[7.0/10] I didn’t enjoy the second half of this two-parter nearly as much as I enjoyed the first half. I like what Saw represents for this show dramatically, and his history in the Star Wars universe, but there’s some issues with this much of the character. For one thing, whether it’s Forest Whitaker delving a little more deeply into the strange intonation he used for the character in Rogue One, or the unique challenges of voice acting, something about the character’s presence is just a little off. Heck, even the way Saw walks seems slightly strange. And he’s made into a pretty easy caricature for the more hawkish part of the rebellion, making you wonder why even the easily-swayed Ezra wouldn’t suspect something’s wrong with this guy and his philosophy.
It works as a pretty conventional story of Ezra thinking Saw is cool and/or right, seeing the downside to partnering with someone who’ll do whatever it takes to win, and then finding his way back into the arms of his good ol’ found family, but there’s little spark to it. Infiltrating the Imperial shipment has a few cool stealth moments, but much of it feels like going through the motions.
And much of it is downright boring. There’s several moments, like the continual rescue and hiding of the prisoners on the ship, or the endless hunt for the macguffin of the week (this time, a giant kyber crystal like the one Obi Wan and Anakin once destroyed), that come off like Rebels spinning its wheels.
There’s also the strange fact that Saw is at least kind of right here. The show wants him to come off crazy and untrustworthy, but we omniscient viewers know that he’s stumbled onto The Empire starting to build The Death Star, and so Ezra and Sabine and others trying to dissuade him from doing the things that would prevent that, and with it, the destruction of Alderaan and more, is unavailing given the consequences.
Still, this one is fine, even if not exactly riveting, or easy-going in the point it’s trying to make. It’s nice to see Saw back, even if the show botches his return a bit, and the dilemma Ezra is processing is still an interesting one, even if the execution leaves something to be desired.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2017-10-26T22:46:46Z
[7.0/10] I didn’t enjoy the second half of this two-parter nearly as much as I enjoyed the first half. I like what Saw represents for this show dramatically, and his history in the Star Wars universe, but there’s some issues with this much of the character. For one thing, whether it’s Forest Whitaker delving a little more deeply into the strange intonation he used for the character in Rogue One, or the unique challenges of voice acting, something about the character’s presence is just a little off. Heck, even the way Saw walks seems slightly strange. And he’s made into a pretty easy caricature for the more hawkish part of the rebellion, making you wonder why even the easily-swayed Ezra wouldn’t suspect something’s wrong with this guy and his philosophy.
It works as a pretty conventional story of Ezra thinking Saw is cool and/or right, seeing the downside to partnering with someone who’ll do whatever it takes to win, and then finding his way back into the arms of his good ol’ found family, but there’s little spark to it. Infiltrating the Imperial shipment has a few cool stealth moments, but much of it feels like going through the motions.
And much of it is downright boring. There’s several moments, like the continual rescue and hiding of the prisoners on the ship, or the endless hunt for the macguffin of the week (this time, a giant kyber crystal like the one Obi Wan and Anakin once destroyed), that come off like Rebels spinning its wheels.
There’s also the strange fact that Saw is at least kind of right here. The show wants him to come off crazy and untrustworthy, but we omniscient viewers know that he’s stumbled onto The Empire starting to build The Death Star, and so Ezra and Sabine and others trying to dissuade him from doing the things that would prevent that, and with it, the destruction of Alderaan and more, is unavailing given the consequences.
Still, this one is fine, even if not exactly riveting, or easy-going in the point it’s trying to make. It’s nice to see Saw back, even if the show botches his return a bit, and the dilemma Ezra is processing is still an interesting one, even if the execution leaves something to be desired.