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Continuity & Analysis

Star Wars: Rebels - The Lost Commanders (2015) [S2E3]
Ahsoka Tano sends the Ghost crew to Seelos in search of an old friend - one whose leadership and
strategy skills could help the fledgling rebellion. But will this legendary commander be willing to join the fight?
Star Wars: Rebels - Relics of the Old Republic (2015) [S2E4]
While Kanan continues to struggle with trust issues, the other rebels begin to form friendships
with the old clones. And when Agent Kallus arrives, all must join together to battle the Imperials.




CONTINUITY
These two episodes form a single storyline about the 'lost commanders'.
The planet Seelos is seen for the first time, and is the one world seen in these episodes:

Based on the dialogue it is clear that these events take place not long after the destruction of Phoenix Home in the previous storyline.
This places these two episodes within the first half, or even quarter, of 7973 (4 BBY), despite there only being five more episodes
which take place in this calendar year according to supplementary material related to this series.

- Ahsoka is last known to have seen Rex 15 years before these events in The Clone Wars 'Victory and Death' (S7E12). It is unknown if they
kept in touch for a period, however it seems probable. Ahsoka says, "I lost track of him a long time ago, and all my transmissions have
gone unanswered. I heard he was last seen in the Seelos system." This seems to be second-hand information, unless there is some
civilization on Seelos that isn't shown, suggesting a common contact passed that along to her.

- Ahsoka is still not certain the Sith Lord is Anakin, saying, "there are questions, questions that need answering." It is not known where she
goes or what she does that might have provided her with such answers, but she may have tapped some of her intelligence sources.

- Seelos is a desolate but habitable planet located in the Kwymar Sector, in the Trans-Hydian region of the Outer Rim. The planet appears to
have once been home to a native ecosystem, however what little remains is largely not shown. The planet has clouds and clearly
some water cycle, however its surface is dominated by desert salt flats. It is home to an unlikely species of giant worms known as
joopa. Seelos was once settled by mineral prospectors, however few settlements and no infrastructure remain in this time period.


- Zeb describes the clones as "a bunch of old geezers." In reality each one is 38 or a couple of years younger, but due to growth acceleration
matured at twice the normal rate for a Human. It could be assumed that the grown acceleration was stopped at around age 20,
in which case the clones are about as old physically as a normal Human around age 48, however this is not certain. It could also
be a function of their genetic design, in which case the clones are about as old physically as a normal Human around age 76.

- Rex was last seen 14 years earlier, in The Bad Batch series, as was Gregor, who was last seen in 'War-Mantle' (S1E14). Wolffe was last
seen 15 years earlier in The Clone Wars 'The Lost One' (S6E10).

- At some unspecified point between 7959 (18 BBY) and this year, 7973 (4 BBY), the Emperor declared that the clone army had "outserved
its purpose" and retired it. The Imperial officers discussing it say they have been "decommissioned." Rex's assertion that "there are
a few spots I never bothered to report to the Empire" makes it sound like he was still doing his duty after the transition to the Empire,
something that is difficult but not yet impossible to reckon with subsequent material regarding the end of the Clone Wars and his
activities thus far shown in the aftermath. While this is not in violation of canon, this is not what George Lucas had intended, as it
was his concept when creating the prequels that the stormtroopers were largely his clones from the Clone Wars, or perhaps also
clones produced during the Empire. This intention was discussed by Lucas but never made part of any canon, and has since been
explicitly abandoned by the disney-era material, suggesting here that there are no clones at all still serving in the Imperial military.
Main Article: Dooku, Sifo-Dyas, and the Clone Army

- Agent Kallus has been promoted since the end of the last episode, seemingly in recognition of his satisfactory work in Vader's operation on
Lothal. He has been promoted three officer grades, going from Staff Captain to Commander (or Colonel) according to his rank insignia.
The ISB rank insignia found on the neck of his field uniform indicates he has risen three ranks, and approximates his new insignia.
He is still operating under the "Agent" designation despite his promotion in rank.
Main Article: Ranks and Rank Insignia

- Kanan apparently heard somehow that clones has "said they had chips in their heads that made them do it", in reference to Order 66. This
makes it sound as if the effect of the chips wore off or degraded over time, and that they seemingly felt some remorse for their actions.
It is unclear if they could come to develop these feelings and thoughts while still being theoretically susceptible to being reactivated.
The Empire does not mention the possibility of activating the chips, however this is not something that is known by anyone other
than the Emperor and perhaps a select few. Rex states, "I didn't betray my Jedi. Wolffe, Gregor, and I all removed our control chips.
We all have a choice." It is true that now that they have removed their chips they should be free from their influence. Rex's statement
that he didn't betray his Jedi is a reference to Ahsoka rather than Anakin, due to the retcon introduced after this series was created
by The Clone Wars Season 7, intended to keep Rex from having been a participant in the massacre of the Jedi Temple.
Those episodes also retcon this statement, as Rex did indeed betray Ahsoka, and she had to forcibly remove his chip before
he came to his senses. Rex may be glossing over that point in order to better win Kanan's trust.



How is it possible for creatures like the joopa to still be living on Seelos? It is clear the creators wanted to do a fun story
which combines Tremors with old men fishing for a trophy bass, but didn't consider whether or not it made any sense,
or more likely didn't care. Given that it is nearly impossible for a creature of this size to have evolved on a planet with no
vegetation and no other animals to eat, it must be assumed this planet once had a far more complex ecosystem. If that
is the case, for the joopa to have survived the transition to a desertified planet, there must still be enough food to
sustain them, and provide the energy for their active, calorie-consuming lifestyle. There is no evidence of anything to
eat on this planet, so as unlikely as it seems they must have some subterranean food source to feed on. This episode also
suggests that "joopa supposedly love Lasats", which Gregor suggests is either the smell, the taste, or the texture of them.
Lasats are an obscure race from the opposite side of the galaxy deep in Wild Space, who are not known to have ventured
out of their remote region of space in large numbers. This was a virtually unvisited planet when it was popular, and is
now long abandoned. How many Lasats have ever been to this planet? How would this 'fact' become known unless there
was opportunity for joopa to choose many beings to eat at once but kept choosing Lasats? How did this become
known to Gregor? On top of all these conceptual issues, how is there still a breathable atmosphere on this planet?
Oxygen does grow on trees, and without plants few planets are likely to have breathable atmospheres. The reason
deserts on Earth have breathable air is that there are huge regions of plants on other parts of the planet.
Main Article: Planetology


- As seen in The Clone Wars, ships which power down their systems are difficult to detect using scanners, which primarily seek out
power signatures. A ship which has gone dark like the Ghost will appear as a chunk of debris or rock mass, since scanners
in SW don't do metallurgical analysis. It is surprising their scanners cannot recognize hull geometry, however this is possibly
something that could be detected if the Empire were actively running more detailed scans. Chopper must be powered down
as well, since his full-power mode is within their detection threshold. This also illustrates that gravity generators and life
support systems require extremely minimal power to function, which should be expected of a spacefaring civilization as
advanced as this one, and is a major factor in why everyone is flying around in the galaxy without a spacesuit on.
Main Article: Scanners, Sensors, and Cloaking Devices

- Ezra says he doesn't think the fighting ever got to Lothal in the Clone Wars. The northern Slice in the Outer Rim was most heavily contested
near the Perlemian Trade Route at most parts of the war, and regions on the very periphery of the galaxy such as the Dominus Sector
where the Lothal Sector is located probably saw little action. There were likely exceptions, however Lothal was unlikely to have been
one of them at the time. Lothal was probably a member of the Separatist Alliance, as most colony worlds in this region held similar
views as the nearby Separatist capital planet of Raxus. These worlds felt the balance of trade in favor of the Core exploited their hard
work and resources, and encroached on their independence and freedom. It is not certain that Lothal was a Separatist planet, however
since this was a core region of the Alliance, had they remained staunchly loyal to the Republic they would likely have been invaded.

- AT-AT's are more than twice the size of an AT-TE tank walker, and have heavier armor, more guns, and more firepower. Their ability to stand
on four legs without falling over is questioned, however no answer is given in this episode, or anywhere else. Based on its design, it
should not have any problem supporting itself assuming its legs are composed of sufficiently strong material. The AT-TEs used by
the Republic do not even appear to have sufficient firepower to damage the armor, so this seems to be the case.


- Scanners are easily interfered with, as is often seen in space. This is even more the case within an atmosphere, and in the case of a dust
storm the particles in the air completely scramble the scanners' readings.
Main Article: Scanners, Sensors, and Cloaking Devices

ANALYSIS
Rebel cells at this early stage of the rebellion are easier to hide due to their small size, but are still faced with the twin issues of resources
and security. In order to expand their operation they must have a base, but finding a location which can suitably protect their people
and equipment is difficult without a larger support structure. Kanan also points out there is little point to a rebel group building a base
which is not within striking range of their potential objectives. The loss of their command ship makes conducting operations from a mobile
fleet all the more problematic, and combined with the constant demands for fuel and perishable resources which a deployed fleet has,
the matter of establishing a base is somewhat pressing. Phoenix Squadron is "outnumbered, overmatched, and taking a beating" having
only just begun open action against the Empire. Information like that provided by Rex about locations in the Outer Rim which may have
the tactical advantages the rebels require is invaluable considering the scope of the Empire's surveillance and monitoring abilities.


FURTHER ANALYSIS
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