A Series Retrospective: Star Wars Rebels
This discussion of Star Wars Rebels will have minimal spoilers for Season 4 and the series!
Since it's creation during the 1970s by the forefather known as George Lucas, Star Wars has played an incredible role in pop-culture and the lives of people across the globe. I've touched on the story of Star Wars as a building block for science fiction in the past, but today I want to talk about Star Wars' growth through the years. After landing three incredibly successful films in the Original Trilogy, Lucas opened up the world of Star Wars with the Prequel Trilogy. After doing this, Star Wars had opened up its world for more narratives than ever expected. New stories were coming from novels, comics, and other outlets. There even was a 2-D animated series focusing on the period of the Clone Wars. Proving to be a predecessor to what we knew now as the series The Clone Wars, we were introduced to a new way of storytelling to occur in this universe: television. After a successful but unfinished run with that series, it's creator Dave Filoni was sought out to create another series focused on the Galactic Civil War. That series was Star Wars Rebels.
For many people who haven't jumped into the universe of The Clone Wars, they won't understand the magic and depth of storytelling that series provided for the universe of Star Wars. They wouldn't know that Anakin had an apprentice by the name of Ahsoka, or that Obi-Wan had a lost love on Mandalore that nearly pushed him away from the Jedi Order. Rebels was challenged with a similar, but entirely different task: create a foundation for the Galactic Rebellion and a reason why people were willing to rise up.
As stated above, Rebels focuses on the period of time between the Original Trilogy and Prequel Trilogy. Beginning approximately five years before Rogue One, Rebels follows the story of Ezra Bridger. Voiced by Taylor Gray, Ezra begins the series as a punk child with one special trait: he's force sensitive. After a run-in with the Jedi known as Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prinze, Jr.), Ezra agrees to enter a new life revolving around protecting his home planet of Lothal and becoming a Jedi himself. With the help of Kanan's team: hot-shot pilot Hera Syndulla (Vanessa Marshall), Mandalorian Sabine Wren (Tiya Sircar), a former Lasat honor guard Zeb Orrelios (Steven Blum), and their astromech droid Chopper Ezra goes on a journey of self-discovery.
Through its four-season run, Rebels tackled multiple different stories, ones that I won't jump out and reveal as I want those interested to get the enjoyment of the series in it's fullest form. What I will say though is that Rebels is brave enough to step out of the shadow of its network: Disney XD, and tackle stories for older ages than children. Sure there are some episodes that seem more catered toward younger audiences, but as a whole, the show has proven to be a stalwart of Star Wars lore. Connecting most often with The Clone Wars series, Rebels follows up on many of the story points introduced in that time. Along with stories, we are reintroduced to characters that may not have gotten their fair share on the big screen. While some of their arcs are more important to the overall story, they're all great to see in the grand scheme of the series.
In Rebels, Disney was able to create a series that managed to build connections and a fascinating story about a period that up until this point was left rather untouched in the grand scheme of the universe. When reaching its final season, all of the characters of Rebels have grown in one way or another, learning new parts of who they are and who they can be. This evolution is what makes the show so great, we can see these characters growing in front of our eyes. Speaking of, what Rebels has always done best was to create stories for all of its characters, not just Ezra. Regardless of whether the overall story of Rebels was focused on Ezra, he at times does take a backseat to others whose stories prove to be just as important.
Speaking on the series of Star Wars Rebels as a whole, this series is anchored by excellent voice work from its main cast, and stories that challenge what people think they know about Star Wars. For those who have chosen to stay uninitiated in these animated series, I will say this: Rebels and its predecessor The Clone Wars have changed the game for Star Wars, and filled in many of the empty stories that you want to see. If you find yourself craving this universe but not wanting to crack open the films, give these shows a try. They're both excellent series, and while I can't call them perfect television because that's truly rare, they're perfect for Star Wars and manage to be just as endearing as many of the films. So, as many pilots in the Star Wars universe would say, let's jump to light speed Rebels!
