Recap: STAR WARS REBELS Puts An Iron in the Fire
Episode 308 “Iron Squadron”
Written by Matt Michnovetz
Directed by Saul Ruiz
[photos: Lucasfilm]
A very straight-forward episode again this week, with very little (if any) movement toward anything in terms of story, unless they’re playing the very long game. Hopefully this is not another filler episode.
The crew of the Ghost, along with Phoenix Squadron, is inbound to Mykapo to evacuate Rebel sympathizers in the wake of Imperial occupation of the planet. They arrive right in the middle of a space battle between TIE fighters and a battered YT-2400 freighter, the design a cousin to our dear old Millennium Falcon (which is a YT-1300). The ship claims the name “Iron Squadron” — which was commanded by the brother of Commander Sato (Keone Young) before the occupation.
Sato realizes it’s his nephew Mart (Zachary Gordon) running the ship, and while Iron Squadron does OK against an Imperial transport, it’s likely going to be no match for the Star Destroyers that are sure to arrive any moment.
Hera (Vanessa Marshall) tries to convince Mart, Gooti (Meredith Anne Bull), and Jonner (Eric Lopez) to evacuate with everyone else, but Mart’s not having any. He wants to stay and fight. Ezra (Taylor Gray) gets it, telling Gooti and Jonner that he didn’t want to abandon his home either, but there’s a time and place for fighting, and picking your battles is every bit as important as having something to fight for.
Kid’s growing up quite a bit this season, even though he’s still rather reckless.
Ezra, Sabine (Tiya Sircar), and Chopper stay behind to help Mart and his “crew” repair the hyperdrive on the Falcon … ship (we never got a name, did we?), so they’re still in-system when Admiral Konstantine (Dee Bradley Baker) shows up in a light cruiser (still not a Star Destroyer, Mart).
Konstantine is there under orders from Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), who is apparently testing the good admiral? Setting him up to teach a lesson? Who knows? This Thrawn is OK, but not as dangerously cunning as I expected him to be. This doesn’t quite feel like Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn…
The Imperial forces overwhelm Iron Squadon. As the Ghost crew get everyone on board the Phantom II to skedaddle, Mart stays behind to throw more cargo box bombs at Konstantine, to give Sabine and Company time to get away. Which they do, but they return en masse with Sato and a full fleet of ships to rescue Mart at the last minute.
Not the strongest of episodes this time out. Mainly because it doesn’t feel connected to anything else. Yes, it gives us barely a hint of a history between Sato and Thrawn, but how many times are we going to play the “kids are fighting on their own” card? One has to wonder if these disparate episodes are all laying out threads that will be spun together into one big payoff, but in the meantime it’s been a rather simple season. Not dull, really, but it doesn’t feel like the stakes have been raised with the addition of Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Note, however, there’s mention of Fulcrum. Remember this is a code name that can be applied to anyone performing the function of facilitator for the Rebels. Who’s doing the job now? Mon Mothma? Princess Leia? Leia’s aide-de-camp Winter?
And as we get closer to the release of Rogue One, will we see anything in Rebels that makes a connection?
Star Wars Rebels airs Saturday nights at 8:30/7:30c on Disney XD.
