Star Wars Rebels “Stealth Strike” Review

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Pew-Pew! Rex and Kanan, Interdictor Cruisers, and a ton of action! Read on for this week’s review of “Stealth Strike.”

Just before the Thanksgiving holiday we were treated to one of the best Star Wars Rebels episodes to date, “Stealth Strike”.  To quote fellow RetroZap! writer Mike MacDonald for a description of this episode, “Because sometimes you just want the #pewpew”. And boy did we get it!

Commander Sato and Ezra are pulled out of hyperspace by the Empire, and Kanan and Rex must team up to rescue them. This is the first time we get to see an Interdictor cruiser on screen – and it’s quite impressive. The animation is superb here; first we get the Rebel ship in hyperspace (always a cool blue color), then it gets ripped out, spinning, by the Interdictor (flashes of rainbow colors). I like that we get to see how the Empire is building its arsenal; we get to see new ships (and Sabine even mentions knowing the Empire was working on gravity well projectors when she was in the academy). I wonder what other ships or weapons we will get to see as Rebels goes on.

We get a new character in this episode as well, Imperial Admiral Brom Titus. He reminds one of the English actors used in the original trilogy as Imperial commanders. Great accent and look, very old-school. He also seems pretty intuitive as to guessing the Rebels’ next moves. Perhaps he’ll prove to be a competent adversary for the Rebels.

This episode teams up Rex and Kanan for the mission to save Ezra and Sato. Since Rex has been added to the crew of the Ghost, we’ve only seen he and Kanan disagree, even almost fight, about everything. But this episode forces them to work together, to recognize individual strengths. As a former clone trooper, Rex has more discipline and order, more military experience. Kanan has nothing but rebuke for military order (he calls it “protocol nonsense” at one point), plus he has a deep anger for the Clones – the last time he really saw them they were murdering his Master. This rescue mission forces Kanan to let go of his anger to work with Rex. (I’ve got to say Rex is good at ignoring Kanan’s angry outbursts…but then again he used to work with Anakin Skywalker, so he’s probably used to that).

Just a quick aside here–the comedy in this episode is fantastic. Rex getting into/trying on the Stormtrooper armor was GENIUS. So many gifs have come out of that scene. Not to mention the hashtag: #RexButtWiggle.

Ezra gets to blossom more in this episode as well. He escapes his Stormtrooper escort with ease by combining his Jedi training from Kanan and his military type training from Rex. Ezra is much more confident (although he’s never really had any fear of stormtroopers) and uses some aggression in fighting. I don’t think it’s so much that it’s a concern for Dark Side talk, but it’s enough to be effective in a fight.  Or…too effective as he stuns Kanan and Rex in their stormtrooper get-ups!

Ezra also becomes a bit of a leader in this episode; he comes up with a plan to rescue Sato and the rest of the crew, as well as how to sabotage the Interdictor. He is tired of Kanan and Rex always arguing about plans, and he stands up for himself. Just another indicator of how Ezra is growing, both as a teen and a Jedi. Ezra also gets to lead Sato and the others from their ship to the hanger to escape. He comes up with good plans on the fly. And just to mention, the scenes with Ezra and Chopper are hilarious. That droid is snarky!

Rex ends up getting captured when the group splits up (he sacrifices himself for the group). This obliges Kanan to go rescue Rex, and even forces Kanan to admit Rex is a friend. Finally their relationship is getting on the same wavelength; both needed to let go of their anger towards each other, and see what is right for the Rebellion as a whole. Not to mention each other.

When captured Rex has to face some truths; he served the Republic, but ultimately his service was what helped establish the Empire (as pointed out not so nicely by Admiral Titus). Will Rex have to face more issues like this in future episodes? Will he have any crisis of conscience?

Chopper does an excellent job of sabotaging the Interdictor Cruiser – by turning its own weapons against it. The ensuing scene is awesome – two Imperial ships are pulled into the cruiser, crashing into it! A graphic animation masterpiece.

The episode ends in perfection: Kanan thanks and salutes Rex with the Star Wars theme song quietly playing in the background. This week’s episode, “The Future of the Force,” brings the return of the Inquisitors, and looks to be much darker.