2x09 Legacy

8.1/10. It's funny, the mystery of what happened to Ezra's parents hasn't hung over the hsow like you might have expected. It's always been there, with the issue coming up here and there, but it's been so central to who Ezra is or what he wants. In some ways, that makes it harder to warm to an episode like this, since we don't really know much about Ezra's connection to his parents beyond his overwrought business in the finale. That means that this one is mostly coasting on the sort of natural understanding and yearning of a child for his parents. But it also means that it's unspoiled territory for the show to explore, and that gives it a certain power as well.

It's a nice (if a bit convenient) move for Ezra to get a bead on his parents' location at the same time the Empire has found the Rebels' current hideout (thanks to ezra's own slip of the tongue._ It creates a nice contrast between Ezras urgency (and his recklessness that comes with it) and the gigantic space-blasting obstacles in his way. It gives Ezra a chance to be overzealous when trying to get out there (trying to take on the Inquisitors by himself), but also gives Kanan a chance to be both understanding but counterbalance him. Kanan has basically been Ezra's adoptive father, and the way he tries to encourage and empathize with Ezra as he searches for his parents -- acknowledging that he too has lost someone close to him and knows what it's like to be alone--elevates him as a mentor and a friend. (It doesn't hurt that the whole empire invasion gives Hera a chance to do some badass flying, while amusingly frightening Zeb in the process.)

I do have to admit that I'm a little tired of the whole Jedi prophecy angle. Maybe it's just residual concern from the problem that had in the prequels, and the previous way it was used with the "Senator in Exile" on this show, but I generally liked how that notion was deployed here. The lothcat worked nicely as Ezra's own three-eyed raven, and the vagueness of what he saw made the quest to track down the man from his vision interesting.

It's also a nice touch that, for however much Ezra wanted to go on this quest in order to find his parents, [spoiler]he finds out that they've passed away. Admittedly, I don't know if I believe the former Governor of Lothal who tells him that. You don't necessarily bring in Clancy Brown (also the voice of Lex Luthor and Savage Opress) to play a good guy, and there could be more at work here than we realize. But even if it's just a fakeout, I appreciated how Ezra, and the show, handled the revelation. The idea that his message got through to them, that it inspired them to stage a breakout that saved lives but cost them theirs, is both inspiring and heartbreaking, which is the right mood to set for this type of thing. What's more, while the fantasy reuinion at the end and Kanan's comment that Ezra's parents will always be with him was a little trite, it was sweet and moving enough for the moment to land.

Overall, it's a solid installment of the series that gives us more information about Ezra's parents and what they mean to him, while crafting some exciting sequences and an emotional journey for Ezra in the process.