Star Wars Rebels 3.01: Steps into Shadow
Steven Melching and Matt Michnovetz
Bosco Ng and Melchior Zwyer
There is a bit of a jump forward in time in
this season premiere, and that’s all for the better. Ezra’s slow slide into the dark side towards
the end of the second season has taken some significant leaps in troubling
directions, as his need to inflict his own sense of justice on the world takes
hold. With Kanan all but out of the picture
as the story resumes, and the Sith Holocron giving Ezra all kinds of ideas,
things can only go badly.
It doesn’t help that Kanan is blind and running
around with a confining helmet on his head.
As metaphors go, that’s a pretty strong one. Kanan encounters a being called the Bendu
(voiced by Tom Baker of Doctor Who
fame), which has a lot of potential to play with the strict lines between Jedi
and Sith that can be so narratively confining.
The Bendu operates in a space between the two philosophies, and his
meditative approach helps Kanan see how the ways of the Old Republic Jedi left
him with significant blinders, ones that keep him from moving past his guilt
and fear. I hope the Bendu ends up
remaining fairly neutral, because it would be a shame if the penchant for
labeling anything non-Jedi as ultimately flawed or sinister took hold.
The main mission not only highlights Ezra’s
severe leadership deficits, but also gives some opportunity for characters like
Captain Rex to shine. Rex has such a
dynamic presence that characters like Hera continue to struggle by
comparison. In fact, I was a little
surprised that Hera was relatively unconcerned about Ezra’s choices and
actions. She did take some exception,
but not as much as one would anticipate in Kanan’s absence.
Of course, the more obvious draw to fans of the non-defunct Expanded Universe was the introduction of Admiral Thrawn. As others have remarked, Thrawn’s portrayal is almost too perfect. He is very much like the character from those initial EU novels, right down to his calm demeanor and keen insight, but those are qualities that may make him seem less than impressive to the uninitiated. But rest assured, the seeds are planted for him to display some of the brilliance that made him such a formidable foe and memorable adversary.
- Ezra’s descent into the dark side of the Force continues
- Kanan’s lessons with the Bendu are a nice counterpoint to the action
- Thrawn has a near-pitch-perfect introduction into the New Canon
- Hera’s reactions to Ezra seem unusually muted