September 5, 2016
Star Wars Rebels - Season Two
Kevin Taft READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Set between "Star Wars films Episode III" and the original "Episode IV" ("A New Hope") "Star Wars Rebels: Season Two" continues the nostalgic tradition started with the first season. While "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" series was well received, it's the "Rebels" series that truly captures the essence of the original films. With visual nods, music cues, and the playful banter reminiscent of Luke, Han, Leia and the droids, "Rebels" is what fans were waiting for. And Season Two not only continues that tradition, but expands on it; opening up the universe to be more complex, surprising, and emotional than the first.
It also has Darth Vader voiced by James Earl Jones himself. What more could you want?
The series follows the crew of the rebel ship Ghost including our main protagonist, the teenage Jedi-in-training Ezra (Taylor Gray), the pilot Twi'lek (Vanessa Marshall), Jedi Kanan (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) teenage Mandalorian Sabine (Tiya Sicar), a beast named Lasat Zeb (Stephen Blum) and their faithful droid "Chopper." Surprise returnees to the fold are R2-D2, Lando Calrissian (voiced by Billy Dee Williams), Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz), as well as Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) who was a huge part of the "Clone Wars" series. But even more surprising is the addition of Princess Leia Organa (Julie Dolan) and a Mirialan Inquisitor who Ezra has to face named The Seventh Sister voiced by Prinze Jr's wife and "Buffy" legend Sarah Michelle Gellar.
The series is complex and amazing and loads of fun for kids and adults alike. While the special features are slim, the 20 action-packed and emotional episodes are worth the price alone.
Spread out across the 3-disc Blu-ray set are the Bonus Features:
Rebels Reacon : A lengthy look (spread over all three discs) at specific episodes including their themes, character arcs and more. There are even some Comic-Con panel clips for those that might have been left out of that hard-to-get-into event.
Connecting the Galaxy: Rebels Season 2: A short featurette on how the show connects to the entire Star Wars universe.
From Apprentice to Adversary: Vader vs. Ahsoka: This takes a brief look at the season's (SPOILER) climactic duel, as well as giving us a look into James Earl Jones voice-work on the show.
"Star Wars Rebels: Season Two"
Blu-Ray
$45.99
www.disney.com
Kevin Taft is a screenwriter/critic living in Los Angeles with an unnatural attachment to 'Star Wars' and the desire to be adopted by Steven Spielberg.
