Sabine gets the screen time she deserves in a high-quality training montage.
ThisStar Wars Rebelsreview contains spoilers.
Kanan enlists her in some Jedi-style training.
The reaction shots of him and Fenn Rau watching Sabine and Kanan were amusing and well-placed.
However, this is Sabine and Kanans episode through and through.
Fenn Raus grave explanation of the still rather silly darksaber includes some exposition animated in a 2D style.
And when the episode takes Sabine seriously, it takes her very seriously.
Her backstory is grim and affecting.
Both of them are obsessed with secrecy, and good at it.
Of course Sabine was good enough at hiding something big that everyone thought there was nothing to hide.
and Im looking forward to finding out more about how it effects her family.
That effect is certainly going to be big.
For now, though, the focus is on the darksaber.
Kanan helps Sabine untangle her emotions and get to the heart of her reluctance to help the Mandalorians.
Their conflict isnt as simple as confidence versus fear, even though it sometimes leans that way.
Sabine is secure in her self-worth, but its her actions that matter.
Kanans advice is grim and honest: Every mistake is a limb lost.
Episodes like this let the viewer feel like theyre learning right along with the characters.
Sabines gauntlets are designed specifically to fight against Jedi, and give her a technological equivalent of Force powers.
Sabines history is rooted entirely inRebels as opposed to being connected to Ahsoka or Maul or another movie character.
This makes it feel all the more important, because it lends weight to the entireGhostcrew.
Ive been hyper-focused on the degree to which Ezra barges into episodes this season.
Luckily, thats not the case.
Theres no question that Sabine is in the spotlight.
The last third of the episode owns that declaration, revealing exactly how good Sabine is with weapons.
The only thing missing is the art.
The writers could have explained her art as a coping mechanism in several different ways.
As always,Rebelsfeatures some tiny but meaningful interactions between characters.
Ezra and Sabines sibling rivalry, including surprise punches, is endearing.
Hopefully theres even more of this to come as Sabine confronts her family.
