History Awesome / StarWarsRebels

** ''Series/{{Ahsoka}} shows us just what happened: Ezra didn't just take Thrawn to parts unknown, he kicked one the Empire's greatest strategists '''out of the Galaxy''' for nearly ten years.

*** WordOfGod confirmed that Pellaeon survived too.

** The fact that ''Ian McDiarmid'' himself is the one uttering the names "Ezra Bridger and Ahsoka Tano" truly makes the ''Star Wars'' films feel even more connected to ''Rebels'', ''The Clone Wars'', and the other animated series (much like the performances of Creator/JamesEarlJones and Creator/FrankOz before him). Also notable that in ''The Clone Wars'', Palpatine would usually only acknowledge Ahsoka indirectly, or else dismissively refer to her as "child" or "one so young," whereas here, he now views Ahsoka (and Ezra) as a sufficiently large thorn in his side to address them by name and savor what he intends to be their long-awaited defeat (highlighting just how much they have accomplished to get under ''the'' BigBad's skin).

* Gregor died fighting for a cause he believed in. Very few clone troopers got that chance. Or, if you wanted to split hairs, ''lots'' of clones died fighting for a cause they believed in, but Gregor got to die to one that was untainted by the machinations of the Sith.

--->'''Yoda:''' Find . . . Malachor.

* In a world where ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' has been out for several months, seeing Ezra ignite a lightsaber similar to that of Kylo Ren is breathtaking, even if it only lasts a single second. In that short amount of time, we see the initial blade ignite, and then the crossguard -- and all three blades are bright ''green''.[[note]]It should be noted that Ren's saber was [[OlderThanTheyThink inspired by a similar saber from ''Legends'']]. That doesn't make it any less awesome, however.[[/note]]

** Of particular note are his entrance on the scene of the battle between the elder Jedi and the Inquisitors, prompting reactions of fearful recognition on the part of both Ahsoka and the Eighth Brother, and his subsequent entry into the battle wearing an expression of pure uninhibited glee, laughing at seeing two jedi, three inquisitors and his old friend Ahsoka. Actions really ''do'' speak louder than words!
-->'''Maul''': What fun. ''[[[EvilLaugh delighted laughter]]]'' What fun!

** Maul's battle against the Inquisitors is one-sided, even before Ahsoka and the jedi join in. Three wannabe dark side acolytes against a fully-fledged Sith Warrior? There was never any doubt.

''*They exchange three blows before Vader destroys Ezra's lightsaber. Ezra recoils as Vader approaches.*''\\

* The fact that Ahsoka is one of the two known Light-aligned Force-wielders capable of going toe-to-toe with ''both'' Maul ''and'' Vader, the other being Obi-Wan. Not only that, it's implied (and we finally see it in season 7 of the Clone Wars) that Ahsoka has survived a previous encounter with Maul in his prime, during the tailend of the Clone Wars, when she herself was just around 17.
* Ahsoka's statement that she is no Jedi is this. In Clone Wars, being a Jedi was a major part of her character and her motivation, and being betrayed at the end destroyed her confidence and her identity. Her statement symbolizes that she is no longer dogmatically blinded by the Jedi Order and has moved on, found assurance in herself, and will do what she feels is right. Which at this particular moment is to kick the ever-loving tar out of Vader.

** Even more awesome? Ahsoka has to be rescued later by Ezra. Vader ''appears to walk out on his own free will'', despite being about ready to drop. Whatever he's become, he's ''still'' a badass.

*** And '''Ahsoka Tano''', voiced by Ashley Eckstein. And '''Hondo''' and '''Lando''' and '''Leia'''.

*** And '''Ahsoka Tano''', voiced by Ashley Eckstein.

* Season 3 is going to feature a performance by the legendary Tom Baker, who voices an enormous and presumably ancient creature calling itself [[MythologyGag The Bendu]] who declares itself "in the middle" of the Jedi and the Sith in a pitch perfect recreation of The Fourth Doctor's BadassBaritone.

-->'''Ezra:''' Mind letting me in on the secret?\\

* It turns out Kanan didn't just save Hera, Ezra and Sabine as he died; his death destroyed Lothal Garrison's fuel stores, hamstringing TIE Defender production. No TIE Defenders means Lothal is one step closer to lliberation, but it also means the Emperor turning his full attention to completing the Death Star, and a paving of the way for another Jedi to rise...

* Ezra, after completing his mission, deciding to stay in the Imperial Acadamy a little bit longer so that he can get Jai Kell (another cadet) out before the Inquisitor turns up to take the two of them for "special training" due to the two of them appearing to be Force-sensitive due to their higher level of capabilities. Compare that to the pilot, in which he wasn't initially willing to stick his neck out for strangers.

** Who are the other two clones? Commander Wolffe (from Plo Kloon's force), and '''Gregor''', the lost Clone Commando from "Missing in Action" who helped R2-D2 and D-squad. Yes, ''[[BolivianArmyEnding he survived all that]]''.

-->"Well actually my name is Rex, Captain, 501[[superscript:st]] Clone Battallion. And any friend of [Ahsoka's] is a friend of mine."

** Fenn Rau [[KneelBeforeFrodo kneeling]] before Sabine when she proves herself worthy of the Darksaber. When she draws it in front of the other Mandalorians (including a woman heavily implied to be her mother), even the Supercommandoes take a step back in respect.

** The fight itself, which completely averts SheFu in favor of one of the rougher fights in the series. There's no quick takedown, no graceful manuevers, no weapons, just two people striking as hard as they can and using everything around them to their advantage.

* While the Death Troopers suffered a WorfEffect, the only survivor managed to mitigate it by leading her men to find the khyber crystal.

** In a meta-example, the section where the ''Ghost'' finds and enters the star cluster is one of the most beautifully animated and scored moments in the whole show.

* Meta: Vanessa Marshall's spot-on Ryloth accent is so realistic, and it perfectly matches the Twi'lek tongue.

* Meta example, but the introduction of Maul. Every time the camera cuts back to him, light is naturally added and we see more of him. For example, his markings aren't even hinted at until he and Ezra have talked for quite a while. His pants aren't seen until they are closer to the temple. We don't get a fully good look until we are inside the temple. And while we all knew who it was, the slow burn suspense is amazing from an art direction standpoint.
** Ditto for Sam Witwer's voice acting. The character sounds virtually unrecognizable upon his introduction, speaking with a tired, cracked rasp. As the episode continues, he sounds a little more and more like his old self, until by the end he speaks almost the same as he did in his prime. The best part is that the VocalEvolution is so subtle viewers barely even notice. It's an incredible performance.

** Becomes Meta-Awesome considering the fact that he is referring to the ''OLD REPUBLIC''. Yep, Disney might have possibly made Darth Revan canon.

* In a meta-example, the Loth-wolf looks magnificent. Remember how crude the Wookiees looked all the way back in "Spark of Rebellion", with their fur looking like plastic coating on six-inch figures? Not here. The wolf's fur has 416 controls so individual little tufts can be moved freely. For a cartoon show to pull that off is a huge achievement.

[[AC: Wolves And A Door]]
* Meta: The fusion of 2D and 3D animation with the Mortis fresco. Previous examples of 2D animation used careful cutting to switch the styles, but here they paint the animation directly onto the 3D model of the temple and let Ezra interact with it, even when the model moves to align the stars. It's the first time the Lucasfilm studio has done something like this, and yet it looks utterly seamless.

* The above two entries combine into a meta example: Ezra, by being a heroic force sensitive in the Empire's heyday, had the concerns of DoomedByCanon looming over him from day one. One could only have hoped he would do something spectacular enough to avoid being a BoringFailureHero. Ezra does not disappoint, as he has practically defeated [[GreaterScopeVillain Palpatine]] '''AND''' [[TheChessmaster Thrawn]], completely removing the latter from the Galactic Civil War just as it's about to heat up.

** That last bit deserves emphasis. Ezra is literally ''holding the atmosphere inside the bridge with the Force'' while at the same time keeping the door behind them closed so more stormtroopers can't get in. All with an injured shoulder.
*** Another meta example is the fact that Thrawn was not defeated by military superiority or tactics, but by DidntSeeThatComing, which is how he usually got dealt his losses in Timothy Zahn's ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy''. It just shows how faithful to the source material the series writers really were.

** On a sidenote, it also shows just how insanely powerful with the Force Yoda is: Lothal isn't exactly next to Dagobah. Communicating through the Force through interstellar distances puts a huge strain on the user - when Luke did it in ''The Last Jedi'' (albeit with full illusion instead of just voice and some lightshow), it was implied to be a GodzillaThreshold move on his part and it killed him. Here, Yoda does the lesser but still taxing version basically just to give some words of encouragement.

*** Also, its worth noting that when Obi-Wan gives his final strike to Maul, his [[WeaponOfChoice signature double bladed lightsaber]] gets ''sliced in half''.

* Ezra realizing that the Clone Wars were, by design, a HopelessWar that only benefited the Empire and convincing Kalani to stand down and ally with them. A 17-year-old Padawan did what the Republic, the Confederacy, and the entire Jedi Order couldn't: saw the Clone Wars for what they were and convinced the two sides to ally against the true enemy. Basically, Ezra ended the freaking Clone War by finding a middle ground. [[MeaningfulName Maybe it isn't a complete coincidence that his last name is "Bridger"...]]

** Kanan letting Sabine wail on him like that so she can get her issues off her chest.

* ''Rebels'', along with ''Film/RogueOne'', demonstrate that the Y-Wing is nothing to scoff about. Not as maneuverable as X-Wings and [=TIEs=], they easily take down capital ships, with only a handful easily destroying a light cruiser.

* Kanan guiding Hera through the fog while the Tie Defenders get destroyed by the environment.

* Thrawn barely blinked when the Tie Defender got stolen and was used to take shots at him. He even took out his blaster to challenge it.

* In a meta-example, the Loth-wolf looks magnificent. Remember how crude the wookiees looked all the way back in "Spark of Rebellion", with their fur looking like plastic coating on six-inch figures? Not here. The wolf's fur has 416 controls so individual little tufts can be moved freely. For a cartoon show to pull that off is a huge achievement.

* Rukh is ridiculously competent and dangerous, immediately finding the rebels, out-driving them on a chase, nearly killing Jai at point-blank range, and putting a tracker on their bike with them none the wiser. And yet it's still made clear that Ezra's in no danger from him, easily besting him in hand to hand and weapons combat and force pushing him into a spire so hard it cracks from the impact.

* As always, Thrawn has a backup plan. The moment the [[ZergRush second wave]] of Tie Fighters appeared, Hera gets an OhCrap moment.

* We finally see Vader fury fully unleashed. After having engaged his former apprentice to a stalemate, he proceeds to utterly flatten her in a flurry of relentless strikes. Ahsoka seemingly having held her own before can no longer withstand Vader's brutal onslaught, and would have died then and there if Ezra hadn't interfered. [[NightmareFuel Disturbingly]] during this brief segment Vader is completely emotionless, besides his eyes, which are now ''full of pure hatred''.

** What makes this even more epic you ask? Obi-Wan and Maul sweeping into their respective “Mastery” stances. Obi-Wan with Soresu, Maul with his combined-salute that he learnt after his reawakening - and then they both shift, back into the forms they used when they met on Naboo. Ataru for Kenobi, and a Juyo/Jar’Kai mix for Maul.

** In a meta-example it's also a Crowning Moment for the [[SugarWiki/AwesomeArt CG-artists working on the show]]: the animation is absolutely amazing, one can practically feel the physics behind every twist and turn Hera makes with the ship. This is the moment where Rebels finally surpassed it's predecessor, the animation never had such tangible realistic feel behind it in ''The Clone Wars''.

--->'''Ezra:''' I need more training.

* Sabine using the Darksaber in the exact same manner as Pre Viszla did in his duel against Kenobi, as well as recovering the Darksaber from the wrecked Nightsister alter.

* Leia spends almost every moment of screentime she shares with Lyste playing him like a fiddle, despite his CrazyPrepared reputation. It ends up with him assuring her that she'll be compensated for her "stolen" ships, and calling for a new shuttle to take her home, after she'd already commandeered his and gotten it blown up. Keep in mind, Leia is only ''fifteen'', running circles around probably the most competent Imperial on the planet.

* The episode marks the first chronological appearance of the Rebel Alliance's X-Wings in Star Wars canon. With Hera leading them, they took down a Star Destroyer.

* The above two entries combine into a meta example: Ezra, by being a heroic force sensitive in the Empire's heyday, had the concerns of DoomedByCanon looming over him from day one. One could only have hoped he would do something spectacular enough to avoid being a BoringFailureHero. Ezra does not disappoint, as he has practically defeated [[GreaterScopeVillain Palpatine]] '''AND''' [[TheChessmaster Thrawn]].

** His eyesight returning was originally a storyboard mistake, since they forgot to cloud over his eyes for the last few frames, but [[ThrowItIn they kept it because of the symbolism.]]

--> '''Wolffe:''' I'm going for the legs - all four of 'em!\\