The future of Mandalore is decided.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
Just a quick note to start things off - Disney XD aired both parts of the Star Wars Rebels Season 4 premiere tonight. Eric Goldman already reviewed "Heroes of Mandalore Part 1" when it was screened at Star Wars Celebration earlier this year, so tonight I'll just be focusing on Part 2.
For whatever flaws it may have, Star Wars Rebels has been great about tying up the many loose ends left over from Clone Wars. We've seen Captain Rex evolve from loyal Republic soldier to independent freedom fighter. We've seen Darth Maul's story finally receive the closure it needed. And we've seen the fate of Mandalore in the time of Emperor Palpatine and his Empire. It hasn't been pretty, but the show consistently found success in Season 3 when it came to fleshing out Sabine's troubled background and the chaotic, war-torn state of Mandalore. Nothing has changed as Rebels begins its fourth and final season.
To echo something Eric said in his review of Part 1, there's already a noticeable tonal shift in Season 4. Rebels is taking on more of the darkness that defined Clone Wars for most of its run. Which makes sense. As the war between the Rebel Alliance and the Empire escalates, the ravages of war are becoming more severe, and the consequences more dire.There are always dangers in making a relatively all-ages franchise like Star Wars too mired in darkness, but so far this season seems to be maintaining a good balance between grim plot twists and Star Wars-y action. Ezra's bumbling attempts at wearing a Mandalorian jetpack in this episode certainly helped lighten the mood at crucial moments.
Season 3 had already established Sabine as the most interesting and psychologically complex member of Phoenix Squadron. Together, these two episodes have furthered that trend by facing Sabine to confront the mistakes of her past. We knew that Sabine was a gifted weapons designer before defecting from the Imperial Academy, but it's one thing to hear that and quite another to actually see her handiwork torching Mandalorians into ash on the battlefield. Sabine enjoyed her strongest character arc yet as she dealt with her mistakes and wrestled with the notion of whether she's truly fit to lead her people.
That arc dovetailed nicely with the return of Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), who clearly has her own hangups about the prospect of leading Mandalore in the age of the Galactic Empire. Both characters underwent a satisfying evolution in Part 2. Sabine assumed responsibility for her past misdeeds and ensured that some good finally came of her terrible invention (gotta love the twisted Clone Wars throwback in calling it "The Duchess). Bo-Katan realized that, despite her inability to be the ruler her late sister was, she alone can unite the clans of Mandalore and save her battered people. Bo-Katan's return was far more than fan service for Clone Wars lovers, but a legitimately significant development in the march toward the series finale.
For em, the most interesting element of this episode was the way Sabine;'s struggle in the climax so closely mirrored that of Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi. You had a twisted Imperial leader torturing her with electricity and trying to draw her to the "Dark Side," as it were. And just as Luke spurned Palpatine and refused to strike down his father, Sabine stopped herself from killing Tiber Saxon and perpetuating the cycle of darkness. A little on the nose, maybe, but effective nonetheless. And it's not as though this franchise has ever been very subtle about its use of mirrored and rhyming storylines.
Sidebar - how great is Tobias Menzies as Tiber? Menzies was pretty much born to play an Imperial officer. He does that "cold, haughty tyrant" thing so well. I actually wouldn't mind seeing Menzies reprise the role in live-action, should the opportunity ever arise. Both he and Sackhoff would be great in a Mandalore-centric Anthology film.
In short, "Heroes of Mandalore Part 1" started off the season on strong footing, and Part 2 does nothing to ruin that momentum. I'm eager to see how these new developments on Mandalore impact the larger struggle between the Rebels and the Empire. Can Bo-Katan fully unite her people and bring an end to the civil war with House Saxon? Will Mandalore become a vital new ally of the Alliance? The lack of Mandalorian characters in Rogue One or the Original Trilogy suggests not, but you never know. Rebels, like Clone Wars before it, finds unexpected ways of dancing between the raindrops of established continuity. The fact that we know basically nothing about the future of this world beyond this point (apart from the non-canon Legends stories) leaves the writers plenty of room in which to work.
The Verdict
It's very possible that Star Wars Rebels' final season will also wind up beings its best. The series is inviting in some of the darkness of Clone wars without losing its sense of fun or adventure. The second half of the season premiere offers some great character drama involving Sabine and Bo-Katan and a generally promising glimpse of what lies ahead for our heroes.
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