Goodbye Ghosts
(This review contains
spoilers for the Rebels Series Finale!)
Star
Wars Rebels has been a weird show to say the least. I initially wrote it
off as a kid-friendly spinoff to The
Clone Wars, but after finally caving in and giving it a watch after hearing
how good Season 3 was I was met with a show that utilized the mystic nature of
the Force in several cool and creative ways, had a lot of awesome characters
(including returning fan favourites like Ashoka, Rex and Thrawn), and a great
starring cast of characters you learned to love over the years.
And now we’ve reached the curtain
call. Rebels has taken its final bow
as we prepare to move into a new age of Star
Wars TV led by Jon Favreau in a live-action setting. But was the finale
good?
For me these last two episodes essentially
sum up everything that made Rebels great
over these last few seasons. Great action, great characters, and great use of
the Force in one last battle to free Lothal from the Empire.
The first episode is the lesser of the
two if only because it’s half an hour shorter than the extended finale, but it’s
still great. Ezra’s called in help from some of the friends he’s made over the
years, including Hondo and Rex. They group up and draw Governor Price and her
forces to them, capturing her and giving the Lothwolves a delicious meal of raw
stormtrooper.
Seriously, they tore those poor
troopers apart. It was pretty brutal, especially for this show.
I especially liked how this episode
treated the last few Clone troopers. While Rex got plenty of cool moments in
the finale (as he deserves), his friends each had a nice moment too. I
especially liked Wolfe’s remark about how the Lothwolves fought just like his
old platoon. Even as someone who hasn’t seen the entirety of Clone Wars yet (heresy, I know), they
were the best part of the ending for me.
Moving onto the true finale, Thrawn
arrived to prove to Ezra he’s still boss. Knowing that Ezra managed to get all
his assets into one place away from Lothal City, he bombarded the planet, forcing
Ezra to give himself over. Ezra was met with a holo-Palpatine disguising
himself as the Senator version, and was tempted with a Force-vision of his
parents. It’s a trap even Admiral Ackbar could see a mile away of course, and
Ezra breaks free.
And then we get to see something every
single Star Wars fan has wanted to
see happen onscreen: Palpatine’s royal guards actually doing something! Turns
out they were wizards this whole time. Who knew?
The episode ends with a very Lord of the Rings eagles-esque finale
with the space whales from earlier in the series returning for one last fight,
as well as Ezra facing off against Thrawn in person. The two of them are
blasted away into hyperspace and disappear, leaving their endings completely
open ended. Personally I’m pretty okay with that. Having Ezra around in the
Original Trilogy would’ve cheapened Luke’s journey a bit, and we can’t really
have someone as brilliant as Thrawn in the movies or the Empire’s more questionable
decisions would make less sense. But they’re both too great to kill, so I’m
glad they went with the choice of keeping them out of things for a while and
going on a mysterious adventure together.
So Lothal is saved, the movies
progress as they do, and we get a nice “where are they now” epilogue. Zeb
brought Kallus back to his home planet where they’ll surely be the subject of
many romantic fanfictions for years to come. Hera had a son with Chopper
Kanan named Jacen (wink wink to all you Expanded Universe fans out there) who
shares his mom’s piloting abilities. Rex was confirmed to have fought in the
Battle of Endor, so keep an eye out for him next time you watch Return of the Jedi! He’s in there for a
quick second!
And finally Ashoka truly is alive, and
her and Sabine have left on a mission to finally go and find Ezra. It’s a great
way to close out a great series, while still leaving enough open for whatever
story Dave Filoni wants to tell next.
This was an awesome finale. Every
single character got a moment in the spotlight, but the main focus was on
ending Ezra’s story, which was handled perfectly. It was the perfect blend of
action, humour and heart, which is exactly what Star Wars needs to be.
FINAL SCORE (A Fool’s
Hope)
7/10
Good
FINAL SCORE (Family Reunion
– and Farewell)
9/10
Amazing
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