SCREW YOU, FILONI. Ahem, sorry. Don’t know what came over me ther-WHY DID YOU KILL – whoops! So, yes, this review contains spoilers from here on out.
This week sees the return of Rebels, continuing this series’ tradition of showing double episodes giving us twice the … fun? I don’t know about you, but I had a ton of fun watching my favorite roaming samurai/Jedi become a thousand smaller pieces so that he can do much more, erm, roaming. Because my streaming service went kablooey during the first episode (it was as upset over that scene as I was), I’m going to be combining the two reviews of Jedi Knight and Dume.
Kanan
Despite what transpires – the destruction of the Empire’s fuel supply and the crippling of the Imperial war machine on Lothal – this duology was, first and foremost, a more intimate story. Quite daringly, given how few episodes are left, but quite rightly, it focused on the death and the aftermath of one of their family.
The episode begins with Kanan communing with the Force, evidently trying to conceive of a plan to rescue their leader, Hera. I’m not really sure what his tête-à-tête with the Force showed him (maybe a look into Filoni’s mind* or the upcoming scripts and he noticed that he had a conspicuous lack of dialogue), but ultimately it doesn’t matter as it quickly becomes apparent, by observing his demeanor, that Kanan knows he’s not long for this galaxy (or any galaxy, really). But what’s truly interesting is how he acts in the moments leading up to the mission, so I thought it’d be worth it to take a closer look. Being a Jedi, and a hero, it’s expected (and almost not worth mentioning) that Kanan would embrace his fate with stoic fortitude – but more than that, one of his first and greatest acts of the episode is to place his confidence and trust in his apprentice.
*If so, WHERE IS AHSOKA?? I NEED TO KNOW.
The rescue of Hera Syndulla, when compared to our Spectres’ other exploits, isn’t that spectacular or especially difficult. This isn’t even their first detention center break out! And Kanan obviously knows this, so rather than wasting his time (and ours, as viewers) with despairing over the situation, he resolutely focuses on the future beyond him, made manifest in the form of Ezra, his apprentice, and works to ensure that Ezra is able to rise to whatever difficulties that present themselves.
…Is what I wrote in my notebook before Ezra gave the Star Wars equivalent of ‘chill, dude, we got this’. That’s not me being snarky against Ezra, by the way, because I thought it was genuinely touching, as Kanan tried to connect with his protege, that Ezra’s ‘you taught me well’ reply provided all the comfort than Kanan needed in that moment, even though Ezra did not know it at the time. Even if it did sound like he was trying to suck up to his master.
Okay I guess I couldn’t resist being a little snarky. *Shrug emoji*
And yet that was not all that took place in that scene. Yes, Kanan was trying to impart some last nuggets of wisdom on Ezra, but he was also trying to instill in Ezra Kanan’s own confidence in him. By asking Ezra to take the lead in the rescue of the one person who means the most to him, Kanan silently confided his belief in Ezra, that he knew Ezra was more than up to the task of leading. ‘You didn’t teach me how to handle this’ is Ezra’s despondent remark in the next episode – but Ezra was wrong. This is exactly what Kanan was training him for, he just didn’t know it. Not only that, but Ezra’s ably demonstrating such skills probably gave Kanan a sense of closure so that he may embrace his fate knowing that the kid will be all right.
This ship, not so much
Except … was it really such a good idea to place such a burden as that on Ezra’s shoulders? By that I mean the emotional fallout. While Kanan no doubt knew that – likely no matter what – he wouldn’t be coming back from this, Ezra didn’t know, and Kanan neglected to forewarn him. As such, I can only imagine that Ezra would blame himself for Kanan’s death, would no doubt reenact the mission over and over in his mind, wondering what he could have done differently.
Way to undermine the whole ‘confidence’ thing, Kanan.
Hera
They say that the best way to learn what a person is truly like is to torture them for hours and hours, with just a smidge of truth serum and a soupçon of name calling. What? It’s a popular phrase in the Netherlands. Questionable authorship aside, it’s generally true, for we do get a glimpse of the real Hera. And what do we see? A façade. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing – far from it, for I’ve often felt that Hera has been underserved by the show: Hera is clearly the heart of the team, its driving force, and yet at times she is portrayed the True Rebel™ of the crew – and just that, nothing more. Here, she fulfills that role as she stoically resists her interrogators – but as Kanan shows up, that façade slips, her careful wording slips and we glimpse a character who, yes, has doubts, as filled with hope, and a supreme confidence in her team. A belief that no matter how hard the situation is, her family will be there for her.
Which in itself is a problem, because as we see in the very same episode that that’s not always going to be the case. And in the next episode we see the two sides of her in conflict as she’s struggling to cope with her loss, the rebel side struggling to move on, to continue the fight, and the personal side grieving the loss of a loved one, a hoped-for future now denied her, and the loss of the belief that their team will come through no matter what. This, in turn, jeopardizes the rebel side of her as it undermines her desire to continue fighting. I’m already sad that this show is ending, but I’m now moreso because I would have loved to have seen more of Hera’s internal conflict as she struggled to face that fear, to confront and overcome the possibility of loss – or even not. It would have been incredible to see someone that we know and (hopefully) love, and have followed for four years … lose. Lose it all. To give up, to pack up her bags, to say ‘bugger this for a lark, I’m saving what happiness I have left.’ and then find it on a beach, because if nothing else, that woman deserves a vacation.’
God damn, I am going to miss this show.
