Review: Star Wars Rebels “Wolves and a Door” ; “A World Between Worlds”

Rebels get weird in two episodes featuring paintings that move and wolves that can be ridden bareback.

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Coming off the devastating loss last week, our Rebels return to action with a plan to investigate the ancient Jedi temple on Lothal. The Empire is conducting research into the artifacts they’ve uncovered at the site, but have failed to unlock the temple’s secrets. But with Sabine’s art expertise and Ezra’s force powers, the entrance is soon unveiled.

Inside, Ezra finds a portal through time and space, or as Ahsoka dubs it, a ‘world between worlds’. (Yay, Ahsoka’s back!) Ezra reaches through a portal opening and saves Ahsoka, but realizes that Kanaan’s sacrifice isn’t something he should take away.

Our Take:

While some may find Wolves and a Door lacking in terms of action, I appreciated the thorough setup it provided. Since the entire episode takes place outside of the temple, there was plenty of time for establishing atmosphere, like during the wolf-riding sequence. Seeing Sabine’s art knowledge pay off was welcome, too. (The painting going into motion was neat, right?)

If the first episode took things slow and played it safe, A World Between Worlds does the opposite. The implications of this episode are momentous and introduce new dimensions to the world of Star Wars. Altering the past can be messy, as is this episode at times. With all the craziness going on, it’s no wonder that things occasionally feel clunky. One has to wonder if Ahsoka’s involvement was planned all along, or if Filoni and crew saw a new opportunity to expand the lore and move her storyline further along. Regardless, this episode was a lot of fun and had some genuinely thrilling moments, like the scene when Ezra first enters the new world and is treated to an audio montage of iconic Star Wars moments. (I heard Kylo, Rey, and Leia for sure.)

These episodes balanced both new and old very well. Callbacks to the Clone Wars Mortis arc, setting the episode at the Jedi temple previously visited way back in season one, and showing us flashbacks of Hera’s memories grounded them firmly in the world Rebels has developed over the past four seasons. Ezra and Hera’s moment of mourning is a touching final scene and a sweet look back at their fallen comrade. But the episodes also moved us forward, introducing an interesting new character and a shocking explanation of Ahsoka’s fate.

With only a handful of episodes left, I’ve never been more excited to see how Rebels will wrap up. With so many new questions raised by these episodes, I doubt if we’ll get many conclusive answers before the show ends. But sometimes unanswered mysterious is more fun!