REVIEW: Star Wars Rebels "Through Imperial Eyes"
Well, right off the bat, let me just say that even though there wasn't any grand action scenes in the episode, Through Imperial Eyes has to be one of the most interesting and tense episodes of Rebels to date. Opening up to a literal first person view of Agent Kallus, this episode explores the nature of his role as a spy and later on explores the inner workings of some of the top Imperial commanders including Thrawn.
The episode opens with Ezra, in the disguise of a bounty hunter, getting captured and sent to Kallus' ship. This is one of the first times in the episode we see how Kallus works both sides and does a pretty damn good job of doing it. I'll admit, in the early episodes of Rebels in season 1, I wasn't the biggest fan of Kallus. I thought he was just a slightly more intelligent Imperial officer. However, since his bonding episode with Zeb in the Honorable Ones and his reveal as Fulcrum, he is quickly become one of the most interesting and well-developed characters on the show. You can see why he would want to help the Rebellion and his work and what he does is really interesting and nerve-wrecking to see what he will do and wonder if he will get caught.
Without giving everything away, because I want viewers this week to actually see this episode with some of what Kallus does a secret to them, let's `just say, how Kallus works the system to get Ezra to safety and trick the Imperials would fool anyone other than the most knowledgeable Imperials.
One of those Imperials was Admiral, or should I say Colonel Yularen of the ISB. Yes, the character, who was first seen as a background character A New Hope, made his return to animation after being a recurring character in the Clone Wars. As a fan of the show, it was a nice treat to see another character from the show make a reappearance and it makes sense in the timeline.
He helps a lot in the episode with the investigation of Fulcrum and you can tell through his years of experience that something is up and if something doesn't feel right. However, his skill is nothing compared to...
GRAND ADMIRAL THRAWN! While the main focus of the episode was on Kallus, this to me, was Thrawn's shining moment so far as a villain. We've known for awhile that he was a gifted tactician and thinker, but this is were it truly became apparent. The way that he conducts himself, the way that he studies everything from his enemies, it all comes together to create a character that is always one step ahead of everything. This all culminates in a chilling and badass moment at the end of the episode where he privately reveals to Yularen that he knows Kallus is Fulcrum but will use that information to their advantage. That moment right there cemented Thrawn as the best original villain of the show.
P.S., Thrawn, do you even lift? We see him fight assassin droids multiple times this episode and yeah, the dude is ripped.
Other than that, for this episode I really don't want to give too much more away. I know I normally don't do that but I really want people who haven't seen the episode yet to see all the twists and turns. Yes, I gave away the ending with Thrawn but I didn't say how he came to the conclusion. Other than that, I'll see that I enjoyed Ezra a lot in this episode and I was pleasantly surprised that they gave some character to Lyste, the Officer that has been in charge of defending Lothal since season 2.
Overall, this is a fantastic episode. It was tense, exciting, and ended with me wondering what will be the next moves that both Thrawn and Kallus will make.
