2x06 Blood Sisters

7.5/10. This wasn't one of those Rebels episodes that was in any way subtle about its themes. We get a lot of talk about Sabine working alone and having been out for herself, with a loud message about working with a team and being concerned for others by the end. We're on a mini-streak of backstory episodes here, that give us insight into who the main characters of the show really are and where they came from, but thus far, the episode's have been a little on-the-nose in that regard.

That said, after watching an episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender that really fumbled the ball when trying to offer a feminist sentiment, I really appreciated the way that Rebels accomplished what that show was trying to do in a much more subtle and effective fashion. "Blood Sisters" never belabors the point that Sabine and Ketsu are women. It simply depicts both of them as competent and complicated, two individuals who are capable, have a history with one another, and have differing perspectives that clash and conflict in interesting ways, regardless of what they look like or what kind of chromosomes they have. While Avatar's "Kyoshi Warriors" spends a lot of time telling you that women are just as capable as men, "Blood Sisters" is content and better able to make the same point by showing you.

And I like the presence of Ketsu as a mirror to Sabine. The sequence where she took out all the stormtroopers was enjoyably badass, her tet-a-tet with Sabine was compelling as a narrative engine, and getting Gina Torres is a boon for the show (and not just because it helps vindicate by frequent Firefly references). Again, the theme is hammered a little too hard, but the idea that Sabine and Ketsu were once alike and good friends, that they broke out of the academy together and took very different paths, is an intriguing one. The additional subtext that Sabine trusted Ketsu and found that her best friend cared more about herself and her ambitious than her supposed friend made for some solid beats as well to help explain Sabine's lone wolf tendencies.

Overall, it wasn't Rebels finest hour, but it was a nice character spotlight for Sabine that introduced a cool new player to the world of the show, and gave us some insight into who Sabine is, even if the show didn't exactly use a light touch in that effort.