Review: Star Wars Rebels “Rebel Assault”

Paths come crashing together on a fantastic episode of Rebels.

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The Rebel attack on the Imperial TIE factory is underway! As Hera commands a fleet of ships above the planet, the rest of the Ghost crew plant bombs to take out the air defense cannons. But Admiral Thrawn is one-step ahead of the Rebels, wiping out the entirety of their ships before they can fire a single shot at the factory. While most of her fleet is destroyed, Hera and Mart survive their crash landings in the city.

Confronted with the failure of the mission, Ryder and the Ghost crew begin heading back to safety, but Kanan can’t bring himself to abandon Hera. (Ezra makes a surprisingly-wise decision in allowing him to go alone.) Before he can reach the city, however, Kanan is stopped by the Lothwolf, who once again growls his real name to him – Dume. Apparently, the wolves are asking Kanan to do something, and he understands and accepts their task.

Meanwhile, Hera, Mart, and Chopper work together to evade both stormtroopers and Rokh, who has orders to capture Hera alive. There are some amazing fist-fighting scenes between Hera and Rokh, though I’m a little doubtful that Hera could last as long as she does one-on-one against a trained assassin. In the end, Hera’s plan allows Mart and Chop to escape down a drainage shoot. Her own escape is stopped by Rokh long enough for Governor Pryce to arrive and take her captive.

Our Take:

Rebel Assault does an incredible job balancing lots of characters and plot. Not only do we have the return of Thrawn’s bounty hunter, Rokh, but we have a new character, Mart. It’s a credit to director Steward Lee that the story remains tight and cohesive, with plenty of suspense to hold a viewer’s attention. The space battle between Thrawn’s forces and Hera’s fleet felt like pure Star Wars, cutting between head-on shots of the pilots as the battle raged on. Thrawn’s willingness to fire at Hera when there was an Imperial craft in the target area really hammered home the horror of his heinousness. The animation was top notch this week, with lots of dramatic shots of deep space and the shadowy cityscape. (And that long shot that cut from the Rebels at ground level to the stormtrooper on the top of the defense tower? Wow!)

Kanan’s Lothwolf buddies continue to be an enigma, and I’m wondering if we’ll ever get a definitive answer as to how they know what they know. If the Bendu is any indication, Dave Filoni, and the Rebels crew is perfectly fine with keeping creatures connected to the Force shrouded in mystery.

This is likely the most screentime Hera has ever had, and it’s wonderful to see more of her skills and dedication to the cause. From her expertise at commanding a fighter squadron to her ingenuity in evading capture on the ground, General Syndulla will be a prize prisoner for the Empire. I’m frightened to see what Thrawn has planned for her, anxious about how the Ghost crew will deal with her loss, and excitedly looking forward to next week!

Score
9.5/10