Star Wars Rebels 2x17 "The Honorable Ones" - reaction & review
Added 2022-08-29 11:00:07 +0000 UTCHey everyone! Here it is - my reaction to season 2, episode 17 of REBELS!!!! Whoa, never EVER thought I'd see something like a Kallus and Zeb team up but....wow, it appears that Kallus is more than meets the eye! It is a bit eye opening on what it looks like to be an individual in the Empire. It's definitely more layered than it is cut and dry. I wonder if this temporary alliance and mutual respect will have any future repercussions!!! Can't wait to find out! Great ep! Enjoy!!! ~ MH
Comments
It's a great one!!! I know, they added some real depth to Kallus which I did not see coming!
Melissa Moore
2023-09-15 13:44:39 +0000 UTCThis is probably one of my favorite episodes. Just something that I wasn’t expecting at all and the contrast at the end had me feeling for Kallus.
Cody
2023-09-14 22:11:44 +0000 UTCYeah I agree! It makes you wonder what happened for things to end up this way, but the closeness to Palpatine has a lot to do with it, I'm sure. That is SUCH a good point that the Empire thrives because so many just accept it. It's a scary thought and very scary that it happens so often in real life!
Melissa Moore
2022-09-11 22:12:14 +0000 UTCI think this is one of the things that makes Palpatine’s empire so fascinating: the Empire (like any empire) isn’t just maintained by force but by the people who are part of it, and who often accept the status quo. Some people really buy into it ideologically but many others will go along with it. One of my favourite books on this theme is Christopher Browning’s (a historian) “Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the final solution in Poland”. Ordinary people doing extraordinary (and terrible) things. Most weren’t obviously ideologically driven as I remember it.
Nick
2022-09-10 09:36:47 +0000 UTCI think Yularen is a really interesting character: from loyal republic high ranking officer to loyal Empire high ranking officer. He seemed a decent sort in Clone Wars (and his relationship with Anakin was great fun): so what happened? And presumably Yularen was very far from the only republic person to do this. Interestingly, Yularen, Anakin and Tarkin all obviously knew Palpatine and the impression gained in the Clone Wars was that Palpatine took a special interest in all of them and ‘groomed’ them.
Nick
2022-09-10 09:33:07 +0000 UTCThank you for the info, wow! Also, good fact about Yularen!!!!!!
Melissa Moore
2022-09-03 15:41:44 +0000 UTCYeah its a good point you make Tyler about the Nazi's too in relation to Star Wars and Imperials. Take for example the Heidrich family, who weren't just Nazi's, but SS members. The most (in)famous of these was General Reinhard Heydrich who was as evil as they come; he was responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Poles in occupied Poland, resulting in around 100,000 deaths. He was then given the task of dealing with the "Jewish Problem" and so, along with others came up with the "Final Solution" which became the systematic genocide of Jews, Slavs, other minorities, and the handicapped throughout Europe, which ultimately ended up killing over 6 million people. He was a much hated figure throughout the war and eventually was assassinated. When this happened, his brother Heinz, found his papers and his role in all of that; and made it his duty to then try to free as many Jews as possible, sickened by the acts of his brother. General Erwin Rommel too was obviously a Nazi Party member, but was respected because he fought with honour throughout the war, and was chivalrous; so not all Nazi's were evil, they just belonged like Kallus, to an evil regime. Since you are going through Clone Wars, here's one for you. Anakin's Admiral in Clone Wars (Admiral Yularen) stayed on after the war and became a well respected high ranking Imperial officer. And he is in Episode IV on The Death Star, before getting blown to bits from Anakin's son!! :D
Saltire
2022-09-03 02:02:54 +0000 UTCOh thanks! Oh wow, that's an interesting point about the surge of patriotism. After a long war and lots of negative impact throughout the galaxy, I can see why some felt a bit idealized about the Empire at first. Also, I think that is what I was thinking of with the Stormtroopers, thanks for clarifying! And good comparison too.
Melissa Moore
2022-09-01 13:23:14 +0000 UTCYou bring up something else Melissa about how the Empire gets their numbers up, and sure some are forced into doing their bidding, like what we see with Galen Erso in Rogue One who is forced to build the Death Star along with his engineers, and of course the Inquisitors themselves mostly were forced into becoming them. However with the stormtroopers, its a different story. This isn't a spoiler, but its kind of what Bad Batch will cover when you get to that, about adapting to life during the early Empire; but in lore, there was a surge of patriotism felt from the ex-Republic side when the Empire formed. A lot were sick of the Clone War and felt that this new order would bring about "peace and prosperity" (as Vader says in Revenge Of The Sith), and didn't want another war; so people happily signed up to become staff and stormtroopers, and of course many ex-military commanders and soldiers from the Clone Wars also stayed on to become imperials. Another thing that people liked, was that they were taken care of better, a lot of people who signed up came from impoverished backgrounds, and the Republic by the end wasn't taking care of them, and the Empire guaranteed them and their families a dwelling and food, on top of their salaries; so they were delighted to be a part of it. I think what you are thinking of about stormtroopers, is from the sequels, with the First Order, where the remnants of the Empire formed a new more extreme version, and raised kids from the cot, to become stormtroopers. If the Empire was the Nazi's, the First Order became the SS.
Saltire
2022-08-31 18:25:58 +0000 UTCOhhhh I have seen Attack of the Clones but didn't remember that! Wow, the pieces were moving on that one really early. Ah yes, that's a good point about Saw Gerrera! Seems like there was definitely some extreme measures in how he fought. I'll be curious about Andor too!!
Melissa Moore
2022-08-31 12:45:48 +0000 UTCI don't know if you remember Attack Of The Clones that much, but before Dooku leaves at the end, he takes the plans of the Death Star from the Geonosians, in case they fall into the hands of the nascent clone army and the Jedi. After the war those plans were set in motion and construction around Geonosis got underway. Also if you remember seeing Saw Gerrera in Rogue One, he was a bit unhinged when he meets up with Jyn Erso. After Steela's death in that Clone Wars arc, he never stops fighting; firstly the separatists, and then the Empire when that comes to Onderon. Over the years he stops at nothing, to rid his system, and the worlds he fights for elsewhere, to bring down the Empire; unfortunately that also means war crimes and innocents being caught up in his fight back. I do wonder if we'll see more of this in Andor.
Saltire
2022-08-30 15:36:18 +0000 UTCHey, sorry about that - I set them to post automatically because I was not around as much yesterday, so even though I set them both for 7 AM, they must have gotten out of order! :P Hahahah YES Goldie!!!! So funny that you just watched it. Yeah the door-over-door fights are not happening. Yes Zeb is a nice shorter version but always good to know the full name. OHHHHHH that quote rings true....!!! Yup, at the end of the day Kallus really was just a pawn. Exactly, it does put a different spin on it to know he was given the weapon in what's almost a show of respect. It is a vicious cycle!!!! War is hell and the cycle of hurt just gets perpetuated on automatic it seems. Hmm, interesting point about Schindler too! It's proof that individuals are definitely not the same. There were definitely some Jurassic Park vibes there! YES, the difference in attitude/environment was sad to see play out. Lol yes something tells me there's something BIG going on on Geonosis....!!!
Melissa Moore
2022-08-30 11:26:51 +0000 UTCHAHAHAHA he certainly did :P It truly is an eye opener!!!! They're definitely willing to explore those gray areas here....and it shows!
Melissa Moore
2022-08-30 11:06:53 +0000 UTCWow. 😯 Chopper gave that droid a good two piece and a biscuit 🥊 ⚡️ Why is it every time Zeb gets an episode he’s so beast? I knew individual character circumstances weren’t all black and white but I never excepted that as well from Kallus. It’s never that simple. That was an eye opener.
Manny
2022-08-30 11:05:53 +0000 UTCOhhhhh so they didn't even come for him?! Brutal! Yeah I can see how this whole experience will affect him. Such a start contrast for sure! HAHAHA Chopper does not exactly follow the life-preserving rule but for the most part Tarkin was onto something :P Interesting that Saw Gerrera's crew is a bit more....intense. I can see how they would have made a big impression on Kallus. Ohhhh that's why it got wiped out, for the Death Star! Thanks for clarifying. That is a MASSIVE wipe out!! And does go to show how big the Death Star must have been. I remember Geonosis coming up a lot in Clone Wars! True, they didn't deserve genocide, even if they were helping to build Separatist tech. Sheesh........so many worlds just destroyed. Devastating!
Melissa Moore
2022-08-30 11:04:24 +0000 UTCI can see why! Exactly, it's not so cut and dry. It does remind me an awful lot of the viewpoints in Clone Wars actually! I remember hearing that Luke was about to join the Imperial Academy, sheesh!! Oh I know, the ending was really sad!!!!! Definitely a great ep!
Melissa Moore
2022-08-30 11:00:44 +0000 UTCI see your uploads got put up out of order today - no worries, we do know how to count correctly. :) The bad droid - hey, are you referring to R3 aka “Goldie”? Because I literally just watched that episode. :) Also will everyone stop fighting on both sides of a door? It doesn’t go well! Of course the main focus of this episode is what’s going on between Zeb and Kallus. Zeb’s full name is Garazzeb Orrellios - it’s been mentioned before but Zeb is a lot easier, obviously. I actually am reminded of a quote from another show that could apply here: “A story of victory for one person is a story of defeat for someone else.” The Empire’s always been the big bad, and for this show, Kallus has been a big face of it - but in the grand scheme, he’s just a pawn being moved around himself. It should tell you something that a Lasat deemed him “honorable” enough to give up his weapon upon defeat. It also kind of makes sense that Kallus would hold a grudge against the Lasat, seeing as his first patrol was slaughtered by one - so he has deliberately been poking Zeb out of his own personal grudges. It’s a vicious cycle. He’s mad for his team so was involved in the Lasan massacre himself. It goes around and around. There’s a good point brought up that not everyone is the same, however. Lasats, or even Imperials. I’ll use a real world example: the Nazis are known as one of the cruelest organizations in history - yet Schindler was a member of the Nazis, and saved many lives by using that access. That’s real world of course, but the concept still applies. All fiction has roots in reality. The whole swinging up the cave - anybody else feel Jurassic Park-ish during all that? The biggest difference between the two factions is their attitudes. The Rebels are a close knit group and care deeply about each other. They also trust each other. The Empire, everyone is just a number. Look at the room Kallus returned to. Nothing special, no one to check on him. Just like everyone else. The bigger question, and maybe some seeds were planted here: what is really the story with Geonosis and why? Maybe a little Inside Job Snooping is in order. 👀
Tyler Stobbe
2022-08-29 22:57:38 +0000 UTCWhen Kallus left that moon, he didn't truly escape the cold. Its confirmed that the Empire didn't come for him, and it was a passing trader ship that found his distress call; hence why he was a bit dejected when Admiral Konstantin gives him the cold shoulder when he finally got back. This experience will affect Kallus more than it does Zeb. Its a complete contrast from the warmth of the reunion Zeb got from his adopted family. Tarkin in season 1 mentions about our Ghost crew being more principled than other rebel cells, in that they don't take life needlessly (well unless Chopper is around!!!); and he's meaning cells like Saw Gerrera's bunch. That image of the lasat wandering through the smoke and fire, taking out Kallus's crew one by one and leaving him alive to witness it, is vivid and haunting. It probably formulated a hatred of lasat's from him, hence his earlier needling of Zeb about what happened on Lasan. The Geonosians getting wiped out from the Empire, approximately 100 billion of them, to cover up the building of the Death Star around their planet. Geonosis I believe, is the biggest world we've seen have life in Star Wars, so it shows how big the construction of the Death Star must've been, if it encompassed the planet. The Geonosians were formidable enemies in the Clone Wars, and developed tech for the Separatists, built the tanks and battle droids for them, and helped formulate the design of the Death Star; so while they weren't exactly 'good', they were an enemy to be respected, and they didn't deserve that fate. Another world wiped out, like Lasan, Mandalore and Alderaan, by the Empire.
Saltire
2022-08-29 15:18:08 +0000 UTCThis episode is probably in my top 10 favorite Rebels Episodes. It gives us more of perspective on people within the Empire. Alot of them get suckered in by all propaganda and think that they're actually fighting for the right thing. The public perception of the Rebellion is probably similar to how we viewed the Separatists in the Clone Wars. And alot of people in the Rebellion are people who joined the Empire and left after seeing how terrible they are. Luke would have joined the Empire Academy if R2 and C-3PO hadn't arrived in the Sandcrawler lol And the end for some reason always makes me tear up. Zeb has a family to go home to. But all Kallas has is a room and a rock.
Brandon Dodge
2022-08-29 14:45:09 +0000 UTC
