Star Wars Rebels - Season One

When The Clone Wars was cancelled a few years back after Disney bought the rights to Star Wars, people all over the world freaked the heck out, myself included. And then, to make things worse, they announced the creation of Star Wars Rebels, a show that looked mediocre at best. As I often am about these types of things, I was quite wrong.

Star Wars Rebels does in fact open with a few mediocre episodes, but the spirit of the original trilogy is apparent right from the start. This includes excellent characterization, an area in which the prequels failed miserably. While several of these episodes are rather lackluster, they’re always entertaining. Contrary to what you may have heard from those who hate this show for no apparent reason, it is not strictly for children. In fact, as the season progresses, it becomes more and more mature. The show abandons its formulaic stories for a far more involving story arc.

The inspiration from the original trilogy becomes far more apparent as the season goes on. Many episodes recreate stories similar to those from the original movies, and they capture their tone perfectly. It’s not until about halfway through the first season that things really start to speed up and the show becomes much more involving. This isn’t to say that it doesn’t have its fair share of problems though. It is, after all, only in its first season. Some of the darker moments have their effect lessened by an attempt to appeal to kids, some of the dialogue comes off as a bit unrealistic, and some of the episodes are mediocre or worse. However, as the show goes on, these problems become more and more infrequent. Even in its second season, it’s not a perfect show, but it’s quickly improving. In the end, Star Wars Rebels will be a joy for fans of the original trilogy to watch, and I’m going to give it 4/5 stars.

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