10 hours ago, Larky Bobble said:

Well, at least we know why the TIE Defender initiative was shut down. Their in the field tests so far have been... poor ... to say the least. Why pay all those credits for something that dies with the same efficiency as any old TIE fighter?

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ConservationOfNinjutsu

may be in play here . One defender, as in Secret Cargo episode in Season 3, is terrifying. Two defenders, not so much - especially now they know what it's capabilities are.

It doesn't look like they have the extra guns that the ones in the trailer do (for, I think, the Flight of the Defender upcoming episode. Maybe that's the idea - after this subpar performance, they get upgraded?

10 hours ago, Ironlord said:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ConservationOfNinjutsu

may be in play here . One defender, as in Secret Cargo episode in Season 3, is terrifying. Two defenders, not so much - especially now they know what it's capabilities are.

It doesn't look like they have the extra guns that the ones in the trailer do (for, I think, the Flight of the Defender upcoming episode. Maybe that's the idea - after this subpar performance, they get upgraded?

We're not quite at "Not more pesky Defenders!", to abusequote the Tick comic (pesky Ninjas!), but they are losing their menace.

They were good episodes. I didn't even watch the openers to the season, I skimmed though them and thought "meh!"

4 hours ago, DarthEnderX said:

Much less ridiculous than Ezra being non-lethal in this episode was Saw stunning Stormtroopers.

3 hours ago, Ktan said:

As others have said, it was remarkably jarring to see Saw stun stormtroopers. Ezra still is clearly operating under the delusion of "If I don't see the body, I didn't do a murder" but Saw isn't. I get that it's a kid's show, but ehhhhhhh

I'd be willing to justify that as "Saw was trying to keep the kids thinking be was a good guy until he didn't need them anymore."

3 hours ago, Ktan said:

We need to see some Defenders do the equivalent of what Vader did in his TIE, I think, to raise the stakes and make the Defenders seem a little more threatening.

It would have been nice if they'd shown a scene where a Defender or two is what tore up Hera's squadron at the beginning.

Speaking of which, it was weird how like EVERY ship in her squadron seemed to be equally damaged.

5 minutes ago, DarthEnderX said:

It would have been nice if they'd shown a scene where a Defender or two is what tore up Hera's squadron at the beginning.

Speaking of which, it was weird how like EVERY ship in her squadron seemed to be equally damaged.

Clearly they ran afoul of a Defender with a bomblet generator. Rebels is just displaying some of the OPness of bombs that the rest of the forum is always on about

24 minutes ago, Kreen said:

I'd be willing to justify that as "Saw was trying to keep the kids thinking be was a good guy until he didn't need them anymore."

That makes Saw even more insidious, which I like.

I think I missed an episode. I'm glade I skipped to the end and didn't see spoilers. The only things I've seen is the two part episode about Sabine and her family, etc. I wonder how I missed it.

Duh duh dun dun dun, another Star Destroyer bites the dust... and another one gone and another one gone, another ISD bites the dust!

Seriously though? I could watch Ties and Light Cruisers blow up all day and in my mind even the score out, but the Empire's big bad?

Lazy writing. Contextually made sense but in the canon's arc not so much.

Honestly, the SD kill in the mandalore arc doesn’t count as a victory well a visible one, because the empire can blame it on an incompetent commander and a failed weapon rather than sabetours

It's easier to destroy a Star Destroyer that's "parked" than one in space. They're vulnerable on the ground.

I hope they’re done with the mandalor stuff.

1 hour ago, Kreen said:

I'd be willing to justify that as "Saw was trying to keep the kids thinking be was a good guy until he didn't need them anymore."

Or he planned to 'interrogate' them if he had enough time. Recall that was one of the things Mon Mothma complained about - his torturing prisoners to get information.

Can't 'torture someone for information', who is already dead.

I just saw it during lunch. Good episode, still some lame stuff in the beginning, but I agree both Saw's character and even Ezra's are developing well. I wonder why two 2 Part episodes back to back?

3 hours ago, Kreen said:

I'd be willing to justify that as "Saw was trying to keep the kids thinking be was a good guy until he didn't need them anymore."

Yeah I don't get why that isn't the conclusion people are coming to. Wait, yes I do. The sky is always falling, isn't it?

3 hours ago, DarthEnderX said:

It would have been nice if they'd shown a scene where a Defender or two is what tore up Hera's squadron at the beginning.

Speaking of which, it was weird how like EVERY ship in her squadron seemed to be equally damaged.

Given her reaction to TIE Defenders, I think it's pretty clear that's what tore up Hera's squadron.

2 hours ago, Forresto said:

Duh duh dun dun dun, another Star Destroyer bites the dust... and another one gone and another one gone, another ISD bites the dust!

Seriously though? I could watch Ties and Light Cruisers blow up all day and in my mind even the score out, but the Empire's big bad?

Lazy writing. Contextually made sense but in the canon's arc not so much.

Why not? A Kyber crystal literally went supernova. I mean think about this objectively, a heavy Imperial Warship was going to secure VERY important cargo for what is obviously the Death Star... So, why doesn't a Star Destroyer getting annihilated make sense?

We're on season four dude. If you have a problem with bigger and bigger things biting the dust I don't really know what to tell you, especially when it's 100% justified.

1 hour ago, Captain Lackwit said:

Why not? A Kyber crystal literally went supernova. I mean think about this objectively, a heavy Imperial Warship was going to secure VERY important cargo for what is obviously the Death Star... So, why doesn't a Star Destroyer getting annihilated make sense?

We're on season four dude. If you have a problem with bigger and bigger things biting the dust I don't really know what to tell you, especially when it's 100% justified.

I said it was justified in this context. But this isn't new for Rebels. One of the first things they blew up was a Star Destroyer, Tarkins flagship in fact, which they accomplished ridiculously easy I might add...

They've destroyed two top of the line interdictors, one in a total BS mando missile way and the other from inside also rather easily. Last week they destroyed the ISD from inside.

Tie Defenders are popped easily and Deathtroopers on this show are less then worthless. There is nothing sanctimoniously done in regards to the Empire. If this had been a build up to blowing up ISD's and high priority, security tages it'd be one thing but this show has constantly failed to make their antagonists outside of Thrawn and Tarkin and Vader seem competent or adequate.

My point is we relate and sympathize with failure in stories more then we do with success and Rebels has put me squarely in camp Empire. Thrawn's straight up a hero in this rag tag Imperial military. The Death Star is the last ditch effort to defend against the ruthless and unstoppable forces of Phoenix Squadron.

14 minutes ago, Forresto said:

I said it was justified in this context. But this isn't new for Rebels. One of the first things they blew up was a Star Destroyer, Tarkins flagship in fact, which they accomplished ridiculously easy I might add...

They've destroyed two top of the line interdictors, one in a total BS mando missile way and the other from inside also rather easily. Last week they destroyed the ISD from inside.

Tie Defenders are popped easily and Deathtroopers on this show are less then worthless. There is nothing sanctimoniously done in regards to the Empire. If this had been a build up to blowing up ISD's and high priority, security tages it'd be one thing but this show has constantly failed to make their antagonists outside of Thrawn and Tarkin and Vader seem competent or adequate.

My point is we relate and sympathize with failure in stories more then we do with success and Rebels has put me squarely in camp Empire. Thrawn's straight up a hero in this rag tag Imperial military. The Death Star is the last ditch effort to defend against the ruthless and unstoppable forces of Phoenix Squadron.

I'd go further and say Thrawn is equally inept or at least locked into being simply adequate because he's a villain in this show. It's a Disney kids show so spectacle comes first but throwing in these big bads has no bearing. Whatever they accomplish is ham-stringed by virtue of them ultimately needing to lose.

I've also never been sold on Thrawn to begin with. Interesting trilogy but his insight via art is absurd. If he catches cultural clues or something then that's not anything more than what someone with a lonely planet Coruscant could do.

2 hours ago, Ken at Sunrise said:

I just saw it during lunch. Good episode, still some lame stuff in the beginning, but I agree both Saw's character and even Ezra's are developing well. I wonder why two 2 Part episodes back to back?

I think they are doing episodes in 2 parts up to The Last Jedi, but regardless all of the episodes that we get this year will be shown in two parts, or 40 mins of Star Wars Rebels goodness for the next few weeks. I think we get episode sin January or so too, not sure if they will be two parters or not.

One of my biggest gripes is about Vader. He just gives up after Season 2? WHY?!?!?

14 minutes ago, Celestial Lizards said:

One of my biggest gripes is about Vader. He just gives up after Season 2? WHY?!?!?

Because his thing was dealing with Ahsoka. Now she's dealt with, and he's got bigger issues to address (IE., keeping the Death Star on track)

A bigger problem, of course, is the Inquisitors. Where the heck did they disappear to? They have literally nothing else to do except hunt down Force-sensitives, and we've obviously still got two hanging around. (Unless there really were only the four Inquisitors besides the Grand Inquisitor? I guess that's possible - and so they are all now dead, which would explain that.)

Just now, xanderf said:

Because his thing was dealing with Ahsoka. Now she's dealt with, and he's got bigger issues to address (IE., keeping the Death Star on track)

A bigger problem, of course, is the Inquisitors. Where the heck did they disappear to? They have literally nothing else to do except hunt down Force-sensitives, and we've obviously still got two hanging around. (Unless there really were only the four Inquisitors besides the Grand Inquisitor? I guess that's possible - and so they are all now dead, which would explain that.)

And we never see them do any actual killing of Jedi... They feel so incompetent... like the stormtroopers...

WHY CANT THE IMPS HAVE NICE THINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!
And why doesn't the TIE Advanced have green backwards maneuvers?

3 hours ago, Celestial Lizards said:

It's easier to destroy a Star Destroyer that's "parked" than one in space. They're vulnerable on the ground.

Obviously the rebels have the high ground every time they fight a star destroyer.

I noticed both TIE/Ds were destroyed by the terrain, not from enemy action. I think the problem's with the pilots, not the equipment.

I was kind of hoping the "new fighter" would be some production TIE Advanced, or even the TIE Interceptors (Which we know to exist), but featuring the TIE/D in this way does dilute their menace. Same with the Death troopers.

I doubt we'll get to the point where they are so watered down they need a Vader-RogueOne treatement to rehabilitate (See, this corridor massacre shows why Vader is the ultimate warrior in the galaxy). Still...

37 minutes ago, McFoy said:

I'd go further and say Thrawn is equally inept or at least locked into being simply adequate because he's a villain in this show. It's a Disney kids show so spectacle comes first but throwing in these big bads has no bearing. Whatever they accomplish is ham-stringed by virtue of them ultimately needing to lose.

I've also never been sold on Thrawn to begin with. Interesting trilogy but his insight via art is absurd. If he catches cultural clues or something then that's not anything more than what someone with a lonely planet Coruscant could do.

I mean, Thrawn is doomed to be inept by virtue of the Empire's core ideology being fundamentally incorrect. The Tarkin Doctrine is doomed to failure, especially in a body as large as the Galactic Empire, any Admiral who trucks that line is setting themselves up for failure.

3 hours ago, Fuzzywookie said:

I hope they’re done with the mandalor stuff.

I feel like, for Rebels at least, they are. They aren't going to "free" Mandalore while the GCW is going on. And with this being the last season, there's no real reason to revisit it.

Sabine going back to the Spectres tells me that the Mandalore plotline is over.

9 minutes ago, Celestial Lizards said:

WHY CANT THE IMPS HAVE NICE THINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Confederacy in the Clone Wars is more of a threat then the Empire, and they had battle droids! Roger roger!