"The Siege of Lothal" was definitely something good to get us through the summer. Seeing Darth Vader in action in this animated series format was great, too. The space battle was very cool, especially since we really got to see Vader's pilot skills shine as he took out the members of Phoenix squadron at will. And the light saber fight? Vader seemed like he was toying with Kanan and Ezra. But the duel played out pretty well. And when Vader deflected those blaster shots back at Sabine? That seemed a little intense for a kids show.
I also think it was awesome that they could get James Earl Jones back to voice Darth Vader. That really tied things together well. As for Ahsoka and Vader? Clearly Vader knows that Ahsoka is with the rebels. He said as much during his communication with the Emporer. And I got the sense from their connection through The Force during the space battle that Ahsoka knew, too. She seemed very rightly disturbed by the revelation. She seems to be keeping it to herself for now. But I think that ultimately the crew of the Ghost might be in serious danger if they continue to work closely with Ahsoka.
Honorable mention for last night goes to Sam Witwer. He's stepped in as the voice actor who plays Emporer Palpatine. And he nailed it!
As for Vader continuing to appear on the series? I think he's probably going to take a step back. The show runners and much of the audience know that nothing can really happen to Vader. Sure, there's the Ahsoka angle. But the only way that can end is with Ahsoka going into hiding or well, you know. It was also interesting to hear Vader mention Kenobi. There's some real hate there, but we also know how THAT story ends. It's a lot like the situation George Lucas was in with the prequels. Certain notes had to be hit and the previously established story points of the OT meant that the audience knew certain characters were in danger while others were not. And that can diminish the impact of the story.