REVIEW: Star Wars Rebels "The Siege of Lothal"
Well, goodbye Lothal...for now. Yes, after this movie premiere, the crew of the Ghost was forced to go on the run and leave the planet behind. This is what this premiere was like too, a goodbye to the old format and storytelling of the show and moving onwards to bigger and better adventures. Of course, getting to that point, while it had its ups and downs, was still a fun experience.
The episode starts out in familar territory, the Ghost and its crew trying to steal some supplies from the Empire. Only this time, they are aided by another Rebel cell called Phoenix Squad commanded by Ahsoka and a new character named Commander Sato. They win of course, however, things are not that simple afterwards. The crew of the Ghost, specifically Kanan and Hera, are divided on whether or not they should get involved in this larger rebellion as Kanan wants to continue the life they were doing before. I can see both sides of the argument and I do feel that Kanan not wanting to be apart of an army again is understandable. However, I wish that this was fleshed out a little bit more in the episode as it is only brought up a few times more. Maybe it will be a theme brought up throughout the season.
We then cut to Lothal, where under Darth Vader's authority, is put under a strict military state. Minister Tua, the annoying female leader of the planet is being pressured to find the rebels or face severe consequences. She then, for some reason, sends a transmission to the freaking Rebel Network and actually wants them to escort her off planet in exchange for information. Ok, I dont buy how quickly she will willing to defect from the Empire, or how stupid the rebels were to allow the transmission and go after her.
The rebels then sneak back to Lothal and make their way to Tua's location. One thing that I noticed throughout this premiere was that there were a lot of callbacks to the original films. I wont name them all, but lets just say me and my friend who I was watching the premiere were easily able to spot them out. It got a little old after awhile. Anyway, Kallus and his troops attack the group and Kallus himself blows up Tua's shuttle and blames them for the murder which is actually a pretty smart plan if I say so myself.
The rebels escape and decide that in order to escape their best option is to go to the main Imperial station to find a shuttle. They explain in better. Along the way, Imperial troops find out where Ezra's parents old house was and destroy it, truly representing that there is nothing left for him on Lothal and that the crew have to leave the planet for good, which actually comes up later when Vader orders Tarkintown destoryed and has the refugees taken prisoner. They then make there way to the base, find a shuttle, and then all hell happens from there.
Vader shows up in the flesh and starts fighting Kanan and Ezra. Lets actually talk about Vader for a second. James Earl Jones voicing him again is fantastic and the creators of the show really brought his mannerisms, personality, and fighing style to life once again and do it really well. Sure, the actual fight itself isnt the best in the show's history and everyone is able to escape, but it was nice to see Vader kick ass in a fight again.
Later on, with the help of Lando, once again voiced by the smooth and suave Billy Dee Williams, escape the planet to the Rebel fleet, only to not realize until it is too late that Vader let them escape and put a tracking device on the ship. Um, Hera and Kanan, are you stupid, how can you not expect that the Empire would put a tracking device on the ship. Vader then single-handingly fights the entire Rebel fleet and fighters and destroys most of the fighters and the capital ship. It was an awesome sequencee with the best part in my opinion was when Ahsoka figures out through the force that Vader is Anakin Skywalker. Although she didnt tell the others, she still was heartbroken and will hopefully be a big part of her character arc this season.
In the end, the remants of the fleet are able to escape, but the results are still an Imperial victory all around. The Rebel fleet is scattered and on the run, Lothal is seized, and the Empire is in hot pursuit. Kinda similar to Empire Strike Backs, huh? Well, the Lothal crew decide to go on their own and Vader talks to the Emperor about Ahsoka. He orders him to capture Ahsoka to help them lure any surviving Jedi and also orders another inquisitor to chase the crew. Yeah, the stakes are higher than ever.
Overall, despite some nitpicks, the premiere was still pretty solid. Vader and the action was great, it was refreshing to see the Empire actually win in the end on this show, and the groundwork for the main plot and focus for this season is laid out well. With that being said, why the ass would they release this movie now only for them to not actually start the season until the fall? Its stupid.
