4x09 Rebel Assault

I go back and forth on this show as we get childish standalone nonsense (like the previous episode) and pretty exciting storytelling that dives into the Star Wars mythos. 'Rebel Assault' (titled the same as one of the fun Star Wars PC games I grew up with) might be the first episode of Star Wars Rebels that has kept me enraptured from start to finish.

From the stunning X-Wing assault to Hera's fantastic escape attempt, this felt completely imbued with the spirit of Star Wars. Plus, as somebody who grew up with the EU books and games in the 1990s, it makes it all the more special to see characters like Thrawn and Rukh, as well as ships like the TIE Defender.

Alongside the exciting action, I finally have started feeling some connection towards the characters. While Ezra feels like he's becoming less and less important, both Kanan and Hera have finally started to leap off the screen. If I have a gripe it's that the formulaic structure of episodes is still really holding things back (as well as the child-friendly nature of the show - see Hera stunning stormtroopers instead of killing them outright), but when it's wrapped up in a package as good as this I can let it slide.

[7.3/10] Kind of a weird episode to put as your mid-season finale. I guess they were going for a certain Empire Strikes Back vibe, but this installment made it seem like we only got half the story in a way that leaves it more unfinished than promising.

I like that after an episode where Hera was more in the background, she’s the main focus on this one. There’s solid structure to the episode, with the first act centering on the dogfight in space, the second one being an escape on Lothal’s surface, and the last act being more of a confrontation with the Imperial troops. Still, it didn’t feel nearly as momentous as the long-teased Rebel attack on Lothal should.

But part of that seems intentional. There’s a quiet scene where one of the rebels says something to the effect of “that’s all they sent?” which signifies to a certain extent how overmatched the Rebels are, but also to some degree a sense that Ezra feels like the Rebel Alliance isn’t giving his homeworld the attention it deserves. Again, I don’t know if we’re going darkside here, but it does feel like the show is priming us for Ezra to lose his faith in the Rebellion and go his own way. I was pretty shocked to realize we only have 7 episodes left this season (with possibly some hour-long episodes or something) which doesn’t leave much runway to get to the endgame, so they’re presumably setting something up here.

The assault itself was kind of underwhelming. There’s little I’d actually slate the episode for. The dogfighting was exciting enough, with some stakes in the form of rebel pilots (albeit barely-named redshirts) meeting their ends, and Hera coming up with a clever way to outsmart the pilot in the technically-superior tie-defender. But I think I’m just kind of inured to the non-stop action of the show by now. At the same time, I have so little investment in Ruk that his hand-to-hand combat sequence with Hera did nothing for me, especially since the characters didn’t seem to move with the right weight or impact. And the neatest sequence likely included the Rebel ally providing a distraction and letting Hera make her heroic sacrifice.

I appreciated that element, even if it’s fairly stock and a little out of tone with the rest of the episode. I appreciate that this mid-season arc has given more for Hera and Kanan to do, and Hera’s willingness to make the sacrifice play to save her allies, and Kanan sticking on Lothal to (presumably) try to help her provide good, if not overwhelming characters beats for each. I still have no idea what the deal with the Lothwolves is (and I think we need at least some answers here soon, otherwise this is going to get tedious quickly), but I’m intrigued by the prospect of Kanan’s spiritual connection to them.

Overall, this episode works fine as just another episode, but feels anticlimactic and only half-there as the culmination of the first half of this season’s storytelling. There’s some promise in it, and a few creditable action sequences, but nothing that really makes you sit up and take notice outside the last few minutes of the episode.