A search for clues reveals a whole lot of information.
What They Say:
Shroud of Darkness – Kanan, Ezra and Ahsoka return to the Jedi Temple on Lothal; they seek answers from Yoda about the inquisitors’ ability to track the rebels.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Star Wars Rebels the last time around was the kind of episode that did absolutely nothing for me. It was well put together and it handled everything competently enough, but it was the kind of story that was predictable from the first minute to the last minute with what it would do. It’s hard to take Kallus seriously after all that’s happened, especially considering how quickly Imperial commanders are seemingly dispatched for failure, but the biggest problem was that we’d seen that story so many times before that even with better/richer characters it would still fail. The second half of this season has been stronger overall with its story ideas and connective nature to the rest of the Star Wars narrative and that has me hopeful as we get into the final run of episodes for the season that things will be firing on all cylinders like the first season did at this point.
This episode at least kicks things off in a big and fun way with a battle on some world where Kanan and Ezra have gone searching for a new secret rebel base to set up shop. Unfortunately, they ran into the two inquisitors there and have a pretty solid action sequence that shows both of them working some really creative stuff. Part of this is just that we know Kanan has a history of working with other Jedi and some training, thanks to the comics run, and he’s imparted some of it to Ezra as well. It’s such a contrast to what we have with Luke in the original trilogy that it can be a bit jarring. But remembering that he truly had no teacher in this sense and that most of his actual training came from Yoda, and at an older age for Luke, paints a very different kind of picture in how the Jedi are existing within the galaxy during this dark period.
And we also learn something fascinating here that’s definitely a welcome surprise. Ezra is also learning from training holograms – holograms that were recordings of Anakin. This definitely colors some of Ezra’s training in a really neat way, but it also leads to some good if brief conversation about how Ahsoka knew him in person and what kind of warrior he was. It also reaffirms when she last saw him as Anakin and her being unaware of who he became after the events of the third film. With all that in mind, the trio opts to head back to Lothal together to visit the Jedi Temple that was discovered previously in order to try and commune with Yoda. Since the group is running into the inquisitors an awful lot, a little more information is required. But even this offers a neat moment as Ahsoka won’t use her abilities to open the temple as she left the Order previously and it doesn’t feel right to be involved in this.
The temple offers up a new entrance this time around compared to the last time and that means a new way to interact with it. Kanan ends up drawn into a new doorway with a little meditation and has a temple guard within that’s really well designed, going for an Asian feeling that comes across very well. The faceless guard is interesting just in how it plays to some of the dynamics of Anakin here with Ezra being called a student that will turn dark, but the guard takes it a step further by wanting to eliminate Ezra now. Ezra, for his part, has a pretty decent little interaction with Yoda as he ends up drawn into things after talking with Ahsoka and I like that we get the minor Dagobah visual added into it as well. With Ezra’s abilities continuing to grow the change in how he perceives Yoda is definitely welcome. The more knowledge-oriented approach of Ezra’s here is a good contrast to the bigger action sequence that Kanan represents.
Ahsoka’s time here is the hardest as she ends up having a vision of Anakin accusing her of leaving him when he needed her the most, which plays into her fears pretty well. It’s hard to tell whether she really realizes what he’s become as it’s very plain to the viewer in the presentation here and with what she hears, but since she doesn’t quite see it herself you can’t be sure that she’s still in denial about it. The combined elements of all three of these visions and paths that we see are well done and all it comes back to the events happening physically around them, which has the inquisitors showing up to destroy them. There are little growth moments to be had here for each of them and so many things so close to being realized but not quite that it might feel like it should be really frustrating but instead it just feels right as part of building the larger whole. At least their path is becoming a bit clearer here from what they each get.
In Summary:
Star Wars Rebels does a lot of really good stuff here, the kinds of things that you want more of but know that you can’t do them each episode as it would be too much. With its focus primarily on Kanan, Ezra, and Ahsoka, the show does a lot of good stuff here in expanding the scope of their knowledge and connections to the rest of the overall storyline. While I do wish that the show was building its own mythology more within the bigger picture rather than relying heavily on elements from the Clone Wars and pre-Original Trilogy connections, it’s doing it in a mostly smart way while still doing its best to remember that the new characters here are the ones that should really be front and center. I definitely like what they do in this episode in working this blend as it just felt very smooth and full of interesting bits of nuance.
Grade: A-
