‘Star Wars Rebels’ Is the Best Animated Series And Here's Why

There are a lot of opinions out there as to which Star Wars TV show is the best. And with more and more new Star Wars series coming out on Disney+, that list of series just keeps growing. But two of the most iconic series in the Star Wars universe are The Clone Wars and the Star Wars Rebels, both of which are animated. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. And while there are fans who prefer one over the other, it can't be denied that both shows add depth to the Star Wars universe. However, while The Clone Wars is perfect for showcasing the events that happen before Anakin's turn to the dark side, Star Wars Rebels is ideal for telling the story of the world after the Empire takes over. And it does it brilliantly. Here are a few reasons why Star Wars Rebels is the best Star Wars series.

Star Wars Rebels is actively influencing content that Disney/Lucasfilm is still producing. The Clone Wars era ended with the final season releasing on Disney+, and it ended perfectly, much to the satisfaction of fans, but Star Wars has moved on (for now) from that era in its history. While The Bad Batch featured characters introduced in The Clone Wars using a similar animation style, it links closer to Star Wars Rebels. It does this because it introduces characters to us that we meet later on in Rebels. The Bad Batch also showed signs of the first rebellion that we eventually see in Star Wars Rebels. Hera Syndulla plays a prominent role in The Bad Batch, which shows her origin story (or part of it), leading to who she is in Star Wars Rebels. We also see Kanan briefly as the young Padawan, Caleb Dume.

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In terms of a little later content that is being influenced by the storylines of Star Wars Rebels, in Season 2 of The Mandalorian, we meet Ahsoka Tano after her storyline in Rebels. We learn that she is searching for Grand Admiral Thrawn, who has disappeared. We see this storyline at the end of Rebels, which, of course, is the major cliffhanger of the series and made many fans angry when they realized there wasn't going to be another season. Fans can infer that (while Disney hasn't officially released the storyline) Ahsoka Tano's own Disney+ series may occur after Star Wars Rebels, continuing on the story. In essence, Star Wars Rebels is responsible for the start of many storylines and characters who are interwoven into many of the other series coming out, especially since Disney/Lucasfilm seems focused on the time between Revenge the Sith and A New Hope. And who knows, Kenobi, which is coming to Disney+ soon, may have some tie-ins to this influential series as well. When Star Wars Rebels reintroduced Grand Admiral Thrawn, fans immediately loved the villain. So, with his mention already in The Mandalorian, it is a safe bet that we will definitely be seeing more of him in the future.

Star Wars Rebels had a central villain, which was also something The Clone Wars did not have. While The Clone Wars functioned more as episodic storylines using serial storylines, there wasn't really one big bad. Star Wars Rebels gave us that with Grand Admiral Thrawn, who we find out has really influenced the storyline the entire time. Along with Grand Admiral Thrawn, we are also introduced to the Inquisitors, which have gone on to play a significant role in Star Wars lore, particularly in the video game Jedi: Fallen Order. The use of one big bad influencing the story gave the story cohesion and led the antagonist to show up in future Star Wars series (or films perhaps) in a major way. We already know that it is rumored that Grand Admiral Thrawn will be in Ahsoka.

Star Wars Rebels had more humor than The Clone Wars. The Clone Wars definitely has a more grim and sometimes depressing feel, which can sometimes be suitable for a series, but Rebels' humor and less dark atmosphere give it an entirely new vibe. That doesn't mean that Rebels doesn't have the darkness; of course, it does because The Empire has taken over. But, the feel of the show is more hopeful and less grim.

One of the biggest things about Star Wars Rebels is that it was almost an entirely new set of characters that fans had no idea what would happen to them. In The Clone Wars, the end is predictable. Because of Revenge of the Sith, we know what is coming. Despite the love of Anakin's character, there is no stopping his turn to the dark side. We knew Obi-Wan and Yoda wouldn't die because they are seen again in the original trilogy. Sure, there were new characters in The Clone Wars, Ahsoka being one, but the end didn't have the same suspense as the Rebels’ end because fans honestly had no idea what to expect with the end of Rebels. Which gave the show a bit more tension and action than The Clone Wars. Fans formed attachments to the characters in Rebels, and when Kanan gave his life for the crew and Ezra disappeared, fans had no idea what was going to happen next. Many of the characters introduced in Star Wars Rebels and The Clone Wars are already popping up in the new Disney+ series' that are coming out, and most likely, even more will show up. Star Wars Rebels continues the storylines of several important characters, including the beloved Ahsoka and Rex, which have already popped up in other series.

Star Wars Rebels showed us more diversity in the Star Wars universe when it came to seeing the worlds in-depth and the different crew members onboard the Ghost. Since The Clone Wars is primarily about clones and war, we don't see much of that in the story. As a result, there isn't as much of an "adventure" feeling to it. Rebels gave us that by having the characters explore the different planets, showing us many more species and people who live in the galaxy.

The original characters in Rebels add to the elements of the Star Wars universe, giving us more characters to care about vs. the ones that we all know: the Skywalkers, Han Solo, Obi-Wan, etc. It's a fight on a smaller scale vs. an expansive galactic battle.

Sure, Star Wars Rebels sometimes gets the bad rep of being the "kid's show" of the Star Wars universe, but in reality, if you look at the deeper themes and the characters in the story (it brings back Ahsoka, Darth Maul, Obi-Wan, Rex, and Darth Vader, just to name a few!), it really is a rich story. In addition, the fact that all the series tie together in one big story arc with many Easter Eggs along the way does give it moments of "what's going to happen next." Sure, it doesn't have the darkness that The Clone Wars does, but if fans want to really get all the Easter Eggs and plot lines, characters, and events that are mentioned in the series' that Disney+ has and are putting out (The Mandalorian, Ahsoka, etc.), Star Wars Rebels is a must-watch. Without it, the richness of the Star Wars stories is lost. And that is why, while many of the other shows are excellent in their own way, Star Wars Rebels is the best TV series.

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Source(s): Cinemablend

Written by Elizabeth Dresdow

Syndicated from Culture Slate

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