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Star Wars Rebels: How Does the Force Really Work? (spoilers for everything Star Wars)


Corvinus85

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It would have been less of a filler episode if the Imperial control ship hadn't been destroyed, and allowed Thrawn to narrow his search further. And, I too, could have done without AP-5's last scene. Next week I believe we'll get Maul v. Obi-Wan.

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46 minutes ago, red snow said:

I might just skip this episode. I don't like AP-5 as I'm too distracted by the fact he sounds like Jemaine Clement in "flight of the conchords" mode doing an impersonation of Alan Rickman. And I've yet to be entertained by the light hearted droid episodes.

Despite being focused on the droids, I didn't find much light heartedness in it...

And I'm betting next week we get Maul, Tatooine, a chase, and the final scene cliffhanger that is the same shot of Obi-Wan we keep seeing in previews...the fight will be the week after...but they've surprised me before...

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I enjoyed this one still tbh. The 'anything you can do, I can do better' bit landed for me. Maybe that's because I like Chop and AP5 more than R2/C3PO - I like R2, but 3PO's comedy just annoys me.

I'm also not assuming the destruction of the control ship actually saved them - there aren't many episodes left and it may have been streaming its back up to Thrawn in real time. Much like the first AP5 episode last season, I think this is actually an important plot episode disguised as filler. I mean this season we have Tatooine and then Thrawn attacking/destroying their base - unless he finds the location in the first half of that episode, or it happens entirely off screen, there just isnt any more episodes for it to happen anymore. I'm expecting a superb home run now, even if I doubt it can top last season for me due to the Ahsoka/Vader feels.

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On 3/13/2017 at 8:37 AM, red snow said:

I might just skip this episode. I don't like AP-5 as I'm too distracted by the fact he sounds like Jemaine Clement in "flight of the conchords" mode doing an impersonation of Alan Rickman. And I've yet to be entertained by the light hearted droid episodes.

Daaaamn! Now I know why that AP-5 voice sounds so familiar! It is totally a mediocre Alan Rickman impression. 

On 3/13/2017 at 6:44 AM, Jaxom 1974 said:

It wasn't a bad episode, per se...

And as to the kids show discussion up above, Hera sure doesn't give to much regarding Empire lives, does she...?

Agreed, it isn't a completely bad episode. This felt like it should've been a B-Story in another episode; it could've been better parsed down. And no lie about Hera being savage af. (That power surge destroying an entire ship was one of the most far-fetched things I've seen on this series so far though. )

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I'd call it a homage not an impression. Specifically Rickman's Marvin from Hitchhiker's. And it's not like they've tried to pretend its just a coincidence, which is why I call it homage.

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7 hours ago, karaddin said:

I'd call it a homage not an impression. Specifically Rickman's Marvin from Hitchhiker's. And it's not like they've tried to pretend its just a coincidence, which is why I call it homage.

They've clearly stated it's supposed to sound like him. The weird thing for me is that it sounds more like Jemaine Clement.

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just watched the droid episode and I'm gad i did - i thought it was pretty good. There was a "weird" vibe throughout the episode with AP5 doing songs from earth as bookends and the chilling "Don't mess with my droid" Hera. It was like the opposite of 80s cartoons where the characters laugh about something with Hera joking about killing several people. The Empire's IT department were also surprisingly effective but that might be because I like "evil bureacracy" in the sense those are the only people who could make the empire work. Vader and co are more like blunt instruments/propaganda tools but Vader could never keep the empire working.

 

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Sign me up for pro-episode side. 

I don't find AP5 funny (Chopper, yes, AP5 - no), but what they were doing in this episode was different enough to be interesting. Normally it's the bad guys who underestimate the droids - this time, the everything was flipped. The heroes ignored AP5's warnings, while the Empire were ready to identify a droid as the threat right from the start. 

Chopper, who's record so far might incline viewers to think that he should be put in charge of the Rebellion, got wiped and very nearly did a lot of damage. That was another deviation from formula. And in addition, the episode seemed to touch on the question on the status and nature of Star Wars droids: SWR mostly just portrays them as cute metallic humans or as killing machines without personality. But this time we briefly just saw Chopper being (temporarily) erased. He didn't get a say in it. It was a reminder that he is an it.

At the same time, it could invite comparisons with other sudden turns. Is falling to the Dark Side rather like being reprogrammed? 

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The Empire's IT department were also surprisingly effective but that might be because I like "evil bureacracy" in the sense those are the only people who could make the empire work.

Yeah, that was good. I have no interest in Thrawn as a character, but I quite like the "Thrawn effect" i.e. imperial minions in his zone of influence get +3 on competence. 

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41 minutes ago, dog-days said:

Sign me up for pro-episode side. 

I don't find AP5 funny (Chopper, yes, AP5 - no), but what they were doing in this episode was different enough to be interesting. Normally it's the bad guys who underestimate the droids - this time, the everything was flipped. The heroes ignored AP5's warnings, while the Empire were ready to identify a droid as the threat right from the start. 

Chopper, who's record so far might incline viewers to think that he should be put in charge of the Rebellion, got wiped and very nearly did a lot of damage. That was another deviation from formula. And in addition, the episode seemed to touch on the question on the status and nature of Star Wars droids: SWR mostly just portrays them as cute metallic humans or as killing machines without personality. But this time we briefly just saw Chopper being (temporarily) erased. He didn't get a say in it. It was a reminder that he is an it.

At the same time, it could invite comparisons with other sudden turns. Is falling to the Dark Side rather like being reprogrammed? 

Yeah, that was good. I have no interest in Thrawn as a character, but I quite like the "Thrawn effect" i.e. imperial minions in his zone of influence get +3 on competence. 

The Droid thing is always a contentious one for me in the Star Wars universe. Whenever they stray close to showing them as sentient beings which AP-5 (who now has dreams) and Chopper (in terms of being a pyscho) they raise the ugly spectre of this entire universe runs off slavery. That and the way Jedi kill them without any cause for concern (although jedi kill aliens so maybe not that big an issue). I try and let it slide by thinking there are levels of robotic sentience - a bit like in Westworld. Most of them are just facsimilies and have the bare essentials for function and as such at something people really engage with. But AP5 and Chopper are rarities. I assume Chopper chose to be part of the rebellion rather than just being owned by Hera? AP5 chose to join the cause from what I remember? Although this was the first episode I paid full attention to the character. As someone said upthread it was even clearer that AP5 is a tribute to the Alan Rickman robot from Hitchhiker's this episode.

 

Thrawn certainly is one of those villains who works within the cogs of system. Not just that but he does appear to utilise the vast resources at his disposal rather than force choking anyone who brings him bad news.

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13 minutes ago, Jaxom 1974 said:

That was...I'm not sure what I'm feeling yet...

Spoiler

I was hoping for a bad ass lightsaber duel, but this was surprisingly better I think. It gives a little bit of perspective on just how big of a gap there is between Obi-Wan and the rest of the regular Force users we've seen on the show this season (Kanan, Ezra, Maul) in their ability with the Force. Maul fans may not like how he went out, but it worked for me.

 

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Worked for me too.

Spoiler

And the force theme for the closing music carried such an emotional punch.

Not really a spoiler but I think it works better if you arent expecting it.

 

Spoiler

I think they managed to make it an excellent send off for someone who started as the silent kick ass villain of George Lucas and evolved into probably the most tragic dark sider. I half wanted to see him looking to team up with Kenobi, but that was always going to be too far for a character consumed by hatred - this was the perfect halfway point. Still trying to kill Kenobi but able to see their ultimate common cause in defeating the sith as he lays there dying in Kenobi's lap. Finishing off with the force theme left me really sorrowful.

 

And for some comparisons of QGJ and Maul's endings - http://i.imgur.com/8zJYkI4.jpg

Filoni really likes the small symbolism. There is also a great break down of the tiny movements of the fight on reddit.

 

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It was excellent. 

All that buildup and then a three second fight. It really shows how powerful is Kenobi.



The only thing I didn't like is that they replaced James Arnold Tayler (who played Kenobi in The Clone Wars and sounds almost exactly like Ewan McGregor) with someone else for Kenobi's part. And he didn't sound at all like Kenobi



Hoping for a big victory of Thrawn in the final episode. Time for rebellion to have a heavy defeat and then for Palps to send Thrawn into unknown regions thinking that the rebellion is over. If the rebellion defeats Thrawn, we riot.

 

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I've read the CBR and Nerdist reviews and both seemed to be heavily in favor, with the minor exception being the essential shoe horning in of Ezra...which I think was my main issue as well, which isn't THAT much of an issue.  

Both articles referenced the lightsabres...and acknowledged the artistry of what went down with them, with the music, with the scenery and animation, and that final moment...

As for Kenobi's voice, he was an excellent representation of Sir Alec Guinness, which makes more sense for Rebels than having him sound like Ewan McGregor during the Clone Wars...

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I really loved the episode, but it did seem a bit rushed. This is a story that could have been better served having a two episode arc. I really would have liked to spend more time with both Maul and Kenobi with Ezra. 

 I am now thinking that Ezra probably will not go full dark side by the end of the series.

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I realized the fight was going to be a short one, when I saw them do their stances. Rogue One, and prior Rebels episodes showed how badass Vader really is, now they did the same with Kenobi, thus allowing for their duel in the original movie to be believable (choreography aside).

I'm not sure how Ezra knew that Tatooine was the planet he needed to go to, but besides his role in this, I thought the episode, and Maul's end were well done. I hope we get to see Palps again, or some other character that Sam Witwer can voice, because he is too good not to have him in this show.

I, too, hope that Thrawn beats the Rebellion, but maybe gets killed or severely injured in the final confrontation. Rogue One was made based on the first paragraph in the original film's title crawl, but in that paragraph it says that the rebels scored their first major victory against the Empire, so before the battle at Scarif, the Rebel Alliance should not have any major victories. Therefore if they attack Lothal with their full fleet, it should be a defeat.

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21 hours ago, Jaxom 1974 said:

That was...I'm not sure what I'm feeling yet...

Same here - it went down so quickly I wasn't sure what I really saw at first. Rewatched it later in the day and I think it works in terms of the fight scene. It just feels a little anticlimactic given the time building it up - not so much the fight but the interactions between Maul, Kenobi and Ezra. Good opening, good ending not so sure about the other 15 minutes given the importance of the episode.

It certainly reinforces the idea that Kenobi had no intention of winning that final battle with Vader. Although I also like the nod to samurai/martial arts films where the true masters never have long drawn out fights - when they are that good both of them play out the variables first so that each has the quickest outcome in mind.

Ser Scott will be glad to know he apeared to be cut down the middle this time - clearly taking out his vital organs for his species' body plan. Or did he???

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I loved the confrontation between Obi-Wan and Maul. It was a good sequence and felt like an appropriate end for Maul. The fight itself was great and I liked how short it was when it played out. That felt like a great homage to the samurai-movies that inspired George Lucas.

On the other hand, while it was a good end, it was also a bit disappointing. I feel like there was still a lot of potential that could be had from Mauls still being out there a bit longer. After his great introduction at the end of season 2 I had big hopes for Maul in Rebels and high expectations that they completely failed to capitalize on. It just felt a bit anticlimactic.

And lastly, Ezra shouldn't have been in the episode at all. It should have been just Obi-Wan and Maul the entire episode. Instead we got just a little bit of that and instead got to see Ezra trek trough a desert for the majority of the run-time. It was great example of how the need to always involve the Ghost crew can hurt an episode.

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3 hours ago, GallowKnight said:

After his great introduction at the end of season 2 I had big hopes for Maul in Rebels and high expectations that they completely failed to capitalize on. It just felt a bit anticlimactic.

I read in an interview the other day that they originally planned to have Vader kill him in that season two episode. They wanted to focus on Ahsoka instead so he was spared. 

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5 hours ago, GallowKnight said:

And lastly, Ezra shouldn't have been in the episode at all. It should have been just Obi-Wan and Maul the entire episode. Instead we got just a little bit of that and instead got to see Ezra trek trough a desert for the majority of the run-time. It was great example of how the need to always involve the Ghost crew can hurt an episode.

I wondered if this was to have the Ghost crew be able to tell Leia where to look for Obi-Wan, but then I remember Bail sent her for Obi-Wan and he already knew he was on Tatooine.

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