LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy Season 1 Review
LEGO and ‘Star Wars’ have always built well together, spawning countless playsets and collectables made out of plastic bricks. Not just this though, but the incredible amount of fan creations that push the boundaries using their imagination. The first season of ‘LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy’ is a shining example of this imagination, with humour, heart, and an inventive new look at the often times familiar and safe galaxy far far away.
While it might be easy to get disorientated with the huge amount of changes that have affected the ‘Star Wars’ galaxy, audiences have an easy perspective to follow in the form of Sig Greebling (a neat LEGO reference). He embodies the current ‘Star Wars’ fan, obsessed with the current canon and retells it constantly with reverence. It’s through his eyes the audiences experience the new galaxy, but it’s set against he backdrop of a tale that feels distinctly ‘Star Wars’ because of the themes that the show explores.
Those themes are ones typically found in ‘Star Wars’, with an unwilling hero discovering a great power thrusting him into a huge world, learning from a wise mentor, and overcoming family troubles. But they’re taken with new twists, like Jedi Bob, the mentor, has huge flaws of his own, the world is literally alien to the hero, and the family redemption is a brother, somoene that Sig has known his whole life. It’s these themes told through the characters tha are the foundational building blocks that hold this story together.
Key ‘Star Wars’ concepts are also transferred into LEGO flawlessly. An example of this is the Light and Dark Side of the Force, where the Light Side builds and the Dark Side destroys. Of course, there is the traditional balance in the Force to be found here, but it’s remixed to fit the medium.
Across the four episodes, LEGO and Lucasfilm get to have great fun with ‘Star Wars’, proving what happens when the rigid rules of canon are relaxed for just a moment. They build upon the framework of the story, sprinkling in their trademark hilarious humour – the type that fans of the LEGO games will be very familiar with – without undercutting the serious family drama playing out. LEGO have managed to strike a fun balance in the Force, remembering not to take ‘Star Wars’ in an ultra serious fashion, but not making quick quips every five minutes. The only character that came close to upsetting this balance was Servo the Gonk Droid, who felt the need to speak everytime he was onscreen.
LEGO seem to have an innate finger on the pulse when it comes to what ‘Star Wars’ jokes and references land with audiences. Sure, there are the ones that are the most memorable – “It’s a trap!” – but also some obscure references that reacher deeper into the lore. It’s in these moments that the series caters to not only the younger and newer fans of the franchise, but also service the adults that have followed ‘Star Wars since the start. The multiverse concept is also well used in the show, with tons of inventive creativity brought the screen, even more than what the trailer have already shown.
Audiences will find out that this story won’t end the way that they think, with a true surprise to be had with the direction the show takes. That and the fourth episode does leave the opportunity for LEGO and Lucasfilm to build upon what they’ve started in future seasons, with limitless opportunity for play in this new galaxy. ‘LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy’ delivers on a great ‘Star Wars’ what if, and doesn’t forget the key building blocks to a good story.
