Star Wars Rebels: Fire Across the Galaxy
March 3, 2015 11:04 AM - Season 1, Episode 14 - Subscribe
The rescue of the Jedi Kanan is in full effect as the crew of the Ghost steal an Imperial cargo ship and board Grand Moff Tarkin's Star Destroyer. Kanan and Ezra find safety and themselves separated by the Inquisitor intent on killing both Jedi and his padewan learner. The identity of the mysterious Fulcrum is revealed and two extremely familiar faces return from the past, solving one of the great mysteries of Star Wars fandom.
Yes, Ahsoka Tano returns!
Trivia from Fire Across the Galaxy!
Yes, Ahsoka Tano returns!
Trivia from Fire Across the Galaxy!
- The TIE Fighter from "Fighter Flight," was originally going to appear in several episodes as a background project, but those appearances were cut to provide more time for other scenes and to heighten the surprise of its return for Fire Across the Galaxy.
- Sabine's paint job of the TIE include elements from all the team members.
- The engine room of the Star Destroyer was inspired by the engine room of the Jedi cruisers from Clone Wars, which were in turn inspired by the engine room in Super Dimension Fortress from the Macross anime.
- One of the Rebel Blockade runners that appear, the Corellian corvettes, bears blue markings that were inspired by similar markings on an A-wing designed by Ralph McQuarrie for Return of the Jedi.
- The uniforms of the Rebel Crewmen, standing in formation before we meet Ahsoka, were based off Ralph McQuarrie designs.
I probably had opinions about this episode but they fled my mind when I heard Vader. I'll have to go back and watch it again tonight.
posted by ob1quixote at 12:05 PM on March 3, 2015
posted by ob1quixote at 12:05 PM on March 3, 2015
It was good.....so good that I wrote a way too long to post as a comment piece about it (linked above).
I had been aware of the arguments that Fulcrum was Ahsoka, but I had never guessed she would be revealed so soon (I figured we would be teased for a season or two longer). It was an absolute delight to see her, the cherry on top to an episode that was jam packed with action, but still managed to have those nice psychological attacks by the Inquisitor against Kanan during the duel. It seems based on the Force Awakens trailer and Rebels, lightsabers may definitely take new and wild shapes in the future Star Wars universe.
But it's just an awesome fact that they joined Clone Wars to Rebels with Ahsoka, who admittedly was personality-wise a little toned down for my liking, compared to the strong willed Jedi who walked away from the Order in the Clone Wars. I will take her story, from that episode in the Clone Wars to this episode in Rebels, as a spin off movie, animated or not. One has to wonder how Vader dealt with her absence, did he consciously keep track of the fact that she was never deemed killed during the Dark Times or did she fake her own death at some point to become the ghost of a memory to the Empire? With all that said, I am perfectly happy, too, if she stays something like Charlie and his Angels, aphone call hologram away most of the time.
Per the trivia section, it's lifted off the website most of the time, so I can't take credit for it. There's a lot of interesting material in the episode guides they put together for each episode, be it music, production art, etc. It's kind of cool to see them go that far with it when they could do a lot less and no one would complain.
posted by Atreides at 12:32 PM on March 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
I had been aware of the arguments that Fulcrum was Ahsoka, but I had never guessed she would be revealed so soon (I figured we would be teased for a season or two longer). It was an absolute delight to see her, the cherry on top to an episode that was jam packed with action, but still managed to have those nice psychological attacks by the Inquisitor against Kanan during the duel. It seems based on the Force Awakens trailer and Rebels, lightsabers may definitely take new and wild shapes in the future Star Wars universe.
But it's just an awesome fact that they joined Clone Wars to Rebels with Ahsoka, who admittedly was personality-wise a little toned down for my liking, compared to the strong willed Jedi who walked away from the Order in the Clone Wars. I will take her story, from that episode in the Clone Wars to this episode in Rebels, as a spin off movie, animated or not. One has to wonder how Vader dealt with her absence, did he consciously keep track of the fact that she was never deemed killed during the Dark Times or did she fake her own death at some point to become the ghost of a memory to the Empire? With all that said, I am perfectly happy, too, if she stays something like Charlie and his Angels, a
Per the trivia section, it's lifted off the website most of the time, so I can't take credit for it. There's a lot of interesting material in the episode guides they put together for each episode, be it music, production art, etc. It's kind of cool to see them go that far with it when they could do a lot less and no one would complain.
posted by Atreides at 12:32 PM on March 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
I need to set up a camera to record a reaction shot of my 4 year old when Vader comes on screen. Little dude is going to flip his nut.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:04 PM on March 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:04 PM on March 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
For some reason, it hadn't occurred to me that Ahsoka wasn't going to be a kid any more. Our little girl's all grown up. *sniff*
posted by The Tensor at 4:01 PM on March 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by The Tensor at 4:01 PM on March 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
That was a fantastic fight scene. I really liked the shot of Kanan composing himself after Ezra's fall.
posted by longdaysjourney at 5:10 PM on March 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by longdaysjourney at 5:10 PM on March 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Finally caught up with the last couple episodes on my TiVo. Very nice! Very Star Wars, which warms my heart.
The Ahsoka reveal didn't mean much to me because I've only seen the really early, bad Clone Wars and haven't made it through to the apparently much more loved later material. (I'll get there.) But I have to say I like that they've managed on Rebels to avoid what I feared in the beginning, that this would be an Ezra Sue story about a kid who hits Disney's target demographic square on and is just so awesome. They really have managed to make it a true ensemble (although there was a worrying hint in Fulcrum's holocall w Hera about Ezra as another all-important "chosen one."
But Ezra's was far from the only story arc going on in the season, so I'm willing to be more a lot more open to his own character development and growth. In particular, I liked Kanan's grappling with his shame about, as we now know, surviving Order 66 by running away as his master was killed (of course that was the only way he could have survived to fight again, but that's how shame works) and his fear that he was inadequate to teach Ezra, that the burden of being, as far as he knows, the last of the Jedi and having to pass all that along to Ezra was just too much for him. And they tied that off nicely in a way that managed to also be a little scary. That "I've got nothing left to fear" line before he was finally able to take apart the Inquisitor after losing to him so many times was very suggestive of a fall to the dark side.
So yeah, much more mature and less Disney than I had feared going in. Not always perfect in that regard, but overall nicely done.
I also found this io9 piece on how Ahsoka ties together the worlds of the prequels and the original trilogy interesting. And I note that Ezra would be, what, maybe in his 40s by the time of Episode VII...
It was good.....so good that I wrote a way too long to post as a comment piece about it (linked above).
umm... linked where?
posted by Naberius at 6:35 AM on March 4, 2015
The Ahsoka reveal didn't mean much to me because I've only seen the really early, bad Clone Wars and haven't made it through to the apparently much more loved later material. (I'll get there.) But I have to say I like that they've managed on Rebels to avoid what I feared in the beginning, that this would be an Ezra Sue story about a kid who hits Disney's target demographic square on and is just so awesome. They really have managed to make it a true ensemble (although there was a worrying hint in Fulcrum's holocall w Hera about Ezra as another all-important "chosen one."
But Ezra's was far from the only story arc going on in the season, so I'm willing to be more a lot more open to his own character development and growth. In particular, I liked Kanan's grappling with his shame about, as we now know, surviving Order 66 by running away as his master was killed (of course that was the only way he could have survived to fight again, but that's how shame works) and his fear that he was inadequate to teach Ezra, that the burden of being, as far as he knows, the last of the Jedi and having to pass all that along to Ezra was just too much for him. And they tied that off nicely in a way that managed to also be a little scary. That "I've got nothing left to fear" line before he was finally able to take apart the Inquisitor after losing to him so many times was very suggestive of a fall to the dark side.
So yeah, much more mature and less Disney than I had feared going in. Not always perfect in that regard, but overall nicely done.
I also found this io9 piece on how Ahsoka ties together the worlds of the prequels and the original trilogy interesting. And I note that Ezra would be, what, maybe in his 40s by the time of Episode VII...
It was good.....so good that I wrote a way too long to post as a comment piece about it (linked above).
umm... linked where?
posted by Naberius at 6:35 AM on March 4, 2015
That "I've got nothing left to fear" line before he was finally able to take apart the Inquisitor after losing to him so many times was very suggestive of a fall to the dark side.
What? No, no, no. Letting go of fear is how you avoid the dark side. Kanan's line about how strong the Force made him did sound a little Sithy, I'll grant you, but that's just the usual problem of writing Jedi heroes who run around being badass warriors in spite of Yoda's statements in ESB that seem to deprecate using the Force for fighting.
posted by The Tensor at 9:42 AM on March 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
What? No, no, no. Letting go of fear is how you avoid the dark side. Kanan's line about how strong the Force made him did sound a little Sithy, I'll grant you, but that's just the usual problem of writing Jedi heroes who run around being badass warriors in spite of Yoda's statements in ESB that seem to deprecate using the Force for fighting.
posted by The Tensor at 9:42 AM on March 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
umm... linked where?
Under the recap area, but here's the link. I used to just link my comment about the link but I thought it was kind of redundant, but I'll do that in the future for the convenience factor!
From the io9 link, I think they sum up what's great about Ahsoka:
Ahsoka's evolution from the snippy brat you loved to hate in Clone Wars initial animated movie outing to the mature, noble hero who stood up to the wrongs of the Jedi order was one of the best things to come out of Clone Wars, which in and of itself was already one of the best things to come from the Prequels.
Then this part about what her presence also indicates:
She's symbolic of Star Wars calling time on the prequels as its main focus. For the early 2000s and 2010s, Lucasfilm's attention in Star Wars has been largely been devoted to media related to Episodes I-III. Bringing Ahsoka forward into the Rebels Era, and essentially into the time of the Original films, is sort of closing the book on that period. The prequels are no longer going to be the focus — the original movies, and what lies after them, is now what Lucasfilm and Disney will turn their attention to. Intended or otherwise, Ahsoka's codename of 'Fulcrum' takes on a much more literal form: She's become the focal character, the point that balances the two sides of Star Wars, prequels and originals.
Concerning Kanan, I saw that moment as almost him completing his training as a Jedi, understanding that detachment allows a Jedi to focus and draw upon the Force at it's most powerful. It was attachment, after all, that resulted in Anakin's turning to the Dark Side and it was Luke's attachments to his friends that nearly got himself killed and down a hand.
posted by Atreides at 9:51 AM on March 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Under the recap area, but here's the link. I used to just link my comment about the link but I thought it was kind of redundant, but I'll do that in the future for the convenience factor!
From the io9 link, I think they sum up what's great about Ahsoka:
Ahsoka's evolution from the snippy brat you loved to hate in Clone Wars initial animated movie outing to the mature, noble hero who stood up to the wrongs of the Jedi order was one of the best things to come out of Clone Wars, which in and of itself was already one of the best things to come from the Prequels.
Then this part about what her presence also indicates:
She's symbolic of Star Wars calling time on the prequels as its main focus. For the early 2000s and 2010s, Lucasfilm's attention in Star Wars has been largely been devoted to media related to Episodes I-III. Bringing Ahsoka forward into the Rebels Era, and essentially into the time of the Original films, is sort of closing the book on that period. The prequels are no longer going to be the focus — the original movies, and what lies after them, is now what Lucasfilm and Disney will turn their attention to. Intended or otherwise, Ahsoka's codename of 'Fulcrum' takes on a much more literal form: She's become the focal character, the point that balances the two sides of Star Wars, prequels and originals.
Concerning Kanan, I saw that moment as almost him completing his training as a Jedi, understanding that detachment allows a Jedi to focus and draw upon the Force at it's most powerful. It was attachment, after all, that resulted in Anakin's turning to the Dark Side and it was Luke's attachments to his friends that nearly got himself killed and down a hand.
posted by Atreides at 9:51 AM on March 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
It was attachment, after all, that resulted in Anakin's turning to the Dark Side and it was Luke's attachments to his friends that nearly got himself killed and down a hand.
On the other hand, it was Luke's attachment to his father (in defiance of Obi-wan and Yoda's advice) that led to Vader's redemption and the victory of the light side over the dark. This is a message that I think is profound and moving, but unfortunately I suspect it's something Lucas didn't intend—he gives every indication of thinking "attachment=bad" is the true and correct Jedi position.
posted by The Tensor at 10:00 AM on March 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
On the other hand, it was Luke's attachment to his father (in defiance of Obi-wan and Yoda's advice) that led to Vader's redemption and the victory of the light side over the dark. This is a message that I think is profound and moving, but unfortunately I suspect it's something Lucas didn't intend—he gives every indication of thinking "attachment=bad" is the true and correct Jedi position.
posted by The Tensor at 10:00 AM on March 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
That's dead on. I really am curious to see what type of Jedi Luke presents and promotes in the next movie. I won't go into potential spoilers (I've dipped my toe a few times in them!), but I don't know if I'll get that answer or not from what I've read. I don't recall the Expanded Universe, all the books, digging heavily into the matter of attachment, but it's also been almost two decades since I was earnestly reading and following them.
It may well be that it's about the type of attachment. For example, it's okay for Anakin to love his wife, but instead of freaking out about losing her/her dying, he should have accepted that everyone dies at some point or another. Not to mention, has a Force fueled vision EVER been followed correctly through to have a good result? TUNE THOSE OUT PEOPLE.
posted by Atreides at 12:15 PM on March 4, 2015
It may well be that it's about the type of attachment. For example, it's okay for Anakin to love his wife, but instead of freaking out about losing her/her dying, he should have accepted that everyone dies at some point or another. Not to mention, has a Force fueled vision EVER been followed correctly through to have a good result? TUNE THOSE OUT PEOPLE.
posted by Atreides at 12:15 PM on March 4, 2015
I finally got a chance to watch it. I was out of town for the week and told the kid that he could watch it as long as he didn't give anything away. He had to try so damn hard to avoid spoilers. Poor kid.
Anyway . . . my thoughts:
1. They killed the inquisitor. Was it so they could bring in Vader? Whatever the reason, I am left with the feeling that they wasted a lot of potential with him, his mechanical looking eyes and his calamari like skin. He never really reached the level of big bad villain in my mind.
2. The Rebellion coming to the rescue bodes well for the future direction of the story as regards getting the fuck off Lothal. They may return there some day, but for now, I think they are off to fight the empire in the wider galaxy.
3. I hope Ezra isn't becoming the second of three chosen ones. So far they haven't set it up as a definite so I have high hopes. I kind of wish I could have the same faith in Rebels as I am having in BCS. Maybe Gilligan needs to work on this thing!
4. The question of attachment struck me too while I was watching the fight scene with the Inquisitor. Then Asohka showed up and I was reminded of her departure from the Jedi. And that made me think about Luke and how Luke didn't really take to the Jedi divorce-yourself-from-the-world philosophy. In the painful prequels, there was the set-up that the force was failing the Jedi. For thousands of years they had been warrior monks with no worldly attachments. Anakin rebels against that and goes tot he dark side. Luke also rebels against that, it seems (what with the actual attachment to his friends AND his weird dark-jedi outfits). Well, Rebels and the new movies are being developed concurrently. Maybe what we are seeing is the development of a new way to interact with the force, a Middle-Way or a neutral path. Old Ben was a dinosaur, a relic of the old way. Maybe Asokha, Kanan and Ezra are setting a path that Luke is also going to follow.
Or maybe we will get more of the same.
Again, Atreides, thanks for great posts.
posted by Seamus at 12:45 PM on March 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
Anyway . . . my thoughts:
1. They killed the inquisitor. Was it so they could bring in Vader? Whatever the reason, I am left with the feeling that they wasted a lot of potential with him, his mechanical looking eyes and his calamari like skin. He never really reached the level of big bad villain in my mind.
2. The Rebellion coming to the rescue bodes well for the future direction of the story as regards getting the fuck off Lothal. They may return there some day, but for now, I think they are off to fight the empire in the wider galaxy.
3. I hope Ezra isn't becoming the second of three chosen ones. So far they haven't set it up as a definite so I have high hopes. I kind of wish I could have the same faith in Rebels as I am having in BCS. Maybe Gilligan needs to work on this thing!
4. The question of attachment struck me too while I was watching the fight scene with the Inquisitor. Then Asohka showed up and I was reminded of her departure from the Jedi. And that made me think about Luke and how Luke didn't really take to the Jedi divorce-yourself-from-the-world philosophy. In the painful prequels, there was the set-up that the force was failing the Jedi. For thousands of years they had been warrior monks with no worldly attachments. Anakin rebels against that and goes tot he dark side. Luke also rebels against that, it seems (what with the actual attachment to his friends AND his weird dark-jedi outfits). Well, Rebels and the new movies are being developed concurrently. Maybe what we are seeing is the development of a new way to interact with the force, a Middle-Way or a neutral path. Old Ben was a dinosaur, a relic of the old way. Maybe Asokha, Kanan and Ezra are setting a path that Luke is also going to follow.
Or maybe we will get more of the same.
Again, Atreides, thanks for great posts.
posted by Seamus at 12:45 PM on March 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
1. They killed the inquisitor. Was it so they could bring in Vader? Whatever the reason, I am left with the feeling that they wasted a lot of potential with him, his mechanical looking eyes and his calamari like skin. He never really reached the level of big bad villain in my mind.
He definitely was under used, but I wonder if he was purposely never allowed to become the super big bad so as to not force the writers to ramp up Vader more than he should be (based off the movies).
2. The Rebellion coming to the rescue bodes well for the future direction of the story as regards getting the fuck off Lothal. They may return there some day, but for now, I think they are off to fight the empire in the wider galaxy.
I certainly hope so, but since Vader and Tarkin are on Lothal, I suspect we will be stuck with the planet a little bit longer until those two make it uninhabitable for our rebels.
I think new ground rules are probably being slowly laid out for the Force and what it means to be a Jedi. The best answer to this will be the Force Awakens in December (YES, STAR WARS RETURNS TO THE THEATERS IN JUST OVER 9 MONTHS!), but there is a great suspicion that part of what Rebels will do is help establish and anchor the Post-Disney Buy Out Star Wars Universe. They will generally want everything to connect in probably the same manner that Marvel Cinematic Universe is interconnected (and perhaps even more so, given the new comics and books. For this reason alone, Rebels may be one of those things you pay attention to have an idea of what will be coming our way later this year and down the road. There's a Kanan the Padewan novel coming out this spring, as well, which obviously will at least provide us the details of Kanan's background.
posted by Atreides at 12:56 PM on March 8, 2015
He definitely was under used, but I wonder if he was purposely never allowed to become the super big bad so as to not force the writers to ramp up Vader more than he should be (based off the movies).
2. The Rebellion coming to the rescue bodes well for the future direction of the story as regards getting the fuck off Lothal. They may return there some day, but for now, I think they are off to fight the empire in the wider galaxy.
I certainly hope so, but since Vader and Tarkin are on Lothal, I suspect we will be stuck with the planet a little bit longer until those two make it uninhabitable for our rebels.
I think new ground rules are probably being slowly laid out for the Force and what it means to be a Jedi. The best answer to this will be the Force Awakens in December (YES, STAR WARS RETURNS TO THE THEATERS IN JUST OVER 9 MONTHS!), but there is a great suspicion that part of what Rebels will do is help establish and anchor the Post-Disney Buy Out Star Wars Universe. They will generally want everything to connect in probably the same manner that Marvel Cinematic Universe is interconnected (and perhaps even more so, given the new comics and books. For this reason alone, Rebels may be one of those things you pay attention to have an idea of what will be coming our way later this year and down the road. There's a Kanan the Padewan novel coming out this spring, as well, which obviously will at least provide us the details of Kanan's background.
posted by Atreides at 12:56 PM on March 8, 2015
"YES, STAR WARS RETURNS TO THE THEATERS IN JUST OVER 9 MONTHS!"
Between my seven year old and Metafilter, I get reminded of this at least 5 times per week.
Thinking of Ahsoka as the connection between prequels and original movies made me wonder if they intend to bring Ahsoka into the new movies. I'm not sure how well Ahsoka's species will translate into the live-action world. Too much CGI and they will look weird. Not enough CGI and they won't look familiar and/or will look weird.
I made the mistake of looking up images of Ahsoka on google images to see if anyone had done any realistic cosplay stuff and was immediately reminded of Rule 34. That was just really weird and uncomfortable and I gave up the search immediately.
posted by Seamus at 11:08 AM on March 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Between my seven year old and Metafilter, I get reminded of this at least 5 times per week.
Thinking of Ahsoka as the connection between prequels and original movies made me wonder if they intend to bring Ahsoka into the new movies. I'm not sure how well Ahsoka's species will translate into the live-action world. Too much CGI and they will look weird. Not enough CGI and they won't look familiar and/or will look weird.
I made the mistake of looking up images of Ahsoka on google images to see if anyone had done any realistic cosplay stuff and was immediately reminded of Rule 34. That was just really weird and uncomfortable and I gave up the search immediately.
posted by Seamus at 11:08 AM on March 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
That was just really weird and uncomfortable and I gave up the search immediately.
Yeah....that rule will ruin a lot of innocent searches for innocent stuff.
I could have sworn there was a glimpse of one her species in one of the Prequel movies, but I haven't spotted it yet.
posted by Atreides at 12:22 PM on March 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yeah....that rule will ruin a lot of innocent searches for innocent stuff.
I could have sworn there was a glimpse of one her species in one of the Prequel movies, but I haven't spotted it yet.
posted by Atreides at 12:22 PM on March 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
I would put money on it being in the imperial senate.
Isn't every species?
posted by Seamus at 12:58 PM on March 9, 2015
Isn't every species?
posted by Seamus at 12:58 PM on March 9, 2015
Nope.
A youngling.
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ashla_%28Jedi%29
posted by Seamus at 12:59 PM on March 9, 2015
A youngling.
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Ashla_%28Jedi%29
posted by Seamus at 12:59 PM on March 9, 2015
Well done. Now we just need the image of her lightsaber slain body lying across the floor.
Would Anakin have killed them in some merciful manner or just hacked and slashed?
posted by Atreides at 2:17 PM on March 9, 2015
Would Anakin have killed them in some merciful manner or just hacked and slashed?
posted by Atreides at 2:17 PM on March 9, 2015
Head's up folks! Season Two Starts tomorrow night!
posted by Atreides at 10:42 AM on June 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Atreides at 10:42 AM on June 19, 2015 [1 favorite]
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Recaps
A.V. Club Review
Atreides' Recap
I'm glad I watched Clone Wars. I really liked Ahsoka and the way they aged her up looks pretty convincing.
The advantages of an animated series I guess.
I hope the series doesn't lean too heavily on Vader/Ashoka though. It is strong enough that it doesn't need to.
Also It would be nice to tell different stories. We don't really have a Star Wars story about a crew like this, instead of a heroes tale. I was kinda against Jedi in it because then it would be all about the Jedi, but if they can have Kanaan and Ezra but keep the ensemble solid then no problem.
Good lightsaber fight. Kanaan using the blaster function was something new.
(Great Trivia Section as always, Atreides)
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 11:46 AM on March 3, 2015