A few critiques before getting into the praise: Hera’s plotline was cursory and silly, although it did show off the very organic looking animation on her face and lekku and some Ralph McQuarrie-inspired creature designs. Chopper has gone from peevish to downright murderous, which leads to the tone in his scenes flip-flopping from slapstick to serious. The other thing the episode hinges on is the dark side of the Force, namely the Inquisitor. He follows a long line of aggressive lightsaber-users like Darth Maul and Mara Jade, but is set apart by a spinning lightsaber and an ability to read other people like Sherlock Holmes. The former seems like a bit of a gimmick to sell toys right now, but the latter leads to Jason Isacc’s excellent sneer about Kanan’s lightsaber style. With Kanan faced with a dark Jedi, the episode could have become one about his fears alone. Instead, it continues to revolve around the reluctant Master-Padawan relationship between Kanan and Ezra. When Ezra snarks back to the Inquisitor that he’s never heard of the dark side, I believe him. Both Kanan and Ezra are untrained Jedi, but Kanan has baggage, and his belief that Ezra would be better off with another Master hurts both of them. That emotion makes Kanan more complicated and human. SPOILERS: The reveal that Luminara was, like Bruce Willis, dead the whole time served the story well by driving home the idea that the Jedi Order is dead. It showed Rebels was willing to kill beloved characters, and that Rebels would not be, like the Legends EU was, a haven for Jedi who survived Order 66. Order 66 has teeth again. However, it is in the latter part of “Rise of The Old Masters” that Rebels feels closest to the later seasons of “The Clone Wars,” with a corpse like those reanimated by the Nightsisters and the Inquisitor advancing steadily forward through closing doors with the same sort of juggernaut impact as Savage Oppress. “Rise of the Old Masters” would probably be a good episode to show someone new to Rebels, to see if it is the kind of Star Wars that fits their taste. And as a bonus, it’s a very well-written episode. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that’s your thing!
