[yasr_overall_rating]
A brave and clever ragtag starship crew stands up against the evil Empire as it tightens its grip on the galaxy and hunts down the last of the Jedi Knights.
“Star Wars Rebels: Season 3” starts off trying to improve on the excellent ending to the season before it, and in many ways, it surpasses it, and in other ways, it doesn’t. The story moves forward in interesting and different ways. The growth and development of the old characters and new characters is by far the best part of the show. Unfortunately, the payoff by the season’s end doesn’t seem grand or meaningful like season 2. But the season overall is very enjoyable.
The main thing I was concerned about going into this season was the main villain, Grand Admiral Thrawn. He is one of my favorite characters in the old “Legends” stories and I was really worried how they would portray him. This is the first time we see him in the new canon and I think Disney absolutely nailed him. The creator, Dave Filoni, nailed the character’s core essence right, including his analytical approach to everything, especially warfare, and his calm, but fierce demeanor. Thrawn’s presence built as the season went along. The early episodes did a great job on showing how he thinks and operates. The lack of Thrawn in the early episodes is actually the biggest downfall of the show because there was more pressure to deliver the goods at the end of the season. The finale to season 3 was good but I never felt worried for the rebels. There was no real threat. Ultimately, Thrawn won, but there was no real failure on the rebels part. I just felt that he needed a bigger finale than the one we got, but he could still accomplish something in season 4.
This was definitely a better paced season than the first 2, mainly because the show finally has an identity of what it is. The first two seasons relied too much on characters from the original trilogy and the clone wars. They also felt centric on Ezra and Kanan. But season 3 spread the love and gave the audience time with each of the crew’s characters. Sabine’s storyline this season was by far the most intriguing too as the young Mandalorian discovers the Darksaber, and we learn more of her backstory, mainly with her family. “Trials of the Darksaber” was one of my favorite episodes because the creators made a character piece episode that focused on Kanan training Sabine. Agent Kallus’s story arch was quite fascinating because we find out he is, in fact, a rebel spy. We first see him in Season 1 as an Imperial loyalist, so this revelation really resonates with fans of the show. There are several episodes that really hammer home on this side story.
Season 3 did a great job of blending Star Wars elements from the original trilogy, the clone wars, Rogue One, and other rich characters in different ways. It’s always great to see Easter eggs and characters from other stories in this show, especially if you are a huge Star Wars fan. One of the best moments in the series was the emotional confrontation between a bloodthirsty Darth Maul and an older, more wiser Obi-Wan Kenobi. The moment was sincere and very emotional.
The main low point for me throughout was Ezra’s character growth. The ideas were all there, but the execution was flat. Him being tempted by the dark side was some of my favorite stuff in the season but they just failed to make it resonate and it felt rushed. The season finale, as I said earlier, was clearly a letdown, and several episodes’ quality factor was not on par with the others.
All in all, “Star Wars Rebels: Season 3” was a really fun and exciting show that improves on the other 2 seasons in most regards, but doesn’t have the conclusion it needed to be very impactful. Thrawn was the most interesting character to me but the slow build-up ultimately faltered at the end. The character growth for everyone, mainly Sabine and Kallus, was very rewarding as they took command of several episodes. As a Star Wars fan, this show opened my eyes to broader environments and nailed characters that I loved in the past.
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