Last week’s episode of Star Wars Rebels leads our group of heroes into this week as our Jedi and Ahsoka make for Malachor, an ancient world forbidden to the Jedi while the Republic stood. Taking Master Yoda’s advice from his vision, Ezra and company go in search of knowledge in this week’s Star Wars Rebels, bringing us the Twilight of the Apprentice. Now strap in for hyperspace and watch out for asteroids (spoilers) because trouble for our heroes is imminent.
Arriving on Malachor
Ezra’s youth and impetuousness lead to the group into a trap where they discover trouble with an Inquisitor almost immediately. Ezra takes a tumble, getting separated from Ahsoka and Kanan, who go chasing after the Inquisitor, who uses his lightsaber like a helicopter blade. Just awesome. Ezra quickly discovers he also isn’t alone in the lower level he finds himself in. Old Master (Darth Maul people) makes his acquaintance, pretending to be just an old scholar who crash landed on Malachor long ago. Maul does his best Yoda impression even using dialogue eerily similar from the Empire Strikes Back. Ezra agrees to go off in search of knowledge with Maul and along the way, he does a good job acting sympathetic while drawing negative emotions up from Ezra. Reaching a door, Maul manages to convince Ezra to use his anger to fuel his powers, going against everything Kanan has taught him. They enter a strange passageway that requires the constant lifting of large barriers and working together, they make it through. Ezra and Maul both end up revealing their true identities to one another in a strange showing of trust.
Kanan and Ahsoka get a timely assistance from Chopper, who managed to reach the Inquisitors ship before he or she was able. Along the way, they realize that the Inquistor wasn’t there for them, but someone else. Questioning the fourth Inquisitor they’ve run across, it only answers that it was searching for a shadow.
Maul’s Plan
Ezra and Maul have reached their target, a holocron that holds the knowledge of four other holocrons. Using a move that Kanan has used with him, Maul’s force pushes Ezra during his jump, enabling him to reach the holocrons platform. Kanan and Ahsoka see the trouble and race to the temple and grabbing the holocron enacted the platform to lift. Maul has a moment where he could let Ezra fall to his death, but saves him. About the same time, the 5th brother and the seventh sister arrive to help their fellow Inquisitor. Maul and Ezra make a timely arrival and despite Ahsoka and Kanan recognizing Maul, they team up, forcing the Inquisitors to flee. Despite the distrust, Ezra manages to convince Kanan to stay and work together with Maul even though they know Darth Vader will be coming. Seeing a three on three duel was amazing, even more so was Maul taking on all three Inquisitors by himself for a bit.
The Inquistors split up with our newest one coming after the holocron. The seventh sister prevents the fifth brother from following in hopes that they will take out a few before being killed. Ezra continues to ignore Kanan’s warnings of Maul when the Inquisitor shows up nearly taking Ezra’s hand. Maul and Ahsoka reach them just in time forcing him to flee again. The group splits up again with Ezra going with Maul. Both groups run into trouble. Maul again plays on Ezra, getting him to using his anger and almost killing a helpless seventh sister. Ezra hesitates and Maul kills her off with the warning that hesitating could kill his friends. While Ezra goes off to activate the holocron, Maul joins the other group, killing off the fifth brother and allowing Kanan and Ahsoka to finish off the other as he falls to his death. Maul’s plans become quickly known as he turns his attention on Kanan, blinding him. Ahsoka saves his life and manages to bring him to a standstill, until Kanan recovers his calm and uses the force to be his eyes as he battles Maul and appears to kill him.
The Master and the Apprentice
Ezra has finally caught on to Maul’s deceit and runs to warn the others when Darth Vader shows up in an iconic shot of him standing on his tie fighter as it brings him to the top of temple. Vader toys with Ezra briefly before slicing his lightsaber and getting ready for the kill shot, when his former apprentice arrives. It is a duel that has been long awaited since the Clone Wars and so the duel between Ahsoka and Vader begins. Kanan arrives with Chipper guiding him and tells Ezra that together they must grab the holocron. Vader manages to catch Ahsoka off guard in their duel and force-pushes her down to a lower level on the temple. Vader manages to catch up to Kanan and Ezra as they reach their ship, force-pulling the holocron to him and then several things happen at once. Ahsoka arrives managing to slice off a piece of mask and force-pushes Ezra behind the closing door to take on Vader herself, allowing them to escape. The mission is a success, but it comes at a high cost and we are left with an exploding temple, Maul managing to escape in Vader’s shuttle and Ahsoka’s fate left up in the air.
Star Wars Rebels ended season 2 with the best episode of the series to date. The lightsaber duels were amazing and all had their own originality. The killing of three Inquisitors was surprising but we did hear that there are more out in the galaxy. I’m not a huge fan of Maul still being alive, but he was great and played his role of a manipulative being to a tee. The biggest takeaway from Star Wars Rebels was as the show closed up for the season. Ezra studying the holocron and his eyes briefly turning yellow will have a major impact on the future and we only have to wait until next season to find out.