STAR WARS REBELS (sorta) begins its second Season this weekend with a one hour presentation called The Siege of Lothal.
I say ‘sorta’ because, while this is the first new REBELS we’ve seen since the show concluded its inaugural Season in March, further S2 episodes won’t arrive until sometime during the Fall. A strange move, but I suppose The Powers That Be wanted to keep interest in the show alive, and satiate the appetites of viewers who joined the series in its first Season.
The Siege of Lothal (which doesn’t really see much more ‘sieging’ than the show usually features, by the way) finds the Empire grappling with locating and apprehending an increasingly stronger Rebellion - a task immensely frustrating and stressful to regional, Imperial influenced governance. Much to the chagrin of Darth Vader, whose patience is wearing predictably thin, and who now steps in to become more pro-active in the hunt for those uppity dissenters.
Concurrently, show hero (and Jedi on the run) Kanan Jarrus struggles to come to terms with the increasingly militarized nature of that same Rebellion.
He’s concerned that the altruistic nature of the Rebellion is being supplanted by political and tactical maneuverings, and is questioning how much longer he and his crew should remain involved with it.
This issue is, indeed, resolved over the course of the episode - in a manner which isn’t terribly surprising given that the show’s names is ‘REBELS.’ Although Kanan’s perspective proves interesting, and may possibly be valid.
While Season 1 of REBELS very much felt ‘more like Classic STAR WARS’ than its nonetheless stunning CLONE WARS predecessor, S2’s opening brings us far closer in vibe and substance to the Original Trilogy. This episode features two sequences of substantial space action, a Lightsaber duel…
…and Darth Vader being the badass and exceptionally shrewd pilot we know Anakin Skywalker to be. Wonderfully voiced by James Earl Jones (who, of course, also voiced Vader in the feature films), Vader...injected into the show in the closing moments of S1...plays a very large role here. At no point in S2’s opening hour do we get the impression his involvement with the show will in any way subside.
THE CLONE WARS’ Ahsoka Tano...
...also revealed to be be a key REBELSverse component at the end of S1, has substantive involvement here as well. While not as clearly indicated as Vader’s future involvement, she seems to be here to stay. Adult Ahsoka, by the way, is rather hot.
Written by Henry Gilroy (THE CLONE WARS and REBELS S1), The Siege of Lothal’s scripting is concise and well considered, expeditiously advancing a few tricky concepts which could’ve otherwise dragged down the episode’s pacing. Direction by Bosco Ng (also a veteran of THE CLONE WARS) and Brad Rau is equally as efficient, pushing matters along at an agreeably fluid pace, although perhaps not as propulsively as some of the material here might’ve called for.
All in all, though, The Siege of Lothal works very well as a ‘loud and clear’ mission statement which vividly illustrates how much this show has grown over its last Season. It also serves as a pointed indicator of what kind of series REBELS wants to become over the months and stories ahead - and it's an exciting and provocative intent to be sure.
In both regards, REBELS Season 2 is off to a rousing start which is comfortably STAR WARS, uniquely ‘its own thing,’ and tremendosuly entertaining all around.
The Siege of Lothal transmits Saturday night (June 20) at 9pm ET/PT on Disney XD.
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Glen Oliver
“Merrick”
