Star Wars Rebels: Imperial Super Commandos

November 7, 2016 11:04 AM - Season 3, Episode 7

Things have become quiet on the shattered planet Concord Dawn, a base of operations for Mandalorian warriors under the command of Fenn Rau. With Sabine Wren in the lead, Ezra Bridger and Rau go forth to investigate to discover why the strategic base has gone silent.

* No trivia gallery yet, it will be posted when it comes available.

BUT, here's some quick trivia!

• Fenn Rau and Concord Dawn were introduced in Season 2's episode, "The Protector of Concord Dawn," and technically, chronologically, Rau was first introduced in Marvel Comics' Kanan limited series.
• Viceroy Gar Saxon first appeared in The Clone Wars as a member of Death Watch and later joined forces with Darth Maul. He last appeared in Dark Horse Comics' Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir.
• Saxon is a member of House Vizsla, which had a major role in Death Watch, which is the same house that Sabine's family belongs.
• The new Phantom has received the requested paint job from Sabine in the time between this episode and The Last Battle.

posted by Atreides (7 comments total)

I really appreciated the voice talent in this episode for Rau and Saxon, but the writing was sub-par and it was totally predictable.
posted by bq at 8:22 PM on November 7, 2016 [1 favorite]

Yeah, my 9 year old said "He's coming back." when Fenn flew away.
Totally predictable.
posted by Seamus at 1:17 PM on November 10, 2016 [1 favorite]

Okay, first the trivia (it's not late if it's before the next episode):

• The idea of Imperial Super Commandos dates back to pre-production art for The Empire Strikes Back with the idea of "super" versions of the stormtroopers in all white armor. When the idea fell through the armor remained to become Boba Fett's iconic set.
• Fenn Rau and Sabine were originally intended to play dejarik, but the game was switched to something more Mandalorian. The result was a game based loosely on cu'bikad, which was a game found in the Legends Universe Republic Commandos novels. A staffer referred to the game as "stabble."
• The Phantom II sports a large stylized tibidee graphic based on the close encounter the original Phantom had with the manta ray-like creatures in Season 1.
• The production name for Phantom II was actually Ghost Fighter C, representing the third iteration of the Ghost's shuttle, with the second iteration being the Phantom after it was modified to allow Chopper to guide the ship.
• The canyon with the jetpack chase was actually a repurposed canyon from Ryloth with different textures and the addition of a river in the bottom.
• Kevin McKidd (Fenn Rau) and Ray Stevenson (Gar Saxon) reunited from their time playing comrades in HBO's Rome.

posted by Atreides at 4:14 PM on November 11, 2016

I liked this episode, but I didn't love it. It felt much more as a good setup for the next episode, whenever we meet Sabine's mother. Also, it weirdly hit a lot of the same beats as last season's "Homecoming," with Fenn Rau standing in for Hera's father, Cham Syndulla and Sabine for Hera. The similarities include a father-figure (and I'm stretching that for Fenn) who is only focused entirely on the home planet, at the expense of fighting the Empire anywhere else, of that figure betraying the main protagonist, and then changing their mind in the end. Not to mention, in both cases, the female protagonist are both lectured on their culture by the male older figure.

The lighting and animation was pretty great, and I love how the Rebels animators/storyboard artists are feeling confident enough to engage in pretty decent hand to hand combat scenes - though incidentally, almost entirely with Sabine. Ezra surfing on Chopper was something I didn't know I wanted to see. Now I want everyone to do it once.

I liked the design of the Mandalorian shuttle, which shares a clear lineage with the Mandalorian fighters.

Biggest regret? Not having read Son of Dathomir for Saxon's story after Clone WarS.
posted by Atreides at 4:19 PM on November 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

Late watch.

I was a tad disappointed mostly because I get pretty excited about Sabine episodes and of course the buddy she gets for a subtle stealthy mission is again Ezra. This episode felt like it shared so much with past episodes in Blood Sisters, Homecoming and Always Two There Are.

Ezra being really good at getting captured but also at being a captive feels like well explored area too.
Seems like maybe bad leadership on Hera's part, this is not a winning combination.

I was also a bit let down that the Mandalorians basically were "flying stormtroopers" as Ezra said. They missed a bunch and didn't pose much of a threat even when outnumbering and ambushing our heroes.
posted by French Fry at 7:19 AM on November 15, 2016 [1 favorite]

Ezra being really good at getting captured but also at being a captive feels like well explored area too.

Is it me being too considerate that at least this time, Ezra intended to be captured?

I'm kind of worried they're trying to push for an Ezra/Sabine romance. In season 1, he was definitely attracted to her (she did not return the feelings), but this theory helps explains the ridiculous inclusion of Ezra in "The Antilles Extraction," especially as he's super nervous about her safety. In turn, this romance will be used for dramatic storytelling purposes later in the season.

And also, isn't it great how Ezra just got over the Sith teachings, like instantly? I'd love to see him struggle, like a bit of an addict, with not touching upon the Dark Side.
posted by Atreides at 7:34 AM on November 15, 2016

" Sure would be handy if I could mind-control or force choke this guy... nah, hate leeds to anger natch. I'm sure I'll get rescued "
posted by French Fry at 9:41 AM on November 15, 2016 [1 favorite]