The latest episode of Star Wars Rebels sends Hera on a personal mission to retrieve a family
heirloom from the Empire, which proves to be easier said than done when Grand Admiral
Thrawn appears.
To be honest it was kind of a filler episode, but not completely because this is the most
we’ve seen of Thrawn so far, and I think even an episode like this is taking steps
toward something much larger and more complex from Thrawn.
We start the episode as Hera reunites with her father on Ryloth.
I’ve compared Rebels to Firefly before, even going so far as to mashup the credits.
The similarities continue as we see that Hera has taken a page out of the Hoban Washburn
book of flying.
I would say the theme of this episode is family, and that’s very apparent once everyone is
safely aboard the ghost.
Hera and Cham are much warmer with each other than we saw in season two.
Zeb and Ezra who are usually more antagonistic with each other are more playful and friendly
this episode.
So when Hera says she plans to infiltrate the Imperial base to save a family heirloom,
the rest of the crew, her family, agree to help.
Unfortunately, while it’s not completely spelled out, I believe the entire situation
was set up by Grand Admiral Thrawn to bait Hera and her crew to Ryloth.
Hera, Ezra, and Chopper sneak into the base while everyone else cause trouble for the
Imperial patrols.
There is a little moment where Chop revisits the Y-Wing he crashed in during the Clone
Wars.
Back in this season’s premiere, we saw Chopper resist being put back into a Y-Wing.
I really like this new side of him, and I’m glad the writers are taking time to provide
him with more depth than just a sociopathic droid.
Even with the distraction caused by Kanan and the others, Thrawn intensifies security
inside.
Hera still finds her heirloom, called a Calicori, but is captured by Thrawn.
That’s when we learn Thrawn planned this from the start and guessed the Rebels’ every
move.
As we know from Legends, Thrawn has a deep understanding of the art and culture of his
enemies.
He specifically targeted Cham and captured the Calicori, knowing Hera would come after
it.
When the diversion began he increased security because he knew the real target was already
inside.
And then when Ezra goes for his weapon, Thrawn is ready to take him down.
That scene was by far the best in the episode.
So far I’ve been very happy with Rebels’ characterization of Thrawn.
This episode was a perfect summary of what made him so great in the books.
He’s calm, calculated, cultured, and one step ahead at all times.
He’s patient with his underlings and polite with his enemies.
Although I did really enjoy seeing him lose his cool a little bit with Captain Slavin.
Hearing that Hera had been captured, Cham offers himself in exchange for her, proving
he has grown to put his family before rebellion.
He pretty much learned that lesson last season, but it’s good to know that it stuck with
him.
Fortunately Chopper comes to the rescue, freeing Hera and Ezra and planting explosives all
over the building.
Gleefully, I might add.
One thing I was really hoping would happen but didn’t is Thrawn seeing Chopper.
I would love for him to take one look at the painted droid and be like “That’s obviously
not one of our normal droids.
Come one guys, did no one notice this??”
But I think the writers smartly avoided putting the two characters in direct line of sight
for that exact reason.
Similar to the season premiere, everyone escapes because Thrawn lets them.
Again, he used this entire opportunity to learn more about Hera and the crew of the
Ghost.
But they are not his true target.
He wants the entire Rebellion.
He plays the long game.
That’s cool and all, but I do really want to see him have a major victory sometime soon.
If he keeps just letting everyone go, his threat will diminish.
He needs to hit the Rebels hard.
In the Thrawn Trilogy he has lots of little victories that build to some really big ones.
In the show I wouldn’t call his little traps failures, because I think they are going how
he planned them, but I figure he can only use the “I wanted them to escape” excuse
so many times before the Empire tells him to cut it out.
Back on board the Ghost, Hera expresses her love for her father and her crew saying that
she doesn’t need an heirloom to keep her family alive.
She just needs them.
Thrawn held onto the calicori, so I imagine we might see it again.
Maybe Hera will even get it back.
It’s hard to guess what’s coming later this season from this episode, because it
didn’t advance the plot so much as it focused on the character of Thrawn.
While I do think it was kind of filler, I think the calicori was a nice way to tie everything
together.
Again, all I can really guess about the future is that Thrawn is building towards a significant
victory against the Rebellion.
Now that we’ve had more screen time with the character, the next time we seem him I
think we’ll get much more action from him, and more reason for the Rebels to fear him.
Before I close this video out I’m just going to mention a few little things I noticed throughout
the episode.
I think this is the earliest visual appearance we’ve had of a scout trooper in the canon.
But they also appeared in written form in Ezra’s Gamble, which takes place before
season one.
Numa and Gobi are back.
They appeared last season as well as in the Clone Wars.
Kanan was awfully quiet this episode, but using the Force to redirect a rocket is totally
awesome.
He’s still got it, even blind.
Finally, a Twitter follower named Jim pointed out that in one shot the Phantom could be
seen on the back of the Ghost despite being destroyed three episodes ago.
I think that’s just a case of the wrong model being used because next week’s episode
is supposed to be about replacing the Phantom.
Good catch though, Jim!
What did you guys think of the episode?
How are you liking Thrawn so far?
Any guesses about his future plans?
Did you have any questions you’d like me to try to answer?
Let me know all that in the comments!
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As always, thank you for watching and may the Force be with you!