Dave Filoni and his writers found a great solution here. Ezra proved his inner strength by resisting the temptation to be with his family and doom his friends. He made the grand, heroic sacrifice that led to Thrawn's defeat and Lothal's liberation. It all served as great payoff to story threads that have been building for the past four years. And as we saw in the epilogue, he may still be out there on the far fringes of the galaxy. The writers found a way to have Ezra make his grand sacrifice and stay out of the picture for the remainder of the Original Trilogy saga, but still be available for future adventures down the road.
While this was very much Ezra's episode, the rest of the Spectre team had their moments as well. The scene where Ezra made his stealthy escape stands as one of the most emotionally charged moments of the whole series. You really got the sense that this close-knit family was breaking apart in a way even Kanan's death didn't cause. In some ways, the animation on this series has never quite lived up to The Clone Wars, but that scene and several others were a great showcase for what Rebels could achieve when it came to facial work and body language.It wasn't just the main cast who provided some wonderfully emotional moments this week. Pretty much every member of this Rebel faction had their time to shine. Even Hondo had a big week. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop with Hondo and his old self-serving side to take over. But that moment never came. It's pretty amazing to think about how much growth this minor recurring character has experienced between Rebels and Clone Wars. The same for Rex and his fellow clones. Their victory played like well-deserved redemption for the way they were chewed up and spit out by Palpatine's war machine. Too bad poor Gregor had to die in the process...
Speaking of which, it's interesting to note how low the body count was here, especially compared to how Rogue One handled its climax. Fortunately, I don't feel like that robbed the finale of its drama. I'm happier knowing that so many of these characters are free to appear in the next animated series, regardless of how major a role they might play.
I was slightly less enamored with the way Thrawn's story came to a close here. The character was at his best for most of the episode, letting his calm demeanor slip in favor of a much more brutal and sad*stic Grand Admiral. His ultimate defeat also felt appropriate, with this strategic mastermind finally, definitively being outwitted by his enemies and having no recourse left. But the manner of his defeat seemed so random and out of the blue as to be almost cheap. The Purgill are now basically the Giant Eagles of the Star Wars universe - magically showing up to save the day and then vanishing just as quickly. Had the episode built to their return in some way, their last-minute save might have played a little better. As it was, the sudden intervention of the Purgill felt like a cheap plot twist.
I do hope Thrawn returns for the inevitable post-Return of the Jedi series alongside Ezra. There's still plenty more that can be accomplished with the character, particularly in a setting where he no longer has an Emperor to answer to. We may yet get that Heir to the Empire adaptation fans have been clamoring for. Though, sadly, Rukh won't be along for the ride. That's another nagging bit of disappointment with this finale. Rukh was a much more complex and crucial character in the Expanded Universe, and it's disappointing we'll never get to see him be anything more than Thrawn's lapdog in the new Star Wars universe.Despite those annoyances, this episode managed to hit all the right beats emotionally. There was a profound sense of sadness in seeing the Ghost crew further reduced, yet also a hope as the dust settled and the people of Lothal found themselves free at last. Where The Clone Wars ended with a great episode that nonetheless left open a number of loose threads, Rebels wrapped things up neatly in terms of both plot and character beats.
A few other stray thoughts before closing:- It was fun seeing Palpatine appear in his pre-Darth Sidious form here. Presumably, that's the same image he projects to the rest of the galaxy when he's trying to maintain peace and stability and not torturing young Jedi for his own wicked ends.
- Maybe Hera never told Kanan she loved him, but apparently that didn't stop them from getting frisky now and then. I'd love to see their son become a big focus in the next series (possibly as a student in Luke's Jedi Academy?).
- It seems Ahsoka did finally make her way out of that Sith temple. Hopefully she too has big things ahead of her in the post-Return of the Jedi timeline.
Verdict
Star Wars Rebels easily could have lasted another year or two before taking its final bow, but at least it ends on its own terms. This episode gives the series the emotional sendoff it deserved, capping off a number of long-running character arcs and tying up loose ends in a way The Clone Wars was never allowed to do. The finale does suffer a bit from a contrived plot point and how that factors into Thrawn's defeat, but that's hardly enough to diminish this emotionally-charged farewell.
