Star Wars Rebels finally made good on their promise to explore the backstory of Sabine Wren this week in the episode titled “Imperial Super Commandos” and it didn’t disappoint. For the most part at least. I was a bit underwhelmed for the majority of the episode that is until the action kicked in and we got an awesome chase scene where Sabine and Ezra were chased by Mandorlians using jetpacks.
Ezra’s inclusion in the episode was pretty pointless until he started deflecting laser bolts with his Lightsaber during the chase scene. This episode just didn’t dig deep beyond the crisis of Ezra being captured by Gar Saxon (Ray Stevenson) until the end when it was revealed that Sabine’s mother has joined the Empire along with many other Mandolorians.
While this episode didn’t do anything to advance the main plot of the season, it didn’t feel like a complete waste either as Gar Saxon was still alive at the end seemingly setting things up for a follow-up later on. The Imperial Super Commandos will definitely be back this season and I’m hoping they will play into the larger plot.
The events of the episode also provided for an organic turning point for Fenn Rau (Kevin McKidd) as he opted to join the Rebellion after witnessing Sabine’s honor and integrity when she risked her life to save Ezra who is not a Mandolorian. It felt like a logical move for Rau considering his men were killed by Saxon and his super commandos. With his people gone and other Mandolorians joining the Empire, Rau’s best option was most definitely joining the Rebellion. And as Ezra said, it’s better to have him on their side than to fight what is most certainly a formidable foe for the Rebels.
Overall I thought it was a solid episode that could have been a lot better if it solely focused on Sabine and given us just a little more insight into her past. Ezra’s presence was distracting and took away from the focus on Sabine. Had Ezra been replaced with some sort of McGuffin device, it would have been a lot better. He just didn’t need to be there.
I have to say I was very impressed with the directing this episode. When it was announced Dave Filoni would not be serving as the supervising director it had me concerned. But this episode felt like Filoni was actually calling the shots and it’s clear the former leader has done a fantastic job passing on his vision to new directors who are managing to shine in their own right while maintaining the style and tone created by Filoni.
3.5/5 – SOLID
Alternate World 