REVIEW: Star Wars Rebels "The Mystery of Chopper Base"
I know a lot of people are not really caring about this episode because they just want to go straight towards the season finale. I can understand that mindset, but, in all honesty, this episode, while, yes, another filler episode in theory, was actually pretty entertaining. In fact, about 85% of the episode is just one giant action sequence. Does that make the episode good? Well, in most ways, yes, it does.
We see the rebellion in the process of establishing their new base on the distant planet Chopper found last week. The planet is dry, hot, full of canyons and sand, and filled with giant spider-like creatures. Yeah, not the most ideal place for a base, but you know, they will have to take what they can get. Anyway, Hera and Sabine watch Kanan train Ezra in lightsaber combat with the latter getting frustrated him always losing or tying. Remind me to go back to both Hera and Ezra later.
Kanan and Ezra is going to leave soon with Ahsoka to Malachor and deal with the Inquisitors, but in the meantime, they are there to help them work on the base. It is this part of the episode that is the calm part before the shit really hits the fan. Sabine and Rex decide to look after a rebel pilot that went missing. It is then that the two and attacked Rex gets kidnapped. Weird, since it was implied that the pilot died by the creatures...plot armor.
Now, from here, the rest of the episode plays out very straightforward, so I will go over the main story first then go over the minor details later. Kanan and Zeb come just in time to save Sabine and the rest of the group decide to go after Rex. I will say that overall, the action was really great and there were many great moments of suspense. I also like the designs of the spider creatures themselves, they are both menacing and their weakness, which is their eyes, is very limited, which makes killing them challenging for the group.
The group goes through the caves, which was heavily inspired by the Clone Wars episode with the zombie Geonosians. Yes, I said zombie Geonosians. Regardless of that, they find Rex and the group leaves the caves and attempt to leave on the Ghost. However, the spiders hold the ship down with web so the crew has to find a way to escape.
The action is cool in this sequence but it did lead to my only real complaint with the episode. It was established, and even Sabine saw it earlier, that the creatures are afraid of the sensors placed by the rebels and won't go near it. It was then surprising that it took Sabine that long to realize, hmmn, let's only the sensor in some way to escape! I know they were under stress in all, but still, think, damn it, think.
Anyway, they do use the sensor to distract the beasts while Kanan and Ezra cut the ship free. The plan works and the rebels and Rex are able to escape. The next day, the rebellion puts sensors all over the perimeter of the base. Finally, after all season of looking, the rebels finally have a stable base...for now.
Ok, now let's talk about Hera and Ezra. First, for Ezra, like I mentioned earlier, he got mad always losing to Kanan in sparring matches. What made things more complicated for him was that he was unable to connect to the creatures at all, no matter how hard he tried. Obviously, he is getting arrogant and prone to frustration, which may lead him down a dark path in the future.
Now, to Hera. She was visibly upset the entire episode because of the idea of Kanan and Ezra leaving for a while on a dangerous mission. She said that she always wants to be there to fight alongside him. Oh, damn it Hera, just admit that you have feelings for him, because I know for sure he has feelings for you. I mean, it wouldn't hurt for you two to be in a relationship. It wouldn't put you two in any more danger than they already are, and it's not like there's a Jedi Order to watch over this type of stuff anymore. Regardless, the do share a long, touching hug at the end that was easily the emotional highlight of the week.
Like I said, yes, was this a filler episode until the finale, yes, but it was a pretty good one. Honestly, I only had one real nitpick with the episode, otherwise, I thought it served its purpose well. The rebellion has its base, one major storyline of the season is closed. Now, the other storyline, the moment we've all been waiting for. It is time. Please, please, don't be a dissapoint finale, PLEASE!
