The Future of the Force (Star Wars Rebels - S02E10) - Animated Series

I hope Chopper wasn’t serious when he wanted to blow up the TIE fighter with the baby still inside. If he was, then it confirms my suspicions that he is actually the true villain of the show. SPOILERS. 

Perhaps one of the reasons “The Future of the Force” is already one of my favorite episodes of Star Wars Rebels is because more than any so far, it reminded me of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Having Ahsoka front and center this week is the most obvious example, but it went beyond that. One of Rebels biggest constraints is a budget that is clearly limited, something The Clone Wars never had to worry about. The more simplistic animation, reused environments and character models, and the series’ limited scope are all signs of this. Usually episodes of Rebels take place on the same handful of planets, the Ghost, or locations that are more easily animated (A desert, reused medical base from the Clone Wars, Quarrie’s planet was largely covered with clouds, ship corridors, etc.). However this week the action took place on the show’s most expansive new environment since Lothal. It wasn’t revolutionary and signs of the show’s limited budget could still be seen but scope is an important part of the visual language of Star Wars. To me most episodes of Rebels feel small and claustrophobic but this one didn’t. Seeing the same environments over and over gets tiring. It was a refreshing change of scenery. Something else that was refreshing was not seeing a member of the Ghost crew in every scene. Aside from a couple examples, Rebels has had at least one member of the Ghost crew on screen at all times. It’s obviously important to focus on your main characters, but The Clone Wars told some of its best stories when it didn’t have to focus on Anakin or Obi-Wan. I would love to see Rebels branch out some more and maybe have an episode that just focuses on Ahsoka or the villains. They need to keep developing the members of the Ghost crew (particularly Sabine, Zeb, and Hera) but I don’t think the show should be tied down by them either. Like in this episode, it’s alright if they’re not onscreen at all times.

Moving on from that longwinded introduction, the episode itself began with the Inquisitors assaulting a transport and kidnapping a baby. It was a well done opening scene that set the tone for the rest of the episode. Back on Garel, Ahsoka arrived to tell Kanan she had discovered that the Inquisitors have a secondary mission and that they will be in one of two locations. Kanan, Ezra, and Zeb traveled to the first set of coordinates on Takobo. Meanwhile, Ahsoka investigated the transport that the Inquisitors had attacked. Zeb and Chopper located the Inquisitors’ TIE Fighter and the baby they had kidnapped. After some promising character development early on, Zeb has been the show’s most inconsistently written character. However, I really liked Zeb in this episode. This week, Zeb showed he is still the capable warrior we met early on and having him deal with the two babies provided some genuine laughs. The rebels located the Inquisitors’ latest target, an Ithorian baby, but the Inquisitors weren’t far behind. The entire sequence of the inquisitors hunting the rebels in the housing units was really well done. Both Inquisitors were appropriately intimidating but the Inquisitor ranking system has to be based on age because the seventh sister is clearly smarter and more powerful than the fifth brother. After Kanan realized that the child wouldn’t stay quiet because he sensed Ezra’s fear, it became clear that the Inquisitors wanted the child because he was Force sensitive. It was obvious from the beginning that’s why the Inquisitors wanted these children. The Empire’s desire to track down Force sensitive children is one the show’s most compelling storylines and makes a lot of sense. This idea was actually introduced back in season two of The Clone Wars. Palpatine had hired Cad Bane to kidnap Force sensitive children he could raise as agents of the dark side but was thwarted by Anakin and Ahsoka, which Ahsoka references later in the episode. Based on the existence of the Inquisitors, it seems Palpatine has succeeded in recruiting agents of the dark side. Of course Palpatine would want to track down these Force sensitive children. With the Jedi Order all but destroyed, these children are the greatest threat to his power.

Kanan and Zeb bought Ezra enough time to escape with the child. Once outside the housing units, Ezra blurted out their base of operations when he trying to calm the baby. Fine, but he said that in the exact same spot where he saw a probe droid five minutes earlier. After a speeder chase, Ezra, Kanan, and Zeb were cornered by the two Inquisitors. A week after I complained that Ezra was getting too powerful, he proved to be no match for the Inquisitors. Both he and Kanan were easily defeated. When all hope seemed lost, Ahsoka arrived. Since her introduction in the season one finale, Ahsoka has been given very little to do. Most of her appearances were essentially cameos. Ahsoka was finally given something to do this week, and she made the most of her screen time. Ahsoka’s duel with the Inquisitors was the highlight of the episode. This is first time we’ve seen her in action since the end of the Clone Wars and its clear she has grown even more powerful since then. Ahsoka was in control the whole time during her fight with the Inquisitors. Ahsoka and the Rebels were able to escape the Inquisitors with the Force sensitive children. Kanan and Ahsoka agreed that since there is no Jedi Order, it’s now their job to protect the children of the Force from the Sith. Oh and thanks to Ezra, the Inquisitors now know that the rebels are on Garel. By focusing of one of show’s most compelling plotlines and finally giving Ahsoka something to do, Rebels produced one of its best episodes to date in “The Future of the Force.” 

What Worked

• Ahsoka vs. the Inquisitors
• The Empire’s hunt for Force sensitive children
• Ahsoka finally given something to do
• Best use of Zeb since early season one
• Change of scenery was refreshing

What Didn’t Work

• Ezra blurting out the rebels location in the same place he saw a probe droid five minutes earlier

External Links:

• StarWars.com Episode Guide
• Wookieepedia Episode Summary