TV #70 of 2021:
Star Wars Rebels, season 4
There are two resonant character farewells in this last year of Star Wars Rebels: first in the episode “Jedi Night” and then in the overall finale. We also get the surprise return of Ahsoka Tano following her apparent death two seasons back, which may have worked better for audiences upon airing than for folks like me who have already seen her later appearance on The Mandalorian, but is still pretty satisfying regardless. (On the other hand, that development somewhat bizarrely introduces time travel into the franchise as well, never to be picked up again elsewhere to my knowledge.)
The rest of the run is a little more mixed, not quite finding good storylines for everyone and getting bogged down in way too much local Lothal nonsense, including a new species of mystical animals for the young hero to commune with and befriend. I initially liked how this cartoon generally felt like a Firefly-esque ensemble program in the early days, but it really has become mainly just the Ezra Bridger show as it’s gone along. That approach is solid enough as a coming-of-age tale for the boy embracing both his Force powers and a leadership role in his cell of the Rebel Alliance, but is perhaps not the best use of this wider cast or the narrative potential in their era of galactic history. While I’ve enjoyed the series for the most part myself, I doubt I’ll particularly miss it now that I’ve reached the end.
This season: ★★★☆☆
Overall series: ★★★☆☆
Seasons ranked: 1 > 3 > 4 > 2
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