Breaking Ranks

[Brandon Rhea]

Breaking Ranks, the newest episode, was released on demand tonight. On the whole, I liked it. It was good to see the rebels being proactive. This was really the first time since the premiere that they went after the Empire (as opposed to stealing weapons, bumbling into a rescue, or trying to find a Jedi Master), and it was their first time really hitting the Empire as hard as they can at this point in time. Ezra was the focus of this episode, and he wasn't annoying at all. He showed smarts and leadership. We also got to meet a recurring character, Zare Leonis, who I have been looking forward to meeting ever since learning about him, and I like how his story kicked off and where he went in this episode. The Inquisitor was also briefly in it, continuing the story of "Rise of the Old Masters."

EDIT: I forgot to mention, this also has a nice bit of continuity with the recently released "Crystal Crisis on Utapau" story reel episodes from The Clone Wars.

The only real downside to this episode was that it felt like the ending to a multi-episode arc. Ezra has been in the Imperial Academy for weeks by the time this episode starts, and there's a lot of unseen story there where we could have explored Ezra navigating through the hardships of the academy. At the same time, it's good to see Ezra having gone through the academy in SOME form. We saw him with a blaster, we saw him with better combat abilities, and we saw him show leadership qualities. I haven't been a big fan of Ezra so far, so hopefully this episode serves as some much-needed character progression and improvement.

If you've watched the episode on demand, what did you think?

 

[Srota]

I quite enjoyed the episode, I like where things are going as we start to see plot lines developing in more sprcific terms other than just "Ezra gets force training" or "Kanan can't teach very well..."

 

[Cortan]

I'll agree on the assessment that, were this Clone Wars, this would have been the end of a multi-episode arc.

That said, I don't think it hurts the episode too much. It quickly establishes why Ezra is there well enough, and I feel like the voice actor has improved on the inflections from when he started out. Animation feels like its improving in small ways as well, feels less off compared to earlier episodes. I like the connections that can be found too, like the training well being an evolution of the simulators used in Clone Wars (going from solid pillars to self-propelled platforms), or the military march from the prequels being reprised for the training music halfway in. In general its a small but nice look into the functions of the Empire behind the scenes, with regards to recruitment (both for Stormtroopers, and what exactly happens with force sensitives), as well as what it must look like when the Imperial characters are just... doing their day jobs.

The Kyber Crystal thing surprised me though. Could be they deliberately chose to do it because of how the Crystal Crisis on Utapau was never finished, but it so directly deals with the development of the Death Star that its worth bringing up - that, and for those who did watch it, it answers a question of whether and when the Emperor would try to find another such oversized macguffin.

Hopeful and quite curious on what'll happen with Zare though. It would be one thing if he'd just stuck at the academy, under the same old bosses, but who knows how the Inquisitor might try to get the truth out of him. Definitely interested to see his return.

 

[Brandon Rhea]

I also liked the use of the Clone Wars military cue in the episode. That music was originally used for the Trade Federation in Episode I. In a way, it subtly (and probably unintentionally) harkens back to the fact that the Emperor controlled everything, and both the Republic and the Separatists led into the Empire.

My guess would be that they would've done the kyber crystal story regardless, since this was most definitely constructed as a follow-up rather than a replacement.

 

[Kaeb]

Hated the ''training sequences''.

Hated the set up for the episode, so far the episodes have felt incredibly disjointed, this series really doesn't flow well from both a character and narrative perspective.

Liked some designs, liked the kid trying to find his sister, hated the idea of the Empire recruiting kids into the Stormtroopers.

Overall, this episode was pretty lame.

 

[Johnnysaurus Rex]

I actually liked this episode the most. Their training was a little wonky, but if the purpose is to subtly detect Force Sensitivity (which it seems to have been) it makes sense.

The Empire having no qualms about accepting and training kids to begin a career of military service makes sense to me. I doubt any of them would be doing combat until of age, but having them being groomed as commanders or experiencing military life while serving as aids or support roles seems like a total Empire move to me.

My favorite part was Leonus. He's the first character in the series so far that I said to myself, "Yeah, I like everything he brings to the table." and I hope he becomes a recurring player in events to come.

I do have to say that the episodes so far just feel kinda rushed. My expectations of the show aside the Rebel crew just kind of breeze through increasingly daring and dangerous missions without ever failing let alone having to make any sacrifices. I really hope that changes by seasons end.

I really think that the stories also could have been panned out into longer stories for an episode or two. This episode illustrates it the most with Ezra and the team being separated, but Kanan and Hera just being able to raid three large ships on their own and blow up something as important as a kyber crystal.

 

[Kaeb]

It's weird, the last episode actually gave me a modicum of hope for the show, then this knocked it back a few steps again. Here's to hoping once season two springs around, they destroy all previous perspectives I had on this show.

I want it to be good and I believe it can be, but they're really squandering this whole prospect right now on a lot of dumb shit.

 

[Vulpes]

The Empire having no qualms about accepting and training kids to begin a career of military service makes sense to me. I doubt any of them would be doing combat until of age, but having them being groomed as commanders or experiencing military life while serving as aids or support roles seems like a total Empire move to me.

Aren't they a little short to be stormtroopers, hehehe.

 

[Johnnysaurus Rex]

Aren't they a little short to be stormtroopers, hehehe.

You saucy minx!

 

[Vulpes]

You saucy minx!

I'm more of a...sly fox