REVIEW: Star Wars Rebels "Wolves and a Door"
You remember what I've been saying over the last few weeks? That the show is building towards something that will change how we will view the lore of Star Wars as a whole? Well, was I right! These two episodes tread new ground that really wasn't explored much in Star Wars Legends, let alone the new canon. These two episodes will forever change how we view the galaxy of Star Wars, and has the potential to lead to brand new stories and experiences on a brand new scale. Yes, a show I once called too safe and not taking risks...just blew the lid off of what I thought the force is capable of.
The episode picks up right after the end of Dume, with the Ghost crew going on a mission to the Lothal Jedi Temple. The crew gets a ride from the wolves, who, through what can be described as the cosmic force, goes through a portal of some kind where voices and images from the series flashes forward. This both works as a pseudo recap of the series in a way, as well as showing a tease of what is to come later.
It was still "trippy" as hell, and in a good way. I like when Star Wars goes beyond what is expected of us. The Force is truly something no person, in universe or out, has fully understood.
Eventually, the crew make it to the temple, where they find out the Empire is scavenging the resources from the location, as well as trying to find a way inside to find out its secrets for the Emperor. The Empire is led by an adviser to the Emperor named Veris Hydan. As far as one-off villains go. He's not too bad. He's not as cruel as others in the Empire, and, like Thrawn, he is determined to finding the deeper meanings behind what he finds and collects. He is bound determined how to get inside the temple, no matter what.
Ezra and Sabine go undercover to find out how to get in as well, while Hera, literally gets the encouragement to move forward from Kanan. Now, I don't think he's a force ghost per say, but I think he is, like I mentioned earlier, part of the cosmic force now, so he is able to interact with others in a way, which we will discuss later.
OK, how is the Emperor? Well, he's only in one scene this episode and one scene in the next episode. However, he does make the most out of both appearances. Ian McDiarmid returns to voice the character, and he is great, as you would expect. His goal, as you can imagine, is to learn the secrets of the temple to use the knowledge to bend the galaxy to his will. Again, next episode we will discuss it more.
Eventually, Ezra and Sabine find "the entrance" to the temple, via a painting of the Mortis force wielders. For those that don't remember them from the Clone Wars, they are basically the representation of the light side, dark side, and the force itself. They tested Anakin during the Clone Wars to see if he was truly the chosen one. They are said to be all-powerful and were probably around since the force began.
Well, as it turns out, the painting serves as the key to opening the temple, and the lothwolves, which are on the painting, show the way inside. This leads to a great sequence where real 2D animation is used in the creation of a portal that Ezra enters at the end. Again, this is something I personally have never seen from Star Wars, so my mind was blown, which would only be the beginning.
I know this episode's review may seem a little vague. Don't get me wrong, this episode was really good. However, it is truly only a taste of what is to come in the next episode, a World Between Worlds. Despite that, the animation was good, there were good performances, and moments that I never expected to see in Star Wars.
