The Mystery of Chopper Base (Star Wars Rebels - S02E20) - Animated Series

“Just when you think you understand the Force, you find out how little you actually know.” SPOILERS. 

Although certainly an improvement over the previous episode, “The Mystery of Chopper Base” was far from perfect and suffered from many of the same recurring problems that have plagued several season two episodes. Thanks to new cast member AP-5, the rebels now have the base they’ve been searching for most of the season. The main focus of this episode was the rebels exploring their new home. Right away, we saw that the base wasn’t as hospitable as they had hoped. Lieutenant Dicer (voiced by Ashley Eckstein) was attacked by a giant spider-like creature. Since this is the penultimate episode of season two, it felt odd that the writers decided to tell a monster/creature story at such an important moment. The whole Krykna storyline did feel like filler and didn’t offer a very interesting story, but I realize that wasn’t the point of this episode. It was about giving the audience a breather and setting the stage for the big finale, which it did with mixed results. Throughout the episode, we spent time with the various crew members preparing for Kanan and Ezra’s departure. An example is when Zeb and Ezra said goodbye while watching the sunset together, which was an odd moment. I think the music Zeb was listening to distracted me.

After Dicer failed to check in, Rex and Sabine went to investigate. Sabine and Rex were attacked by the Krykna and they took Rex. Sabine was fine though, because she’s perfect. Insert eye roll here. The Krykna are a very obviously inspired by the spider creature seen in Ralph McQuarrie’s concept art for Dagobah. While this episode felt like a by the books creature story, I did love the look of the Krykna and I’m always glad to see McQuarrie concepts make their way went into the show. The entire Ghost ventured into the cave system below the planet’s surface in search of Rex. A running theme throughout the episode was Hera’s difficulty accepting that Kanan and Ezra were leaving. While it has a nice conclusion, Hera’s subplot didn’t really work for me. Hera has always been portrayed as the level headed leader of the Ghost crew but her behavior towards Kanan almost came off as petty or childish, which I know wasn’t the intention. Kanan and Ezra encountered a Krykna and Ezra failed to connect with it like he has with other creatures. They eventually found Rex, and rescued him from the Krykna. I’m glad they rescued Rex, but did everyone forget about poor Dicer? It was strange that they didn’t even look for her. Is she still trapped down in those caves?

The Ghost crew escaped the caves with Rex only to find out their ship had been trapped by the Krykna’s web. Sabine realized that the sensors they had been placing around the base repels the Krykna. The Ghost crew's battle with the Krykna was actually pretty fun to watch, but doesn’t really lend itself to recap. Although I particularly enjoyed Rex and Chopper’s takedown of the Krykna attempting to get into the ship. Kanan and Hera finally talked about what was bothering her. Understandably, she was worried about Kanan and Ezra’s safety and wanted to face this challenge together. Kanan assured her that they would see each other again. Ezra attempted and failed to connect with the Krykna one last time. Ahsoka arrived and imparted some wisdom to Ezra, as they prepared for their mission. Although an improvement over the Chopper episode from last time, “The Mystery of Chopper Base” was uneven and simply just didn’t offer very much in terms of story or character development. Now onto the “Twilight of the Apprentice”…

What Worked

• Final battle with the Krykna
• The McQuarrie inspired design of the Krykna

What Didn’t Work

• Weak central storyline
• Hera’s subplot
• Did everyone just forget about Dicer?

External Links:

• StarWars.com Episode Guide
• Wookieepedia Episode Summary