REVIEW: Star Wars Rebels "Iron Squadron"
You know, Star Wars Rebels has introduced a lot of different characters that are either allies or part of the Rebellion. Yet, we hardly ever see them. We haven't heard back from Quarrie, the person who designed the B-Wings since early in season 2. Remember Zare Leonis, the fellow Imperial cadet on Lothal that agreed to be a spy for the Ghost crew? Yeah, he hasn't even been mentioned since his episode all the way back in season 1. Plus, Wedge just joined and we haven't seen him pop up again. I know that the Rebellion needs all the people they can get. However, what's the sense of introducing them if they hardly ever get used again? I bring this up because Rebels this week spent another episode introducing us to new allies, in which they might never show up again.
The Ghost is leading a rescue operation to get anti-Imperial citizens off a distant world called Mykapo when they see a beaten-down freighter being chased by an Imperial patrol. They end up working together to defeat the patrol and it is revealed that the crew of the ship is called the Iron Squadron and that their goal is to fight off Imperial forces from their planet for the good of its citizens. Sound familiar? It should, because this crew is basically a younger, more disorganized version of the Ghost crew. However, the similarities don't end there however.
The leader of this, "Iron Squadron" is named Mart, who is revealed to be the young, long-lost nephew of Commander Sato. Now, Mart, he is essentially Ezra at his absolute worst. I tend to go back and forth with my opinion on Ezra, as do most fans, and I feel like this character was made to make the audience feel appreciated Ezra doesn't act like. He is way more stubborn than at any other point with Ezra. He's annoying and doesn't listen to anything at all. I know what you're thinking. Well, isn't that basically what Ezra was like and still occasionally does act like? No, he is much, much worse. I know the argument is that he is young and doesn't realize what the true scope of the situation is like. However, it is still aggravating as an audience to watch that play out.
Even, his other two crew members, Gooti and Jonner, the latter of whom I personally found to be more annoying as shit than Mart, found out the error of their ways faster than Mart. Basically, we spent the entire episode watching the misadventures of an angsty teen group try to fight the Empire.
Meanwhile, Thrawn shows up again and orders Admiral Konstantine to deal with the Iron Squadron. However, he limits the resources the admiral can use. This is basically another one of his tests that he has for the Rebels. He sees their strategy and yes, he does let them get away at the end again. I know what he is trying to do. I know he is trying to bait all of the Rebel cells come out of hiding to strike them all down. I know that he is trying to think of the bigger picture and it does make sense from a military standpoint. However, once again, it does sting a little from an audience standpoint that all we have seen from Thrawn so far, a fan-favorite character, is do some dramatic speeches and tests. I know a lot of fans are starting to get frustrated with how they are using Thrawn. At this point, he really needs to have a victory. He really needs to strike fear into the Rebels and lower their morale. This is Thrawn, one of the biggest villains in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. I know that this is a kids show, but show something that highlights the cold, harsh, calculating personality and strategy that he is known for.
Anyway, as you might expect, Mart, the idiot that he is, gets trapped by Konstantine as the rest of the Rebels are forced to retreat. The Rebels eventually do come back for him. Konstantine has a mine but on Mart's ship to try and blow it up and the Ghost at once, which I admit is a smart plan. However, the Rebels, through some maneuvering, manage to remove the mine and are able to escort it and blow up Konstantine's ship. Yeah, that's another thing too, I feel like that the Rebels' plan went by way too easily with hardly any hiccups at all. I know the Empire aren't that smart, but their not idiots either. Eventually, Commander Sato arrives with reinforcements and rescues them. The Iron Squadron are taken back to the Rebel base where they join the Rebellion.
Now, was there anything I liked about the episode? Well, I thought the action was entertaining. It was also revealed that Sato and Thrawn know each other and have history because they address each other at the end. That I thought was a cool tease for the future. Also, I have to say, when Ezra tries to talk sense into the Iron Squadron, he made a lot of good points.
Overall, I didn't hate the episode but I didn't think it was good either. I don't know why, but season 3 is really losing steam. After a promising start and massive hype, the season is starting to go through a long stretch of filler, just like the other seasons. I know that there are more interesting stories to tell that will be told by why put effort into mediocre episodes like these when you can put them into stories that fans, including myself want to see. These include actual real dynamics with Thrawn, Maul, actual stuff dealing with Mandalorians, stuff with the Jedi and Ahsoka, or the actual real struggle of trying to maintain a Rebellion and fighting a massive Empire.
P.S., next week's episode is going to be an episode dealing with Hondo and Azmorigan, the annoying pig gangster...OH BOY!
