Star Wars Rebels Season 3 Episode Guide:
3.01 Steps Into Shadow Part 1 - Review
3.02 Steps Into Shadow Part 2 - Review
3.03 The Holocrons of Fate - Review
3.04 The Antilles Extraction - Review
3.05 Hera's Heroes - Airs October 15
3.06 The Last Battle - Airs October 22
Star Wars Rebels 4.04 - "The Antilles Extraction - Review:
Directed by Saul Ruiz & Written by Gary Whitta
Gary Whitta's penned episode of Star Wars Rebels is certainly an interesting one. In case you aren't familiar with the writer's work then you'll recognize that he wrote The Book of Eli and was at one point attached to Rogue One. But here we get to see a taste of his work as Sabine goes undercover inside an Imperial training facility and runs into one or two familiar faces who will later go on to play important parts in the Star Wars universe, especially Wedge Antilles, who was one of the pilots who did the infamous trench run with Luke in A New Hope that destroyed the Death Star.
So it was fantastic to see him here and explore his origins of how he left the Empire in a great Sabine-focused episode that although took a while to start, really excelled by the end, keeping the thrills high as the stakes increased. Yes, it may feel like a trip down memory lane as Ezra has already gone undercover with Imperial cadets in the past but there was enough fresh elements here to make it stand out, and putting Sabine in the spotlight was a welcome one. Of course, the addition of Wedge always helps and hopefully this won't be the last time that we'll get to see him on this show. It was nice that whilst we still got enough backstory to explain why Wedge joined the Empire and became unhappy with their methods he didn't become the sole focus of the story, which still largely focused on Sabine for the most part.
Governor Pryce and Agent Kallaus (who ended up even helping the defectors escape at the end) were interesting additions to the show this week and Sabine got to go toe-to-toe with Pryce in a brief combat that was a welcome refresh from the usual fights that tend to involve somebody who has a lightsaber. It was cool how they used this opportunity to flesh out Sabine's background as well and explore her history with the Imperials in the past. This also marks a distinct change in tactics of the Imperials as well who have are no longer taking prisoners, instead opting to shoot first and ask questions later. This leads to the deaths of one of the three pilots as they are escaping and shows just how ruthless the Empire are capable of becoming, and speaking of Kallus, it's interesting to see that he's already starting to have doubts about the Imperials' latest approach. It was great to see some development to the character here and a further explanantion that not everybody in the Empire is as evil as they are portrayed as in the films. For an excellent example of more of this, check out the wonderful Lost Stars by Claudia Gray, which tells the story of two friends who find themselves caught on opposite sides of the war during key events across the Original trilogy and at the Battle of Jakku.
In a great exploration of Sabine's character, The Antilles Expedition placed the spotlight on her successfully and everything paid off after a slow build-up when things hit the fan. We got to see various different views within the Imperials and that not everyone agrees with their methods, even those remaining loyal to them. Wedge was also a great addition to the series as well, and the back and forth banter between his character and Sabine's proved a nice touch, with one great example of Sabine replying "that's cute" to the defecting Imperial pilots who thought they were rescuing her and not the other way around.
What did you think of The Antilles Extraction? Let me know in the comments below.
Overall Episode Verdict: B+
Positives:
+Wedge Antilles!
+Pryce/Kallus differences.
+Sabine-heavy episode.
Negatives:
-A little slow to start.
