Star Wars Rebels Season 4 episodes 5-6 review - The Occupation/Flight of the Defender

In a slight change of schedule, we're doing Rebels now, and starting Marvel Month on Sunday, there will be no rebels review next week, just 3 Marvel Month reviews

The Occupation

OK, WE GET IT, REBELS, YOU LIKE EZRA AND SABINE, GIVE SOMEONE ELSE THE SPOTLIGHT FOR A CHANGE, OR AT LEAST SWITCH UP THE PAIRINGS!

And with that rant out of the way, let’s take a look at The Occupation. The core rebels family return to Lothal and find a world vastly different than the one they left back in The Siege of Lothal. The Empire has tightened its grip on the region with a full blockade lockdown and there’s rumours around that the TIE Defender is getting an upgrade.

First off, there are quite a few call-backs in this episode. Visago makes his return, and there’s puffer pigs and their reaction to Zeb is exactly the same as it was before, and they make a couple of jokes about it. As a smuggler, who’s conveniently voiced by one of the main cast to save money, he has the capability of getting them past the imperial lockdown, they have no means of escape. Also, Valden Rundor was in this episode, you remember him, right?

RIGHT?????

Also, we see the welcome return of Dante Basco as Jai Kell, who has joined commander Ryder’s rebel cell of Lothal. I like Dante Basco, and I liked Jai Kell, unfortunately he doesn’t get a lot to do in this episode, and even less in the next one. This is a routine issue with Rebels of late, they seem to only want to focus on Ezra and Sabine, to the discredit of every other character. Ezra can be interesting, but when you have a goldmine of characters, it’s OK not to have him in an episode, or have him play a smaller part.

But that said, the small moment between Hera and Kanan was nice, I do like that they do show how bad it’s gotten on Lothal, lockdown, curfews, and even Old Jho, you remember him? He got executed for treason? There really is a feeling of hopelessness in the city, unfortunately it soon becomes about stormtroopers and insert your generic stock chase scene that was in every other episode of season 1 until they finally meet up with Ryder and get to the mission in the next episode. I guess you could call these two-parters in their own rights, but it’s become clear the want to spend time on Lothal and provide closure to the arc that’s been building for some time. Even if it means ditching Kallus and Rex for the time being. (Kallus has had only a few lines since becoming a rebel, he needs some screen time dammit)

This episode is good, although some of the callbacks may fly over people’s heads. The sense of dread was good but the action was relatively boring.

Rating 7/10

Flight of the Defender

Gee, I wonder who are the stars of this ep… OH COME ON!

Seriously, there are only 15 episodes in this season, you really shouldn’t put the focus of this many episodes on the same two characters. I suppose Ezra’s always been a focal character but they’ve been able to devote episodes to others in the past, Kanan, Zeb, and Hera have had focus episodes in all the other series. Fortunately it looks like Hera may get some spotlight next week.

But with rant out of the way, let’s get to the episode itself. Ezra and Sabine need to steal information from the new TIE Defender but things get complicated when Thrawn shows up to aid with the testing, and how does all tie into Ezra’s visions?

OK, some spoilers but I do have something to really praise about this episode, it’s the best showing from Thrawn I’ve seen with the exception of the finale. I see him being strategic and not just letting the Rebels get away because of ‘something.’ My point is, when Sabine and Ezra steal the TIE defender, something he wanted to see tested, he sends some TIEs after them to demonstrate it’s combative abilities, then shuts it down using the remote kill switch when the demonstration is over and has stormtroopers converge on the crash site. That is good strategic planning and I want to see more of this from Thrawn, and less ‘let them go, they’ve earned their victory’ sh*t

So, Ezra’s connection with animals is back, it’s been a while since this one’s been explored, here he needs to follow the white rabbit, I mean Lothcat. Seriously, is every animal on Lothal just a Loth-Earth animal. Are there Lothsheep and Lothmoose and Lothostriches and Lothsandgouses? That’s kinda lazy is what I’m saying.

But it does seem to help them out, giving them entrance to the site, providing an amusing if really stupid distraction so Sabine can get aboard the ship, whilst also getting them in trouble, when Ezra becomes transfixed by the Lothwolf.

The Lothwolf and potential force connections are interesting, and I hope we’ll see more of that as it’s clearly we’re on Lothal for the long haul, even though in the episode they recovered a hyperdrive so they can leave if they manage to install it on a ship. I reckon we’ll be here to at least mid-season, although that’s only 3 episodes away.

It’s a good episode, with some intrigue and mystery and one of the best uses of Thrawn, just account my lower score to fatigue of Ezra and Sabine the stars of every episode.

Rating 7/10