Star Wars Rebels - Season Finale [TV Review]

Rebels is the first new series set in the Star Wars universe since Clone Wars.
Like Clone Wars, it is an animated series, this time produced under Disney after their acquisition of Lucas Arts. Now, if you have not been watching it... 

Street Rat and the Artist.

 ... then I have no idea what is actually wrong with you. No idea, you crazy person.

The Finale, Fire Across the Galaxy.

5 out of 5 Stars

Star Wars Rebels as a whole,

4.5 out of 5 Stars

In all seriousness, I was mildly worried about Disney's acquisition of Lucas Film. I knew they controlled Marvel Studios, and they have done a very good job with those.

Billy Dee Williams was in the show, sadly in one of the
not so great episodes. He was great, the episode was not.

So perhaps I should have had more faith. I failed as a Jedi, this time. Disney has done a good job managing this property, and I am actually buoyed by the quality of work.

Yes, there were a few slow episodes in the season, and the season was rather short. Archer short; like 13 episodes only.  

And Grand Moff Tarkin is a big player.

Ok. Now we're going to start discussing the details of the season, and the details of the final episode. There are a few things of note, thus:

--- SPOILERS AHEAD ---

5.....

Do not read on, seriously do not do it, if you have not seen Fires Across the Galaxy.

Hera talking with her informant, Fulcrum.

4....

3...

Keep scrolling.

2..

1.

We've obviously seen some big name Star Wars characters return in Rebels. What's been even better was that  many of the voices were done by the original cast. Billy Dee Williams voiced Lando Calrissian, Anthony Daniels voiced C-3P0, Frank Oz voiced Yoda... awesome. A few voice actors carried over from Clone Wars as well. 

Moving on.

In Call to Action, the third to last episode of the season, Kanan is captured by the Imperials on Lothal. Our last living Jedi sacrificed himself to save the rest of the crew of the Ghost. The crew completes its mission, and in Rebel Resolve they set about trying to save Kanan, despite orders from Fulcrum to not pursue this reckless course of action. Fulcrum seems to be someone much more than a simple informant.

Fulcrum flat out tells Hera to cease searching for Kanan, to go into hiding, and to protect Ezra. Fulcrum tells Hera that if Ezra is caught, that hope, the hope fostered by Kanan, will die.

So Ezra, Sabine, Zeb, and Chopper decide to disobey orders and search for Kanan anyways. They do track him down, aboard Tarkin's Imperial Star Destroyer located in the Mustafar System. If that system sounds familiar, it should, that was the system in which Obi-wan and Anakin dueled at the end of Revenge of the Sith.     

A whole slew of fun occurs in Fires Across the Galaxy, with everything from the most artistic TIE Fighter you've ever seen to a typical Star Wars saber duel along a catwalk (Is that a Trope? Yes, but kinda a lame one). But the end, the very end of the episode is just fan candy. There is a brief space battle with hordes of TIE Fighters, a TIE Advanced, Imperial Star Destroyers, multiple Corellian Corvette CR-90 Blockade Runners, and some Imperial Transport Ship. This is a short battle, but it is arguably the biggest space battle we've had this season.

Vader bookends the season, appear in the extended cut of
Spark of Rebellion, and at the end of Fires Across the Galaxy.

Ahsoka Tano is back! She is a character that was, at first, not
all that great. She called Anakin, "Sky Guy," and was very
immature. As Clone Wars carried on though, she grew up, alot.
By the time she left, she was a very strong character, and
now she is back!

The Lothal Rebels escape, with Chopper piloting the Imperial Transport. Ezra, Sabine, and Zeb are informed by Hera and Senator Bail Organa that they are in fact a Rebel cell. There is one last question though, who is piloting the Ghost? Hera, Zeb, and Sabine escaped in the Artistic TIE, and Kanan and Ezra escaped in the Inquisitor's TIE Advanced. Chopper was piloting the Imperial Transport... that is the entire crew of the Ghost, so who is piloting it?

Well, that leads to the best bit of candy in the episode, and one of the best reveals we've had in Star Wars in a long long time.

Ahsoka Tano!

I had been hoping to see her in something else Star Wars related... and I got my wish. Now we can have another part of the story told, one that I've been dying to hear. How did she react when Order 66 went out? I've been dying to know how Kanan survived Order 66, and we got a small hint in this episode, a small one. So here is one Jedi and one ex-Jedi who both survived.

What is season 2 going to give us.
Well, we know that is is going to be almost twice as long as season 1, that's a good thing.
But what else is in store? Will we see a Darth Vader vs Ahsoka duel? Or even just a meeting? If so, how will Vader act? We know he is simply a tool of evil until he learns of the existence of a one Luke Skywalker, and even then it takes Luke significant work to bring him back to the light side of the force. Will we see any other characters appear? Chewbacca appeared in Clone Wars, will we possibly see a young Han Solo at an Imperial piloting academy?

I also want to talk a tiny bit about the animation. While the animation is a touch more soft that it was in Clone Wars, the faces and body language of Rebels is really really good. You can see conflicting emotions flash across their faces, how they stand and move displays their emotions very well. I'm really enjoying this animation style.

I am so looking forward to the next season.
I am really enjoying this era of new Star Wars.
So... who else is looking forward to Episode VII?