Editorial: 5 things I'd like to see in Star Wars Rebels season 2

With Star Wars Rebels returning in October, I'd like to do an editorial I've wanted to do for a while but never got around to. What I'd like to see in the new season of the show. For this list I have not re-watched every episode of the series, so I may get a few details wrong

1) More character development for the crew of the Ghost

Here's what we know about the crew thus far. Ezra is a street urchin whose parents were taken by the Empire, he was inspired by the rest of the crew to be more selfless and wants to become a jedi. Sabine was a former initiate of the stormtrooper academy on Mandalore and is an explosives expert and artist, Zeb's species was destroyed by the Empire, Kanan's is a survivor of order 66 who has survived by largely abandoning the jedi ways, only to come back to them to train Ezra. Hera is... she's an ace pilot. Chopper is... grumpy

The fact is Season 2 is supposed to be significantly longer (they claimed almost double the length, so I presume about 20 episodes) so they do need to dive into the backgrounds of these characters a bit more and allow their development. Hera particularly needs her story fleshed out (although we might see her first meeting with Kanan during the comic) but as we'll undoubtedly unravel more threads about Ezra and explore his relationship with Kanan further, we don't want to forget the others. Zeb and Sabine also need more development.

2) More Star Wars Cameos

In season 1 we had Bail Organa (ok, he's voiced by Phil Lamar, but still), R2D2, C3PO, Lando Calrissian (reprised by Billy Dee Williams), Yoda (reprised by Frank Oz), Ahsoka and we've had Darth Vader (reprised by James Earl Jones) plus briefly Obi Wan Kenobe (another James Arnold Taylor voice) and the Emperor (voiced by Samuel Witwer) we can squeeze in a few more

Whilst Luke isn't a character that can interact with the rebels yet, I think Han Solo certainly could, maybe even Princess Leia, There were rumours of Matt Lanter recording more Anakin (although that might've just been so they could release those unfinished Clone Wars episodes) but there are some opportunities with that especially with Ahsoka's stance in this season

3) A new character to join the Ghost

The thing about the Ghost is that they're a family unit but families can grow and expand, especially when the Empire is hitting harder against them. In some ways being part of the larger rebellion helps with this, but I want a character to join the family, and I don't think Ahsoka is that person. Since this season explores new worlds, there's a lot of possibility for this to happen.

4) A character from the Ghost to die/depart from the group

If the 3-part finale of season 1 and the Siege of Lothal showed us anything, it's that the Empire is still a powerful force and the ultimate demonstration of that would be the death of one of the members of the crew. They've not been averse to killing, the Empire killed 2 stormtrooper commanders, Minister Tua and several members of Phoenix Squadron so far, so it's possible.

Failing that, the thing about a family unit is the dynamic can change. We see something of that in Kanan's reluctance be drawn back into a war after seeing first hand what the Clone Wars were like. There should be tension in the group occasionally (there's a difference between tension and childish bickering) and theoretically it could reach a point where someone decides to leave. This option leaves it open to the character returning, possibly even solo development on their part.

5) Ahsoka vs Darth Vader

Come on, everyone knew this was coming. Master vs Apprentice. We see in a preview clip that Ahsoka departs the Ghost wanting answers and naturally this will lead her to getting close to the Empire. We also see that Vader wants to use Ahsoka to potentially track other lost jedi so the confrontation between the two is inevitable. But I really want to see it

Ahsoka may have 2 lightsabers (now white), Vader is much more powerful with the force, and it's clear that he no-longer harbours the feelings for Ahsoka that he had as Anakin. That may not be the case the other way round and might be another advantage. Will Ahsoka make it out alive? Will she be turned by her former master? Here's hoping the former but it should be a good season. 

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Images used in this review are from Star Wars and Star Wars Rebels and and belong to their respective owners. All images in this review are subject to fair use