Hey there Rebels fans, it's been a while.
Andi Gutierrez here from the Lucasfilm headquarters and yeah...
we have a lot to talk about this week.
Didn't expect our return to hit you that hard, did you?
Don't worry.
We'll get through this together and learn a little more about what went into making these jaw dropping episodes.
So grab a box of tissues cuz you're probably gonna need them.
Rebels Recon starts right now.
On a mission to rescue Hera from the Empire the Ghost crew receives a
devastating blow and Kanan bravely sacrifices himself to save the others.
Kanan!
However, the mission was still successful at destroying the Empire's fuel supply.
Halting Thrawn's TIE Defender project and putting Governor Pryce on Thrawn's bad side.
Grand Admiral, I...
I will deal with you when I return.
After some words with the Loth-wolves Ezra is directed toward a new mission
to seek the knowledge he requires.
Jedi...
temple.
This week we saw Kanan make the ultimate sacrifice to save his friends.
I sat down with cast and crew to talk about the significance of this character
coming to terms with his fate and how the loss of Kanan affected them and the Ghost crew.
In a very dramatic scene Kanan cuts his hair and shaves his beard.
Mhmm.
What does this moment symbolize for him?
It's a commitment to the moment.
It's also ceremonially him understanding that this is a transitional moment that he is
not going to be the same so it's almost a purification.
I think it was meant to sort of evoke what he looked like when he first met Hera.
I think it was meant to sort of also evoke the feeling of a samurai going into battle
and just stripping themselves of everything.
He is aware of what's going to possibly happen.
He is aware of the possibility of his death and
in a way he has to understand that might be his role.
Not to die but to be selfless.
To do things for other people even at the expense of yourself.
Kanan is the first loss we've had in the original Ghost crew.
How do you feel as a creator to kill off such an important character?
I'll be honest it was really difficult.
I have such a love for Kanan and the energy he brought to the show
and ultimately the discussion was around what the journey of the character is,
not necessarily selfishly what I want to have happen.
[Laughing]
and so that makes it really difficult when you're in that
position of needing to do what's best for the story versus what you personally want.
It's the moment where you understand that the sacrifice of a character
has a significant impact on the journey for all of the characters moving forward.
Freddie from the very beginning had been talking to me about the need for his character to go.
And I think a lot of people over the years,
fans I've heard them kind of just throw out there "well, yes. He has to die"
a lot of them think of it more in terms of well because Yoda says there are no other Jedi.
But that's not why.
He has to die as an example of how to be selfless, of how to become enlightened.
It hit really hard with our actors.
Filoni was very secretive about this plot point.
When we went down to record this episode
none of the actors were aware this was going to happen.
He removed the last two pages of the script.
It came to the end of the record and Filoni took them aside.
He opened up his notebook where he had the story panels for that last moment
and he walked them through it and they were devastated.
Kanan makes his heroic last stand.
Yep.
How do you think this affects Zeb?
Oh well the same way it affects me.
I've become so close to Freddie as Zeb has with Kanan.
There's a brotherhood between them and I think it's a horrible loss for him.
And yet I think Zeb's primary instinct is honor more than anything else.
And I think the way that Kanan went out in such a heroic fashion,
Zeb was probably proud of his brother going out that way and I think that's what he'll carry with him.
I think Hera as calm and cool and collected as she is in general,
this is one moment I think where you see her truly broken,
shattered, and incapable of computing what's the next move and how to face it alone.
I think she knew how much he meant to her but the fact that
she will never see him again, she's just catatonic and I don't think
we've seen Hera like that ever.
Once it became a reality it really like washed over all of us as people as well.
Like, "Oh Freddie's kind of gone"
We've been a close-knit group for a while now so I think that just enhanced the acting
and really helped everything but yeah I really effects Ezra.
That's kind of everything to him.
That's who he's been closest to who he trusts more than himself.
I'd say also the way that Kanan did it was a huge learning experience for him.
In the last moments of Kanan's life he seems to regain his sight.
What do you feel happened in that final moment?
Clarity.
It wasn't they're actually seeing each other.
It's just that everything connected.
For how I perceive that moment is that everything's okay.
When I was doing this scene, when I was staging it
and I was lining up these shots and I was drawing them.
When I drew it I could just see his eyes and I was like that's a moment where he could see her.
I thought in this moment because he's in this point where he's just kind of
energy, where he's about to die, when he's more one with everything he's ever been,
you'd have this clarity where things like physical sight just doesn't matter.
And so I think it just really plays at that moment that emotion and though it's
sad and I do if people wonder feel bad, you just have to trust me.
There's no other way to look at it stuff to trust me.
Losing Kanan was a huge blow to the Rebels.
In what way does each member of the Ghost crew deal with the loss of their friend?
We show a lot of that on screen.
We realized that the audience is going to need time to mourn Kanan just like our crew does.
There's lots of shades of mourning.
And it'll be interesting to see what the audience connects to and who they recognize.
My favorite honestly has got to be Chopper's reaction.
You realize that Chopper, for all the pain that he causes, does have a heart.
Zeb and Sabine kind of deal with it in more of an anger since they want to take action and they want to lash out.
Hera, I think, feels completely lost because in the back of her mind she's
always had this balance point of Kanan there and now he's gone and she feels
responsible because of what she got him roped into with this Rebel Alliance.
She's dealing with the guilt of it.
And for Ezra, he succumbs again to his fear.
He starts to think that his powers and his ability to be brave were somehow wrapped up in Kanan.
He's being almost self pitying.
He's making it all about himself and woe is me.
I think it's really important that they're reflecting upon the loss of Kanan.
In terms of what it is they're fighting for.
I think it helps them align their own values.
And I think in the face of such tremendous loss, really evaluate what is they're looking to accomplish.
And resolve themselves to really understand that what they're doing has meaning and
in order for Kanan's sacrifice to not be in vain they have to not only
recommit to this cause but they have to see it through to the end.
Jedi have the ability to turn the tide, to make a significant moment to give hope where there's none.
That's their ultimate role to be this example of selflessness and
that's what makes them a hero, when no one else can match that heroic thing and
then our job is to emulate that to use that example and further our own lives.
[Chopper sounds]
Hey, buddy.
[Chopper sounds]
You okay?
[Chopper sounds]
Yeah, we're all pretty sad about it.
You don't have to put up that tough exterior.
I know you have a heart in there.
I saw that scene with Hera, come on.
[Chopper sounds]
You'll be okay.
[Chopper sounds]
[Chopper laugh]
[Slide whistle]
Pablo's had a few months of freedom from my constant lurking
and bombardment with my trusty microphone and camera crew.
But that ends today Hidalgo.
You can't hide forever.
let's go find him!
Hey, Pablo!
Hey, Andi.
So I have a Rebels question for you.
Oh, really? we've done that in a while.
Yeah, it's been a while.
Here we go.
@VitasVarnas asks,
Yeah you can actually fire with your wings shut down.
Opening it up into attack position basically gives you a greater spread of fire.
So it's more effective but you can do both.
Alright, fair enough.
Thanks, Pablo.
They'll never notice.
Have questions about Jedi Night or Dume or anything else about Star Wars Rebels you want answered?
Tweet it to @StarWars using the hashtag #RebelsRecon and we'll answer what we can online.
And now as a gift for sticking around this long I give you an exclusive clip of next week's episodes,
Wolves and a Door and A World Between Worlds.
Enjoy!
We're ready.
Can you take us?
Thanks for watching Rebel's Recon.
We'll be back next week with a brand new episode.
But in the meantime check out the episode guides for Jedi Night and Dume on StarWars.com right now.
Thanks for watching and may the Force be with you.
Man, Dave better not kill of any more of these characters. I dont know how much more I can take.