Legacy (Star Wars Rebels - S02E11) - Animated Series

Who would’ve guessed that a loth-cat would end up with more screen time than most of the major characters? SPOILERS. 

After two strong episodes, Rebels stumbled a bit this week as it took time to reveal the fate of Ezra’s parents. The question of what happened to Ezra’s parents was posed early on in Rebels, and I’m glad it wasn’t dragged on any further. I was curious to find out what had happened to Ezra’s parents but with a looming Ahsoka/Vader duel, the fledgling Rebel Alliance, and the Empire’s hunt for Force sensitive children still out there it’s not a storyline that I was particularly interested in. If the search for Ezra’s parents had gone much longer or if it became a larger part of Rebels, it would’ve likely become a strain on the show. The episode began with Ezra having visions about his parents. Hera and Kanan revealed to Ezra that they have been trying to track down his parents’ location. Thanks to intel from Hera, Ezra decided he had to go back to Lothal and find Prisoner X-10 who may know what happened to his parents. Before the Ghost crew could leave for Lothal, the Empire launched an assault on Garel. The attack on Garel was teased last week when the Inquisitors learned the rebels had a base there because Ezra couldn’t keep his mouth shut. While the assault on Garel was well done, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Since the beginning, Rebels has struggled with trying to do too much in one episode and this was no exception. The assault and Garel and Ezra’s search for his parents both felt incredibly rushed. More often than not, the stories on Rebels simply aren’t given enough time to breathe. It didn’t help that the plot this week was pretty thin. Ezra has visions about his parents, escapes an imperial attack, and goes to Lothal where a loth-cat leads him to someone who knows what happened to his parents. That’s pretty much it. Sure I could quickly summarize most episodes in a similar fashion, but the thin plot was more noticeable than usual this week.

Kanan and Ezra escaped the assault on Garel and traveled to Lothal. Ezra began his search at his old house. Although he didn’t find his parents, Ezra did find the loth-cat from his visions. Ezra and Kanan tracked the loth-cat which led them to the man they were looking for, prisoner X-10. Was the loth-cat directly leading Ezra to Prisoner X-10 the will of the Force or just lazy writing? You be the judge. Prisoner X-10 turned out to be a new character, Ryder Azadi. Azadi was the former governor of Lothal who was imprisoned with Ezra’s parents. Guest star Clancy Brown, who voiced Savage Oppress in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, provided the voice for Ryder. Ryder was given very little to do in this episode, but his character has a lot of potential. He’s voiced by Clancy Brown and has an interesting backstory. That’s already better than Sabine (I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist). After a season and a half, we know what happened to Ezra’s parents. Ryder explained that Ezra’s message of hope from season one reached his parents in prison. They were inspired by his message and lead a prison escape. Ultimately, Ezra’s parents died sacrificing their own lives so others could escape. I have to commend the writers for actually going through with killing his parents. It made sense from a storytelling perspective, but Rebels rarely even comes close to pushing the boundaries when it comes to killing characters. This isn’t The Clone Wars. Don’t ever expect quadruple decapitations or something as dark as Darth Maul killing children and unarmed civilians on Rebels. Ezra accepting his parents’ fate was a highlight of the episode, but for me the reveal just didn’t feel as impactful as it should have. At times it just felt like the writers were going through the motions. The cliché dialogue and over the top acting didn’t help the situation. I really liked Taylor Gray’s delivery of the line, “They’re dead, aren’t they?” because of how understated it was but overall the acting this week just felt hammy. As for the cliché dialogue, just pick a scene. You’ll find some. After learning about his parents’ fate, Ezra had one final, hopeful vision of them.

“Legacy” brought a semi-satisfying conclusion to the mystery surrounding Ezra’s parents. Ezra was finally able to accept his parents’ fate, but the episode itself was dragged down by rushed storytelling, a weak script, and over the top acting.

What Worked

• Not dragging out the mystery surrounding Ezra's parents
• Ezra accepting his parents’ fate

What Didn’t Work

• Rushed storytelling and a thin plot
• Over the top acting and cliché dialogue
• Not as impactful as it should have been

External Links:

• StarWars.com Episode Guide
• Wookieepedia Episode Summary