Fleet combat in Rebels Season 3 finale

By GrandAdmiralCrunch, in Star Wars: Armada

15 hours ago, Forgottenlore said:

I suspect that Rex is going to bite it this episode. He's not really a main character, his death can serve to accentuate the seriousness of the fight on a personal level while the rebellion scatters and the ghost crew are on their own next season.

Rex is at the battle of endor so it's not very likely that he will die in this series.

1 minute ago, ninclouse2000 said:

Rex is at the battle of endor so it's not very likely that he will die in this series.

Actually if I remember correctly I think Dave Filoni says he 'likes to think' that that was Rex. Which doesn't mean he was there, only that he might've been. Regardless, either way implies that Rex doesn't die, since you can't 'like to think' that an unnamed soldier is a character who died 7 years before that unnamed soldier appears.

3 minutes ago, NobodyInParticular said:

Actually if I remember correctly I think Dave Filoni says he 'likes to think' that that was Rex. Which doesn't mean he was there, only that he might've been. Regardless, either way implies that Rex doesn't die, since you can't 'like to think' that an unnamed soldier is a character who died 7 years before that unnamed soldier appears.

To carry on that point.

Dave Filoni has said he "likes to think" it was, and has also stated that after a discussion with Pablo, it is certainly possible.... And its basically up to Filoni and the Writers if they want it to happen - but they havn't decided yet, because doing so, writes themselves into a corner that they're not willing to do at this point.

Which suggests they're open to possibly killing him off.

Just now, Forresto said:

Which suggests they're open to possibly killing him off.

Open but reluctant, I'd say.

I believe their choice of words were "not willing to compromise an unknown and evolving story for personal desires."

I think they're setting up a Rex and Cody confrontation...

2 minutes ago, Forresto said:

I think they're setting up a Rex and Cody confrontation...

Have we seen Cody in Rebels?

2 minutes ago, chr335 said:

Have we seen Cody in Rebels?

Nope and its the interaction everyone seemingly wants to see.

Hmm it would be interesting maybe next season

I think in terms of how badly the rebels get hit in the finale we're looking at them losing chopper base, Sato, the quasar (its their flagship so its going to be Thrawns primary target), The Nebulon B that takes a hammering in the mid season trailer, the GR-75 seen crashing and maybe a CR-90. These along with some rebel troopers and almost the entirety of their Awings (as per usual) will leave this as a defeat for the rebels, from what we see the Imps lose, what? An interdictor, a couple of ISDs take a battering from ywings and plenty of TIEs. Acceptable losses for Thrawn in return for taking out such a large portion of the rebels although he will consider it a failure for not taking out everyone in one blow.

The real question, of course, is...where does season 4 even go from here?

Our intrepid band of heroes will have faced (and at least survived):

  • The Grand Inquisitor and Imperial ISB (season 1)
  • Multiple Inquisitors, Darth Vader, and Moff Tarkin (season 2)
  • Grand Admiral Thrawn and Governor Pryce (season 3 - honestly, this one is all about Thrawn, but the governor has been name dropped regularly ever since the second episode of the entire series, so...)

Season 4 is...the Emperor? Tarkin, again?? I mean, we're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, we're on ten. Where can you go from there? Where?

I think it's safe to assume the rebels will lose big, but not so big they go scrounging again. If anything they will get the carrier out, and it may very well serve as a sole ship for a bit.

Yet this is the perfect chance for the Mon Calamari to show up, essentially an MC whatever showing up to help the rebels escape with whatever and make a jump and Mon Mothma at the end basically building something bigger.

Who knows...

This would be the time for the rebel alliance as a unit to make itself known to aid in a fighting withdrawal. Not a victory, just survival.

10 hours ago, Forresto said:

A nebulon and a bunch of corvettes were destroyed along with an entire Alliance commando group.

Blue squadron was devastated enough they werent battle ready for the Death Star Attack. Against a death star you throw every fighter group you have so theres no way they were on escort duty elsewhere. Also dont forget that the majority of starfighters at Scarif would be destroyed a few days later.

Hard losses certainly for the Alliance, but look at what their sacrifice accomplished. They destroyed 2 ISD's, a shield gate, all those tie fighters, a research base, countless stormtroopers and their ilk and forced Tarkin to nuke Scarif, causing further troop and personnel casualties. Still a victory in my books.

Unfortunately, at the end of the day this is still Disney cartoon targeting children. I highly doubt that the rebels will sustain any kind of serious losses (certainly not the death of a main character) and a great character like Thrawn will be wasted in the name of the plucky heroes with blanket plot immunity. I fear this may be the end of the line for me.

5 hours ago, sgtdeadman said:

I think in terms of how badly the rebels get hit in the finale we're looking at them losing chopper base, Sato, the quasar (its their flagship so its going to be Thrawns primary target), The Nebulon B that takes a hammering in the mid season trailer, the GR-75 seen crashing and maybe a CR-90. These along with some rebel troopers and almost the entirety of their Awings (as per usual) will leave this as a defeat for the rebels, from what we see the Imps lose, what? An interdictor, a couple of ISDs take a battering from ywings and plenty of TIEs. Acceptable losses for Thrawn in return for taking out such a large portion of the rebels although he will consider it a failure for not taking out everyone in one blow.

I'm concerned this episode is going to conflict with Rogue One and A New Hope. Rogue One was the first victory against the Empire for the rebellion, this is confirmed in the opening crawl in A New Hope "It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire." We've seen how effective the TIE defender is, and its a MAJOR concern for the rebellion as right now they only really have fighter superiority (quality, not quantity.) Destroying the factory will be a victory, however, massive losses can offset that to a Pyrrhic victory. The Empire would only lose (or only delay) its advanced fighter production while rebels lose near irreplaceable war materiel.

This leads into my concern, Grand Admiral Thrawn will be killed. Should the Empires greatest military mind be killed, AND the Empire loses the TIE Defender factory (we pretty much know they destroy it) then regardless of rebel losses, this would be a MAJOR victory.

So few people seem to have any faith whatsoever in Filoni, the writing team, the Lucasfilm Story Department, and Disney to, y'know, tell even a half-semi-appropriate story.

Its like... The Baseline assumption is that these people are not avid Star Wars fans. That they need to be told what to do with the franchise because they have almost no experience with it, or something...

Edited by Drasnighta

I'm not sure I'd go even that far. I mean, Thrawn is a Big Deal, sure, but...

...consider how Yavin 4 or Hoth or Endor would have gone with the TIE Defender in general production.

Wiping out the facilities on Lothal that were making it is JUST as big a deal as killing Thrawn.

2 minutes ago, Drasnighta said:

So few people seem to have any faith whatsoever in Filoni, the writing team, the Lucasfilm Story Department, and Disney to, y'know, tell even a half-semi-appropriate story.

Ahsoka vs Vader.

Q.E.D.

I don't dislike these guys - they do a good job a lot of the time. But, at the same time, OH MY GODS do they completely drop the ball, sometimes.

That is exceptionally subjective, rather than demonstrated.

And in fact, if we were to assume it were "quod erat demonstrandum", it actually demonstrates the other way.

The final conflict between Ahsoka and Vader, along with the end episode of that season, rated well with the public (which, we must assume, contains a great deal of Star Wars fans).

What was not received well in that episode was the Copter-sabres...

18 minutes ago, Drasnighta said:

So few people seem to have any faith whatsoever in Filoni, the writing team, the Lucasfilm Story Department, and Disney to, y'know, tell even a half-semi-appropriate story.

Its like... The Baseline assumption is that these people are not avid Star Wars fans. That they need to be told what to do with the franchise because they have almost no experience with it, or something...

Honestly no I dont neccesarily have a ton of faith in Filoni and the rebels team when it comes to writing. They arent awful but I they aren't consistent. The wounds from how they threshed Grievous are still fresh, I do NOT want to see them ruin Thrawn with a bad ending.

I tenuously love Rebels as a show. How they handle careful situations like next week will ultimately determine how I feel.

I look at it this way:

If they **** this up - they're fired, and the debacle would be so great, they'd never work again. Ever.

I think they'd be well aware of the risks on this one :D


EDIT:

Maybe I'm weird. Maybe its odd. But I do believe my point of view is certainly influenced by the fact that I have an Almost-Four-year-Old that was introduced to Star Wars through Rebels... I read a bit of the EU lore when it was about, but not a great deal - and I considered the great de-canonisation as a great thing for the franchise... For one, it makes the "story" of Star Wars accessible again. And honestly, that's what I see Disney and LFL continuing to do - to continue to tell the story, and make the story accessable... The whole point of removing the EU was to crush inconsistencies that they had relatively no control over - and I have some faith that they will continue to tell the good story of Star Wars, and invoke as few inconsistencies as possible as they do so... When they do, they will likely be very minor. Because anything - anything - that destroys credibility, destroys the Franchise. You want to grow your market, not cut half of it off and only aim for new growth - you want to grow it all, and keep your current success...

All that being said, I certainly have more faith in David + Pablo than I do in Disney Execs.

Edited by Drasnighta
46 minutes ago, Drasnighta said:

What was not received well in that episode was the Copter-sabres...

Those were not great, true. But they didn't actively piss all over a core conflict that had been sitting there for years. They were merely...lame.

What really irritated about that episode was that it was 90% fine - copters aside. If they had done everything they did EXCEPT show Ahsoka walking away at the end...you'd have a satisfying arc for the character (with the requisite ambiguity that isn't really ambiguous at all, but, ya know, the kids...)

But this team can't stick that landing over and over, and it...annoys.

Just now, xanderf said:

Those were not great, true. But they didn't actively piss all over a core conflict that had been sitting there for years. They were merely...lame.

What really irritated about that episode was that it was 90% fine - copters aside. If they had done everything they did EXCEPT show Ahsoka walking away at the end...you'd have a satisfying arc for the character (with the requisite ambiguity that isn't really ambiguous at all, but, ya know, the kids...)

But this team can't stick that landing over and over, and it...annoys.

Honestly, I thought it was fitting with the setting. :)