Blasters from the past. What They Say:
The Lost Commanders – Ahsoka sends the Rebel crew to find and recruit a war hero to their cause.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
After a pretty good second half to the first season and then a quite enjoyable episode this past summer that got us into the time frame more with a Darth Vader appearance, Star Wars Rebels is in a mode where it needs to hit the ground running. As we close in on the new theatrical movie coming out in a few months, lots of merchandise, lots of comics (and a Kanan comic), interest is at an all-time high. And the show really has to start feeling like it鈥檚 a part of things. It started to do that quite well towards the end of the first season and the reinforcement of its connection with the Clone Wars series was definitely a smart thing to do.
With Ahsoka now a part of things, at least on some level, she鈥檚 able to draw us back to some key pieces from the Clone Wars in creative ways. With her wanting to bring back an old friend from before to help with what鈥檚 going on here, she utilizes a bit of tech to help the crew find him, which certainly surprises them since it鈥檚 the head of a tactical droid. Starting the show off without any character reconnections is a bit rough for new viewers but it exudes a certain kind of confidence from it that people will be able to catch up, especially with some amusing nods as it seems like people never have fully working hyperdrive systems. It鈥檚 an old gag, over thirty years now, but it never gets tiring.
Finding Commander Rex and the others with him doesn鈥檛 take long, though it鈥檚 amusing that the Old Republic tank that they’re driving across the wasteland of this outer rim planet looks like the house from Howl鈥檚 Moving Castle, pared down. What鈥檚 fun is how chaotic things get quickly as Kanan realizes that Rex and the other two are clones and Wolffe thinks that Kanan is a Jedi here for revenge. It鈥檚 all actually quite understandable based on what鈥檚 gone on in the past – and especially with Kanan鈥檚 own history as we know from his comic series. The best part is just a bit of dialogue about Ahsoka being involved in all of this and how easily it draws Rex back into it all. With Rex鈥檚 long history of service and more, there鈥檚 a lot of interesting angles to play with here. Of course, it goes with some silly moments and a bit of goofiness as the troopers mess with Ezra and the gang, but there鈥檚 a nervousness about them as to what their arrival really means.
While there鈥檚 a serious threat at play here as the Empire has a probe sent to check out this world as well due to a distress signal sent, there鈥檚 some good silliness as well as Zeb gets used as bait to try and deal with a massive creature that exists underground here. The trooper wants it for food that will keep them set for a year and it鈥檚 the kind of creature that has a taste for what Zeb is. It almost has one of those knee slapping old west stereotypes going on with one of the troopers and that just adds to the weirdness of it all, though you can enjoy just seeing how these troopers have survived over the years and coped with all that went down. Some of it goes in a darker direction though as one of them, Wolffe, has kept secrets from Rex; from his somewhat regular (if delusional) contact with the Empire to not giving Rex the messages that came in for him from Ahsoka. It all ties into a decent bonding moment in dealing with the probe that gets up close and personal, but it鈥檚 all wrapped up pretty neatly while providing some new openings as well.
In Summary:
While Star Wars Rebels doesn鈥檛 have a hugely impact episode here, at least so far, it鈥檚 setting a few things into motion. What really makes me excited though is that it鈥檚 at least opening on a two-part storyline as it doesn’t all wrap up here, which it could have in a much messier way. I鈥檓 definitely glad we got some good time with Rex and the others and some nods back to Kanan鈥檚 past, which we鈥檝e read about in much more detail. I almost hope it doesn鈥檛 get animated since it would fall short of that comic book arc. There are some good tensions brought into play here and some light exploration of the various facets of the Clone Wars that works well. In the end though, it just leaves me wanting a lot more of Rex and hoping that he finds some sort of behind the scenes or more involved role in the Rebellion as it would be an interesting angle to take. It鈥檚 a solid episode overall and definitely better than most of the first half of the first season. But it鈥檚 also not the big hook needed to really capture fans that have only seen the movies.
Grade: B
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