Can you remember the first time you ever saw Star Wars? I would imagine that most people’s first experience with the franchise was one of the Original Trilogy – A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, or Return of the Jedi. Becoming immersed in the magic of that universe is an important experience for everyone, and it’s an experience that is simply unforgettable. Since the release of those original three movies, tons of Star Wars content has been released. The prequel films, a vibrant expanded universe of comics and books, and more. As great as most of this content was, none of it ever really captured the magic of the original trilogy. What sets Rebels apart from the rest of Star Wars fiction is that it recaptures the tone and feel of the original films.
The episode begins on Lothal, with a view of the scenery, before focusing in on the show’s young protagonist, Ezra Bridger, staring wistfully into the distance, as an Imperial Star Destroyer appears in the sky. It’s at this moment that the show really pulls you in. The sound design perfectly captures the sound of a Star Destroyer, and hints of John Williams’ Imperial March in the music will undoubtedly send chills down your spine. And even though no words have been spoken yet, we know quite a bit about Ezra’s character, simply as a result of his facial expressions. In many ways, he’s a younger Luke Skywalker.
As the episode progresses, and new characters are introduced, we get a sense of two things. First, we really begin to see the impacts of the Empire on normal people. This is something that the Original Trilogy never showed us – instead, those films were concerned with telling us how the Empire was brought down. Here, we get into the nitty gritty of it, and yet, everything here feels like a massive deleted scene from A New Hope. We see instances of the Empire’s brutality, and it provides great motivation for the crew of The Ghost. The second thing that we get a sense for is that the main characters – Kanan, Hera, Zeb, Sabine, and Ezra – are a great cast, and one that will never be a chore to spend time with in any way.
The characters are impeccably written, and every one of them fills a role. The comparisons to Firefly are far from inaccurate, as, in many ways, Rebels is a very similar show. The largest difference is that it will be getting a second season, but hey, that’s a different conversation for a different time. Though each member of the cast has a role to play, their personalities do manage to defy stereotypes and viewer expectations of them. So even though Rebels has characters in these stereotypical roles, these characters have traits that wouldn’t be expected from their type of character. These characters are unique, both in the Star Wars universe, but also in fiction in general. In addition to the writing, this is what makes the characters so interesting.
Despite having similar creative teams, Rebels is a very different show from The Clone Wars. It lacks the polished feel that The Clone Wars borrowed from the prequel films, and swaps it out for the grimy, lived in feel of the original trilogy. Even the characters are quite different – barring a brief cameo from Obi-Wan Kenobi in holocron form. One of the two things that Rebels borrows from The Clone Wars is its sense of belonging. Rebels feels sure of itself, and the show runners know that this has a place in established continuity. As only the second piece of officially canon Expanded Universe fiction, it’s definitely a relief that this show is so sure of itself. The second thing that Rebels borrows from its predecessor is the awesome action sequences. The scale is not quite there, but the exhilarating, tense feel most definitely is.
Spark of Rebellion’s plot is also exceptional. While this episode mostly serves as a way to introduce us to the characters and world of Rebels, it doesn’t do this at the expense of an intriguing plot. We go from Lothal, to deep space, back to Lothal, back to space, to Kessel, and then return to Lothal, all in the space of just under 43 minutes. The driving force behind the plot is the freeing of Wookie slaves from the Empire. Though that could definitely lend itself to fairly simplistic story telling, there are unpredictable plot twists that keep the plot interesting. None of these twists feel forced – in fact, they all happen quite smoothly, as if this is where the plot was always meant to go, and the very idea that it would do something different would be preposterous.
In addition to being a great plot, it also lends itself very, very well to getting some excellent character development done. Everything that happens here forces the characters to adapt to situations they aren’t used to, and deal with problems they aren’t used to dealing with. This is true for Ezra even more so than the others, as he is completely out of his depth here. But, as he faces new challenges, we see his outlook, and some small parts of his personality, begin to change. In this way, the plot drives character development, which is what all the best plots do. However, characters also drive character development. Despite the crew of the Ghost being together for a while before this episode, we still see them impacting one another, and we see them change due to dialogue with other members.
Star Wars: Rebels is the first piece of Star Wars fiction that truly feels like it is set in the galaxy of the Original Trilogy. That’s not a knock against the rest of the EU. Most elements of the old EU decided to take Star Wars in a new direction. That isn’t to say that Rebels doesn’t – it’s definitely doing new things with the property. However, in many ways, it stays true to A New Hope. The music, the sound, the art direction, and the writing are all reminiscent of the best parts of any of the original three films, and that is most definitely a good thing.
