Never trust a pirate.
What They Say:
Brothers of the Broken Horn – Trying to escape the pressure of being a Jedi, Ezra responds to a distress call with Chopper; the ship in distress belongs to Hondo Ohnaka, who has an offer for Ezra.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Past is present is a big part of the second season of Star Wars Rebels and it’s been interesting to see how it’s unfolded. I had expected more connections with the original trilogy based off of what we saw at the end of the first season with Tarkin and then the summer special with Vader, but it’s been more interested in connecting with the Clone Wars era more than anything else. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but with this episode we again get another notable character from the past arriving with Hondo Ohnaka, who had a solid role in several bigger episodes over the course of that series.
Thankfully, the focus here is a bit smaller as it sends the bulk of our main cast off on their own mission while leaving Ezra scrubbing the Ghost clean with Chopper helping. Ezra’s got the usual teenage angst thing going about all the training that he has to do, so when a distress call from Vizago’s ship comes in it’s no surprise that he plays it up as following in Kanan’s footsteps by going to help. Discovering that Vizago has apparently lost his ship to Ohnaka in a game of sabac is amusing, though you basically wait for the truth to come out. Ezra’s at least learning a little bit about interacting with others out in the galaxy as when he introduces himself he does it as Lando Calrissian. It’s a fun little sequence overall, especially as the Empire arrives and we get Ezra and Ohnaka heading off to parts unknown. Ohnaka has that kind of loose and freewheeling mindset about him that makes him fun to watch but also just a bit frustrating.
The show plays kind of fast and loose in a fun way as it progresses, drawing in Azmorigan from the first season as who Vizago was going to front the merchandise through. Azmorigan’s going to take advantage of OHnaka of course, but it just gets kind of silly in a fun way from there when the truth of who is who comes out and Chopper stages quite the action sequence. It doesn’t get me to re-evaluate him, but it’s that kind of fun droid action/humor bit. Though you know how things are going to connect back to Kanan and the mission he’s on as the smuggled goods will be useful there, the enjoyment comes from watching Ezra operating on his own for a bit and working alongside Ohnaka. There’s a great kind of ease between the two that works far better than I would have expected.
In Summary:
Though predictable on some level, there’s some a lot to like with Star Wars Rebels this time around. With the show having spent a lot of its time on the past recently, a little more doesn’t hurt since it’s not a constant reminder or reference to it. Ohnaka is a bit of an acquired taste overall though I liked him from the original since he was spread out a good deal through the Clone Wars. This episode gives us a decent standalone piece that doesn’t have much greater impact but serves the purpose of giving Ezra a chance to realize where he belongs and how he has so much more to learn. It’s well executed, has some really cute nods throughout and provides for some good action. It’s not going to be a memorable show for a lot of people, but it’s not a bad way to spend an episode.
Grade: B
