LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures ‘The Storms of Taul’ review

Major Derlin, voiced by actor John Ratzenberger, strikes back at the Empire and manages to escape to fight another day in today’s episode of LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures

Title: The Storms of Taul  Season: 2  Episode: 5  Original air date: August 2, 2017

In ‘The Storms of Taul,’ Major Derlin requires some assistance from the Rebel Alliance, and the Freemaker family are sent by Admiral Ackbar to get the job done. On their way to pick up Derlin at the junk field near Taanab, Rowan begs his two siblings to make a quick stop at Takodana, where he hopes to get more information on how to acquire a Corellian Defender. They encounter a few bumps along the road, including the return of Hondo Ohnaka and another attack by M-OC.

Minor spoilers may follow, so please watch the episode before reading the review if you are spoiler sensitive.

This episode has a handful of references and connections to various points in the Star Wars timeline that will make any fan giddy with delight, especially since the creative team tie everything together so flawlessly.

Take, for example, the appearance of the Corellian Defender from the Old Republic, which was also a 910-piece LEGO set that was released back in 2013. There’s also the return of Major Bren Derlin, a character who first appeared in The Empire Strikes Back. Add to that the mischievous acts of Hondo Ohnaka and the brief yet pleasant appearance of Maz Kanata on Takodana, and you’ve got an episode that really delivers.

Another favourite and subtle reference was the planet itself, Taul, which has appeared in other parts of Star Wars storytelling, including the one-shot comic book Star Wars Special: C-3PO 1: The Phantom Limb and LEGO Star Wars: The Resistance Rises episode ‘Poe to the Rescue.’ It is always interesting to see different terrains and climates in Star Wars, and how the acidic nature of Taul contributed to some of the extremely amusing moments in this episode.

Then, there’s Hondo. He is the kind of character you want to slap every time you see him, but also, the kind of character you want to wrap in a hug because he always has a way of making you laugh. He’s always out to save himself, though, and the Freemakers learned that the hard way when he took the StarScavenger from them.

Thankfully, Roger came to the rescue and thwarted Hondo’s efforts. It’s even funnier to think about because even though Roger is the fourth member of the Freemaker family, he slipped under the radar for the majority of this episode. So much was happening in between that nobody stopped to ask, ‘where’s Roger?’ – so when he re-appeared unexpectedly, there was a sigh of relief because he was there to save the day yet again.

What’s also great about this show is that it constantly demonstrates how Rowan is able to think outside the box. He observes, understands, and comes up with quick solutions, especially when it comes to dealing with M-OC. There is one particular scene in which he uses his lightsaber as a boomerang of sorts and follows that with building an antennae to channel the planet’s lightning, successfully overpowering his enemy. His actions, needless to say, were most impressive and he’s become quite the Force user. It’ll be fascinating to see where he goes next with his abilities.

Finally, it was such a delight to hear John Ratzenberger voice Major Derlin again, especially since his character kept popping up at inopportune and comedic moments throughout the episode. It’s that attention to detail and appreciation of the various aspects of Star Wars that really shine through and continually captures the audience.

Read more LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures – Season Two reviews:

A New Home

Trouble on Tibalt

The Tower of Alistan Nor

The Embersteel Blade