Recap: STAR WARS REBELS Revisits Old Haunts, Hints at a Return for [REDACTED]
Episode 311 “Visions and Voices”
Written by Brent Friedman
Directed by Bosco Ng
[photos: Lucasfilm]
At least this episode connects with something in the overall Star Wars universe. And even though it reaches back to the past more than it does to the future, it does indeed give us hints of things to come as we move forward to the moment when Luke Skywalker meets up with a pair of dilapidated droids.
In the wake of last week’s adventure on Lothal, the team is planning their assault on the planet when Ezra (Taylor Gray) starts seeing Darth Maul (Sam Witwer) all over the base. He and Kanan (Freddie Prinze, Jr.), suspecting it’s a Force vision of some kind, consult with the Bendu (Tom Baker), who informs them that it’s actually not — and oh, by the way, he’s right behind you.
Turns out Maul has come to parley, convincing Ezra to accompany him to Dathomir, where a ritual will allow them to exchange the pieces of knowledge they possess from their holocron merge experience. Each has information the other needs to fulfill a goal, and it just so happens the goal is one and the same — find Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Along the way, Kanan and Sabine (Tiya Sircar) get possessed by the spirits of the long-dead Witches of Dathomir, and it was a nice touch to have those two characters voiced by Clone Wars vets Meredith Salenger (Barriss Offee) and Anna Graves (Duchess Satine).
Maul really really wants Ezra to be his apprentice, but Ezra’s not having any, so Maul leaves in a huff, on his quest to find Obi-Wan Kenobi. Ezra goes back into the cave and rescues his friends from Captain Howdy’s Gals. And then he‘s on a mission to find Obi-Wan Kenobi. And the search begins for a desert planet with two suns.
This will end in tears.
I’m wondering if this will lead to a canonical version of “Old Wounds”, the short story that appeared in the Star Wars Visionaries graphic novel telling stories that aren’t even considered part of the “Legends” titles anymore. In that story, Maul — complete with cyborg legs — tracked down Kenobi and confronted him in one final battle, which Obi-Wan won only with the help of Owen Lars, further widening the distance between the two because of the danger to Luke that Obi-Wan represented.
Within the Star Wars canon, of course, Maul does indeed have cyborg legs now, and since we’re nearing the end of the season, could we be in for a showdown on Tatooine? Perhaps with Ewan McGregor playing Obi-Wan Kenobi in anticipation of his solo film? It’s been rumored that the Story Group is holding on that because Obi-Wan will be appearing in either Episode VIII or Episode IX somehow. Could this be our entry point to that? Could Rebels be setting up a tie-in with the new trilogy instead of Rogue One like everyone hoped?
Star Wars Rebels airs Saturday nights at 8:30/7:30c on Disney XD.
