‘Star Wars: Rebels‘ Got Really Good, Y’all!

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Once upon a time, I was in head over heels in love with Star Wars, but then the prequel trilogy broke my heart. While some Star Wars fans staunchly defend George Lucas's uneven and emotionally vacant prequels on the grounds that "it's STAR WARS," I'm savvy enough to know that fans deserve to be treated well by the stories they love. This isn't to say that fans deserve all their fantasies to be catered to, but that fans deserve a quality product that doesn't dilute the brand they've put so much time, love, and money into.

We still have to wait until Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens on December 18 to discover if J.J. Abrams has successfully revived Star Wars as a film franchise, but it looks like Star Wars: Rebels has already resuscitated the series for the modern age.

Star Wars: Rebels is an animated series that takes place five years before the original Star Wars film, aka Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. It doesn't feature Luke Skywalker or Obi-Wan Kenobi, and we have yet to hear about a dashing smuggler named Han Solo or a certain spirited princess from Alderaan, but it does follow the motley crew that helped create the Rebellion. It's a bridge between the two existing trilogies and the first new narrative that we've gotten since the Disney/Lucasfilm merger. And it's gotten great.

I was personally lukewarm on Star Wars: Rebels when it started. I found its premiere episode to be oodles of fun, and yet nothing about it felt truly remarkable. It was all stuff I'd seen before. A talented orphan crosses paths with a ragtag group of freedom fighters and they team up against the bad guys. Still, it was good. It wasn't great, though. However, as the series has progressed, the show has done a truly elegant job of combining the fun of the original trilogy with the heart that the prequel films lacked.

Star Wars: Rebels follows a young tween orphan named Ezra Bridger. Like Luke Skywalker before him, Ezra is dissatisfied with his life and doesn't know how to change things. That all changes when he joins the crew of the Ghost and discovers that not only that he is Force-sensitive, but that his parents are gone because they stood up against the Empire. Ezra finds a new family on the Ghost and a mentor in Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus. Kanan has been in hiding from the Empire since Darth Vader led the charge to murder all the Jedi and he's reluctant to take up the impetuous Ezra as a Padawan. And so, the series follows the rebels as they take on jobs to thwart the Empire and as they deal with Ezra's growing strength in the Force.

I would like to say that Ezra, the show's protagonist, is my favorite part of the show, but that would be a lie. I love the rich complexity of the supporting cast. I love that they've introduced a bunch of different Imperial villains, all with different personalities, goals, and skill sets. I love how they cleverly weave popular characters like C-3P0 and R2-D2 into the narrative. I love the peek at Jedi culture and lore (that temple episode!!!). I love the intense fight scenes. I love that the ship's droid, Chopper, is a total asshole. Oh, and I love that Lando Calrissian showed up.

Basically, I love this show. It's filled with the adventure that made the original films so infectious, and there are real dramatic stakes to boot. Characters die and our heroes are put in actual peril. Even though this is a show aimed at children, there is always a shadow of impending doom hovering over the eponymous rebels. After all, we haven't met any of these characters in the films. What happens to them? Will Grand Moff Tarkin and the Inquisitor kill Kanan? Will Ezra fail at becoming a Jedi? Is this show setting up a long-term narrative where these characters sacrifice themselves so that heroes like Han, Luke, and Leia can come together and help blow up (two) Death Stars?

Furthermore, what's the show's connection to the new movies being made? Will we see another Jedi Temple in Star Wars: The Force Awakens? Is Ezra's seemingly force-sensitive Imperial mole friend, Zare Leonis, related to John Boyega's character Finn? Will the first spin-off film feature Ezra or Sabine? Am I dumb for asking all these questions???

Oh, and from a technical standpoint, Star Wars: Rebels is just really well-made. The animation is beautiful, the stories are well-written, and the voice cast is insane. Freddie Prinze, Jr. gives Kanan just the right mix of sincerity and swagger, and Jason Isaacs is menacing as ever as the Inquisitor. Oh, and that all-too-human, but still altogether nasty Imperial agent Kallus? He's voiced by none other than Selma star (and Oscar snub) David Oyelowo. No, seriously, Martin Luther King, Jr. is hunting down our heroes.

Star Wars: Rebels is a totally delightful and family friendly adventure series, but it's also the show that's getting me to fall for Star Wars again. And more importantly, it's giving me — dare I say it? — a new hope that the new films are going to recapture the magic of the original Star Wars trilogy. [Where to Stream Star Wars: Rebels]

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[Photos: Disney/Lucasfilm]

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