REVIEW: Star Wars Season 2
In many ways, Star Wars Rebels season 2 was better than the first season as it upped the stakes at took many risks. On the other hand, similar problems from the first season still persisted through and was highlighted even more so. So, overall, this season was a very good, though very inconsistent in terms of pacing and quality.
For the first two sections, I will give one-sentence summaries/reviews for each episode in order. "The Siege of Lothal" was a very entertaining TV movie, with the highlight being Vader of course. "The Lost Commanders" was one of my least favorite episodes of the season as although seeing Rex and the clones were awesome, the overall episode was formulaic and had logic issues. "Relics of the Old Republic", the more I thought about it, enjoyed mainly for the fun battle scenes and scale of the episode. Seeing the Inquisitors in "Always Two There Are," was cool but I felt the juvenile humor brought down the episode in many ways for me. By contrast, the humor and tone of Hondo in "Brothers of a Broken Horn," made it my biggest surprise episode of the season.
"Wings of the Master" for the most part was good for its development of Hera, but it was still nothing special. "Blood Sisters" was ok, again, good backstory for Sabine, but the plot and stakes was predictable. "Stealth Strike" was a great episode with great action and interactions between the characters. "The Future of the Force" was one of the best episodes of the season with Ahsoka kicking ass and taking names. "Legacy" was another great episode because it went in a direction that I didn't expect with Ezra's parents.
"A Princess on Lothal" was a really good episode with the action and Leia's guest appearance being the highlights. "The Protector of Concord Dawn" was good, I suppose, I think. "Legends of the Lasat" was a surprising episode for me as I thought the music and animation were the highlights for once, as well as development for Zeb. "The Call" was ok, but come on, the plot was about SPACE WHALES! "Homecoming" was a disappointment for me as the story went for the cliche route instead of the more interesting option.
"The Honorable Ones" was a solid episode as it built a good dynamic between Zeb and Kallus and possibly set up a cool progression for the latter later on. "Shroud of Darkness" was a fantastic episode with great reveals and surprises. "The Forgotten Droid" was as good of an episode as you will get starring Chopper. I enjoyed "The Mystery of Chopper Base" a lot more than others for its B-movie, sci-fi action and suspense. Finally, "Twilight of the Apprentice" was not only the best episode ever for Rebels, but one of the best episodes of animated Star Wars ever.
I will talk about what I didn't like first. As you can tell, the season was inconsistent. While I never hated any episode or thought any episode was bad, there were quite a few episodes that I thought were okay. I think "the Lost Commanders", the more I think about it was the worst episode, although "Blood Sisters" was a close second. Okay, they aren't bad, but my main problem with them and a lot of other episodes, even episodes I liked a lot more, is that they follow a cliche plot, direction, or resolution. "The Honorable Ones" was a prime example of this because it had great acting and action, but followed a tired and run-down story arc instead of going an entirely unique direction.
Also, while the episodes focusing on Hera, Sabine, and Zeb are appreciated, they are still not as developed or fleshed out as Kanan and Ezra. Again, they aren't bad characters. They are still likeable. They just aren't as detailed. Finally, the show still has a hard time balancing its humor and setting a particular tone and story thread. Seriously, you follow the Jedi-centric episode "Shroud of Darkness" with the Chopper episode?!
However, let's talk about what I liked, as it outweighs the bad. As mentioned before, even the worst episodes of the season I didn't flat-out hate. I still like the main cast and I think they have great performances, great chemistry, and play off each other well. Again, I also appreciated all of the backstory and attention given to the other members of the Ghost crew. The show also gave a lot of past moments from stories not told, which will keep fans guessing and speculating. Also, when the show nailed it, the show nailed it.
When the show wanted emotion, comedy, drama, suspense, and surprises, it nailed it with flying colors. The animation was a major improvement over the last season, and the music was great as well. The season had great action and when the show actually took chances and took surprises, it really left caught me off guard. Seriously, I did not expect what happened to Kanan to happen. Also, while I don't mind the show being kiddier than Clone Wars, I do appreciate when Dave Filoni and the team makes the show go darker in tone. Finally, "Twilight of the Apprentice" was just practically near-perfection.
Finally, let's talk about the villians. The two Inquisitors, were ok. I liked the Seventh Sister, mainly due to her being voiced by Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Fifth Brother, was, eh, he looked intimidating, I guess, even though he was even clumsier than Savage Opress. However, while they were cool, they didn't show up another to make that make of an impact and when they did they always got out-smarted or defeated. I didn't expect their deaths however. The Eighth Brother, as it turns out, was confirmed to have died in the finale, so, yeah, he lasted long.
Vader, I mean, it's Vader, and his fight with Ahoska and his dynamic with Ahsoka were highlights of the season. Finally, with Kallus, I'm glad they left him at a state where he is considered leaving the Empire because I thought it was done well and it gives more complexity to a character who was starting to get stale.
So, overall, I think that season 2 was a better season than season 1. I thought the action and animation was better, and the show did have many surprises and lingering threats for the future...aka...Ahsoka, Maul, and Dark Ezra. However, the season was still held back by tone and quality problems throughout, which need to be addressed for the future. Do I think the show is still good, yes. Do I think the show still has room for improvement, yes? Do I think the show has great potential for the future and makes me excited for what comes next, absolutely yes!
