Star Wars: Rebels continues to get stronger and stronger as this episode has Ezra, Sato and a band of Rebels in the clutches of the Empire and Kanan and Rex must put aside their differences to rescue them! This episode is easily my favourite of the season so far (I feel like I’ve been saying that every week, though) so let’s dive into our Five Thoughts on ‘Stealth Strike’.
As always, spoilers follow.
1. The Interdictor!
A theme for this episode, that we’ll get into in a second, is one of old and new. This was illustrated pretty immediately by the appearance of the Imperial Interdictor-class cruiser, which was a ship introduced to Star Wars lore in the old EU and is now making its first appearance in the new canon. It’s a small thing, but it was really cool seeing this ship and how Rebels has really expanded on the workings of the Empire past what little we saw in the Original Trilogy. More of this, please!
2. A Rescue Mission Worthy Of Han And Luke
Is it a requirement in the Star Wars universe that you need to steal and wear a stormtrooper uniform when staging a rescue mission against the Empire?
Actually, in all seriousness, this was something else that fed into the whole old vs. new theme going on in this episode as we see an old gag retold with new characters and a new dynamic. Those characters and that dynamic are of course Kanan and Rex and the on-and-off rivalry they’ve had throughout this season. I mean, it makes sense for a guy who saw his master murdered by someone who is literally genetically identical to Rex to be wary of him, but I’m glad this episode focused on bringing them together and working through that until that genuinely triumphant moment where Kanan went back to rescue Rex and the heartwarming salute that capped off the episode.
3. Old Versus New
So the main focus of this whole old vs. new theming that I’ve been talking about isn’t the fact that elements of the old EU are being incorporated into the new canon and it isn’t about seeing an old gag being retold with new characters… it’s about seeing a clone trooper kick some stormtrooper ass. That’s right, seeing Rex go toe to toe with the Imperial Fist and hand them their candy asses even as an old man was such a thrill to see. Sure, the Prequel Trilogy wasn’t the best, but you know what was? The Clone Wars. And seeing Rex brought back to kick the shit out of the stormtroopers made this entire season worth.
I love you, Dave Filoni.
4. Oh, Hey, Ezra Isn’t Terrible In This Episode?
Ezra wasn’t in this episode too much, actually, but he was much more tolerable here than he has been in the past. The scene that really impressed me was his escape from the brig and seeing him take on three stormtroopers with a lightsabre while taking care to take them out non-lethally. It was a quick beat, but showing him slice through the stormtrooper’s blaster instead of killing actually endeared me to the kid a lot even if they did follow it up with the gag of him stunning Kanan and Rex, which I didn’t find all that funny. Still, you win some, you lose some.
5. That Ending Though
This might be the best ending to a Rebels yet. Seeing the Interdictor pulling the two cruisers into itself and them crashing into it, debris flying everywhere as the Corellian Corvette skimmed past it just in time to make it away before the whole thing blew. It was an impressive feat of animation for what is essentially a kid’s show to put together a setpiece that looked that epic to end the episode and it was a great end cap for the story.
