Review: Star Wars Rebels – “Relics of the Old Republic”

When we last saw our freedom fighters, they were stranded on a remote planet. The Ghost was under repair in space while the Phantom is disabled on the planet. Kanan, Ezra, Sabine, and Zeb have no way off the planet, forcing them to wait until the Empire shows up to destroy them. Oh, and they have to outrun a sandstorm too. Can’t make it too easy.

It doesn’t take very long for a Star Destroyer to show up above the planet. Hera powers down the Ghost (and Chopper) in order to finish her repairs without getting scanned. Down on the planet, Agent Kallus sends a message to Commander Wolffe to get the exact coordinates of the Jedi. When all three of the clones refuse to cooperate, Kallus sends three AT-ATs to blast them. Little did he know that the clones trusted Kanan enough to walk straight into the sandstorm. None of the scanners work inside the storm, meaning only the Jedi will be able to “see” once they enter.

Kanan maneuvers the tank to a place where they are completely surrounded by the AT-ATs. Since no one else can see inside the storm, Ezra has to be the one to shoot the canon at the Empire transports. Thankfully, he trusts in himself and shoots down one of the enemy machines. Now that Kallus knows where they are, the Rebels are forced to run. They leave the sandstorm with the Empire close behind.

Shortly after exiting the storm, Sabine gets the Phantom fixed. Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor shuffle the Rebels into their ship. The clones will cover their escape. Kanan, still not trusting the men, agrees they should leave. Ezra, however, disagrees. Unfortunately, that means they take off in the Phantom, leaving the three clones to take on two AT-ATs by themselves.

Meanwhile, up in space, Admiral Konstantine gets a message from Darth Vader to rendezvous with him. So the Empire ship takes off, leaving Kallus on the planet by himself. When the Destroyer shows up at the agreed coordinates, they don’t find Vader. Instead, they find another Inquisitor. Bad news for the Jedi.

Eventually, Ezra convinces Kanan that they should not leave the clones to die. At the very least, they are friends of Ahsoka. Kanan finally concedes that saving the clones is the right thing to do.

Just as the men are about to die at the feet of the AT-ATs, the Phantom flies in to save the day. Kanan, Ezra, and Zeb jump down to land on top of one of the Empire machines. The Jedi slice open the top and knock out the pilots. Now that they have an AT-AT of their own, they have an easy time dispatching the other. Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor salute Kanan, knowing they fight better when they are following a Jedi.

Back on the Rebel ship, Ahsoka is glad to see her friend, Rex, again. Kanan points out that it was not easy to trust the clones but he is working on it.

I am always amazed at the amount of action that takes place in each episode of this series. Not only do we get some great characterization, we also get some pretty epic battle scenes. When the clones faced off against the AT-ATs alone, their sheer determination was amazing. My favorite part is when Wolffe stood on top of their tank shouting at the Empire while their tank was almost completely useless. I hope that Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor actually get used in the rest of the season. It would be very disappointing if they get relegated to guest appearances or background noise.