Full Series Sabine

Hm, dunno. Kanan and Hera are cool too.

 

No doubt about that, they are cool. Sabine's cool too. She's as cool as Ezra, I think.

Maybe Star Wars' next animated series can be about a sister and a brother.

 

Figured I may as well post my analysis on Sabine's backstory here too:

So with Sabine's backstory finally being given closure after the Season 4 premier, I decided I wanted to give a little perspective on this character, using all that we have learnt. Spoilers for all seasons of Rebels below:

Spoiler

The start of Sabine's story can be started with some context, namely the occupation of The Empire on Mandalore. We know this came to be due to the conflict between Deathwatch (the regime that ruled Mandalore under Maul) and The Night Owls (Mandalorian resistance led by Bo-Katan). The Night Owls, being outnumbered and outgunned, called for the help of The Republic through Obi-Wan. The Jedi warned Bo-Katan that this would result Mandalore forfeiting its claim for independence as a system. This warning would eventually come to fruition, as The Republic do indeed cast out Deathwatch and remove Maul from his status as Mand'alor. However The Republic would become The Empire, and ultimately the Mandalorian people traded one enemy for another. Deathwatch became a shunned group, seen as traitors. The leadership of Bo-Katan which was instated after Maul's defeat was compromised by The Saxons who sided with The Empire and helped bring about their rule. In the years that followed, the occupation of the more brutal Imperials would change Mandalorian society. Most relevant in this case, it was expected of clans to induct their warriors into Imperial Academies.

Sabine of Clan Wren is one such example of Mandalorian cadets. We know that Sabine was a special case, her work within the academy was to work as an engineer, developing weapons. Along with this, she did exceptionally well in academic studies involving languages. Sabine was competitive at her time in the academy, she clearly believed in the Imperial cause and that it was beneficial for Mandalore, just as all Saxons thought too. This would spell the start of her nightmarish experience. The weapon Sabine created for The Empire, known as "The Duchess" was developed to counteract the powerful properties of Beskar'gram, sending electric currents to vaporise the armour and anyone wearing it. Sabine was most likely naive as a supportive cadet to think this weapon would be used for good, but would be horrified to discover her weapon was being used against her own people brutally, likely to either enforce Imperial rule or elimate Mandalorian resistance. Sabine would speak out against these actions, likely call for a stop and make a stand against it. When she did, no one stood with her, not even her family. There was also an incident at the academy that made Sabine slightly hydrophobic, but the matter involving her weapon was without doubt the prime reason for her running from the academy.

And so she did, escaping so that she wouldn't be forced to continue development. Sabine destroyed all her research and blueprints, making her the only one who could follow on the work as the creator. Sabine didn't escape alone however, but with the aid of Ketsu Onyo, a fellow cadet. They escaped with the help of a fellow Mandalorian cargo worker and Wookies. They succeeded in escaping Mandalore. This would have consequences for Clan Wren however as Sabine deserted The Empire on very important work. Alrich Wren was taken as a political prisoner and Tristan Wren was made to join the Supercommando programme, this was to ensure The Wrens' loyalty to The Empire. Meanwhile, Sabine and Ketsu had become bounty hunters, though Sabine was the softer of the two. They dreamed of working for The Black Sun. For Sabine this would not come to be, for Ketsu would leave her for dead at her own gain. This, along with her own family not supporting her when she needed them, would result in trust issues which are touched upon mostly in Seasons 1 and 2, noticeably by Hera and Ezra.

Sabine would then go her own path. At some point, she met and was recruited by The Spectres of The Ghost, captained by Hera Syndulla. This would be about a year before Season 1, and all the events that followed.

So there we have it, the whole backstory of Sabine Wren. Honestly, I think Season 3 and the Season 4 premier did a good job of fleshing her character out when beforehand she left so many questions. Now, I'd argue she's just as well developed as Kanan.

 

When did she get her new purple/yellow colors? Did I miss something?

 

She will have her new season 4 look next episode.

She still had her season 3 look for the premier and this week's episode since she just got back but likely changed once she had a moment to take a breath. It's kinda like how she still had her season 1 look for the season 2 premier.

Also, as a big fan of both Mandalorians and The Decepticons, I love your profile pic.

 

ah, gotcha. Thanks. I saw a couple people who dress as Sabine start posting the new colors and I thought I may have missed something from the first four episodes or something,lol.

And thanks, TF's and SW are my life. This is my logo I use for social media.

 

So I noticed Sabine didn't get just a recolour for season 4, she's finally changed her cargo trousers. Seems like she wears a full bodysuit now.

Oh dear. This will be the last time we adjust to yet another Sabine look.

 

I hope you don't mind if I move this conversation here since we're back to discussing Sabine more than the actual episode anyway.

Thanks for listing those, but I still don't see the ways she has improved much. She definitely has improved with leadership qualities, and I guess she can move past her guilt now. But Sabine was pushed to pick up the Darksaber, she didn't exactly do it of her own initiative. She may not have used revenge against Gar Saxon (which did seem to be an improvement) but she seems to have done some backsliding with using the Duchess of the stormtroopers. Only Bo-Katan walking her through her stopped her from letting the weapon fry those guys for a while. And it was brave to go back and face her family when she had so many negative emotions associated with it, but to make amends with Clan Wren, it kind of seemed like all she had to do was show up, since Ursa and Tirstan seemed glad to have her back. And destroying the weapon doesn't seem to grow her character personally, but I'm assuming that you're talking about Sabine finally being able to make things right and maybe not feel so torn up with guilt anymore.

I'm still confused about her background. It seems like too much for someone that's as young as Sabine. I'm guessing that she entered the Imperial Academy when she was like 10 years old and stayed for like 2 years, during which she designs her weapon. Then she escapes, after her family doesn't stand with her when she speaks out against the Empire. Kind of not surprising, since she's probably only 12-13 years old at this point. It seems like she would be a little too young for anyone to take seriously. So anyway, she maybe spends about a year with Ketsu as "bounty hunters" before they spilt ways. And then she meets up with the Ghost crew at age 14 or so. And she never sees her family in person again until she's 19, which means that it's been a full nine years since she last saw them when she meets them again in Legacy of Mandalore.

 

Pain and Suffering I'd say it's something like that.

 

She really does need her own comic book, or perhaps a novel focused on her.

 

Never say never.

 

In Rebels Recon, it did say that Sabine, being a prodigy, went to the academy early - though 13-14 was the timeframe given at the time.

That may suggest that she has not been with the Ghost crew very long, if we are to fit her time with Ketsu in. Maybe, instead of being with them for 2 years (14 to 16) she had only been with them for a few months by Spark of Rebellion.

I'm also curious about the similarities between the Wren helmets, and that of Rook Kast's. Sabine's had the colour and the eyes, Ursa's had the earpoints. Maybe Alrich Wren (who took his wife's name) was a Kast, or a Rook? The Concept Art gallery shows a Clan Rook warrior with a similar eyed helmet.

 

Her time with Ketsu was brief.

 

Maybe - but we don't know how long Sabine was at the Academy.

I could see her being there for quite some time after she joined (thus allowing her to get a lot of training, and develop The Duchess, in a reasonably long timeframe) - leave fairly shortly before Rebels, and have her time with Ketsu be only a few months or so at most.

 

Thanks for trying to shed some light on Sabine's backstory. But I still think they stuffed too much into her past. I understand that she is a prodigy, but even so, I’m skeptical that she knows all the mechanical and engineering knowledge you need to design a superweapon by the age of 11 or 12. It seems like too much for some one so young to have known have learned all the complicated science and math involved, unless she was taught by Clan Wren (at a really young age) before she entered the academy, but even then it seems like a stretch.

Another thing I don’t understand is why did she become a bounty hunter in the first place? After she designs the weapon and it is tested on Mandalorians, she speaks out against the Empire, then escapes with Ketsu, feeling torn up with guilt about the weapon being used on her fellow Mandalorian. And the first thing she does is…become a bounty hunter? I would think she would want to fight against the Empire. I can understand wanting to lie low first for a little while, but being a bounty hunter is hardly lying low. I just can't reconcile being a bounty hunter with the character, and it doesn’t add anything to Sabine’s character anyway, especially since Ketsu has only been mentioned once since Blood Sisters. It only adds another (unnecessary) knot to the messy tangle of Sabine's past. I'm guessing that Sabine didn't hang around Ketsu long, then. But I would think Sabine would have to have been around the Ghost crew for at least a year to describe them as "a team, in some ways a family."

I’ve also been thinking about Sabine’s lines in Trials of the Darksaber. She says something like “Everything I did was for family, for Mandalore”, but that doesn’t exactly make sense with what we’ve heard, because clearly when she designed the Duchess, she was only thinking of herself and trying to impress the Empire. The only thing she did for her family was leave. And I’m not trying to undermine how hard it would be to walk away from everything she’d ever known, but it’s not exactly “everything” she done in her life. Another thing is if she spoke out against the Empire, than why haven't more of the clans heard about it and about the weapon?

Also, she said that her family didn’t stand with her when she spoke out against the Empire. I’m a bit confused as to what this means exactly. Does that mean that her family would really turn her over to the Empire? Because after Sabine spoke out, that would be their only option, otherwise they would have the Empire crack down on them and possibly try to wipe out Clan Wren. I personally find it hard to buy that Ursa and Alrich would just stand by and let the Empire take their daughter (and possibly even execute Sabine) without a fight.

 

My guess is that this was to tide her by until she managed to make contact with a Rebel cell. Bounty-hunting seems to be the go-to career for martially skilled fringe characters.

Maybe she saw it as a deterrent, intended to put an end to war (hence it being named after the pacifistic Satine) but the Empire made it clear that they planned on using it as a weapon of conquest, not a "peacekeeper".

I could see her believing that peace was in her family's interests.

 

Sabine was described by Ketsu to be soft when it came to the job. Perhaps she did it as something to do with herself but couldn't fully commit to it like Ketsu did.

 

Perhaps she pulled to many ventresses

 

If you're curious on some BTS information on Sabine and building and the weapon, I posted the featurette for it on my channel.

 

I think I like Sabine's new look the most. Looks more natural.

 

She always looks great, but it is nice to see her with a darker appearance. Season 2 was my favourite look for her, though.

2>4=3>1, I feel.

 

Here are her color schemes to date:

Seasons 1-3 (and undercover):


Season 4:

Spoiler

By season, my ranking would be: 3>4>2>1
However, all black as an undercover Imperial looks pretty good as well.

I would love to see what she would like with a black and red color scheme. In my head it looks really cool.

 

I remember when people say that her face changed into season 3, that she aged like Ezra. By looking at that, I'm fairly certain that the only things that have changed for her are her hair and armour.

 

Seeing that, along with the two most recent episodes, solidifies the S4 look as my favorite: still colorful, but relatively understated.

 

Something I couldn't help but notice. Has Sabine used her vambraces at all so far this season? She has darts, a repulsor, a grappling line, an extra pair of blasters and a flamethrower yet I'm pretty sure the last time she used any of this was in her duel with Gar Saxon.

She's making plenty use of her jetpack, though.