Full Series Grade the Episodes 2.01-2.02: "The Siege of Lothal" (Spoilers Allowed)

I love watching Anakin fly again. That is something you never see much of post EPIII. I was hoping Ahsoka would fly a bit.

 

edit. Sorry, just a grading thread. My mistake.

 

TCW didn't have to be the way it was. Its format wasn't an inevitability that its creators were powerless to change. They could have written a more centred and linear show.

 

To each, their own I guess. I was caught up in just about every episode of TCW; and waiting a week in between was too much. It really wasn't that way through the first season of Rebels. I was like, "ok, another episode of the ongoing antics of the Ghost Crew". But the last episode left off with a cliffhanger on Ahsoka's revelation and TSOL does have me yearning for the upcoming season in the Fall.

 

1/10

It's become painfully obvious that Filoni is past his prime and lacks the ability to coordinate a compelling animated story. Given that Rebels is the only Star Wars media currently available, true Star Wars fans deserve something better than what we've been given. It's clear that Filoni just doesn't care about Star Wars as much as I do. I'm sorry to say this, but as an expert on Star Wars, as well as all other things in life, I say that he needs to go.

Quite frankly, it's just not enough that the episode opened with a really exciting space battle. It's not enough that it had interesting dialogue and great voice acting. It's not enough that it had cool twists and turns in the plot. It's not enough that Ahsoka got to do an epic freak out when she learned the truth.

None of that really cool story stuff matters if you don't depict Vader's helmet exactly, 100% like it was in the OT. The show simply becomes a failure. It doesn't matter that Vader was correctly portrayed as cunning and ruthless. It doesn't matter that Vader seemed like a holy terror to the main characters and the other Rebels. All that matters is the angle of Vader's helmet. That design is completely unacceptable.

And while we're on the subject of Vader's model design, why is it impossible for Filoni to scale Vader's size correctly? It's obvious that he's not researching canon sources, such as comic book covers. Vader's height needs to be at least 4 times of the diameter of the first Death Star, as correctly depicted here in the alternate cover of Marvel's Vader #1. Everyone knows that comic book covers are completely accurate reflections of canon. Geez Filoni, what's wrong with you?

Spoiler

10/10

I saw this episode at Celebration, and loved it. Had everything I could realistically want in a Star Wars episode. Except Warlord Zsinj. I took 1/10th of a point off because Warlord Zsinj didn't make an appearance.

 

I like the series, but I have to say, I'm with you on that. There's just so much of it that, at some point, it gets hard's hard to even swallow the "mirroring" line of reasoning anymore.

And it's not just dialogue/situations, either. I mean, it doesn't help when they go so far as to use classic musical ques in similar/same moments. If I remember correctly (I only watched it once), during the final chase scene between Vader and the Ghost, didn't we hear a moment of the same (or a very, very similar) score to when the Vader was bearing down on Luke during the trench run?

I really wish they'd quit with that. Yes, I get it. But geez, all you're really accomplishing is planting a seed of, "Oh, okay, so you're telling me that it's like in ANH (only not quite as good the second time around)." And a quality scene is threatened with coming off as a pale imitation.

I'd much prefer they just tone that blatant mimicry stuff down by a large amount. And if you really want to reference a classic moment -- and there are times when it makes sense to include a nod -- maybe try to do it with a little more deft of a hand (Like that ANH callback: They could have taken the passage and maybe tried an inversion of the theme; maybe put it in a minor key. Something).

But no. It's like a sledgehammer with this stuff.

 

Octavian Dibar

I give your review a 10/10, would read gain, enjoyed it.

 

12/10
Fantastic episode! I felt like I was watching everything that makes Star Wars great!
Great dynamic personalities amongst the Rebels.
Epic space battles.
+1 James Earl Jones! *goosebumps* *shivers up/down spine*
+1 Ahsoka!!! *chills from that scene between her and Darth*

No truer words have ever been spoken! Keep them honest!

 

Watching it right now, typing about it as i'm watching.

here comes the Ghost.
flying "Solo"! nice.
Go Sabine.
Oh no it's a trap! I think.
jump to lightspeed! yay!
Vader! yay!
Incompetent woman.
Ahsoka!
a hammerhead.
what's the reason??, minister tua
stormtrooper disguise Kanan.
Sabine
oh no minister tua died! there was a bomb on board!
shield generators. military grade.
Ezra feels something.
Enter Darth Vader!
Kanan got tossed.
Ezra got tossed!
god their a couple of lightweights.
uh oh ATDP fell on Darth!
not for long.
Run Jedi Run!
oh no Sabine!
a Sith Lord. the ancient enemy of the Jedi.
talkin' bout Lando??
it is Lando!
you old smoothie.
omg they gave Lando's droid a southern twang.
10,000 Jedi... down to 2.
The Rebels escaped.
But there's a tracking device on it.
It's Vader's tie fighter on the attack!
Ahsoka tagging along.
"The Apprentice Lives!"
oh no she fainted!
meet you at Safe Haven.
haha! they caught Vaders' ship instead of The Ghost.
The Emperor.
Dispatch another Inquisitor?!


Whew, cool episode. A couple times was slow. but very fun to see Darth Vader. just for that,i 'll give this episode a 10.

 

Now had a chance to see it, I say 7/10

It was enjoyable and Darth Vader stole the show (and needs his own one) and James Ear Jones is fantastic. The scene at the end where Kallus is praising him and he tersley tells him to clear the Bridge was pitch perfect. All the voice actors did great jobs and the action was fun.

That aside there are still the usual issues with the show. You have the usual copying of scenes/dialouge from the OT and even an almost barefaced rip-off from Aliens too now.
IE to many character shields, Greedo Kallus shooting first but being unable to hit Kanan a foot away was face palm worthy. While the plot was pretty much the same as all the others i.e infiltrate then escape an Imperial complex.
Vader pretty much did the same at the Inquisitor, ie he meets them/fights them/beats them then they get away, not forgetting using a tracking device on there ship.
Also the final scene where Ahsoka realises who Vader is, is great but therin lies the problem.From a story perspective it only has relevance to Ahsoka and Vader himself Ahsoka is not a main character so Vader's identity will have no relevance to the Ghost crew.

All in a all a fun, enjoyable episode but having Darth Vader on the show, doesn't disguise the problems the show has, which will not go away.

 

It'll have relevance to Kanan - he's a Padawan, just like Ahsoka was - and he'll remember Anakin as a Jedi.

 

I have to agree with Ahsoka's Tano on one thing. I absolutely cannot stand those commercials. I blush everytime a break starts.

 

I DVR the new episodes of Rebels, and it still doesn't help to mask the channel it's recording. I know it's a moot point to talk about it now, but I miss when TCW was on Cartoon Network. At least then you might go through promos for Archer and other mature programs on Adult Swim.

 

This obvious mimicry is what bugs me the most too. It comes off as amateur fan fiction. Maybe there are times where the mimicry makes sense, but it seems like there are two or three heavy handed examples every episode.

Last season this would have been a 10, but my expectations increase for a show after the first season. So I give it only an 8, mainly because of the above.

 

me too

 

Yep. Darth Vader was hands-down my favorite part of the episode (I mean, come on, what SW fan wouldn't feel that way after watching this? ). And I'd almost say that seeing him pilot his Advanced x1 in battle again was my favorite part of the show.

You know, it just hit me: Is this the first (canon) time since 1977 that we've seen Darth Vader pilot a ship?

 

So finally I watched it last Saturday and it was really good and an overall fine two-part opener to the second season. I gotta say that the series really kicked into gear with this one almost right off the bat and delivered a great forty minutes; a more intense and dangerous storyline than anything from the previous season (Darth Vader dominated this one pretty easily with his appearance and role as the big bad; loved all of the stuff with him), very good action scenes throughout (such as the sweet lightsaber duel against the dark lord and the latter taking on the small rebel fleet on his own in his TIE fighter with his mad flight skillz), some nice humorous moments (like the mind trick scene and Kassius reaction to accidentally having caught Vader's TIE in the tractor beam) and overall good pacing (also, I appreciated that it was more serious than much of the previous season while still not being too dark so it felt like a good balance, not going too far in either direction).

I enjoyed the Maketh Tua defection angle (which kinda was to be expected) and liked how it was done with her promising to tell the Ghost crew and their Rebel allies (but while I don't have big problem with her being offed I think it happened a bit too early as I think they should have utilized her character more), liked that the stormtroopers were at least slightly more competent than in the first season and more on par with their OT portrayal, the Ghost crew working with other more organized and equipped Rebels and the way Ahsoka was involved in the episode (not having a main lead role but being more of a supporting character which is suitable; that scene of her making contact with Vader through the Force and suffering a critical blowback as a result was a neat little scene). Another thing I really appreciated was that there was a clear feel of danger for the gang who never got had this bad luck before (not only failing their mission to get Tua away safely and getting shot down, but Kanan getting his shoulder injured and Sabine getting hit by a couple of blaster shots deflected back at her, which even that was surprising) unlike in the majority of the first season where they managed to give the baddies the slip without suffering pretty much any damage, but now things are changing, both for them and the show, it seems.

Anyway, I very much liked this start of the new season and think it really kicked off things well and I hope the rest of the show will stay similar in tone to this premiere which I would go out and say is the best of the series so far, even more so than the final episode of the first season; most of the stuff in it worked at least fairly well with one some minor issues (one thing that did annoy me a bit was how they so nonchalantly landed on Lothal and openly left their airbus without any apparent concern for guards that there conveniently were none of there; at least the shuttle hangar scenario was a trap which explained the lack of any guards but this was pretty lazy) so I'd say it was some quite solid stuff overall (and now the wait for the rest of the second season begins).

9/10 (I was thinking of maybe giving it an 8 but I'll go with a 9 this time; it does feel earned).

 

i don't know, that is a good question, probably. I was talking to a friend of mine , saturday, who lives in another part of the country and he commented on Vader flying too and how he got the ship to spin around and do trick maneuvers.

 

Yeah, it was a sweet maneuver. No doubt. Put a smile on my face.

I said to my four-year-old daughter "Did you see that?!?"

She had:

 

15/10

+ Darth Vader!
+ James Earl Jones!
+ Ghost Crew Character Development!
+ The beating Kanaan and Ezra took from the superior Vader!
+ Vader taking on that rebel cell by himself!
+ Sam Witwer ABSOLUTELY NAILING Emperor Palpatine!

- Chopper didn't take on Vader in a duel to the death.

Watched this episode with tears in my eyes.

 

I think we saw him pilot a TIE advanced in Darth Vader(The comic). Since SOL premirered in April and as far as I know Vader #1 and 2 were released in Febuary and March the comic wins.

 

No, he's definitely flown a fighter in Lords of the Sith (and was devastating in it) and I believe he flow a Naboo frigate in the Darth Vader comics.

But yes, Vader in a spaceship is awesome, I'd like to see more of that (life action please??!).

 

I think both Vader and Tarkin fly starfighters together against rebels, in the Tarkin novel - which was even earlier.

 

You know, I own and have read every one of these novels and comics you guys are mentioning, so I don't know why I phrased the question the way I did.

But this is definitely the first time we've seen Vader pilot a ship in an on-screen canon work since ANH, right? To take a step back and think about that for a second is really something, no?