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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Full Series Rebels 3.08 - Iron Squadron - Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

Discussion in 'Star Wars TV- Completed Shows' started by Todd the Jedi , Nov 17, 2016.

  1. La Calavera

    La Calavera Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2015
    Their mission was to get Tua out of Lothal or get her list of rebel sympathizers, which they failed spectacularly. Not only that they didn’t realize they were being tracked and that led to the destruction of their base, which led to an entire season of them just recovering from it and finding a new base. The episode also made it pretty obvious that Vader was going very, very easy on them. I do think that was a well-written example of how to make the villains threatening without killing the main cast: make them fail their missions, or make them do risky decisions that end up jeopardizing the rebellion because they underestimate what they are dealing with.

    I’m sure they will do the same with Thrawn. What bugs me is that the plot of this show is 90% of Ghost crew winning against pretty much anyone (including Mandos) and 10% of them failing only because they were up against Big Boss villains. And that gets too predictable, boring and even frustrating to watch. It makes me all the more willing to root against the Ghost crew's successes, because I want to see something different.
     
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  2. Vana

    Vana Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 25, 2005
    I totally want to see the Ghost crew fail, too. They would deserve that, it is so annoying to see them win all the time, even when it is against logic...
     
  3. Swashbucklingjedi

    Swashbucklingjedi Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 3, 2010
    It would also make them better main characters because heroes that win all the time are boring to follow. Failing from time to time would make them more likable and would be more interesting to see if they make it this time or not.
     
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  4. Black Star Gunner

    Black Star Gunner Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Oct 18, 2014

    Agree with your frustration that the Ghost crew never loses. This last episode pushed me too far. Even against Darth Vader (!), the fact that the crew walked away unharmed is essentially a WIN. Think about it, Vader is the most bad ass Sith whose job is to hunt down remaining Jedi/FS people, and rookie Kanaan and "new-to-the-force" Ezra achieve a stalemate with him, and even worse, PADAWAN Ahsoka (she wasn't even a Jedi) basically beat him and chopped up his mask. Let that sink in for a moment. Unbelievable. And yes, I'm really hoping Thrawn does something in the very next episode that he's in, to show he's not a complete schmuck against what are some space hacks (although Sabine is cool).
     
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  5. La Calavera

    La Calavera Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2015
    ^ Oh come on, you know you are exaggerating. The episode didn’t need to spell out to the audience that they were no match for Vader and that letting them go was part of the plan. Ahsoka didn’t beat him, he beat her on one-on-one combat. Then she pulled a Han Solo on him. Did Vader need to exclaim “What?!” to make it more obvious to the audience that he was caught off guard? (though they missed the opportunity for a funny ANH callback)

    You don’t need to make villains kill everyone they face or chop off their limbs to make them feel threatening or superior. Walking away unharmed = WIN? What? By that logic, then if Vader hadn't chopped off Luke's hand, Episode V would have been called "The Rebellion Strikes Back", I assume?

    Making villains kill or hurt important characters is the easiest way to make them feel threatening, sure, but not the only way to tell that story. In fact, stories where the heroes survive unharmed a convincingly threatening villain are the ones that pose the most narrative challenges and more worthy of praise, if you ask me. Look at the Thrawn Trilogy. Which hero Thrawn killed or even hurt there? (honest question, I don't remember). Point is, Thrawn didn’t need to kill or physically harm the main characters to prove his worth.

    I do think they did well by Vader so far. In fact, Vader inflicted more consequences in Rebels than we saw him doing in the OT. He wiped out almost entirely Phoenix Squadron AND their Base AND all their accomplishments in Tarkintown AND completely ruined their mission to get the list AND later he got rid of their best player (Ahsoka). It doesn’t matter if she is now too scared to come out Malachor or if she is trapped in the afterlife, point is, HE ****ED THEM OVER pretty badly. He didn’t need to kill an important character or chop off a limb to prove his villainy, that’s how badass he is. The Grand Inquisitor scarred Ezra, Maul blinded Kanan, but guess what, they both would rather ran way than face Vader.


    Look, the show has its problems and I already voiced my opinion on the writing, but I don't think the solution to that is to now make the villains unnecessarily gory. I would rather they focus more on how they tell the stories instead. Creating more smart imperials who can also cause the Ghost crew to fail their missions would be a start.
     
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  6. Ithorians

    Ithorians Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 26, 2016
    Excellent points!... and the idea of Vader saying "what?" before Ahsoka´s attack made me laugh big time, lol...
     
  7. Zejo the Jedi

    Zejo the Jedi Jedi Knight star 3

    Registered:
    Nov 16, 2016
    I don't remember him saying that.
     
  8. Ithorians

    Ithorians Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 26, 2016
    He didn´t! I was laughing at the mental image I got from La Calavera´s post...
     
  9. La Calavera

    La Calavera Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2015
    In case you didn't get the reference:

     
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  10. Ithorians

    Ithorians Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 26, 2016
    I did get it, but it made sense to me in that scene. In the Ahsoka one it would have felt completely unnecessary, I don´t know... I just found it hilarious, ha!
     
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  11. Zejo the Jedi

    Zejo the Jedi Jedi Knight star 3

    Registered:
    Nov 16, 2016
    I get it, i'm just lazy and don't always read longer posts.
     
  12. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2011
    This one was so unmemorable that I forgot to review it.

    So Sato has an overconfident nephew with a death wish.

    I did kind of like the fact that Ezra made sense. That was not the direction I was expecting the writers to go with him this season.
     
  13. Leoluca Randisi

    Leoluca Randisi Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 24, 2014
    I really enjoyed the Iron Squadron episode, I hope to see Iron Squadron in The Rebels group!
     
  14. Chris0013

    Chris0013 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 21, 2014
    Just re-watched and have to ask what the heck is wrong with Imperial officers? I am kind of thinking they needed that junior officer to be like Scott Evil.

    Admiral Konstantine: I have a cunning ruse to trap them...
    Junior Officer: Sir...why don't we blow the ship up now...we have it targeted...I can just give the order to fire
    Admiral Knostantine: Because I have a cunning ruse and I am the Admiral.
    Junior Officer: Sir...we could just board the ship and take prisoners and then blow up the ship. We will have a prisoner to torture for information.
    Admiral Konstantine: Lieutenant...I have a cunning ruse....
     
  15. Pain and Suffering

    Pain and Suffering Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 8, 2015
    This episode was a bit boring. Probably the best line was Zeb’s “sounds like a ship full of Ezras.”

    I didn’t like the character design for Jonner, but the other two were okay. I especially liked Gooti. She looked cool. I like the desperation in her voice when she said “Help. He was going to say help,” when her leader Mart tries to ask the Rebellion for help in a rather obvious message. I liked Mart’s costume design; it reminded me of the outfits the Freemakers wear.

    Thrawn was lame. He didn’t arrive to help until it was too late, and then he let the rebels escape without any attempt to fight back. He handled Konstantine poorly; giving an incompetent Imperial insufficient forces to catch the rebels just makes the superior officer look incompetent. Especially since Thrawn arrived later, only to watch as the rebels made their getaway.

    Sabine was kind of acting weird when Ezra suggested using her idea to help Iron Squadron. I wonder what that was about?

    Personally, I think this episode would have done better to focus on Sato and Mart’s relationship, since in the small bits of interaction we saw between the two, they seemed surprisingly close. It seems weird to risk the lives of a lot of rebels just to save one kid, so maybe they should have made it where the Rebellion wouldn’t put a bunch of people’s lives in danger just to save one teenage boy, and Sato, knowing that he is the only family Mart has left, decides to risk himself and go on a solo mission to rescue Mart. And since Rebels is supposed to be about the Ghost crew, Ezra could volunteer to assist Sato. That way, the show could focus on the relationship between Ezra and Sato as well, which is an interesting dynamic that was lightly touched on in season 2, and I think has changed in an interesting way since then.