Star Wars Rebels follows up one of its weakest episodes with one of its strongest. The series closes out its Second Season with an hour-long episode featuring familiar faces and a reunion we've waited for all year long. The episode begins with Kanan (Freddie Prinze Jr.), Ezra (Taylor Gray), and Ahsoka (Ashley Eckstein) travelling to the forbidden planet of Malachor in search of answers about the Sith. Temporarily separated from his friends as they hunt a new Inquisitor (Robbie Daymond), Ezra makes a new acquaintance in a former Sith Lord with plenty of anger towards his old masters.
The return of Maul (Sam Witwer) is certainly a surprise. Playing up the injured old warrior for Ezra's benefit, it's Maul's words which cut the Jedi apprentice far more than the Sith's eventual betrayal. Unlike Anakin, who was pushed headfirst into the Dark Side in Revenge of the Sith, here we see the seductive nature Yoda (Frank Oz) warned of. Presenting the Dark Side as a means to an end, Maul pushes Ezra to make an important first step from light to dark. And, if the season's final shot is any indication, it will be far from the last such step Ezra will take. Have we just seen the birth of a new Sith?
The season finale is definitely action-packed. With the focus on the three Jedi and our first look at a Sith temple, "Twilight of the Apprentice" offers three Inquisitors, Maul, and eventually an appearance by Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) himself. It's in her battle against her former master that Ahsoka will stop running from the truth and chose to stay rather than escape with Ezra and the injured Kanan. As ominous as it is seeing Ezra open the Sith Holocron at the end of the episode, the scene of Ahsoka, having survived her battle with Vader, walking back into the Sith temple can't mean anything good for the remaining Jedi or the Rebellion. And as for Maul, his escape leaves a wildcard out there in the galaxy with his own agenda heading into next season.
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