SWR 2.11 'Legacy' Review

NOTE: This review is written under the expectation that the reader has watched the episode under review. Spoilers will be discussed freely and unlabelled, so if you’ve not watched the episode read at your own risk.

I've been a defender of Ezra's character from the get go. I know some people hate the cocky, wisecracking kid protagonist but Ezra has always been that character done well. He's sarcastic but he's not a douchebag; he's often way out of his league but he's not useless; and a lot of immaturity can be traced back to the loss of his parents at an early age.

The actual missing parents sub plot hasn't been one of the shows strongest aspects so I'm actually quite glad that they seem to be concluding it so soon because it means that the character can evolve from it. In this episode Ezra has a vision relating to his parents and it compels him to re-ignite his search for them in a overzealous hope of having finally found them. Having learnt from Hera and Kanan of a recent prison break we see the crew work together to find out once and for all what the current state of Ezra's parents are.

The answer? If the former governor was telling the truth - he did come off as a bit shady - then Ezra's parents are officially confirmed to be dead.

This is without a doubt the best performance by Taylor Gray for Ezra. In 22 minutes Ezra goes through several emotional curveballs: hope, fear, impatience, angst, happiness, sadness, grief and eventually hard acceptance and he hits each one perfectly. The final moments of the episode in particular are truly effective largely down the guys phenomenal performance and the scripting of the episode.

Pretty much everything in the second half of the episode is great and to me represents much of what lies of the heart of Star Wars as a franchise. The episode does not cop out and give the character a happy resolution, but it doesn't end on an entirely sad note either. Ezra has lost the family he never truly knew and he will never get to be with them, but despite the grief and pain Ezra can and WILL move on.  Why? Because Ezra has a new family, and he has hope for the future and in the Force. To me that moment where at the end where Ezra finally accepts his parents demise and begins the slow recovery with hope for the future is what define Star Wars and I loved this episode for that.

......I just wish the entire episode had been about that.

Ultimately all that good stuff happened in the second half of the episode. For the first half we had to deal with what feels like a pointless battle with invading Imperials. Not only that but it made the good stuff in the second half feel more rushed than it should've felt and had to pull some contrivances just to get things in place.

I get that this is a kids show but watching this episode made me feel like the creators didn't have enough confidence in their younger audience to stay invested in a quieter and more personal episode. C'mon guys; kids are smarter than that and if you've given them engaging characters - which you have - then they will be loving this stuff.

At the same time however you'd think that an invasion of Garell would be kind of a big deal, but Hera and the others just kind of shrug off Ezra and Kanan and tell them not to worry about it because they'll deal with it. The whole episode feels like two stand alone stories meshed together and sadly the structure of the episode suffers greatly for it.

Some Minor Points...

. I do think it's really sweet that Kanan and Hera were taking time out of their busy schedules to still look for Ezra's parents. That's a genuinely sweet realisation.

. Another reason the second half of the episode should've been stretched to the entirety of it? Hera, Chopper, Sabine and Zebb would've had less excuse to not go down with Ezra and Kanan to Lothal to help him. How much more potent and sincere would've those final moments been had the entire crew been together, all being there for Ezra in his time of grief? It would've justified the family dynamic they're going for much more.

. The Inquisitors being involved again further exasperates my feelings that these villains have been nerfed. They're just two more recurring villains constantly used to fail against the Rebels, with greater ease each time. A shame really; I'd given up on Agent Kallus ever being a legit threat but right now only Darth Vader still feels very threatening.

Overall

I definitely enjoyed this episode. What is done well is so good and represents so much of what I love about this franchise...but I can't rid myself of the niggling feeling that there is a better version of this episode that I would absolutely adore, but for whatever reason it got meshed with another episode. For what this episode does well it is definitely a good episode, but by god it could've been great.