The first, Rebels, is a four season run of a CG cartoon that follows the exploits of a band of rebels in the years leading up to the original Star Wars movie. I spent a good portion of the summer watching it after finishing the Clone Wars. I was surprised to find that I preferred Rebels (especially the third season) out of the two. In fact, I would say that some of the episodes are some of my favorite Star Wars stories to this date. It took a little while for me to warm up to it as it is targeted to kids (especially the first season), but--like the Clone Wars--I wanted to watch the series through as some of the characters have been rumored to appear in season 2 of the Mandalorian. Personally, it reminded me heavily of Firefly and made me wonder if this is the type of direction that Firefly would have taken if given the chance.
The second, Cobra Kai, we've binged in the past week or two. This show follows Johnny and Danny from the Karate Kid as they are dealing with life thirty-plus years later. Like the movie that inspired it, the show is filled with comedy, life-lessons, teenage relationship problems, and plenty of karate. Honestly, I did not expect this show to be as good as it ended up being. I was especially surprised at how it took these fictional characters and developed believable lives for them that end up creating fascinating parallels between the events from the movie and their relationships in the show. That it's filled with classic 80s music is just icing on a delicious cake.
I've said before that our current age of television makes it a fantastic time for people with my tastes in entertainment. These shows continue that trend. While Rebels might be over, I look forward to seeing at least some of the characters in live-action form in the Mandalorian. As for Cobra Kai, I'm glad that Netflix picked it up from Youtube and that a third season is being made.