Less than 5 – Skip it, 6 – OK, 7 – Good, 8 – Great, 9 – Phenomenal, 10 – You owe it to yourself to watch this episode!
Now that was an episode! Giving a much better showing this time around, Relics of the Old Republic takes our rebels and the clone commanders and places them in the middle of a hectic gunfight. Invoking the best of the frantic and action packed episodes of The Clone Wars, Relics of the Old Republic is fantastic.
This week’s Rebels was a marked improvement over the “technically, but not really” season premiere. While there was a lot to like (Rex’s intro, the deeper characterization of the clones, Kanan’s deep distrust of anything Clone Wars era…) Relics of the Old Republic takes everything to a whole new level. We are thrust into the action pretty hastily with the Empire contacting Wolffe demanding more information on the Jedi. Their coordinates are found with general ease and the Empire commences to fire upon the Republic Walker housing our heroes.
Rex, Gregor and Wolffe bidding the rebels adieu as they prepare for their last stand.
It is awesome to see how anxious Kanan and the gang get when TIE’s start raining down laser blasts while Rex and the clones just walk around the vehicle nonchalantly talking strategy. Having Gregor blow the fighter up in a single shot was definitely impressive and went to show how much these relics still have to offer.
Being isolated on a desert planet for who knows how long has definitely taken its toll on the Clone Troopers. Gregor seemed to be the loopiest but here we have Wolffe literally howling at the Imperial forces while driving head first into an incoming AT-AT. Meanwhile Rex seemingly prepares himself for his last stand by standing on top of his turret waiting to get blasted. The entire sequence was handled with perfection and had me feeling genuine worry for some of these old soldiers (though killing off Rex so early was probably never in the cards).
Housing most of the fight in a sandstorm was a genius move that resulted in some of the coolest looking shots the series has seen thus far. The beams of light from the AT-AT’s poking through the storm as it inches ever closer to crushing the rebels were a sight to behold. And then to have Ezra gun down one of the walkers blind brought back those fond memories of Luke closing his eyes in the trench and taking down the Death Star.
This episode was great in that respect, reminding us of how much we have come to love this universe as well as giving us new reasons to keep that love alive. The reunion between Ahsoka and Rex would have even the toughest of Star Wars fans choking up. If you are a fan of these characters since the beginning (which spans quite a few years at this point) it is a great moment seeing these two together again.
Kanan coming to terms with his hate of the Clones was a powerful moment in itself. Showing how allies can be found in the most unlikely of situations. Having him reluctantly go back to save the Clones worked really well, remembering his Jedi training egged on by Ezra’s persistence.
The Fifth Brother. If he turns out to be powerful, I’d hate to meet the other four.
At the very end of the episode we catch a peek at one of the new Inquisitor’s tasked with harassing our rebel cell, “The Fifth Brother”. He certainly looks more menacing than the inquisitor of last season. Time will tell if he has the skills to back up the looks.
Overall Relics of the Old Republic gets an 8.5/10.
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