We’re in a bit of an “eye of the storm” when it comes to new Star Wars content right now, with Andor about a month away, The Bad Batch season 2 due out sometime after that, and Ahsoka not set to premiere until sometime next year.
With that in mind, I thought it would be a good time to revisit a popular animated series that first launched eight years ago on Disney XD– Star Wars Rebels, which introduced fans to the ragtag crew of the Ghost: Hera Syndulla (voiced by Vanessa Marshall), Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prinze Jr.), Zeb Orrelios (Steven Blum), Sabine Wren (Tiya Sircar), and that unruly astromech droid Chopper (series co-creator Dave Filoni), plus their Force-sensitive new recruit Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray). I’ll be going through the entire series of Star Wars Rebels five episodes at a time here at LaughingPlace.com, breaking down the basics of what happened and any major revelations that occur along the way.
Episode 1: “Spark of Rebellion” (Part 1) – So Ezra Bridger basically starts out as the Aladdin of the Star Wars galaxy (gotta steal to eat) on the planet Lothal but soons finds himself competing with the Ghost crew for hijacked Imperial goods. Soon Ezra discovers that Kanan is in possession of a Jedi lightsaber and a holocron, the latter of which he proceeds to steal. When the crew helps out the oppressed people of Lothal, Ezra becomes tempted by their way of life. Darth Vader makes a brief cameo appearance at the top of the episode, voiced by James Earl Jones himself.
Episode 2: “Spark of Rebellion” (Part 2) – On a mission to rescue kidnapped Wookiees from the Empire, the Ghost crew find that they have fallen into a trap, which results in Ezra being captured by Imperial Security Bureau Agent Kallus (David Oyelowo). In captivity, Ezra manages to unlock the holocron and view a hologram message from Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars: The Clone Wars star James Arnold Taylor in a cameo appearance). After his new friends come to rescue him, Ezra directs them to the infamous spice mines of Kessell, where the missing Wookiees were actually taken. There, in combat against Imperial forces, Kanan Jarrus reveals himself to be a Jedi Knight. Later, Kanan discovers that Ezra was able to open the holocron and offers to take him on as his Padawan apprentice.
Episode 3: “Droids in Distress” – In an episode packed with familiar Star Wars faces, our heroes board a transport shuttle piloted by RX-24 (guest star Paul Reubens) from Star Tours at Disney Parks as part of an undercover mission to steal a shipment of disruptor weapons from the Empire. Entangled in this mess are none other than C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and his astromech counterpart R2-D2. This installment marks the beginning of an ongoing feud between Zeb and Agent Kallus after the former discovers that the latter was involved with the genocide of his Lasat people. We also get to see Ezra pull off a “Force push” for the first time to save Zeb, and Bail Organa (voiced by Phil LaMarr) shows up at the end to reclaim Artoo and Threepio.
Episode 4: “Fighter Flight” – Hera sends Ezra and Zeb on a supply run in an effort to get them to bond as friends and teammates instead of constantly bickering. But the meiloorun fruit that they’re supposed to purchase has already been taken by the Empire, so they steal a TIE Fighter as part of a misguided plan to take back possession of the fruit. Ezra then reunites with some local farmers on Lothal who were friends with his parents and helps them get out from under the Empire’s thumb.
Episode 5: “Rise of the Old Masters” – In my favorite episode of this first batch of five, the crew of the Ghost is surprised to learn that Jedi Master Luminara Unduli may have survived Order 66. But when they arrive at the Imperial prison where she is supposedly being held, they find that they have fallen into another trap– this time set by the Grand Inquisitor (Jason Isaacs), following Darth Vader’s orders. I love the introduction of what will become one of this series’ main villains– though he did show up momentarily in the pilot– and the way he and Kanan play off each other is just so much fun to watch. Plus, the idea that the Empire and Inquisitorius can use the corpses of dead Jedi to lure survivors to their doom is so wonderfully creepy. There are also some good, emotional character moments that advance the relationship between Ezra and Kanan as Master and Padawan.
Star Wars Rebels is available to watch in its entirety on Disney+.
Next time: Episodes 6-10