Legends of Lasat (Star Wars Rebels - S02E14) - Animated Series

"Perfect answer. I am so proud of you right now." SPOILERS. 

The episode opened with the Ghost crew setting off on a mission to rescue refugees held captive by the Empire. To everyone’s surprise, the refugees turned out to be two lasats. Hondo Ohnaka was the one that tipped off the Ghost crew about the refugees. Rebels has a bad habit of relying on existing characters like Hondo to carry episodes, but it’s always great to see Hondo. Hondo Ohnaka is one of my favorite original characters introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Hondo just fits in so well in the Star Wars universe, thanks in large part to Jim Cummings’ performance. This was the second time we’ve seen Hondo in Rebels, and this was the better of his two appearances. Hondo is the ultimate opportunist and his constant betrayal throughout the episode was a lot of fun. I also like the relationship the writers have established between Ezra and Hondo. Having Princess Leia show up for no real reason is the kind of the cameo Rebels needs to avoid. Having Hondo show up every now and then to either cause trouble or help out the Ghost crew? That’s fine. By the way, if we don’t see Lando Calrissian and Hondo Ohnaka on screen together at some point then I don’t know why I’m watching this series.

The background we’ve had for Zeb was that he was a Lasat Honor Guard and the last of his people. I never assumed that Zeb was the last Lasat, just one of the last, so I wasn’t as surprised as Zeb was to see more Lasats. The two Lasats, Chava and Gron, immediately recognized Zeb and identified him as a Captain in the Lasat Honor Guard. The rest of the Ghsot crew made a big deal about Zeb being a Captain, but I don’t think it had the impact the writers intended. With a little help from Hondo, the Ghost crew rescued the Lasats and escaped the Empire. The whole escape sequence was brief, but it was entertaining. Chava told Zeb and the rest of the Ghost crew about an ancient Lasat prophecy that said the world Lirasan would provide a new home for the Lasat. Zeb was resistant to the prophecy and didn’t believe it. Nothing about the Chava character worked for me. The design was ridiculous, even for Rebels. The voice acting was over the top. The whole prophecy involving the fool, the child, and the warrior didn’t really work for me either. Chava’s chanting and random horse sounds felt out of place and the prophecy itself came off as nonsensical. With that being said, the introduction of Chava and the prophecy lead to concepts that were more effective. Chava’s wisdom was based on the Ashla, which is the equivalent of the Force in the Lasat society. The idea that Force is interpreted in different ways by various cultures is an intriguing concept that illuminates how the Force is perceived by the non-Jedi inhabitants of the galaxy. The Clone Wars began to explore this idea with the Nightsisters.

Zeb is one of the more likable members of the Ghost grew, but he is often held back by inconsistent writing and his cartoonish design. It’s far too late to do anything about his design, but Zeb finally received some nice character development in this episode. Zeb’s conversation with Ezra about how he blamed himself for the fall of Lasat was his best moment. We learned more about Zeb’s character in that one scene than we did in a season and half. Zeb accepted that he needed to help Chava find Lirasan. Using his ancient Lasat Honor Guard bow-rifle, Zeb lead them to Lirasan. The Ghost crew arrived at an imploded star-cluster, the last hurdle that needed to be passed. The animation as the Ghost entered the star-cluster was some of the best we’ve from Rebels, but it was Kevin Kiner’s score that stole the show. It was beautiful. Kevin Kiner has done some wonderful work as the composer for both The Clone Wars and Rebels, but this might be his best work yet. The only work of his that comes to mind that might be better than this was the music that played as Ahsoka walked away from the Jedi Temple. That is probably still his crowning achievement, but Kiner’s work in this episode was just fantastic. It was honestly my favorite part of this episode. The great animation and truly wonderful score helped make the Ghost’s journey into the star-cluster one of the most memorable sequences we’ve seen in Rebels so far. It was a great moment for Zeb too. He accepted his fate and guided his people to their rightful home. Despite the great lead up, the end of the episode felt rushed. Lirasan is supposedly the original home world of the Lasat and it is supposedly filled with Lasats. I say supposedly because we never actually see Lirasan, which is most likely due to budgetary constraints. The ending of the episode was very abrupt. However, it ended on a great moment for Zeb. Zeb was able to move past his guilt over failing to protect Lirasan and accepted that his new mission is to guide the surviving lasats to their home. In case you were wondering what Sabine’s big contribution to this episode was, she annoyingly asked “Are we there yet?” at one point. Although far from a perfect episode, “Legends of Lasat” provided Zeb with some much needed character development.

What Worked

• Kevin Kiner’s beautiful score
• Some nice moments for Zeb
• The Ghost’s journey into the imploded star cluster
• Always great to see Hondo Ohnaka

What Didn’t Work

• Chava and the prophecy nonsense
• Rushed ending

External Links:

• StarWars.com Episode Guide
• Wookieepedia Episode Summary