What They Say:
Empire Day – A refugee of the Empire seeks help from the Rebels to get off the planet with important Imperial information.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Star Wars Rebels gave us a good bit of time with Hera and Sabine the last time around and began to paint the picture that, when it comes to the crew of the Ghost, Hera’s really the one running things. We got some good time between the two characters, but the realization of how things work on the ship was certainly instructive as you get the sense of Kanan being less the one in charge, which is something that you tend to think of when it comes to Jedi. Kanan’s past is one that’s still open to a lot of exploration and I’m looking forward to seeing more of how he and Hera ended up working together. Sabine still didn’t get a lot of time overall, but we at least got a feel for her a bit more and having her work with Hera after being so distrustful of her was helpful.
With this episode, we get to focus on something called Empire Day, a day that Ezra really has little love for as it involves a whole lot of propaganda involving the anniversary of the founding of the Empire and the end of the Clone Wars. There’s a lot of bread and circuses to be sure, but we also see that there resistance members out there still trying to encourage people to do just that, resist. On this world, there’s a search for for a Rodian named Tseebo, who Ezra seems to know. Empire Day has a more personal meaning for him because of what he’s lost from it and the whole situation is pushing him further over the edge a bit due to his growing Jedi abilities. What we see in a nutshell is that his parents were rebels before there really were any and their wanting to help people that were in trouble with the Empire put them into the trouble they got into.
The Empire Day celebrations are pretty big in a local color kind of sense with the government side doing their best to dazzle the locals while also showing off a new TIE fighter that’s pretty neat looking with its minor adjustments. It’s also a moment that’s being used to strike back in a tiny way against the Empire, but one that, even amid the chaos, can help spread the word. What’s surprising is the kind of people involved here as not only is Kallus back on Lothal, but the Inquisitor is as well and neither are acting in a decisive way when all the bad stuff goes down. Mostly because while it is a problem, they’re after bigger game with the Rodian they’re after. an Imperial intelligence worker that has disappeared with a great deal of information.
While we get the general idea of the importance of Tseebo the Rodia and how useful he can be in their greater fight, there’s some good stuff revealed about Ezra’s parentage and the fact that he was born on Empire Day, making him hate it all the more. Tseebo is played comically here as an overloaded person, but what we get with Ezra as the balance works well because there’s a somber and serious side coming through from him. It doesn’t get explored in a big way, but it sets a little more of a foundation for the character and why he’d help Tseebo beyond his basic usefulness. And it all works towards giving us a decent aciton sequence as they do what they can to get him offworld and secure the information.
In Summary:
The action dominates the final act here in a good way as everyone gets their opportunity and we get a good mix of craft going at it, including more time with the Imperial Troop Transport vehicle that just delights me each time. The character side is focused heavily towards Ezra with what we get from his past, but there’s also some decent stuff when it comes to some of the others as Kanan has some good stuff and the group as a whole really start to understand who Ezra really is and why they have to help him on his larger journey. It’s a good balance of material overall that has us starting to get to know the characters more and I like getting a bit more establishment on how the galaxy works since the end of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Empire.
Grade: B
