Warning: Spoilers are ahead for the Star Wars Rebels season four premiere, “Heroes of Mandalore.” Jump into hyperspace and away from this page if you haven’t watched the episode yet.
The premiere of the fourth and last season of Star Wars Rebels spent time focusing on Sabine Wren. Her family and all of Mandalore, really, were put in extreme danger from the Empire. Tiber Saxon (voiced by Outlander‘s Tobias Menzies, by the way) got a weapon designed by Sabine during her time at the Imperial Academy up and running and used it to target Mandalorians opposing the Empire. The threat brought Sabine and the Ghost crew face to face with a familiar face from Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Bo-Katan Kryze.
In some ways, Rebels has given series executive producer and co-creator Dave Filoni the opportunity to wrap unfinished arcs from the cancelled Clone Wars. The show is close enough to Rebels on the timeline that fans have received more time with the likes of Ahsoka Tano, Hondo Ohnaka, and now, Bo-Katan. Voiced by Katee Sackhoff, Bo-Katan was introduced to the Star Wars universe in season four as a member of Death Watch, a splinter group that opposed the government of Mandalore. It didn’t matter to Bo-Katan that her sister, Duchess Satine Kryze, was the ruler of Mandalore.
When Darth Maul killed the leader of Death Watch (who was the previous owner of the Darksaber wielded by Sabine), Bo-Katan realigned with her sister and her sister’s leadership. She was starting down a new path, but her progress was cut off by the premature end of The Clone Wars. The animated series was going to show the siege of Mandalore and liberation of the world from Maul’s rule. When all was said and done, Bo-Katan was going to be the provisional leader.
Now, that fate has come to pass in Star Wars Rebels. Sabine took responsibility for her mistakes and destroyed the weapon she made, but she didn’t want to be the leader of her people. She didn’t feel she had earned it. Instead, she handed the Darksaber over to Bo-Katan—which this Clone Wars fan was beyond delighted to see.
What do you think about Sabine handing over the literal and symbolic power of the Darksaber to Bo-Katan? Do you think it’s a fitting cap on Bo-Katan’s story thus far? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Images: Lucasfilm/Disney
Amy Ratcliffe is an Associate Editor for Nerdist. Follow her on Twitter and keep up with her Disney food adventures on Instagram.
Want more Star Wars?
- Dave Filoni on bringing Star Wars Rebels to an end.
- A ranking of the Forces of Destiny shorts.
- Porgs sing the Star Wars theme.
[brightcove video_id=”5547418646001″ brightcove_account_id=”3653334524001″ brightcove_player_id=”rJs2ZD8x”]
