Recap / Star Wars Rebels S2E02 "Relics of the Old Republic"

While Ezra and the others are starting to form a friendship with the old clone troopers, Kanan still can’t bring himself to trust them. But when the Empire discovers the clones’ alliance with the Rebels, they all have to start working together.

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Tropes:

• Admiring the Abomination: Rex takes a moment to admire the design of the AT-AT, even though three of them are trying to destroy our heroes.
  Rex: Huh. Reinforced armor plating, heavy cannons, and anti-personnel blasters. Hmm.
  Ezra: I'm glad you guys are so excited, but those giant death machines are on their way to blow us to bits!
• The Atoner: Wolffe makes it clear at the beginning of the episode that he is truly apologetic for selling out the Jedi out of paranoia and fear for his brothers' safety, first by attempting to backtrack on his sellout and then fighting against Agent Kallus' AT-ATs alongside the other clones to cover the Ghost crew's escape, even if it meant dying. Luckily for him, the crew came back to save their lives, preventing the last part.
• Attack Its Weak Point:
  • The lightly armored neck of the AT-AT is the only point vulnerable to the AT-TE's cannon fire. The rest is too tough for the older clone weaponry to penetrate. They are vulnerable to their own cannons, though, which allows the Ghost crew to hijack one in order to take out the other.
  • Attempted by Wolffe, who tries to ram the legs of an AT-AT to trip it. It doesn't pan out because the smaller AT-TE doesn't have the necessary pushing power to knock it over.
• Badass Boast: Rex doesn't think highly of stormtroopers.
  Rex: If it's a fight you want, I hope you brought a better class of soldier than those... stormtroopers.
  Kallus: They serve the Empire well, and I have a great many of them.
  Rex: You're gonna need all of them.
• Base on Wheels: The clones live in a modified AT-TE from their years of service.
• Big Damn Heroes: The Ghost crew return in the Phantom just in time to save the clones. Lampshaded by Rex.
  Rex: Just like the old days!
• Blatant Lies: When Wolffe answers Kallus' transmission, he tries to pass off his earlier report of a Jedi presence as a glitch with his Electronic Eye and him being senile. Unfortunately for Wolffe and his conscience, the probe droid from the previous episode saw everything and transmitted it back to Kallus.
• Blindfolded Vision: Exploited when Kanan helps maneuver the AT-TE during the storm, and Ezra fires at an AT-AT he can't see.
• Blood Knight: The clones seem to be enjoying themselves a bit too much when the Empire attacks.
  Gregor: Why spoil the fun, we haven't been shot at in years!
• Break Out the Museum Piece:
  • When the TIE fighter finds and attacks the group, they employ a few Clone Wars-era weapons: Sabine fires a DC-15A blaster rifle and Zeb opens up with a Z-6 rotary blaster cannon, before Gregor finally downs it with a RPS-6 rocket launcher.
  • A Clone Wars-era Republic AT-TE walker vs three modern Imperial AT-AT walkers. The realistic outcome happens as its only advantage is its smaller size and greater stability, lacking in both armor and firepower compared to the newer AT-AT. The AT-TE's main cannon can't even penetrate an AT-AT's armor until they fire into the less armored neck joint, while the AT-ATs' cannons tear right through the AT-TE, even briefly disabling the smaller walker. The AT-ATs even have superior strength, as Wolffe (who was piloting the AT-TE) tried to push into an AT-AT's legs to throw it off balance, but fails when the AT-AT starts pushing back. Had it not been for the assistance of the Jedi, the AT-TE would have stood no chance against its successors.
• Brick Joke: Ezra guilt-trips Kanan into going back for the clones by pointing out that Rex is Ahsoka's friend. Later, when Rex and Ahsoka hug, Ezra looks back at Kanan and Kanan shrugs.
• Chekhov's Lecture: Rex teaches Ezra how to control the main gun. He then uses it to take out an AT-AT.
• Chewing the Scenery: When Wolffe charges the AT-TE at Kallus' AT-AT, he, fittingly for his name, howls like a wolf.
• Conscience Makes You Go Back: Kanan is willing to ditch the clones, but Ezra's constant prodding finally convinces him to help them.
• Continuity Nod: Kallus orders the walkers to "Intensify forward firepower!", lifting a quote from Admiral Piett during the Battle of Endor later in Return of the Jedi.
• Deadly Dust Storm: The clones' walker heads into a storm bearing down on them since it'll make all their scanners, and the Imps' as well, useless. The clones have the advantage since they have Kanan and Ezra, who don't need scanners to find the AT-ATs.
• Determinator: Kallus will not let a sandstorm stop them from chasing the rebels, and doesn't care if following them in the storm is suicidal.
• Failed a Spot Check: The Imperials fail to find the Ghost when it's shut down to hide from their radar. They could have found it by simply looking out the window, or it might have been seen by a passing TIE fighter.
• Fantastic Racism: Kallus doesn't think much of clones.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: During the scene where Rex and Wolffe are talking to Kallus, a Pin Up of Senator Padmé Amidala can be seen on the wall. It comes from a Deleted Scene in the Bad Batch arc from The Clone Wars.
• Heroic Second Wind: The clones' AT-TE gets one during the showdown with the AT-ATs, after a direct hit briefly cripples it.
  Rex: C'mon, it's just a scratch. Keep moving forward, soldier!
• Hold Your Hippogriffs: While the Rebels and clones are under attack from the Imperials, Ezra states that the group are "sitting mynocks" on the plains.
• Homage: The sequence where the AT-TE and AT-ATs move around in the storm (and when Hera puts the Ghost in Silent Running Mode) is one to Sub Stories, with the twist that one side actually knows where the other is.
• Hypocritical Humour: When he's reunited with Ahsoka, Rex tries to lighten the mood by teasing her about how old she got. Rex, being a clone, suffers from Rapid Aging and biologically is in his mid-fifties. Ahsoka is polite enough not to call him on it.
• Informed Attribute: Kallus brags about all the stormtroopers he has but apparently he never bothered to bring any down in the AT-ATs, as we only see the pilots evacuating. They sure would have come in handy for when our heroes board and take over one of them.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Rex and Ezra, Gregor and Zeb.
• Kid Hero All Grown-Up: Lampshaded when Rex and Ahsoka finally meet. Rex comments on how Ahsoka "got old", to which she replies "had to happen some time".
• Lampshade Hanging: When the clones first see the new Imperial AT-ATs, and they they only have 4 legs directly under them (as opposed to their AT-TE's 6 legs and wider stance) Wolfe scoffs and wonders why they haven't just fallen over from being too top heavy. This echoes a common criticism of their design by Star Wars fans.
• The Last Dance: The clone troopers aboard the AT-TE see it as this: Going out fighting a great foe while helping some Jedi complete their mission, just like back in the Clone Wars; or eventually die in the middle of nowhere when their Rapid Aging gets the better of them. Averted when the Jedi come back to save them. As Rex put it: "Just like the old days!"
• Last Stand: Rex, Wolffe and Gregor try to pull one to cover the Rebels' escape, even ramming their AT-TE into the legs of Kallus' AT-AT in an attempt to knock it over. When that fails to work, Rex defiantly shouts at Kallus to come out and fight. Fortunately, Kanan has a change of heart and comes back to save the day.
• Mutual Disadvantage: The sandstorm is used to blind the sensors of both the AT-TE and the Empire's AT-ATs. However, because the Jedi are on the former, they can use their Force senses to see the AT-ATs, but once the rebels fire, Kallus will easily track their position.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Darth Vader calling Konstantine's Star Destroyer away to pick up the Inquisitor prevents him from closing off the rebels' escape.
• No, You: Kallus's response to the AT-AT walker pilots being reluctant to follow the rebels into a sandstorm.
  Driver: Sir, we're losing them in the storm.
  Kallus: No, you are losing them by slowing down! Full speed ahead!
• Ominous Latin Chanting: To accompany the arrival of the next Inquisitor.
• Orbital Bombardment: Konstantine offers this suggestion after the TIE is shot down, but Kallus goes in with AT-ATs instead. Presumably, he wants prisoners, not corpses.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: The AT-TE is not pint-sized by any means, but it's easily dwarfed by the AT-ATs. Despite the size difference, the former is strong enough to lift the latter's front legs off the ground for a few seconds. Unfortunately, it's very outdated, still not strong enough to knock the AT-AT over and is ultimately outmatched in every field except leg stability.
• Put on a Bus: At the end, Rex shows up to greet Ahsoka, but no mention is made of how Gregor and Wolffe are passing the time, initially making it a case of What Happened to the Mouse? Pablo Hidalgo later mentioned in a Rebels Recon episode that they stayed on Seelos (as not only did the Ghost crew come specifically for Rex, Wolffe and Gregor's mental health would be detrimental to the rebel cause for the time being), but now have a new mobile home in the hijacked AT-AT.invoked
• Quantity vs. Quality: Rex finds the stormtroopers to be inferior to clones, but Kallus boasts that he has a lot of them to spare.
• Right Under Their Noses: When the Star Destroyer shows up, Hera shuts down all power and allows the Ghost to drift beneath the Star Destroyer.
• Senseless Sacrifice: Subverted. The clones buying time for the Phantom to escape would have been this, as Kallus was relying on Konstantine's air support which had been called away for other reasons. Luckily, Ezra convinces Kanan to go back.
• Sound In Space: Hera hushes Chopper because there's a Star Destroyer right above them. Then again being a droid Chopper would give off all kinds of EM emissions while 'talking' or 'looking'; she shuts down Chopper at one point when she thinks the Imps will be scanning for them.
• Spanner in the Works: Vader calling off Kallus' Star Destroyer for a rendezvous with the Fifth Brother prevents it from intercepting the Ghost. Konstantine even complains to this effect, but the Fifth Brother doesn't care.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Joopa: So much for last episode's catch. Rex makes Gregor drop it because it slows the AT-TE down, and they need maximum mobility.
• Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny:
  • The long-standing Hypothetical Fight Debate about a clash between a Republic AT-TE versus an Imperial AT-AT finds its answer in this episode. The AT-TE proves to be inferior in pretty much every respect; it's slower, lighter, and has less powerful cannons that cannot penetrate the AT-AT's armor except at the weak and hard to hit neck joint. It is also not helped that the clone's AT-TE is older, has been poorly maintained due to lacking replacement parts, and been modified to act as a sort of land fishing boat; while the AT-AT walkers are fresh out of the factory by comparison. The only reason it manages to do any damage at all is because of the sandstorm and distractions by the Ghost crew. Word of God states that the AT-ATs that appear in this episode are larger and more powerful than the AT-ATs from The Empire Strikes Back.
  • Clone troopers vs stormtroopers. While the clone troopers enthusiastically charged headlong into a fight they had little chance of winning, the stormtroopers fled pathetically once they found themselves in a similar position. Kallus even stating that the clone troopers were "obsolete" at the start of the battle, before asking if the clone troopers were insane once they had closed the distance. If the fight had been between them and only one AT-AT, they may have actually won out of sheer skill. They closed the distance to Kallus' AT-AT, where their main cannon would be much more effective, and could have fired into its neck if the 2^nd AT-AT hadn't opened fire at them.
• Upgrade vs. Prototype Fight: As seen above. AT-TE vs AT-AT & Clone Troopers vs Storm Troopers.
• Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Played for laughs when a scowling Kallus escapes on a speeder bike with one of the AT-AT pilots clutching onto the side. The other pilot is left chasing after them, flapping his arms helplessly.
• Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Admiral Konstantine suggests wiping out the clones and rebels with an Orbital Bombardment, but Kallus overrules him and orders a ground attack instead.
• Worf Had the Flu: The AT-TE, and especially it's cannon are half-maintained derelicts, justifying why a weapon that once blasted Munificents apart with massed fire could be stopped by the comparatively thin plating on the AT-AT.
• You Just Had to Say It: Hera does this to herself when she tells Kanan that the Imperials haven't arrived yet, only for a Star Destroyer to hyperspace in right at the end of her sentence.
• Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Kind of. The clones, having fought under Jedi, trust Kanan and refer to him as "General". Kanan's clearly not comfortable with it. And he was never a general, anyways.

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