In August of 2020, we spoke with author Amy Ratcliffe about all things ‘Star Wars’ (https://bit.ly/2FHuCoB), and had a follow up chat in November of 2020 (https://bit.ly/33ACDVn)on the Theme Park Thursday podcast. In that episode, Frank admitted to having very limited knowledge of both ‘The Clone Wars’ series and, especially, ‘Rebels’. A goal was set to watch the latter prior to the Second Season of ‘The Mandalorian’. So, here we are with Season Two of ‘Rebels’ complete and Frank’s stream of conscious blogging in full effect.
You can read the Season One review HERE!
“Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader?!?!” – The 4 Year Old, 10/4/20
To quickly recap… The 4 Year Old has seen Episode I & IV, and parts of VII. It’s still possible she has not yet connected Anakin to Luke and the BIG reveal may still leave an impact. TBD.
My favorite parts of Season Two of Rebels has been seen through her eyes; not falling for the Maul as Jafar as the old man luring Aladdin into the cave of wonders, noticing the growth of Sabine through the subtle changes in appearance, locked in on Hera and her father’s relationship (!).
Maybe because I am a big fan of exposition (I still defend The Phantom Menace as my favorite of the prequels after all), I preferred Season One to Season Two. That is not to say that Season Two wasn’t good – it was – it was better than good. The episodes came out of the gate swinging and closed with a bang. The Vader – Ahsoka showdown was complete fire. I have only watched a selection of The Clone Wars but was shocked at my own level of investment in the characters. I also found the close proximity of Vader and Maul exhilarating.
The middle portion of the season, slow by comparison, was necessary for the development of the few of The Ghost. The Zeb and Kallus survival episode stood out amongst the Sabine-centric, Hera-centric, and Chopper-centric episodes. Episodic animated series have not been my thing during my adult life (which I count starting at age 30), and I continue to be impressed at how Rebels has lured me in and made me care about these characters.
Two things brought me back into Star Wars as a teenager, Star Tours and the original Timothy Zayn trilogy. So, I am very excited for what’s to come. But I also find it curious that I did not mention Kanan and Ezra’s arc… until now…
