. I could also feel the "Disney sheen" on several of the characters (Sabine being a hipster Mandalorian girl with dyed hair and a graffiti theme going on, Zeb and Ezra's antics feeling childish, etc.) which put me off. There are some things I liked from the beginning, though, like Kanan's character, the time period, and the linear storytelling.

Safe to say the series kept getting better. The characters really do grow throughout the four seasons. Story threads from Clone Wars are continued or wrapped up in very satisfying ways. Ahsoka being more mature, Maul being a creepy evil mentor to Ezra, Ezra growing from Space Aladdin to a real Jedi, Ezra slowly taking over the leadership role from Kanan, the small rebellion growing into the one we know from the OT. All good stuff.

Stuff I really liked:

-Everything with Ahsoka and Vader
-Ezra's growth from Season 3 onward
-Maul
-Seeing what happened to Rex and company (I even like that they tried to retcon Rex into beard guy from Episode VI)
-The planet and world design
-The space/time world Ezra goes into was really cool
-Hera was a very down to earth and likable character, and also the first Twi'lek I've really enjoyed being on screen
-Thrawn and the Inquisitors were very satisfying and threatening villains

Stuff that was not so good:

-Forced cameos like Wedge and Lando
-Chopper and Zeb could feel a bit TOO cartoony a lot of the time
-The art style for the lightsabers was a bad call - the toothpick design doesn't do it for me
-Takes too long to really get going
-Has a lower ceiling for greatness than Clone Wars overall

All in all, though, I enjoyed my time with it at the end of the day, even if I did find myself zoning out during some of the less amazing episodes.

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Just watched it this year as well, and I agree it never hits the highs of clone wars, but also, it's much more consistent and never hits the lows of clone wars either.

Plus, Chopper is the best.

 

[rafox]

The highs doesn't reach Clone Wars levels and the lows are lower then the CW lows.
But has it's moments!

 

[BennyWhatever]

I enjoyed my time with Rebels. Your pros/cons match mine pretty closely.

It definitely took a season or two to get going, but I did enjoy it after that. The highs were very close to Clone Wars highs. The lows weren't awful - just dull more than anything.

 

[Hella]

I loved it from the start, mostly for all of the worldbuilding it was doing. Rebels really goes out of its way to show how dire things are in the Empire, but also how it was ultimately self-defeating. Then when the later seasons got so much better it cemented itself as my favourite non-movie SW media thing ever; it takes what TCW sets up and runs with it to overwhelming success.

Rebels is a must-watch.

 

[Mathieran]

I liked it better than clone wars overall.

 

[Ravelle]

It has a rough start and the art style isn't my jam but everything else is top tier Star Wars, fantastic characters, character developments and story near the end. Plus it has thrawn.

Also CHOPPER

I liked that grump mumble droid so much.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

I hope if they bring Ezra back for live action in the Ahsoka series he has Kanan's hairstyle. That would be a nice touch.

I wasn't a fan of his buzz cut look. A shame he becomes a better character after a bad haircut.

 

[Kharnete]

-The art style for the lightsabers was a bad call - the toothpick design doesn't do it for me

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To me that's just part of one of the best things of Rebels: using Ralph McQuarrie's original concept art for Star Wars at any opportunity they could. And they did it *a lot*.

Lightsabers, Darth Vader helmet, the "long neck" Star Destroyers, the Jedi Temple in Lothal, Lothal itself as the original Alderaan, A-wings... and more, much, much more. Hell, even two of the main characters are old designs for R2D2 and Chewbacca:

 

[Godfather]

Sabine, Hera, Kanan, and most of the antagonists were great characters. Ezra started really bland but improved massively by the end of the show. Zeb had potential and was good in his few backstory episodes. Chopper was annoying, like nearly every other droid companion has been. Wish they'd stop forcing this.

 

[Sheepinator]

I loved it. I've never seen any Clone Wars, is that worth a watch? I guess I was put off by it being so close to that garbage trilogy.

Shout out to Tom Baker. His voice was perfect in that role.

 

[StreetsAhead]

I think it's good, not great. The writing was mediocre and I feel like the animation and format really held it back from being something special. The high points, like Ahsoka v. Vader and Maul v. Obi-Wan, are moments in which the heavy lifting was done entirely by The Clone Wars.

 

[StreetsAhead]

I loved it. I've never seen any Clone Wars, is that worth a watch? I guess I was put off by it being so close to that garbage trilogy.

Shout out to Tom Baker. His voice was perfect in that role.

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If you enjoyed Rebels then you should really enjoy Clone Wars. It builds on the prequels quite well and Anakin's portrayal is what it should have been in the movies.

 

[thediamondage]

I watched both Clone Wars and Rebels this year after Mandalorian season 2 and imo thought Rebels was better than Clone Wars. Season 1 was pretty meh and Ezra was annoying but the characters really grew and the stories got super interesting in the last 2 seasons. A lot of characters shown as well that are expanding in live action series so thats really cool and neat.

Enjoying Bad Batch so far as well, its nice to have so much decent Star Wars

 

[Fj0823]

Rebels was Filoni on a Disney XD leash and he still delivered a pretty good show that brought a lot to the lore of Star Wars.

That said it's absolutely not his best work

 

[Gravidee]

I loved it. I've never seen any Clone Wars, is that worth a watch? I guess I was put off by it being so close to that garbage trilogy.

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Most people here will tell you that it's the best thing to come out of the PT. The final four episodes in particular contain some of the finest moments in the franchise period. And the current animated series The Bad Batch is an immediate follow-up to the events of TCW and ROTS, depicting the transition from the Republic to the Empire.

 

[dang0]

I'm one of those weirdos who prefers Rebels to Clone Wars. I like the focus on a smaller cast rather then hopping perspectives over a dozen characters. And a lot of Clone Wars felt like a slog with arcs way longer then they needed to be. At least in Rebels if theres a particular episode I'm not fussed on, its only one episode rather then 3 or 4.

 

[onpoint]

I have to say I very much agree with the main post.

The only thing I'd add is that I absolutely hated Hondo Ohnaka, can't stand Jim Cummings work, and the character did nothing but make whatever episode he was in worse. Thankfully his involvement was slight and slim.

A shame he becomes a better character after a bad haircut.

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A fate many endure in real life haha

 

[VAD]

I loved when season 2 began and marked the end of child's play. People can now die and Vader is not her to fuck around.
Overall it was good but not as good as the masterpiece known as Clone War season 7. The art style sucked for characters that appeared in Clone War not named Ahsoka.

 

[Fj0823]

I loved when season 2 began and marked the end of child's play. People can now die and Vader is not her to fuck around.
Overall it was good but not as good as the masterpiece known as Clone War season 7. The art style sucked for characters that appeared in Clone War not named Ahsoka.

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But Old man Rex looks great

 

[Gunny T Highway]

Rebels was Filoni on a Disney XD leash and he still delivered a pretty good show that brought a lot to the lore of Star Wars.

That said it's absolutely not his best work

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It is at least better than Resistance. But it was clear from the get go even that series was aimed towards an even younger audience.

 

[Mcfrank]

I would say I like Rebels more than Clone Wars because it is way more consistent and I like the more serialized nature of it. Both are good shows though.

 

[tidewatersouthern]

I was hoping that Resistance would follow the Rebels model and start out aiming for a (slightly) younger audience and mature as the series progressed, but alas, that wasn't the case.

 

[sml_x]

I loved Clone Wars and tried so hard to like Rebels, but Ezra never stopped being insufferable to me.

Also the combo blaster/lightsaber felt like a betrayal of Obi-Wan's "civilized weapon" speech. And don't get me started on the lightsaber helicopters.

The Ahsoka stuff was good, I guess.

 

[Fj0823]

This is still one of Filoni's absolute best season finales though.

 

[VAD]

But Old man Rex looks great

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Ah yes, he did. Kinda bummed they turned Gregor, the badass Clone Commando into a kooky old dude.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

Ah yes, he did. Kinda bummed they turned Gregor, the badass Clone Commando into a kooky old dude.

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TBH, I didn't even remember him from Clone Wars. I had to look him up. Wolfe I did remember

 

[Gravidee]

Also the combo blaster/lightsaber felt like a betrayal of Obi-Wan's "civilized weapon" speech.

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I think the point of the hybrid was that it symbolized the times he was in, where he had to do whatever he could to survive/get out of a sticky situation. Hence as someone growing up on the streets it was the perfect weapon for him and doubled as an upgrade for his old slingshot. Having it double as a stun blaster also made it less obvious as a lightsaber, both in public and in combat as we saw when the Grand Inquisitor was briefly startled by Kanan using both functions against him.

You could see the green lightsaber Ezra eventually got as him no longer needing to rely on old tricks and simply trusting in the force now.

 

[tidewatersouthern]

I think the point of the hybrid was that it symbolized the times he was in, where he had to do whatever he could to survive/get out of a sticky situation. Hence as someone growing up on the streets it was the perfect weapon for him and doubled as an upgrade for his old slingshot. Having it double as a stun blaster also made it less obvious as a lightsaber, both in public and in combat as we saw when the Grand Inquisitor was briefly startled by Kanan using both functions against him.

You could see the green lightsaber Ezra eventually got as him no longer needing to rely on old tricks and simply trusting in the force now.

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That fight where Kanan uses Ezra's saber was so good, especially from the moment Kanan thinks Ezra's dead, the "No one left to die for you/I have nothing left to fear" exchange, and the way Kanan disarms the Grand Inquisitor. Even the way the Grand Inquisitor dies is a boss moment that sets the stage in a grand way for Vader. For me, that arc at the end of season 1 was when the show came into it's own. Season 2 pays that off. "Call to Action" through "Fire Across the Galaxy" is simply great Star Wars.

 

[sml_x]

I think the point of the hybrid was that it symbolized the times he was in, where he had to do whatever he could to survive/get out of a sticky situation.

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By this logic why doesn't everyone with a lightsaber during this period have them? The inquisitors especially, it's not like they were bound to some code of honor.

The fact that you could just punk your adversary with a close range blaster shot if they blocked your blade takes away all of the mystique and reverence for the lightsaber as a weapon.

 

[Astro Cat]

I agree with most of your high/low points. It never reached the level of Clone Wars for me, but it was still mostly enjoyable after Season 3. I definitely had some problems with those lightsabers and the dumbest looking wookies ever though.

 

[tidewatersouthern]

The fact that you could just punk your adversary with a close range blaster shot if they blocked your blade takes away all of the mystique and reverence for the lightsaber as a weapon.

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I think the point is that Ezra doesn't have the built in reverence and respect for a lightsaber that every other Jedi/Sith character we'd met up to that point has. It's a "stuck between two worlds, afraid to commit one way or another" type of weapon.

It's like if a Samurai made a sword with a pistol for a hilt. It might be an effective weapon, but it would probably be looked down upon by their peers.

 

[Lionheart360]

One thing that bothered me was the reluctance of the main characters to use their lightsabers LIKE ACTUAL SWORDS. Every time Kanan and Ezra fight stormtroopers, they either deflect blaster bolts, disarm their blasters, or kick/punch them. The only time I remember Ezra actually killing stormtroopers via slashing was in the series finale.

This also seems to be a problem with TCW S7 and potentially even the Bad Batch. Ashoka's reluctance to actually kill any Mandalorians directly (she would just slash their jetpack) in the Siege of Mandalore was quite jarring compared to her willingness to behead mandos in S4. I get her reluctance to kill the 501st on the ship later on in the arc as it's explained by the story, but in the Bad Batch, Depa Billlaba didn't even try to kill her clone troopers and instead just disarmed them/deflected blaster bolts similar to Rebels.

I wonder if Disney has put limits on the amount of lightsaber violence allowed to be shown in future star wars animation.

 

[Auros01]

This is still one of Filoni's absolute best season finales though.

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Absolutely. Twilight of the Apprentice, to me, is one of the highest highs Star Wars (from any medium) reaches. That closing montage almost brought me to tears the first time I saw the episode.

In general, the like the mini-arc approach more from Clone Wars but Rebels ended up being more impactful for me. Reason being is I missed the initial airing of the Clone Wars and I just had to binge it over Netflix. I followed Rebels a little more regularly, so I remember it better and, honestly, I think most of the characters are pretty great. I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Zeb and Kallus and how it evolved over time.

 

[tidewatersouthern]

One thing that bothered me was the reluctance of the main characters to use their lightsabers LIKE ACTUAL SWORDS. Every time Kanan and Ezra fight stormtroopers, they either deflect blaster bolts, disarm their blasters, or kick/punch them. The only time I remember Ezra actually killing stormtroopers via slashing was in the series finale.

This also seems to be a problem with TCW S7 and potentially even the Bad Batch. Ashoka's reluctance to actually kill any Mandalorians directly (she would just slash their jetpack) in the Siege of Mandalore was quite jarring compared to her willingness to behead mandos in S4. I get her reluctance to kill the 501st on the ship later on in the arc as it's explained by the story, but in the Bad Batch, Depa Billlaba didn't even try to kill her clone troopers and instead just disarmed them/deflected blaster bolts similar to Rebels.

I wonder if Disney has put limits on the amount of lightsaber violence allowed to be shown in future star wars animation.

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I don't think Star Wars has much of that (lightsabers slashing living beings) in general. The only occasions in the OT I can think of is Obi-Wan in the bar in ANH, Vader vs Luke in ESB, and Luke on the sail barge in ROTJ. In the prequels it's mostly droids, outside of the Geonosians in AOTC and Anakin killing the Separatist leaders in ROTS. Deflecting blasters is pretty much a go to for this sort of thing, and it doesn't really stand out to me.

I'm not saying Disney doesn't have some sort of censorship in effect - they probably do, but what they do show isn't far off from what Star Wars has always been.

 

[VAD]

TBH, I didn't even remember him from Clone Wars. I had to look him up. Wolfe I did remember

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Gregor was in the Droid Squad arc. I think most people skipped it because it felt like filler but it had surprisingly moving scenes.

 

[Lionheart360]

I don't think Star Wars has much of that (lightsabers slashing living beings) in general. The only occasions in the OT I can think of is Obi-Wan in the bar in ANH, Vader vs Luke in ESB, and Luke on the sail barge in ROTJ. In the prequels it's mostly droids, outside of the Geonosians in AOTC and Anakin killing the Separatist leaders in ROTS. Deflecting blasters is pretty much a go to for this sort of thing, and it doesn't really stand out to me.

I'm not saying Disney doesn't have some sort of censorship in effect - they probably do, but what they do show isn't far off from what Star Wars has always been.

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Order 66, in particular, is just jarring in animation compared to how it was handled in live-action with Obi-wan and Yoda in the Jedi Temple and on Kashyyk. Also, the escaping Jedi padawan at the temple when Bail Organa arrived is a good example.

 

[Gravidee]

By this logic why doesn't everyone with a lightsaber during this period have them? The inquisitors especially, it's not like they were bound to some code of honor.

The fact that you could just punk your adversary with a close range blaster shot if they blocked your blade takes away all of the mystique and reverence for the lightsaber as a weapon.

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It sounds to me like you're simply more attached to the traditional idea of a lightsaber than one that accurately reflects the character of the one who built it. Instead of asking why does it exist you should be asking why did Ezra build it and not anyone else that we've seen thus far. The show answers that for you.

 

[sml_x]

It sounds to me like you're simply more attached to the traditional idea of a lightsaber than one that accurately reflects the character of the one who built it. Instead of asking why does it exist you should be asking why did Ezra build it and not anyone else that we've seen thus far. The show answers that for you.

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I completely understand why they did it thematically, I just thought it was stupid and was one of those things that starts to tug at the consistency of the entire saga. It was a cheap gimmick and an early sign that this series just wasn't for me.

Every new Star Wars property that feels compelled to come up with some crazy new lightsaber (see also the helicopters) gets further and further away from Obi-Wan's original description of its simplicity and elegance, and to me that's a bummer.

 

[Tavernade]

When Rebels was firing on all cylinders it's one of the best Star Wars anything ever, and it's a shame it very rarely pulled that off outside season finales and the final season.

My issue with it was mostly that it was very clear what its boundaries were and the writers never really seemed to write around them. Lots of dull planets and barren battle stations and none of the heroes can die so eventually you just feel bad for all the poor stormtroopers getting killed by a bunch of people standing in the middle of a room with no cover. Tonal issues everywhere too.

Clone Wars maybe had worse episodes here and there but they tended to be episodes that went for something crazy and didn't pull it off, whereas Rebels would trip over itself screwing up the tone/action in a very basic plot.

But dear lord that last season was good, and everything with Thrawn was pretty great too. Once shit got real and they went back to free Lothal I'm not sure any run of TV Star Wars was as consistently good as their last batch of episodes.

Also really loved Bendu.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

One thing that bothered me was the reluctance of the main characters to use their lightsabers LIKE ACTUAL SWORDS. Every time Kanan and Ezra fight stormtroopers, they either deflect blaster bolts, disarm their blasters, or kick/punch them. The only time I remember Ezra actually killing stormtroopers via slashing was in the series finale.

This also seems to be a problem with TCW S7 and potentially even the Bad Batch. Ashoka's reluctance to actually kill any Mandalorians directly (she would just slash their jetpack) in the Siege of Mandalore was quite jarring compared to her willingness to behead mandos in S4. I get her reluctance to kill the 501st on the ship later on in the arc as it's explained by the story, but in the Bad Batch, Depa Billlaba didn't even try to kill her clone troopers and instead just disarmed them/deflected blaster bolts similar to Rebels.

I wonder if Disney has put limits on the amount of lightsaber violence allowed to be shown in future star wars animation.

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This bothered me too. Every time a lightsaber was pulled out it seemed to be used very sparingly. There were a few exceptions, though, mostly in Season 4 as far as I noticed.

I hope it was a Disney XD thing because it was really frustrating to watch. Although the Bad Batch episode with Depa not killing her clone troopers made sense because they were her allies a second ago

 

[Dyno]

It's an oddly hard watch that's worth it's time. It's almost as if the first series is doing its best to stop you watching before it gets good. You could say the same of clone wars to an extent but honestly I feel like this is even rougher at the start. However when it does get into its swing it's pretty good.

 

[tidewatersouthern]

I hope it was a Disney XD thing because it was really frustrating to watch. Although the Bad Batch episode with Depa not killing her clone troopers made sense because they were her allies a second ago

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I just finished the second episode of Bad Batch, and while there was one clone that moves a bit after being shot in the shoulder, there were a lot of clones that Hunter shot and likely killed in that episode. He was practically going John Wick during the last sequence. Is there a difference between shooting someone with a Blaster or stabbing them with a lightsaber? Not really, but it sounds like something people might joke about with inconsistencies coming from network notes.

 

[GenTask]

I've been thinking about buying all the seasons on blu-ray since they are relatively cheap, unlike the clone wars which are incredibly expensive or out of print. I read that characters from the new Thrawn trilogy I'm reading show up in it.