REVIEW: Star Wars Rebels "Flight of the Defender"
Like I mentioned previously, while these two episodes are part of the same story arc, they are considered separate episodes, that's why I'm reviewing them separately. While the Occupation was more about seeing the changes that has happened to Lothal, this episode, Flight of the Defender, is mainly about showing off the new Tie Defender model, as well as setting the stage for storylines later in the season.
The episode starts out with the crew split up to monitor the new Tie Defender base. Two things that I thought throughout this episode, one, Lothcats are adorable. Two, Kanan, Zeb, and Hera have really been under-used these last two seasons. I know Ezra and Sabine are supposed to be the main characters with the most "marketability," but still, the other three characters, especially Kanan, really hasn't had that much time to shine in the spotlight. Yes, Kanan had a nice arc on how to "see" with his blindness, but he really hasn't had that much development since them. The same thing goes for Hera. I'm not saying to scrap Sabine and Ezra, but they take up the most screentime again this episode and it would have been nice to see the other three more involved.
Anyway, we get our first look at the new Tie Defender, and, well, it's bad news for the Alliance. It has a navi computer with hyperdrive, improved shields and durability, and missiles. Sabine and Ezra sneak into the outpost/base to steal information from the fighter. Two stormtroopers get distracted chasing Lothcats. Remember last episode when I said the Empire was inept?
This leads to the appearance of Governor Pryce and Grand Admiral Thrawn. It's good to see him again in his first proper appearance this season. He's hear to see the test personally but it doesn't take long for Ezra to get spotted and all hell breaks loose. It's an entertaining sequence to see how powerful Ezra has become to where he can take on a squad of troopers by himself. I also like the moment where Ezra just casually waves to Thrawn and he doesn't seem phased by it at all.
This eventually leads to Ezra and Sabine to steal the Defender and Thrawn basically takes advantage of the situation and uses this as a test to see how the fighter works. This is why people love Thrawn, he's able to come up with a strategy on the fly and make it seem like it was all part of his master plan all along. The actual fighter sequence is cool as well but eventually the Empire activates the ship's kill switch and the two crash land on the ground.
It is here where we see the first appearance of one of the most intriguing aspects of the season from the trailer, the Lothwolf. It's no secret that Filoni loves wolves, so the fact that wolves are not only a part of the season, but also a storyline for the season is something only he would come up with. At first Ezra is the only one that can see it, which makes me think only he, or at least only force users can see them. However, Sabine sees it for a second before being put to sleep by it. Sleep sleep, not death. This leads to a moment that I really loved and was my favorite part of the episode. The wolf leads the two away from Imperial patrols and back to the Rebel camp. The moment to me felt like something straight out of a Hayao Miyazaki anime film, which, if you are familiar with his body of work, is a huge compliment. Who knows at this point what the wolves mean as Kanan will eventually see them at some point in the season. It is very interesting to note that the wolf can speak as says Dume to Ezra. Yes it actually says Kanan's real last name.
Overall, despite my complaints on character usage and the Empire's ineptness, I still think this episode was good and better than the Occupation. It sets a lot of unique ideas and story beats for the rest of the season and I hope the show is able to take full advantage of it going forward for the rest of the season.
