Review: Star Wars Rebels “Fire Across the Galaxy”

Spoilers!

So, that finally happened tonight. The season finale of Star Wars Rebels, “Fire Across the Galaxy,” came and went with the destructive fury of Anakin through the Jedi Order. I can’t even go through all of the stuff that went down in an intro paragraph, so let’s get started, shall we?

For starters, the crew of the Ghost finally grew a set, and made their way to get Kanan. This is big, because even though the crew are rebels, they are always following orders, Whether it’s from Kanan, Fulcrum, or their missions, they always have orders to follow. For once, the crew said screw it, and went with what they thought they needed to do. And that was get Kanan. They could have ended “Rebel Resolve” with the crew getting their ships together, and leave all of the fighting to “Fire Across the Sky.”

Now, I am going to give you my S.A.T. word of the day. This week, the word is cinematography. The cinematography of the fight between Kanan and Ezra, and The inquisitor was the best cinematography the show has ever produced. The fight was captured in such a way, it rivaled any other fight in the Star Wars universe. From Kanan using Ezra’s lightsaber to shoot and sword fight, to Ezra getting Kanan’s lightsaber from the Inquisitor, there wasn’t a bad shot. The fight told a story, and escalated when Kanan thought that Ezra was dead. The storytelling through this fight was honestly as good as Obi-Wan fighting Anakin to close out Episode III.  One thing to notice, was that even though Kanan are sworn enemies, yet they actually shoe respect and bow towards each other before the final act of the fight begins. This fight exceeded every single expectation I had, and then some.

Speaking of which, there were two cameos that closed out “Fire Across the Galaxy.” The first, and more well known, was Vader. Unfortunately, this cameo from Vader was another wasted 30 seconds of the black suit. Vader’s second appearance was even more disappointing than the “special” added footage at the broadcast premiere of “Spark of Rebellion.” At least Vader spoke! At the end of “Fire Across the Galaxy,” he walked behind Tarkin. That’s it. He walked. Disney is in the business of crushing hopes and dreams. However, at least next season is set up to hopefully feature Vader prominently.

And now, the surprise cameo even too me for a loop. I usually find something in a story that alludes to a future appearance to a character. I couldn’t find one when it came to Fulcrum. Well, this completely surprised me, especially since this character’s origin story was supposedly taken out of canon when Emperor Mickey acquired Lucasarts. Now, if you’re guessing Ahsoka Tano, you guessed right! She was also revealed to be Fulcrum, and has seemingly positioned herself to help with training Ezra, along with Kanan. I’m glad there was a nod to The Clone Wars, because the show was vastly underrated.

To summarize the finale, “Fire Across the Galaxy” was fantastic. The final battle between Kanan and Ezra, and the Inquisitor was above and beyond any animated Star Wars before. When the season began, there was a comment that said The Clone Wars was superior graphically. I think that this episode alone proves that commenter wrong. Every episode was beautiful, and “Fire Across the Galaxy” was the microcosm of the season. With the exception of the colossal letdown of another wasted Vader cameo, “Fire Across the Galaxy” was the definition of a perfect Star Wars season finale. Here’s to waiting a few months for season two!