The Siege of Lothal

This feels pretty close to the quality of the better Clone Wars episodes. It doesn't get quite as violent (yet), but there is still dying and heartbreak here. Darth Vader's inclusion in this series is what I'm most looking forward to.

Seeing an episode about the early days of the rebellion was the best way to open this season. It's just a very interesting place to be in the Star Wars timeline. I'm anxious to see if the crew decides to stay with this group of Rebels or if they'll go solo again.

This is a superb start to Season 2. There were a few excellent episodes in Season 1 but too much stuff which were very flimsy and overly cartoonish. This episode begins the new season in a more substantial, more dramatic way with some grown up themes.

I find the animation overall seems slightly better in the last few episodes of Season 1 and here than the earlier episodes somehow but still it is distracting at times that it is styled in a way I find lower quality and far less appealing compared to the fantastic Clone Wars animation.

We see the real beginnings of the rebellion coming together and some exciting scenes as the rebels start to unite to face the Empire's dark forces.

There is an epic cliffhanger too.

So after a powerhouse of a first series, they return with this? Can this series get any better? Perhaps, but for right now, the level of excellence we are getting is quite enough for me. I was a little thrown aback by the opening, which I thought jumped into a bit quick. Maybe I missed something, but it did take me a moment to get where we were. However after that, this episode was practically flawless. Darth Vader is a monster in this series, and the fact that it took him nothing to take down both Kanan and Ezra was a thrill to watch. James Earl Jones is always amazing as this character, and this definitely only added to his legacy as the dark lord. The third act of this two-part premiere was so awesome and to get a moment that I had been interested in seeing ever since the end of "The Clone Wars," made me so happy. I also liked that this is the early days of the rebellion and that we are seeing them go across the galaxy and find things they can use in their quest. If this is the quality that we are going to get throughout this entire season, then I think we're in for a real treat and I'm excited.