Full Series Grade the Episode 4.09: "Rebel Assault" (Spoilers Allowed)

Clearly the Rebel Alliance isn't yet ready to mount a major attack or even defense, successfully at least, as evidenced by the last episode of S3 and the last episode of the first half of S4. This mostly explains its refusal to try to steal the DS plans from Scarif in RO (I say mostly because clearly many alliance leaders don't believe Erso, and there's also some politics involved). So we're not likely to get another major attack on the Lothal Defender factory.

But it almost certainly WILL get destroyed since IIRC no Defenders appear in ANH. It'll be up to the Ghost crew, and perhaps a few "rogue" allies, not just actual alliance members who disobey orders but folks like Vizago, Hondo, perhaps Ahsoka & Bendu, etc. And it'll probably be a mostly ground-based, especially since their ace pilot has been captured and they need to rescue her (which they obviously will given that she plays a role beyond Rebels). The attack will succeed, but not without sacrifices...

Put another way, the Lothal factory is DUUUUUUUMED.

 

I think the Rebels will do some damage, but not completely destroy it. Still, it will be enough for Tarkin to pull the plug on the Defender in favor of the Death Star. The conversation between Thrawn and Tarkin from that trailer might actually be from the season finale.

 

Perhaps they might not need to destroy it to end its production of Defenders. Say, by attacking convoys of cargo ships that transport some essential component without which they can't be built or work properly. Or, slicing into its code to make it malfunction or even self-destruct, but only after it's been deployed or has engaged in combat. Or, doing same with the code that runs the factory. And so on.

Rebels, and the alliance, are all about asymmetrical warfare, or guerrilla tactics, using non-traditional means of fighting and defeating an enemy. Perhaps not as cruelly as Gerrera did it, but with the same basic mindset. In the end the alliance essentially adopted his military thinking, if not his specific methods. His work is basically done by the time of RO.

So, Tarkin doesn't have to pull the plug on the Defender for it to be a non-factor post-Rebels--unless the rebels have found a way to force him to do so as the only way to save the DS project.

There's an obvious irony in that, of course, in that by effectively ending the Defender program, the rebels will unwittingly make the completion and deployment of the DS more likely. An irony lost on them at the time, of course. I'm guessing that Bail Organa will play a role in making this happen, also unwittingly, which will of course end up backfiring on him big time. Although, I suspect that that's the hidden multiple meaning of the Loth Wolf's repeatedly saying "Dume/Doom".

 

Saw the episode last weekend but it seems like I both forgot to vote and post my thoughts on it.

Anyway, it was a really good one; not as great as the ones before but still solid overall. Really liked the plot of Hera being a part of an X-Wing squadron that crashes in a city on Lothal and she then has to get away from the imperials with the help of Chopper and fellow pilot Mart but getting into trouble when Rukh shows up and hunts them (leading to a great little fight scene and a dramatic moment where she gives herself up to the Imperials to cover Mart and Chopper's escape). The subplot with Kanan wanting to rush to Hera's help but changing his mind when a Loth-wolf appears before him was very good too.

All in all, I really liked it and it had a lot of good stuff in it (it was maybe a bit basic at times but I thought that approach worked just fine and was suitable). I didn't like it as much as the previous two episodes but I'm satisfied with it overall and it was a nice final episode before the mid-season break.

8/10 (Maybe it's worth only a 7/10 but I feel a bit generous).