Star Wars Rebels (S1E4): Depth, Death-Defying And Delightful

If one were to even briefly approach me about Star Wars: Rebels, they'd know my biggest complaint with it (aside from an occasionally erratic tone) is Ezra. He's the protagonist of the show, but he's been more grating than endearing thus far in the show. His whiny tendencies and bland personality just haven't made him too compelling. But this weeks episode fixes that issue while also delivering the best episode so far from this program.

Things start off in media res, with Ezra in a Stormtrooper training academy. I wasn't 100% sure what was going on at first, which is actually quite an exhilarating feeling for a show that shares a network with Dog with A Blog. Seeing this kind of storytelling that expects the viewer to keep up is a nice experience, and it proves to be even more satisfying once a resolution is given as to why Ezra is in this academy. I thought at first this might be a flashback episode, showing Ezra before he joined the team of the Ghost, but he;s actually undercover.

How great it is to see Ezra cooperating with the team and actually contributing in a substantial manner. He really improves under these conditions, with his steadily improving Force abilities being given ample time to shine. Even more engaging to watch is his alliances with fellow cadets in this training facility, Jai Kell and Zare Leonis. Kell remains a bit underdeveloped (though to the shows credit, not in a distracting way), while Leonis gets a really fascinating subplot; his sister has vanished under suspicious circumstances he attributes to the Empire. That kind of distrust makes him a good companion for Ezra, and those two with Kell plan to escape the facility with a crucial Imperial decoder.

It's not just Ezra who gets some major screentime this week, as Kanan and Hera are off on their own mission that involves space dogfights and pretty looking colorful explosions. I do wish this particular story had a little more substance, but the interactions between these two particular characters in past episodes have been very entertaining, and they keep up that kind of quality during this episode. Plus, it's just great to see Hera get a major role of some sort in an episode!

Seeing most of the group (sans Kanan and Hera of course) work as a cohesive whole in the finale set at that training academy is really fun to see, especially since fun moments involving Sabine and AT-DP are in heavy supply. The best part though may be the ending, which not only allows the Inquisitor to establish some menace but also seems to guarantee that Leonis will get his interesting plot continued in future episodes. His story really helps shed light on the Empire's effect on the average person in the galaxy, and it also is one of the numerous parts of this episode that helps show how good Rebels and Ezra can be.