Review: Star Wars Rebels “Trials of the Darksaber”

We finally get to the Darksaber!

Spoilers Below

Following the advice of Fenn Rau, Kanan decides to teach Sabine how to use the Darksaber. With Sabine wielding the Darksaber, she will lead the Mandalorians to help the Rebel Alliance fight the Empire. Reluctantly, Sabine agrees to the training. The group goes to Bendu’s home to work.

Kanan and Ezra begin training Sabine with wooden training swords. However, Sabine’s attitude quickly gets in the way. She storms off during one training session, resulting in a discussion with Ezra. Sabine doesn’t get along with her family. Ezra points out that she should be glad she has family. Meanwhile, Hera has a talk with Kanan about letting Sabine train with the Darksaber instead of the wooden swords. Kanan is hesitant but, eventually, relents and gives Sabine the lightsaber.

At first, Sabine is surprised at how heavy the Darksaber is. As she bonds with the saber, it grows lighter. During the training, Kanan manages to get Sabine to talk about her family and the real reason she left Mandalore. It turns out that Sabine felt guilty about the weapons she designed at the Imperial Academy. Those weapons were used against the Mandalorians. In order to save her people, she left. Unfortunately, her people turned their backs on her. With the truth out in the open, Fenn, Ezra, and Kanan all pledge their loyalty to Sabine.

I have been waiting for them to get back to the Darksaber! I just wish it would have been a little more action-packed. A good portion of this episode was focused on what was said over what was done. The only real action was the fight between Kanan and Sabine as Sabine unloaded all of her emotional weight. As a result, this episode was both really exciting and really boring at the same time. I’m glad that Kanan was able to get Sabine to open up and I know that this episode had to occur to propel the storyline forward. But I’m glad it’s over so we can get to the part where Sabine kicks major ass with the Darksaber.