Wednesday, October 14, starts the second season of “Star Wars Rebels”–the Disney XD series that bridges the time gap between Episodes III and IV in the Star Wars saga, and shows the gradual evolution of the Rebellion under the Empire’s oppressive rule. [/blogs/lauragilbreath/2014/09/star_wars_rebels_so_it_begins_1.html]

This season shows an escalation of the conflict as the ragtag crew of the Ghost joins up with a larger group of rebels under the supervision of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” hero Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) and faces off against legendary adversaries such as Darth Vader (James Earl Jones.)

In the first two episodes, Ahsoka sends the Ghost on a mission to find some old friends and recruit them as allies. That those friends turn out to be Clones (Dee Bradley Baker) only complicates matters for Kanan (Freddie Prinze Jr.,) whose memories of Order 66 and his Jedi Master’s death are still painfully fresh.

This season promises a deeper look into the backstories of our main characters: The fate of Ezra’s (Taylor Gray) parents, Hera’s (Vanessa Marshall) father, and Sabine’s (Tiya Sircar) family will be explored, as well as Chopper’s history. Keeping it in the family in real life, it was recently disclosed that one of the major villains for this season will be the Seventh Sister Inquisitor, voiced by Sarah Michelle Gellar, wife to Freddie Prinze Jr.

In a recent press conference, Dave Filoni, Freddie Prinze Jr., Vanessa Marshall, Ashley Eckstein, and Dee Bradley Baker formed a panel that discussed many of the themes and developments for the upcoming season.

Having seen the first two episodes of the season, I can say that the show is off to an impressive start. Where the animation style was a little jarring last season, it has improved to a really cinematic level this time around. The art design is wonderful, with visual references to Miyazaki’s “Howl’s Moving Castle” in the Clone’s mobile fortress.

This beginning of this season skillfully treads a line between keeping the action family-friendly, yet giving the storyline enough weight and importance to be appealing to adults. While the antagonists are formidable (you are never under the illusion, for example, that the Darth Vader here is not the same Darth Vader that canonically slaughtered a roomful of kids in Episode III before he even got going on the Dark Side,) the protagonists are resourceful and never fail to demonstrate how determination and the strength they derive from their families–biological or consciously formed–lead them to prevail.

“Star Wars Rebels” starts its new season Wednesday, October 14 (9:30 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney XD.