Droids in Distress was great!
Tobar's first three screenshots show exactly what makes the environments so great, and I think it's that they're all composed like a Ralph McQuarrie painting. The stormtroopers by the transport especially. The ring of symbols around the circumference of the docking bay is right out of old Star Wars concepts, too, and are part of what go into making the show "feel" like Star Wars.
I still get excited to see stormtroopers and star destroyers every time they pop up.
It was awesome to see Rex from Star Tours, and I loved how he dropped his shades in a "deal with it" fashion after telling off the Imperial chick for her droids. Not to mention the concept Threepio and Artoo next to the final Threepio and Artoo being a cool moment.
Also, no Jedi. Not one lightsaber. Kanan and Ezra were basically normal dudes the whole episode (except Ezra's Force jumps and push). It strikes me that Kanan doesn't like to use the Force at all, really. I mean, they had the big reveal in the premiere, but they had to do it there. But there's no frivolous (or even meaningful) Force usage from him. Even when he's on the Ghost with just his friends. He opens doors just like the rest of us.
I'm digging Hera and Kanan's relationship. No drama, no tension. It's just there and it's just normal. Sabine is even cool, though I wish she wouldn't wear the Mandalorian armour around so much. I think it would be cool to make it a quest item for her or something, something of her heritage to discover. As it is now, I feel like she would stick out like a sore thumb. Though I suppose without the helmet (which only goes on in combat situations) her armour looks pretty unremarkable.
I'm glad we're starting to get into some of the character motivations, too. I was rolling my eyes watching the previews when they gave Kallus the same weapon as Zeb because it felt not-Imperial, but having seen the episode it makes sense now, and I don't feel like it'll be a thing he uses often. Speaking of weapons, I'm a little surprised nobody mentioned that the disruptor rifle is straight out of Star Wars Galaxies.
Also neat to see Bail Organa again. Definite callbacks to ANH with him and Artoo. Like Tobar, I was wondering if we would see Mungo Baobab here, but alas. I liked his interaction with Kanan a lot. Secretive, rebellious, cautiously organizing, some old Jedi talk thrown in, wink-wink style. It reminds us that there is hope elsewhere in the galaxy and that people weren't just waiting for Luke to come along and save them.
The weightless animation is still a thing, sure, but I do feel like characters in Rebels have more natural motions, if that makes sense, than characters in The Clone Wars. It feels like there's a more realistic weight and momentum to their movements. The last Force jump Ezra did looked more like a Force jump than anything in The Clone Wars.
Just a bit of a nitpick: Animation describes movement while the look of something would be described by art, or design, or art design. Something along those lines.
Also, I'm super jazzed to rewatch the first episode/movie with the Vader scenes. James Earl Jones as Darth Vader once again? Count me in!