I’ve been slower than most fans to embrace Disney’s take on “Star Wars.” Even though “Star Wars Rebels” features “Clone Wars’ “ executive producer Dave Filoni in one of the drivers’ seats, I still resented the end of “The Clone Wars” and felt bad for all the talented Lucasfilm folks who were laid off in the Disney takeover. And indeed, the Mouse’s tighter purse strings were evident in “Rebels’ ” first season, from the emptiness of Lothal’s streets to Ezra’s hair being cartoonishly still even when he hangs upside down.
But the Season 1 finale’s revelation that Ahsoka is Rebel leader Fulcrum made me sit up and take notice, and Sunday’s hour-long Season 2 premiere “The Siege of Lothal” (the season will continue in the fall) keeps up the momentum. “Rebels” has now closed most of the gap in production values with its predecessor. This episode is an explosion of color, from the green of Hera’s skin to the blue of Ezra’s hair (which now does move in the wind) to Sabine’s tie-dyed armor to the dizzying white-on-black of a hyperspace jump. And while the streets of Lothal are still depopulated, that works well for illustrating a planet that’s under martial law (I must like this show if I’m starting to find excuses for it).
There’s still a tad too much of a “Hey kids, this is ‘Star Wars!’ ” vibe. In particular, “Rebels” is walking a fine line of sounding too much like “A New Hope.” The show should stay away from encouraging viewers to equivocate Ezra with Luke, Hera with Leia, and Kanan with Han. The “Rebels” characters will lose those matchups, even if they are fighting the Empire first (on the timeline). But the comparisons are often encouraged through the score, as Kevin Kiner – probably on instructions from Disney — regularly riffs on John Williams’ “A New Hope” work. At least these are new recordings that mesh with the action, being slightly rougher and more energetic.
In an instance of the producers jumping at the chance to reinvent story points for the new Disney timeline, we see a Phoenix Squadron of A-wings (which Darth Vader mostly wipes out in a delicious space battle sequence). In the old EU, A-wings didn’t come off the assembly lines until “Return of the Jedi” (although “Droids” blurred the line with its supposedly “prototype” A-wings).
I think Tua’s mysterious suggestion of Lothal’s importance might also be a rewriting of EU lore: I suspect the planet is for some reason crucial to the Empire’s construction of the Death Star. Perhaps it boasts a vast mine of Kiber crystals that are needed to power the superlaser.
A lot of the Season 2 premiere is an exercise in giving fans what they want, resulting in scenes that are cool but predictable, like Kanan and Ezra taking on Darth Vader. Appropriately, Vader merely toys with them, pushing them away with the Force rather than engaging in a volley of saber clashes, as if he wants to learn more about the pesky Ghost crew before killing them. I like how Sabine gets a couple shots off at Vader (I’m reminded of Leia in “Splinter of the Mind’s Eye”), then nearly gets killed by the ricochets.
“Rebels’ ” writers have done a decent job characterizing the Ghost crew, but the sextet gains another level of legitimacy simply because Ahsoka is working with them. The show is in a difficult spot, though, because fans want to follow the Ahsoka-Anakin plotline, but neither of them are main characters. And even as a “Clone Wars” fan, I’d argue they shouldn’t be main characters. With every cool moment of fan service, “Siege of Lothal” makes the “Star Wars” universe feel a little bit smaller. Under the George Lucas reign, we wouldn’t always get what we wanted – for example, a “Droids” cartoon instead of a Luke-Han-Leia cartoon – but all those little pieces made the galaxy seem vast.
Still, let’s talk about those cool moments. Some reviewers have taken it for granted that Ahsoka feels Anakin specifically through the Force – just as he feels her through the Force – but I’m not sure. I think it’s possible she merely feels a powerful Sith lord; as far as she (and everyone else except Vader’s inner circle) knows, Anakin is long dead, so her brain might not even go there.
Then, via hologram transmission, Vader tells the Emperor that Anakin’s apprentice is still alive, in a parallel to his communication about “the son of Skywalker” in “The Empire Strikes Back.” Vader likewise wonders if Obi-Wan might also be alive. One oddity in this scene is that we don’t see the Emperor, who by the way is now wonderfully voiced by Sam Witwer of Darth Maul fame. Probably this was just a stylistic choice by the director to focus on Vader, but it still struck me as strange.
Speaking of voice actors, I wonder if the price tag for James Earl Jones and Billy Dee Williams cut into the animation budget (Aside from Anthony Daniels, “Clone Wars” rarely used actors from the films). Still, it is nice to hear Vader and Lando sounding like they’re supposed to.
“Siege of Lothal” also makes intriguing promises to fans, much like the Season 2 trailer. While our heroes aren’t able to rescue Imperial defector Tua, it seems they do acquire her list of Imperial enemies. I suspect that might lead to the Ghost crew meeting Captain Rex, Hondo Ohnaka and other “Clone Wars” favorites. The Emperor also instructs Vader to sic a new Inquisitor on the Ghost crew. I suspect this Inquisitor will be Barriss Offee. It would be a perfect way to continue Ahsoka’s emotional arc from her last “Clone Wars” arc – where Barriss tried to frame Ahsoka for the Jedi Temple bombing – while also delaying the Ahsoka-Vader showdown.
That’s a good thing because, let’s face it, as much as Disney’s cancelling of the Expanded Universe opens up new possibilities, we know that inevitable meeting will not go well for Ahsoka.