3x01 Steps Into Shadow

7.8/10. Kanan learns to use the force to see and has great revelations from a giant, long dormant, kind of cuddly-looking colossus. It's the kind of thing that, in a vacuum, ought to bother me a little. The whole setup is a little ridiculous, and the idea of these spiritual guides and hidden sources of knowledge conveniently popping up wherever our heroes are is getting a bit tiresome. And yet, against all odds, I really liked it.

One of the great things about Star Wars as a franchise is that it's a galaxy of possibility. Every new planet or species creates the possibility for new, different, and above all else weird things that show how vast the universe is and how much diversity of life there is beyond even the Empire's reach. That's what I love about the Bendu that Kanan encounters -- it feels like an echo of Yoda's appearance in Empire strikes back and a reminder that those who inhabit The Force come in all shapes and sizes.

Of course the scene still plays a little rote. I don't know how many revelations we've had that someone is really having to overcome their own fears, but it feels like a lot. Still, Kanan (who's sporting a Riker-esque beard now) went through something traumatic and life-changing, and I appreciate that the show is forcing him to deal with that rather than skipping over the difficulty of recovery. His path feels a little quick -- probably due to the time constraints of even a double-length episode -- the time jump between the events of the S2 finale and here help, and the implied absence and change in Kanan's demeanor during that time, help give those events weight and meaning.

Kanan isn't the only one who's changed over the summer though. When we meet Ezra he is markedly taller, much more self-assured, taking the lead, and using Sith-like powers and logic that are enough to make the viewer nervous about where he's headed.

(As an aside, it's (probably intentionally) unclear how much time has passed since the end of Season 2. Ezra's hitting that age where growth spurts happen, but he looks substantially older and more physically mature than the last time we saw him, almost unbelievably so. Though I suppose the show has to rush a few things in terms of development if Rebels only has three years to work with before A New Hope happens.)

"Steps Into Shadow" isn't very subtle about the idea that Ezra is starting to list toward the dark side. (See: the title.) The young jedi we see in the episode's great opening sequence feels reminiscent of both Luke in Return of the Jedi and Anakin in Attack of the Clones. The closer cropped haircut, the new green lightsaber, and the sudden seeming mastery of Jedi skills call to mind Luke's entrance in Jabba's palace in Episode VI. It's easy to forget now, but there was a certain trepidation to that initial appearance as well, signs that maybe Luke had been changed by his confrontation with Vader and wasn't the good kid we'd met two installments prior. The way Ezra rescues Hondo (and hooray for Hondo's always pleasant Jack Sparrow-esque routine!) is of a piece with that sequence in RotJ, which served as Luke's coming out party in much the same way.

But there's also (very intentional) shades of Anakin there. Anakin's story basically breaks down to a willingness to explore the dark side in an attempt to save the people he loves. We hear Ezra speak in the same tones, talking about mastering his abilities to the point that he can protect all of the people he cares about it, with little regard to the sanctity of the lives of his enemies or anyone else.

We see a much more vicious version of the young Bridger here. There's something decidedly unnerving about the way he mind controls the storm trooper in the walker and uses him to not only open fire on the other troopers, but to march him off a cliff. He wants the crew of the Ghost to destroy an Empire transport ship to hopefully preserve their cover. He's willing to let everyone on an Empire outpost die to save his ships.

He's also much more ambitious, much more trusting of his own abilities at the expense of his teammates. When he argues with Kanan, we hear him complain about being held back in the same way Anakin once did to Obi Wan. We see him believing that only he is talented enough to do what needs to be done, to defend the people he wants to defend and defeat the Empire. There's a myopia, a blind confidence, that seems dangerous and contrary to the Jedi ethos. It's not conveyed in a particularly subtle ways, but "Steps into Shadow" still takes care to let us see how different Ezra seems from the young boy we met on Lothal and how his increased competence doesn't mean those changes are for the better.

It all comes to a head in a somewhat unsatisfying big escape from an Empire ship salvage facility. I understand that these episodes need action, and this was as good a way as any to show that Ezra was overconfident, taking on too much too fast, and in over his head, but it felt like the entire sequence of the gang trying to rescue a handfull of old Y-wings just went on and on and on. I enjoy Rex being a badass as much as anybody, and Hondo enlisting and then absconding with the workers was fun, but it just didn't have the punch of other big third act action sequences the show has done.

Still, it leads to a moment to bring the two threads of the story together. Kanan realizes he's been removing himself from everything and that he still needs to be a part of this crew, while Ezra realizes that he needs his mentor and is not ready to do this alone. Those needs converge at an appropriately convenient time, with Ezra letting go and trusting Kanan to catch him when the station is going down. That's the double meaning of the title "Steps Into Shadow." It can represent the idea of Ezra moving toward the dark side, but it can also be about trust between Kanan and Ezra. Kanan is taking his own steps into shadow -- choosing to walk forward despite the blindness that's limited him, and Ezra is willing to take his own steps into the unknown, with the knowledge that Kanan will be there to catch him even when he's not sure where to head.

Governor Price is right when she says that they "work hard to get so little." Everything is a struggle for the rebels, a reminder that they're just a small part of a much bigger conflict and a much bigger universe. That's the promise of the appearance of Admiral Thrawn(!), who nods toward the idea of a larger rebellion beyond this individual cell as this series' scope grows wider and wider from season to season. There's a vast galaxy out there, one with big fuzzy sages, expert tacticians, and a whole lot of the great unknown. Let's get explorin'.

[Rewatch] Honestly, it's pretty amazing to finally see Thrawn on screen after all these years.

Season 3 kicks off with a slightly low-key episode, at least compared to how season 2 ended. It's hard to tell how much time has passed, but there's a slightly more serious mood to everything and Ezra appears older. Actually, he looks like a bit of a psycho. The weird short hair doesn't suit him and his arrogant, angry attitude is extremely off putting and he's murdering people with abandon. Clearly, the dark side is getting to him here. I'm not sure how much of a good choice that was, because it doesn't ring true - at least not at this point.

Also becoming utterly ridiculous at how the Imperials aren't able to hit anything they shoot at.

What I do like about this one is the deepening of the mythology surrounding the Force. The introduction of the mysterious Bendu creature, a being who sits balanced in between the light and dark, is kind of fascinating. Plus it looks amazing.

Having just read the novel Thrawn, which ends just before this episode begins, it's quite jarring to see Grand Admiral Thrawn and Governor Pryce. In the book they come across as intelligent, thoughtful people whereas in this episode it's all been a bit dumbed down to them just being "evil". I can't remember their arcs going forward too well, so I'm interesting to see if they improve.

7.3/10. It's hard not to feel like the premise of Rebels is pretty derivative here. Ezra Bridger is basically Aladdin with Jedi potential, hustling for food and bounding around on rooftops. (Kanan straight up calls him a street rat at one point!) The Ghost and its crew feel like the denizens of the Serenity on Firefly -- a ragtag group of misfits doing jobs in the shadow of a massive government force they disagree with. There's obviously a Star Wars flair to all of this, but for the most part, it feels like a lot of things I've seen before.

And yet, the pilot for the show was a pretty solid amount of fun, and a much more promising introduction to the series than the ill-conceived Clone Wars film. It does a nice job of establishing who the characters are, what the premise and setting of the show is, and includes a pleasant, if predictable arc for the protagonist along the way. There's a lot of exposition and a few cheesy moments, as you kind of expect from a pilot, but if nothing else, you have a real feel for the show right from the start.

On top of that, it sets a new standard for the animated half of the Star Wars universe in terms of production and design. The character designs are notably different in style--less blocky and hewing more toward realism--than those in The Clone Wars. (Granted, this may stand out more to me considering I've been watching the unfinished Clone Wars story reels.) The action sequences as well-done and do a nice job at preserving tension and stakes throughout. There's more fluidity, articulation, and expression in the characters, and it's a nice direction to go as showrunner Dave Filoni moves from the pre- to post-Revenge of the Sith eras of the franchise. What's more, Kevin Kiner returns to score the series, and his musical interludes add a a great deal to the proceedings, from giving the tense speederbike chase or star destroyer fights greater bombast, to subtly emphasizing Ezra's force sensitivity as he's trying to open the holocube.

Again, as a story, the episode is no great shakes. The show basically flips the Luke/Han dynamic from A New Hope with Kanan and Ezra and then goes to work. Rather than the young and inexperienced Jedi true believer clashing with the more experienced rogue who's only out for himself, Rebels has the older, "seen some things" character be the Jedi, and the young farm boy just getting off his home planet be the self-interested rogue. Ezra, of course, has the same journey Han did, of reluctantly helping out the good guys, claiming that he's just interested in his own well-being and is ready to leave them, and then, of course, seeing the benefit that The Ghost's Robin Hood-esque resistance provides and deciding that he's willing to fight for something greater than himself. It's pretty rote, but executed well enough here.

But there's still plenty of promise. Ezra is a little too much of a Mary Sue in the early goings, and the rest of the crew of The Ghost being annoyed, intrigued, and then warming up to Ezra is nice yet predictable. But the show promises to explore a previously unseen era of Star Wars history, with enough good guys and bad guys established to make the conflicts interesting. The episode opens with the words of Darth Vader (James Earl Jones!) and ends with the words of Obi Wan Kenobi (Aaron Taylor Johnson!), which serve as appropriate book ends to the significance of this show's opening salvo and it's attempt to find its place within the greater Star Wars mythos.