SWNN Review: Star Wars Rebels – Brothers of the Broken Horn!
Hondo is back! Episode 4 of season 2 once again got us back in touch with an old “friend” from the Clone Wars, as everyone’s favorite space pirate Hondo Ohnaka shows that he still has a trick or two up his sleeve. A lot has happened to the mercenary since we last saw him, not least of which is his now time-chiseled appearance. Read on for more and beware of SPOILERS
The show starts with Ezra unfocused and irritable during some good old-fashioned target practice. As Ezra attempts to nail a stormtrooper helmet being toted along by Chopper, the young padawan’s frustration is apparent. Kanan arrives and we see why. Ezra continues to be caught between Kanan and Rex’s ongoing debate on his training priorities. He goes as far as implying that perhaps his destiny doesn’t lie with being a Jedi or a soldier.
Hera calls the crew together for a meeting. It turns out that Commander Sato needs the crew’s help on a mercy mission. Our rebels are asked to locate some generators to help an ice-planet’s population from freezing to death. Ezra decides to take matters into his own hands and along with a (perhaps) semi-unwilling Chopper, “borrows” the Phantom on a quest for the needed generators.
After picking up a distress call from smuggler Cikato Vizago’s ship, the Broken Horn, the Jedi-in-training winds up meeting Hondo on the bridge. The veteran pirate explains that the ship now belongs to him after defeating the Devaronian in a game of sabacc. Ezra poses as “Lando Calrissian” and the two agree to go on an adventure for the generators together, following a brief encounter with an Imperial vessel.
Along the way, the unlikely duo are betrayed by their business partner, who turns out to be Asmorgan. The criminal reveals that Ezra isn’t Lando and is foiled in his attempted robbery, thanks in large part to Chopper.
Ezra discovers that Hondo had lied to him as well, when he discovers Vizago being held captive in the brig. The Devaronian privateer is released after agreeing to clear Ezra’s debt for having helped rescue Kanan. Vizago uses some droid soldiers of Hondo’s to turn the tables and take back control of his ship.
Hondo pulls his usual double-cross routine and manages to escape with everything. Ezra worries about how he will explain not only his commandeering of the Phantom, but also his failure in the mission. However, Chopper had set the ship to return to the Ghost on auto-pilot. Hondo “generously” agrees to gift the generators to our crew, following his explanation that he was simply trying to do the right thing.
The Light Side
Hondo!!
While one could argue that this is yet another example of making a large galaxy feel like a small one, this didn’t feel contrived to me. It fit the story in a believable way and made for a fun, nostalgic adventure. Hondo’s appearance has certainly changed, as we see the pirate has sprouted some grayish horns in the Weequay version of a beard. We also learn that the years since the inception of the Empire have not necessarily been incredibly kind to the rapscallion. Not only has Hondo lost his crew, he’s also essentially broke.
Still, the old pirate has lost neither his sense of adventure, desire for profit or his hilarious wit. Hondo had a slew of fantastic lines in this one. A few that particularly stick out include, “You lied to me … I knew I liked you!” upon hearing that Ezra was not in fact the “semi-famous Lando Calrissian.” Others included a crack at Asmorgan’s wife, as well as a reference to Obi-Wan Kenobi being a good friend of his. It was amusing to note that despite some of their run-ins, Hondo really liked the Jedi deep down inside and thought that Kenobi also had a soft spot for him. Hondo’s return really livened up an episode that wasn’t bad, yet still seemed a bit like filler and involved another side mission.
Chopper as a commando.
Sure it seemed a bit ridiculous and almost lego-like during a close up shot, but I actually found myself enjoying a gun-wielding Chopper. The droid manages to save the day during the fight with Asmorgan’s gang, using his mechanical arms to become a gunslinger, firing away with two blasters simultaneously.
Rex truly part of the crew now.
It’s starting to feel like Rex will be an important fixture on the show, at least for the time being. It remains to be seen if the old clone captain hangs around for the whole season, but it does seem like we should get used to seeing him as one of the team. Another thing that’s clear is that we will continue to see how his relationship with Kanan develops. Though their arguing seems to be becoming more benign, it’s still clear that they both have very different stances on how to properly do things.
A different breed of Jedi.
Ezra continues to grow as a character and becomes more mature as the show goes along. Even though he finds himself struggling to accept his new life, he’s still able to draw upon his roots as a con artist to help him out as a padawan. Kanan also features a similar dynamic of balancing Jedi ideals with skills he learned on the run. The training principles are certainly different than the traditional Jedi values we saw being used before Order 66. It seems that Kanan doesn’t mind Ezra’s attachment to the crew as much as say Yoda would. It will be interesting to see if this turns out to be more help than hindrance as the show goes along.
The Dark Side
Asmorgan.
It was nice getting back one old friend, however I could’ve gone without the return of this one. To me, Asmorgan is simply a terrible character. I know that he’s not meant to be terribly menacing, rather a bit bungling. That being said, he just irritates me and I feel any dramatic tension goes out the window as soon as he appears.
Whatever happened to the previous deal Vizago made with Ezra?
I’m not sure whether or not the writers have simply decided to go in a new direction or not, but it seemed like they completely glossed over something from the end of the first season. Ezra had made a deal with Vizago in order to get vital information for Kanan’s rescue from the Inquisitor. At the time, Vizago whispered something to the padawan. Here Ezra releases the mercenary, seemingly clearing the debt. It just seemed strange that the old deal wasn’t mentioned. I wonder if the writers will get back to this or have just changed things up.
Parting Shots
I really enjoyed this episode. Yes, it did feel a bit like filler and took us on a side quest that doesn’t really drive the main plot thread along. Yet it did feature some nice character development for Ezra as well as being a purely fun, swash-buckling adventure.
Given the fact that Rebels is going to be longer this season, we’re bound to get a few episodes on the fluffier side. It’s normal for any serialized TV show. The importance is that these kinds of installments are entertaining. This one definitely fit that bill. Hondo alone made the episode for me. He was funny as usual and you’re always uncertain of what he’ll do next.
The Clone Wars was very good at balancing individual adventures with a solid, over-arching plot. Rebels certainly is looking for the same ideal balance. One key thing to remember is that the Clone Wars jumped around a lot, shifting stories among a large ensemble cast. Rebels is a bit more finely focused, following a small crew. We will have plenty of episodes like this one, where we get to zoom in on one character closely.
The pacing of the season has been okay so far. We’ve been getting a lot of setup and one-off adventures, but the story is also jumping around to different locations and not staying stagnant. We are beginning to see the main plot threads that will play out at least in the early-going. Ahsoka’s mission for information about Vader is huge. However, it seems the main focus for the Ghost crew right now is finding an appropriate location for a new rebel base. It will be interesting if they find this place earlier or later on in the season.
What did you think of the episode? What about the season so far as a whole? Has the pacing been okay? Sound off in the comments below or at the Cantina.
I loved this episode, I thought it was a really fun and great one, and I myself am also particularly fond of things in general that focus on (or at least have something to do with) the underworld of the Star Wars galaxy. (Which I am hoping to see much more of in the new Star Wars canon soon) It also helped develop Ezra a bit more as a character here, which was nice to see, as well. Also, that old deal was actually mentioned during the episode, so what do you mean exactly?
I said that they glossed over it. They mentioned it, but after re-watching the end of last season, I noticed that Vizago seemed to request something specific. Ezra agreed to make a deal and then Vizago whispered something to him, the audience didn’t hear this. That hyped up the “secret” to me and I thought they would’ve mentioned what Vizago originally asked for.
Because of the whole whispering thing, I was suspecting some kind of payoff to come out of this.
I never understood anyway what Yoda meant when he spoke against “attachment”. Obi-Wan was fairly attached to Anakin for example, whom he described as being “like a brother”. That kind of feeling seemed to be OK in the old Jedi order, but being attached to a girl (in a sexual way), or having a wife and kids was not, which is weird really.
Considering though the sequel trilogy ‘s clear intention to distance itself from the prequels, I suspect that part of old Jedi philosophy will be probably be downplayed in the new movies.
It’s simple. You don’t have to become an alcoholic just to enjoy having a few drinks every now and then. This is what Yoda meant to say. In essence, he was telling Anakin that he could go out and have a few drinks with his friends, but not to the point where he would become so attached to the bottle that he’d end up doing something stupid in the end.
Obi-Wan was not attached to Anakin like this, because he knew that Jedi could be gone in a flash, as was the case with Qui-Gon, whom Obi-Wan loved like a father. As for sexuality, you don’t have to be in love just to have a good time in the sack. But if you have a spouse and some whelps, you will have a weak spot that your enemies might use against you, exactly as Palpatine did with Anakin.
This might seem weird to people with little knowledge on the history and traditions of ancient, monastic orders of knights (or even modern Buddhist monks, for instance) but it doesn’t mean Lucas made a mistake concerning the way he envisioned the Jedi philosophy. If the new films steer away from the prequels it won’t be because of this. Even the OT deals with the struggles of attachment when Yoda and Obi-Wan tell Luke not to rush into facing Vader to save his friends. Love it or hate it, the Jedi non-attachment law is embedded at the very core of the SW saga since the beginning.
Even being married with children, attachment can distort your ability to make the right decision… “attachment” being your sense of “loss” if anything should “happen” to your loved ones… Rather than making the “right” decision… you would do anything to prevent *your* loss… Google the Chinese meaning of Ren and you will see what I am getting at…
“Considering though the sequel trilogy ‘s clear intention to distance itself from the prequels…”
um, what?
the deal was actually mentioned
Well they mentioned that there was a debt, but not what it was. Vizago whispered it to Ezra last year and I wondered what he said. It certainly wasn’t to free him, as he wouldn’t have known it was going to happen.
Vizago never whispered to Ezra when they made their deal. He gave Ezra his intelligence and told him he’d let Ezra know when he wanted to collect on their deal.
And when Vizago was found by Ezra, Vizago brought up the fact that Ezra owed him one for his help in saving his jedi friend.
Great review, Zloi! I wasn’t crazy about this episode, but it wasn’t bad. Just felt like filler. It was nice to see a familiar face.
These episodes are nothing but filler and a waste of time, I know they cannot have Vader in every episode but I think every episode should push towards A New Hope. I fast forwarded through 90% of it.
Better than last week’s but most agree with others. More filler. I want to see something that movies the show forward.
Felt this was the weakest of the season. That being said I do love seeing Hondo.
My review is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTYpy8DWuQM
I loved this episode to death! Hondo is the freaking best!
“Ah the stories I could tell… So many of them true…”
I don’t know exactly if I liked this episode. It didn’t seem to do anything for me not even nastalgia. The villain of the episode I agree should not have been in it and is a horrible character. It would have been way better to see Kallus chasing them but oh well. It seemed way too filler and really served no purpose other than bringing Hondo on screen as well as showing us that Ezra has second thoughts about the path he is on. I would have preferred to see Hondo serve a greater purpose than nastalgia purposes and be more important to the story but, at least to me, it felt like this episode was made just because they wanted Hondo in an episode. To me that feels cheap and felt like a fan service rather than focusing on plot. So I was disappointed which sucks because I was looking forward to seeing Hondo again but I don’t think this episode did his character, the fans or the story justice. Hopefully this season picks up very soon