Star Wars Rebels - 'Legacy of Mandalore'

"Leave it, Ezra; it's fam'ly!"

Okay, folks; brace yourselves. Things are gonna change around here.

Armed with the Darksaber and accompanied by Fenn Rau, Kanan and Ezra, Sabine returns home to persuade her mother, Countess Ursa Wren, to help her bring the Mandalorians into the rebellion, hinting that they have something big planned. Things go reasonably well at first, with Ursa explaining that, far from rejecting her daughter as a traitor, she never wanted her to come home because away from the rest of the clan she was safe. Unfortunately, Mandalorian Meanie Governor Saxon has Sabine's father hostage and Ursa is persuaded to cut a deal: The two Jedi in exchange for Sabine's safety.

Naturally, Saxon decides to alter the deal, as it were, accusing Ursa of consorting with Rebels and intending to take down the entire Wren Clan. Rau breaks the standoff, and the Rebels and Clan Wren throw down with Saxon's supercommandos. Ultimately, Saxon faces off again Sabine, he wielding the Darksaber and she Ezra's lightsabre, just in case there was any doubt that non-Jedi could use a regular lightsabre. Sabine defeats Saxon, Clan Wren turns against the Empire and Sabine… Sabine opts to remain with her clan; to help them defeat the Imperial Mandalorians and reclaim their own world, before – hopefully – coming to stand with the Rebellion.

 

Not the duel you might have been expecting.

This, obviously, is huge. Sabine is the first main crew member to depart the series, although if it's true that they are wrapping up Rebels in preparation for a new show, not such a big thing I guess. Maybe we'll see her again(1) in the series, however. I hope so. All-in-all, it's a good move for the character, although some of her character arc feels it has been a little rushed or erratic due to the early seasons' focus on Ezra. It's been good to see her get serious screen time lately, and this season has really impressed me with its commitment to the narratives of the non-Jedi characters.

(1) I admit, I was rather hopeful about references to Laura Dern playing a pink-haired Resistance leader in The Last Jedi, but the elegant dresses seem a little out of character and, in retrospect, I'm glad. As much as I'd like to see Rebels characters show up in the new movies – either main series or Stories – I'm pretty sure that all of the Wrens have been voiced by actors of Indian heritage, and I'd like to see that continued in live action.