When some “Star Wars” podcasters were drenching hyperbolic praise on “Star Wars Rebels” (8 p.m. Central Mondays on Disney XD) in its early going, cast members kept saying it would be even more amazing by season’s end. On Monday, we found out what they were alluding to, when we saw the return of Ahsoka Tano (who had been under the guise of Fulcrum), plus Darth Vader, who had also appeared in the ABC version of the pilot episode. Additionally, Grand Moff Tarkin was central to the final arc of the season. Throw in a space battle over Mustafar and a rescue of Kanan that parallels “A New Hope” without being too much of a ripoff, and it was a fine finale.
“Rebels” hasn’t totally won me over yet, but almost none of my reservations have anything to do with the show’s makers (one of whom is “The Clone Wars’ “ Dave Filoni, whom I respect) or voice actors. Throughout Season 1 — which included 14, 15, 16 or 18 episodes depending on how you do the math (according to Star Wars Insider, there are 18 episodes, but four of them are four minutes each and one is an hour long) – “Rebels” felt like it existed in a more barren “Star Wars” universe than I’m used to.
There are two reasons for the relatively empty feel of “Rebels.” First, Disney canceled the Expanded Universe in May 2014 and announced that “Rebels” would take place in the new Disney canon. The Disney canon includes the six episodic movies and “The Clone Wars” as its foundation – all future stories will build on that structure. While it’s true that “The Clone Wars” occasionally contradicted the EU, I felt like the TV show, comics and books were all part of the same reality the 95 percent of the time they didn’t conflict with each other. If not for the Disney announcement, “Rebels” could have felt the same way, as the only blatant contradiction of the EU is the reimagining of Depa Billaba as Kanan’s master.
(As “Rebels” moves forward, it will almost certainly completely contradict the formation of the Rebel Alliance in “The Force Unleashed.” Already, the different origins for the Rebel Alliance symbol are difficult to reconcile – although if not for the EU/Disney canon split, I bet someone would figure out a way to retcon it. Interestingly, “The Force Unleashed’s” story of the Alliance’s formation was devised by Lucas, so “Rebels” is creating an odd situation where a non-Lucas idea is canonical and the Lucas idea becomes Legends. We’ll no doubt see more uncomfortable oddities like that when “Episode VII” – which now seems to be not at all based on a Lucas outline — comes out in December.)
Second, “Rebels” has a smaller budget than “The Clone Wars.” George Lucas was willing to spend what it took to push the envelope of animation; Disney is more frugal. This means little things like Ezra’s hair being stiff rather than blowing in the wind, characters’ lips being less in sync with the dialog than before, and the backgrounds of places like the Lothal city streets being less populated than they should be (sort of like Mos Eisley before Lucas livened it up in the Special Edition). When Ahsoka appeared in the season finale, the difference in detail between “Clone Wars” and “Rebels” was notable: While she had aged 15 years, she also became cartoonier.
Viewing the series through a lens of animosity because it took the place of my beloved “Clone Wars,” I also found fault with the Inquisitor. Compared to intricate villains like Darth Maul, Asajj Ventress, Boba Fett, Aurra Sing and Barriss Offee – whose arcs were left hanging when “Clone Wars” was canceled – the Inquisitor was a pathetic villain, essentially just a toadie of Darth Vader’s.
And while I don’t dislike the crew of the Ghost by any means, it’s disappointing that we don’t know more about all of them after a full season. Granted, we’ve learned that Ezra is the offspring of two rebels, and that Zeb is among the last of a race that had been particularly mistreated by the Empire. We got Kanan’s backstory in the tie-in novel “A New Dawn,” but Hera’s and Sabine’s backstories have yet to be revealed.
It might be a stretch to say “Rebels” is emblematic of the transfer from the inclusive Lucasfilm to the subtly sexist Disney; after all, Hera and Sabine are both capable females with plenty of screen time, and Rebel organizer Fulcrum turned out to be Ahsoka. But it’s worth noting that Hera and Sabine are the least-explored of the Ghost crew and that their action figures – if any are being made at all – are impossible to find.
Now on to the good stuff. “Rebels” portrays the Empire in all its oppressive glory. I love the prominent use of the Imperial troop transporter (although, again, the toy makers dropped the ball by not repackaging that iconic vehicle). Bringing back Stephen Stanton (one of the elite “Star Wars” voice actors) as Grand Moff Tarkin was a smart move, as were the Darth Vader appearances that bookended the season – the first of which featured James Earl Jones.
The major “Clone Wars” tie-in before Ahsoka’s return – Luminara’s ghost in “Rise of the Old Masters” – was handled well, and it was fun to hear Billy Dee Williams as Lando in “Idiot’s Array” (although the utter barrenness of his desert operation on Lothal is downright depressing). Oddly, I was thrown off by Frank Oz’s work as Yoda in “Path of the Jedi”; while it’s sacrilegious to say so, I might have preferred Tom Kane reprise his role.
I imagine the writers are wary of making “Rebels” into an outlet for continuing the various “Clone Wars” arcs. Indeed, it needs to give us Hera’s and Sabine’s story soon. I know the writers want “Rebels” to be a serial show, but if it flows smoothly with the Ghost crew’s adventures, it would be awesome if Season 2 clues us in on what Ahsoka was up to in the last 15 years. It should also consider using Barriss Offee as an inquisitor and building toward a showdown between Barriss and Ahsoka, and ultimately, Ahsoka and Vader. While Darth Maul got some continuation of his arc in the comics, and Ventress’ story will pick up in the novel “Dark Disciple,” Boba Fett and Aurra Sing might be good fits for “Rebels.”
I’m not saying “Rebels” should literally become a continuation of “The Clone Wars.” But if there’s a way to naturally involve the Ghost crew in those juicy threads from “Clone Wars,” “Rebels” could become a much livelier show. And, for god’s sake, it needs to populate those backgrounds.