Well that was an awesome episode.
[7.1/10] You have to admire Rebels’s narrative zeal. Having Sabine choose to stay on Mandalore, in order to find its next leader, choosing her old family over her new one, takes chutzpah. We’ll see how long it’ll last (and hints that Mandaloreans from times past may return suggest we’ll be back), but for the moment at least, it’s laudable that Rebels pays off Sabine’s mini-arc by presenting a real change to the status quo.
The other side of the coin is that much of this episode is pretty dull. While it’s exciting to learn more about Sabine’s family and backstory, this is Star Wars doing its best Game of Thrones impression, with inter-clan conflict and birthright disputes and grand arguments set in throne rooms, and it’s not a great one. The dialogue in particular is pretty generic, full of necessary but clumsy exposition that needs to establish both what’s been happening on Mandalore since Sabine left, and what the state of Sabine’s family relations is.
There’s some solid character motivation present, even if it’s not explained especially subtly. Sabine’s Mom Ursa trying to salvage the Wren clan’s reputation after Sabine’s defection, and her brother Tristan siding with Gar Saxxon in the hopes of keeping their imprisoned father alive adds dimension to Sabine family, making them more than just hardliner jerks. The episode digs into the Mandalorean political scene just enough, even if it takes one too many on the nose colloquies to get there.
But once Saxxon attacks, business picks up. The intra-Mandalorean battle with Jedi spice is thrilling (and Ezra was more amusing than usual here, his jocularity clearly out of place in this warrior culture), and the one-on-one fight between Sabine and Saxxon was especially well-done. The notion that Sabine needed to earn the darksaber in battle was a little convenient, but gave the fight weight and not just coolness. Ursa killing Saxxon when Sabine refused to do so is a bit contrived and convenient, but it works well enough.
Overall, this a third-act heavy episode, but the narrative choices and action elements are enough to make it a good one, even if it’s a bit dull for much of the way to that point.
I have to admit, I've never quite been able to follow the Mandalorian subplot in Clone Wars and Rebels. I'm not sure who's who, what the different clans and factions are, what they're for/against or who's in charge. Makes it hard to care about a lot of this.
I am not nearly as attached to those characters as I am to the ones from others shows/movies. Which is partly due to the fact I'am watching this for the first time. But Sabine was actually one I began to like. I am sure she will come back at some point, or the story will come back to her as I am sure this starts another sideplot.
another great episode, this is the way!
Tbh, I was expecting a bit more from this episode but it was still good and I was probably a bit over hyped. I didn't really "feel" the emotions though, which is surprising given that this should be full of strong emotions.
"Looks like recruiting the Wrens will be more difficult than I thought." - Not sure what he expected... :D
And Ezra's "Hi" facepalm
"Then clan Wren ends here." - luckily it didn't.
Sabine wielding a lightsaber was oddly satisfying - would kinda be cool if she also had some Jedi powers.
"Yield!"
"I'm not Mandalore's leader but I'll find the person who is."
It's sad that Sabine has to leave them for a while but I hope that we'll see how her mission to find a new leader for Mandalore will continue.
Shout by Agent24VIP 6BlockedParent2017-10-27T19:52:28Z
Really really good episode. Hope they'll keep this pace up!