Rewatching Star Wars Rebels almost a decade after it premiered can reveal some harsh truths about the show that is now setting the narrative for multiple Star Wars stories. After Disney acquired Lucasfilm, Star Wars: The Clone Wars was canceled and ended with season 5. An extra Clone Wars season was eventually released on Netflix, but Disney’s Lucasfilm was now developing a brand new animated series that would cover the Empire vs. Rebels war. It did not take long before Rebels grew beyond its “Clone Wars replacement” label and became a fascinating show on its own.

The upcoming Ahsoka series has even been described as Star WarsRebels season 5, which only shows how important Rebels has become to the franchise. Dave Filoni, who worked on Star WarsRebels, is now an executive producer in multiple live-action Star Wars shows and is directing Ahsoka ahead of his upcoming The Mandalorian movie. AsAhsoka’s release date approaches, rewatching Star WarsRebels is almost essential, yet it can reveal some of the animated series’ biggest flaws nine years later.

10 Star Wars Rebels Has A Lot Of Filler Episodes

Unlike Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels was a serialized show in which every episode was tied to the previous one. Therefore, simply skipping Star Wars Rebels episodes to get into specific moments does not always work. That said, a significant portion of Star Wars Rebels can be considered “filler.” While episodes like “Droids in Distress” or “Fighter Flight” help establish the characters and create a connection between audiences and these new heroes, they do not really add much to the overall story. Rewatching Rebels from the beginning can take time, and some episodes are much better and essential to the plot than others.

9 Star Wars Rebels’ Animation Style Takes Time To Get Used To

Star Wars Rebels’ animation style, as well as its character models, takes time to get used to. This is especially true for those who were used to Clone Wars’ character models, which were very different from what was Rebels going for. From the extremely thin lightsabers to the characters' hair, Star Wars Rebels’ characters and the world around them are far from looking realistic. The cinematic approach of Clone Wars is also not part of the show, which goes for more simplistic choices in terms of backgrounds and animation. That said, Rebels’ animation gets better throughout the show, and the series has some instant-classic Star Wars shots.

8 Star Wars Rebels Is Very Different From Clone Wars

The episodic format and the character models are not the only differences between Clone Wars and Rebels, the latter of which replaced the former. Comparisons between Rebels and Clone Wars were impossible to avoid when Disney canceled the five-season series and released a new one, although Rebels worked as a sequel to Clone Wars in many ways. Still, for those who have recently watched Clone Wars: The Final Season or other recent series like Tales of the Jedi, rewatching Rebels can be a bit difficult. The lack of Star Wars movie characters, the lack of Force-sensitive characters and lightsaber duels, and the lighter tone are some significant differences between the shows.

7 Star Wars Rebels’ Plot Only Really Begins In Season 1’s Finale

Most of Star Wars Rebels season 1 can be summarized by “the Rebels go on a mission to help others, and sometimes the Grand Inquisitor will appear.” Rebels’ dynamic in season 1 gets repetitive quickly, and the show only really expands its story toward the end of the first season. It is only after Grand Morfin Tarkin comes into play that Rebels moves on from its filler approach and focuses entirely on the main story. Of course, a season’s final episodes are more plot-driven. Still, with the Grand Inquisitor’s defeat, the arrival of Darth Vader, and the Ahsoka Tano Fulcrum reveal, Rebels took its story to the next level.

6 Ahsoka & Clone Wars’ Characters Took Over Rebels In Season 2

The addition of Ahsoka Tano into Star Wars Rebels was an exciting moment, especially considering that Ahsoka had been gone since Clone Wars season 5. For the first time since Clone Wars was canceled, viewers had the chance to revisit the fan-favorite character, now during the age of the Empire. However, while Ahsoka’s return was cool, Rebels season 2 became a sequel to Clone Wars. Captain Rex was back, Darth Maul was reintroduced, and Darth Vader finally met Anakin Skywalker’s apprentice on the battlefield. To put things in perspective, Kanan and Ezra were the only original Rebels characters involved in season 2’s finale “Twilight of the Apprentice.’

5 Star Wars Rebels’ Inquisitors Were Very Bad At Their Job

Unlike Clone Wars, Rebels could not count on Sith and Sith-related villains like Count Dooku, Ventress, and Grievous. However, an animated Star Wars show without lightsaber duels would not be too interesting. Enter Star Wars’ Inquisitors, Darth Vader-like villains that were not Sith but were trained in the dark side of the Force. While the Imperial Inquisitors were a great addition to Disney’s Star Wars canon, their role in Rebels was essentially failing every mission. The Inquisitors could not kill or defeat the rebels of Lothal, as those were the heroes of the story. In hindsight, Darth Vader’s Inquisitors were very inefficient compared to the Sith Lord.

4 Kanan & Ezra’s Jedi Story Retcons The Original Star Wars Trilogy

Star Wars’ Order 66 survivors problem traces back to Star Wars Rebels, which needed to have cool-looking lightsaber battles but was set in a period where most of the Jedi were gone. The problem with setting a Star Wars show in the age of the Empire is that Luke Skywalker, who discovers his powers in 0 BBY, is supposed to be the "new hope." By revealing that a Jedi Knight and his powerful padawan were respected, well-known members of the Rebel Alliance until right before the events of a New Hope, Rebels made Luke’s story less special. The Rebel Alliance had Jedi at its side years before Luke.

3 Ezra’s Dark Side Story Didn’t Lead Anywhere (& It Had Been Done Before)

Star Wars often tells the same story with different characters, especially the main ones, and it was no different for Ezra Bridger. Just like Luke Skywalker flirted with the dark side in the original trilogy, or how Anakin Skywalker fell to the dark side in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Ezra almost abandoned the “Jedi Way” in season 3. However, this storyline did not lead anywhere. Ezra did not join the dark side, and Darth Maul was killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi. Lastly, the “I need more power to protect those I love” dynamic had been done with both Luke and Anakin.

2 Rebels' Worlds Between Worlds Was Too Big Of A Lore Addition

Star Wars Rebels made many additions to the newly formed Disney Star Wars canon. Many of these were very innovative, fantastic concepts that felt very different from what the Star Wars movies had shown. This includes space whales that can jump through hyperspace, a physical manifestation of the balance of the Force, and giant wolves. However, the biggest and most divisive Star Wars Rebels lore addition was the World Between Worlds. The World Between Worlds was Star Wars’ version of time travel, making it a risky concept. Even though Rebels’ time travel was a closed loop, it still changed all the rules of the Star Wars universe.

1 Star Wars Rebels' Open Ending Makes The Show Incomplete

Star Wars Rebels’ ending is an emotional, satisfying conclusion to what is one of the best Star Wars shows ever made. However, Rebels’ finale is also incomplete, which can be frustrating. While characters like Hera, Zeb, and Chopper received a definitive ending, several plotlines were left unresolved by the end of the show. This includes what happened to Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn, what happened to Ahsoka between "Twilight of the Apprentice" and her return as “Ahsoka The White,” and where Sabine Wren would go next. Star Wars Rebels ends without revealing what happened to its main character, but fortunately, the Ahsoka series is set to answer those questions.

Episodes 1 and 2 of Ahsoka release Wednesday, August 23 on Disney+.