Oh, Captain Rex, my Captain…
By Eric Goldman
Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.
Star Wars Rebels’ sorta/kinda season premiere – given the actual first new episode of Season 2 aired back in June – brought back another major element from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, as none other than Captain Rex returned.
During the run of The Clone Wars, two big questions fans asked were what happened to both Ahsoka and Rex, given we didn’t see them during the events of Revenge of the Sith. We got a pretty firm answer on Ahsoka before The Clone Wars ended, as she left the Jedi order completely – and hence would have no reason to be in the thick of things when Order 66 occurred. But what about Rex? What happened to him?
We want to hear it.
“The Lost Commanders” gave us some answers on this front, as we caught up with Rex long after the Clone Wars ended – even as we were left to ponder some exact specifics. Finding out Rex (along with Wolffe and Gregor) had removed the chips that forced Clones to obey Order 66 was gratifying to learn, and made a lot of sense with Rex’s trajectory on The Clone Wars and what he saw near the end of the show. Of course, it doesn’t tell us what exactly Rex and the others were doing and how they responded when Order 66 actually occurred, but that question is no doubt being kept purposefully vague – because maybe, just maybe, we’ll get to see those specifics told in a story one day. Still, given Rex and the others were simply listed as “decommissioned”, they couldn’t have, say, been labeled as traitors for ignoring Order 66. So how did they avoid being a part of it?
We want to hear it.
Even as we ponder all of that, it was great to see Rex again and learn he was still with a couple of other Clone Troopers – frequently-seen Clone Wars character Wolfe, and Republic Commando Gregor. Gregor only made a single appearance on The Clone Wars, in the show’s 100th episode, but between his apparent (though clearly there was a way out) death in that episode and his less than stable state of mind here, there’s plenty of gaps still to be filled in here as well.
We want to hear it.
The best parts of “The Lost Commanders” dealt with Kanan’s issues working with Rex – something very understandable given Kanan was there for Order 66. If you’ve read the Kanan comic book (and you should!) it was both cool and chilling to have him recount moments we saw there, as his master was killed in front of him by Clone Troopers she trusted.
We want to hear it.
It was also interesting to see Ezra somewhat caught in the middle – liking Rex and bonding with him, and not being able to directly connect to Kanan’s issues. Also, some of what Kanan mentioned about Order 66 bring up the compelling idea of some of the Clones who hadn’t removed their chips realizing the horror of what they did later – “Later they said they had chips in their head that made them do it.” Perhaps a tragic Commander Cody story could be in our future?
We want to hear it.
On the downside, the episode had a notably sluggish mid-section, as Gregor convinced everyone to go “slinging” with him. The idea behind this large-scale fishing was fun, but it just felt out of place in the middle of this episode and even with Zeb supposedly in danger, there was a notable lack of energy to what was occurring.
We want to hear it.
Also not working was Wolffe ‘s betrayal – or, to be precise, the fallout, or lack thereof, for how it was handled. The idea of Wolffe notifying the Empire a Jedi had shown up ignored to keep he and his friends safe and in the Empire’s good graces was strong, but then Wolffe’s instant apology (and everyone seeming to accept it) just felt so rushed and like the incident was being swept aside.
It’s great to have Rex (and his fellow Clones) back, and the questions that come with his return are really interesting ones for Star Wars fans. Plus, the issues his presence brings up for Kanan are very engaging. It’s too bad the whole episode couldn’t live up to all of that, though having seen next week’s episode, I am happy to say the second half of this two-parter is the stronger installment.
