I'm not sure what broke my heart more.
The sheer intensity of the Ghorman Massacre, no matter how preordained, no matter how orchestrated.
OR
Bix's decision to leave Cassian in order to force him to become the leader the Rebellion desperately needed him to be, all hanging on the promise to reunite when the war is over, when we all know Cassian does not survive.
I'll start with the more visceral devastation. Despite its destiny to suffer such a calamity, watching and feeling the slow mounting tension on Ghorman was riveting. From ISB carefully maneuvering the final pieces into place to Syril profoundly realizing the awful truth and his severe repudiation against Dedra. To Cassian and Wilmon arriving exactly at the wrong time to carry out a desperate act of vengeance thinly disguised as a tactical mission. To the Ghorman Resistance tearing each apart while trying to plan their next doomed attempt to strike the Empire. All leading to Dedra's forces opening up the town plaza to lure everyone into a trap so obvious that no one cared to listen to the hopeless pleas from their leader. Because the only thing everyone wants to do now was fight. Even if it meant to a quick grave.
But what truly resonated during those scenes was watching the Ghorman citizens peacefully protesting, going from righteous chants to patriotic singing. All while a pitiful riot squad was sent out to unavoidable provocation, especially as snipers lurked from the rooftops, ready to strike down their own soldiers in order to provoke violence that was barely held back from both sides. What made watching this play out truly wrenching was knowing how much this paralleled reality and what makes me fear for the near future in our own country (that's all say on that count). What followed was horribly one-sided, despite how much the Resistance prepared with guns and Molotov cocktails and even a few smuggled-in blasters. They were never going to win that battle. This played out exactly how ISB wanted.
The only surprising part was how Syril fared. For a brief moment, I thought, after he broke poor Dedra's heart (apparently she really did love him!), that there was a briefest of chances that he would turn (just as one poster, I forgot who, suggested way back during season one) towards the Rebellion, no matter how much that went against Syril's core being. But then his focus suddenly snapped back into place when he glimpsed his erstwhile prey: Cassian. The ensuing fisticuffs was amusing and we all knew Syril wouldn't ultimately win, but I surprised who finally put Syril out of his misery. I expected it to be the concierge who previously helped Cassian, but instead it turned out to the be very Resistance leader who helped bring Syril into the fold as a mole.
Which brings us back to Bix. I initially didn't like the idea of her deciding to leave Cassian, to force his hand to become a Resistance leader. It felt too preordained, a forced act to place Cassian where he needed to be at the beginning of Rogue One. But then I heard her promise to find him after the war was over and I simply lost it. Partly because how her promise echoed Ahsoka's own promise to Ezra. Partly because she thought was doing the right thing for both of them.
But above all else, it was the doomed nature of that promise. This whole season, I kept predicting her death was what made Cassian grow hard as we saw him in Rogue One, while others argued differently. I freely admit I was wrong and they were right. This is the more tragic direction for his life to go in. His beloved Bix left him to make him fight. He did so and more. And it ultimately caused his death. Knowing all of this will undoubtedly recontextualize the whole film and I can't wait to experience that.
Lest I forget, in between those shattering moments, was Mon Mothma's grand moment. Even they we knew how it would play out, I did like the added drama about how we could trust Bail Organa's team when we knew from Rebels that his team was the one that delivered her to the Ghost crew. Could Luthen still be trusted or was he full of shit about Organa? Perhaps a little bit of unnecessary tension but I enjoyed watching it play out into its natural conclusion, complete with her ISB stooge of a driver finding himself on the wrong end of Cassian's blaster. Plus, it allowed us to revisit Cassian's lovely Blade Runner apartment one last time!
I rewatched Mon Mothma's speech on Rebels just prior to her Senate speech to see how much the two lined up but I wasn't surprised they weren't quite the same. I later realized her holospeech was what she latter broadcasted, just as the closing moments of the episode indicated. I knew it was a long shoot to get to see the Ghost crew in a brief cameo but I'm ultimately glad it didn't happen. It wasn't necessary and we already seen that moment. No need to retell it, now matter how much I (and others) want to see them again and in live action. Bix's farewell quickly swept away any hope on that matter and the episode is far stronger by ending on that heartbreaking moment.
B2EMO is gone but K-2SO is finally here! Time for brutally sardonic droid humor in the final trilogy!
