#and also kanan and ezra's sacrifices

[bberry005]

thinking way too hard about this page from kanan: the last padawan and how much it shows about him as a character during rebels and also how that relates to ezra and their sacrifices at the end of the show

it's clear from the first episode of rebels that kanan has no qualms about attachment in general, which is a stark difference from most of the other jedi that we see. he cares freely and openly and deeply about all the members of the ghost crew. he might care too much at the beginning, but that's part of his journey as a jedi that we see throughout the show.

"you must not grow too attached, too fond, too in love with life as it is now" is a fundamental thing that kanan must remember during season 2 of rebels. because he DID become too attached to his life as it was with the ghost crew running around lothal, and when they join up with the larger rebel fleet, he doesn't like it and dislikes how things are changing. he has to relearn the ability to adapt and change before he's declared a jedi knight in the season 2 finale.

part of being a jedi is loving enough to know when it's time to go, which is something that kanan mastered. he and ezra leave at the end of season 2 to protect the rest of the rebellion, he teaches ezra to let sabine go with her family on mandalore, he helps hera reconcile with her past on ryloth. through love and attachment, kanan also learned sacrifice. he lost everything as he became kanan jarrus instead of caleb dume. he was forced to leave behind all the attachments of his former life in order to survive. he didn't learn to do that necessarily, he was forced into it out of necessity, which is very different than him consciously learning how to let go during rebels.

in rebels, kanan leaves by choice. in season 2, he knows that leaving is necessary to the survival of the rebellion. in season 4, he's standing on top of the fuel tank and holding back the explosion and he probably wants nothing more than to try and go with hera, ezra, and sabine. because that's his FAMILY. he loves them more than anything, but he knows that if he does not let go, they will not survive.

so he does. he sees them one last time, and then he lets them go and sacrifices himself to save them all, and in a way, this was the last lesson he ever taught ezra

its no secret that their sacrifices were meant to mirror each other, but here's the images again for reference

in his final moments, kanan teaches ezra about sacrifice. yes, you must love and feel and experience life, but to be a jedi knight, you must be able to master those feelings and do what you must for the greater good. in his actions, kanan was essentially repeating what depa told him when he was a padawan. "you must not grow too attached, too fond, too in love with life as it is now. those emotions are valuable and must not be surpressed, but you must learn to rule them lest they rule you". ezra fully learns that lesson during "the world between worlds" when he leaves the memory of kanan's death behind in the world between worlds and learns to stop his attachment from going too far.

and also like...kanan's life had FINALLY worked out when he died. hera just said that she loved him, they're back on lothal ready to free their home from the empire, he's figured out this whole jedi thing, and he may or may not know that hera is pregnant with their child depending on your interpretation. but he must let go. he cannot let his love and attachment stop him from doing what must be done for the greater good. he saves them, but he also leads to the empire blowing up their own fuel depot, which is the only reason the rebels can take back lothal. he put his purpose (saving the galaxy) over his feelings (because there was definitely a part of him screaming to go with his family, but he was able to control it in order to see the bigger picture)

the jedi fight for peace and the greater good, which at it's core requires immense selflessness and sacrifice and a clear head acting on logic rather than emotion. kanan and ezra were learning that together throughout the whole show, and one last time, kanan teaches ezra a jedi lesson that he finally figured out through trying to guide ezra through it

"but remember, caleb, the galaxy is far from static, and as it changes, a jedi's role in it too must evolve." jedi were keepers of the peace, then they were generals, then they were scattered teenagers who didn't know what to do in the wake of order 66, and now? now they are rebel fighters, once again getting at the heart of what it is to be a jedi. to be a jedi is to love, to sacrifice, to keep the peace. kanan and ezra show why jedi are KNIGHTS and not diplomats. they fight for peace, but they know it is just that: a bloody, brutal, violent fight, and that those fights require sacrifice in order to keep going. they both embody luthen's line from andor where he says "i burn my life for a sunrise i will never get to see", which is also a perfect way to think about why the jedi fight for peace. they really believe in it, and are willing to lay down their lives to make a peace that will never be achieved in their lifetimes.

(what's also crazy is that in this episode, we're essentially shown that kanan jarrus has found caleb dume again and therefore reconnected with his jedi past but that's a post for a whole other day)

i have so many feelings about this that basically boil down to: rebels is so well written and so underrated and kanan and ezra teach us far more about what the ideal jedi should be than any of the skywalker saga main characters (WHICH IS A VERY HOT TAKE I KNOW but it's my take)

[thehotpilot]

currently in SHAMBLES over the parallel of sabine kneeling before her helmet and cutting her hair off before going on a mission to save ezra and kanan doing the same before saving hera

[nimata-beroya]

All y’all saying Ezra being the mystery inquisitor in Ahsoka would be “detrimental to his character” seem to be conveniently forgetting that the Grand Inquisitor literally told Kanan :

“The Dark Side. It pulls at him, it calls to him. Eventually, he will be consumed by it.”

[milotehacegrand18]

I saw a Star Wars video on Tiktok where there was a photo of Hera and Ezra where it said about Hera "she's the mother he couldn't have" and about Ezra: "He's been alone since he can remember" or something like that and no It just bothered me but it's not true, it's just not true. Because the most tragic thing about Ezra's character is that he knew what a loving family was like and lost it, when he was old enough to have memory of them and vivid memories.

It's not like he was an orphan forever, because then it would be difficult for him but he would be absolutely used to it since it would be the only life he knows, but that's not the case, he convinced himself that he was used to it but he really wasn't, because he was an boy who wanted affection and that is why during Rebels loss is something that takes him to the dark side and it is one of his main objectives as a character to accept the possibility of losing someone that is why his sacrifice is so important because it closes the character cycle , Ezra goes from a child who refuses to think about anyone other than himself because if he cares about someone he could become attached to that person and could lose that person to someone who not only managed to accept the loss of someone so important to him. Like Kanan, he is also capable of leaving everyone for the greater good (including passing up the opportunity to have his parents back with him) and still have the hope that he would eventually see them again.

If Ezra Bridger is not one but the character that most encapsulates the concept of Star Wars, I don't know what it is.

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

The Impact of Tech's Death: Was it necessary? Was it in vain? Why did Tech have to die?

Disclaimer: This will be a very emotion fueled rant and I'm sorry if my personal feelings get in the way. I love my boys, but there are times when I just sit there and shake my head. I do my best to understand their circumstances, but sometimes the Crosshair girlie in me really can't make sense of things.

The short answer: NO, it wasn't necessary. With S3 now behind us and my rewatch of S2 at its conclusion, it hit me just how little weight Tech's death had on the overall plot.

Let's breakdown the finale a bit:

The lead up: Tech found out that his long-lost brother Crosshair was captured by the Empire and sent to a shady place where no good was to come. He also discovers that Crosshair sent a distress message, warning his brothers to hide. Realizing that Crosshair was in danger, Tech decided to rally the others on a mission to find and track Hemlock's ship, hoping it would lead him back to his brother. The mission is a complete failure, with Tech being forced to sacrifice himself in order to save his family.

The Aftermath: the Batch is discovered by Hemlock, Omega is captured, Hunter cuts his losses, and Crosshair remains a prisoner

Here's the part that really messed with me: Tech's death DID NOT affect Hemlock's capture of Omega and it DID NOT change the ability to track the ship. The only impact it had was that Hunter decided to cut his losses and pull an early retirement. And even when Hunter is like "we're going to get Omega back," he doesn't mention Crosshair once.

Tech died to save Crosshair. Period.

(and the others I know, but this mission wouldn't have happened if Cross wasn't in trouble)

Which brings us to S3 where Tech is hardly mentioned, Crosshair himself is never shown on-screen learning of what happened, and there is no moment where anyone (except maybe Cross) processes their feelings about it. Why kill off a beloved character when their demise has almost no impact on anything? The only thing it really impacts is the speed of which things get done and Crosshair's mental health. It makes no sense. I think there was an interview where DBB said they tried to keep Tech alive, but couldn't write a script where that was the case. Ok? Then go back and talk some more about the plot. Or if you can't avoid killing him off, then show the characters processing it or why Tech's death mattered. The cynical side of me says Tech died in vain. I'm being brutally honest here. Tech could've survived and Cid would still sell out the Batch and Saw's detonators would still destroy the ship and tracker. From a story POV, it's pretty bad when a main character's death barely leaves an impact.

In CW, Fives' death enabled Rex and Ahsoka (and Maul by extension) to all survive Order 66. Satine's death led to Mandalore being thrown into chaos, thus leading to the Siege of Mandalore.

In Rebels, Kanan's death crippled Thrawn's Tie-defender project, made Pryce look bad, and taught Ezra important lessons about sacrifice. For Hera, we got to see her grieve the loss of her lover. Kanan's death mattered. Also, the buildup to Kanan's sacrifice was him becoming Caleb Dume again after everything he went through.

The buildup to Tech's death was great too because it was about the Batch trying to find Crosshair. And while the mission is a failure, it showed that they were willing to go back for someone they lost. They hadn't given up on him. But everything after falls pretty flat and only makes Tech's death even sadder.

Why did Tech have to die? Because he probably would've found Tantiss a lot quicker than everyone else. I really think that's the case and that's pretty bad writing if you ask me. I still love TBB immensely, but I'm willing to call it out when it falls short.

It also really pisses me off as a Crosshair fan that Hunter just completely throws him under the bus. I will let my biases speak for me because it really bothers me and I'm sorry if you disagree. I value your opinion too. I don't know if Hunter subconsciously blamed Crosshair for Tech's demise, but I would've felt a whole lot better if he decided to honor Tech's wish of saving him. Hunter was always going to go after Omega, so why not add Crosshair to the mix? Was it because he still thought Crosshair could be lying? I understand cutting his losses in the moment due to the pain of losing Tech. I get that 100%. But after, he just doesn't bother to think about Crosshair. Would he even have gone after Crosshair if the original last-minute retirement plan came to fruition? Crosshair suffered immensely and who knows what would've happened if he just got left there with no one coming for him. Tech was the only one who supported Operation: Rescue Crosshair. No one else suggested that idea except him. (I know Omega also supports it, but I'm talking about the boys). Yes, I know I'm being harsh and perhaps unfair, but it hurts ok? I know Hunter has no clue what's going on with Crosshair.

But here's why it bothers me so much outside of Crosshair getting the short end of the stick again: It makes Tech's death feel even more in vain because the reason for why Tech died is just forgotten about.

Let that sink in. Tech's death doesn't leave ANY lasting impact on the plot post-incident.

It makes even more frustrated and just heartbroken because of how cruel and unfair losing Tech really was. Had we gotten more time of the Batch processing emotions or taking something meaningful away from it, then that's different. But no. That's not what we got and I am heartbroken by it. At minimum, we should've gotten one scene in S3 where Crosshair (or anyone really) talks about it in a meaningful way. (No, "CF99 died with Tech" doesn't count). Yes, Tech's legacy can be seen through Omega's actions but that's not enough.

All and all, the only real weight Tech's death had was on Crosshair's mental health. And even then, it's only implied instead of said straight out. If Tech hadn't died, then Crosshair probably wouldn't have decided to enact Plan 99. (Or he would've due to other reasons).

In conclusion: Tech never had to die nor should he have died.

[skywalkerrtno]

If I remember correctly, doesn´t Rex refuse to fight at first in Rebels when Kanan, Ezra and the rest ask him for help.

He excuses himslef saying he is tired of fighting, that his ´´warrior´´ era is over or smth like that.

This contrasts heavily with the Rex we see in the whole Clone wars era, but specially with the Rex we are seeing in The Bad Batch.

As he continues to fight the Empire and rescue his clone brothers. The clones are beginning to rebel against the Empire as they awaken from the inhibitor chips, realizing what the Empire is doing.

Both him and Echo are specially focused on this.

Then what causes him to shift to drastically?

What if the whole bad batch dies and Omega is left alone, or captured again?

Rex loses once again, with them gone, but Gregor and Wolffe being rescued among others he decides its time to retire. He has completed his job and now he deseves to rest +, so they go, together and try to get away from the empire, trying to search for peace in a galaxy that hasnt seen this in a long time.

This would explain in some way why we never see Echo with Rex in rebels. Him, nor any of the other Bad batchers are even mentioned.

Are they dead? Or do they just live in peace in Pabu? Then how do they complete the whole ¨Project Necromancer¨ if Omega never gets captured again?

Maybe we get a massive sacrifice from some character to save Omega after she has already been used and her blood extracted so this would give the empire whast they want, whilst also saving our poor girl.

I mean, they did say we were gonna cry with this season.

[itsjayro]

While watching a rebels panel & hearing Dave talk about the selfless sacrifice both Kanan & Ezra made it got me thinking about how Sabine chose the selfish path by wanting Ezra back so bad that she put the rest of the galaxy at risk. She already is facing consequences of that cause now she is separated from Ezra AGAIN the one thing she desperately wanted. But there’s more coming & eventually Sabine will have to make the selfless decision. One moment where everything Kanan, Ezra & Ahsoka have taught her all seamlessly clicks. And I’m scared 😅

Edit: apparently this needs to be said THIS IS NOT A SABINE BASH POST!!!!! I love Sabine & I understand what she did. It was very human but not the Jedi thing to do & that’s what this whole post is about. And I personally think as of right now that from a story standpoint they are setting up Sabine to have a Kanan/Ezra moment. If you don’t agree with me cool but leave me alone 😎

Also Natasha literally calls it a “mistake”…. So why we still talking about this?

[ahsoka-its-all-of-us]

On another Rebels rewatch and gods alive Through Imperial Eyes is gripping my heart ;-;

Kallus waking up from an alarm outside. How often do you think that happens? Had the poor man just fallen asleep only to be brutally shaken out of it again?

Also the way he opens his eyes and immediately gets up and checks the situation. Some people are useless in the morning; Alexsandr Kallus is not one of them.

The fact that he’s wearing his full uniform including the gloves (and has his hair perfectly styled) indicates that either he’s so overworked that he just fell asleep like that, or he legit doesn’t own any sleeping clothes and sleeps in uniform so he’s always at the ready in case the Empire needs him. Both options fucking break my heart damn ;-;

His reaction to Ezra calling him “Imperial scum”. The slight flinch. Is he actually hurt by that? Is it because he still views himself as such?

Lyste has been stationed on Lothal for years. Surely he would know what its biggest rebel threats look like? Is the man incompetent or just really bad at recognising faces?

Kallus’s complete astonishment at the idea of Ezra getting captured to warn him, and him not even considering the possibility of Ezra coming to get him out omggg ;-; The Empire clearly doesn’t care about him, so naturally he assumes the Rebellion doesn’t either fuck 😭

Ezra claims not to trust Kallus, but immediately upon being alone together he turns his back on him so Kallus can take off his bindings, before Kallus has shown any intention of doing so. Seems pretty trusting to me ngl

“I’ll be executed for treason!” and Kallus knew that from the moment he first became Fulcrum. He’s been shown to be cool in the face of danger, to be well aware of the risks of what he’s doing and doing it anyway. I think the reason he’s so pissed at Ezra seeking him out isn’t that he fears for his own safety; him keeping his cover is essential for his work as a rebel spy, and he doesn’t want that jeopardised.

“I could say the same to you.” That broke me. Because of his treason, Kallus has no one he can trust. No one. He may have switched sides, but that doesn’t mean the Rebellion trusts him. He’s well and truly alone, and he knows it.

Kanan and Rex being part of the rescue mission as well means that this is a serious operation. They want to extract Kallus, their former nemesis. The moment they realise his life’s in danger they all just jump into action. And fuck you just know Zeb is going insane that he can’t join them. He’s probably the one who talked them into the mission in the first place.

Fuck Kallus is tall 😳

Kallus’s reaction to Yularen 🥹 Little boy just wanting to be acknowledged by what was probably the closest thing he had to a father figure in the Academy, that’s both adorable and sad ;-;

They actually wanna bring Kallus back to Atollon. That shows that, whatever Ezra says, they trust him. You don’t bring a high-ranked enemy officer to the heart of your operations unless you’re convinced he won’t betray you.

“We all make sacrifices.” He says it sarcastically to Ezra complaining about his uniform, but you can hear there’s a deeper level behind it. Kallus is sacrificing everything, his convictions, his position, likely his life, for the Rebellion. And he’s not expecting a thank you, he’s not complaining, so Ezra shouldn’t either.

Kallus reprograms Thrawn’s assassin droids on the fly. That’s fucking impressive damn 👀

Kallus’s conviction when he tells Ezra there’s been a change of plans tells me he never intended to leave with him in the first place. As soon as he’d gotten over the shock over having a rescue mission sent for him, he must have been figuring out this plan to frame Lyste so he could remain undetected, or something close to it.

Ezra is probably just worrying about what the hell he’s gonna tell Zeb when they return without Kallus.

The betrayal in Lyste’s eyes and words as he’s being dragged away and Kallus watching him ;-; Kallus knows he’s likely going to be executed, or at least imprisoned for as long as Thrawn doesn’t know who the real Fulcrum is. Because he knows Thrawn won’t buy it, not for long. You can see it in his eyes when he leaves Thrawn’s office.

Kallus’s reprogramming of Thrawn’s droids is so skilful that Thrawn does not believe it was possible without Ezra's Jedi powers. That’s how good the man is.

Yularen’s disbelief of Kallus’s treason is adorable ;-; He did feel like a bit of a papa to Kallus as well after all 🥺

Also I just wanna point out one parallel: this is the second time Kallus refuses to leave a life-threatening situation to go with the Ghost crew. But this time the rescue party came for him, and this time they show that he’s wanted ;-;

[flilisskywalker]

I guess what keeps me up at night is asking what's the point of Sabine's search for Ezra, like... as an emotional arc.

(This text is an adaptation of the thread I wrote on Twitter)

Because when I rewatch the fourth season of Rebels, I get the impression that they are paired together in many episodes as a way to prepare us for a hurtful goodbye between the two at the end of the show, which is to me the same reason why they decided to go heavy on confirming Kanan and Hera's romance because they knew he was going to die.

I don't really know if the parallels between Sabezra and Kanera are intentional considering how Filoni talks about the former, but Ezra does become Kanan (even has a whole stretch arms sacrifice) and Sabine does become Hera (Deep grief for losing him) and not in a "The kid got this from his/her parent." sense, but in the sense of that the situation is really similar, which is interesting because it wasn't like this originally.

Ahsoka made Sabine's grief towards Ezra not being by her side all the time a thing.

Instead of simply letting Sabine's mission be about bringing Ezra home like in the original animated epilogue, Filoni complicates things a little bit by implying that Sabine is not doing this for Ezra, but for herself. Beyond that, almost every character notices how devoted she is to him and it even confuses some of them.

Thrawn, for example, has studied Sabine. He is well aware that Ezra is her compatriot and friend and yet... he is confused by her choice. Sabine states "You wouldn't understand." and then accepts to be stranded on Peridea just to see Ezra again. Once she found him and even after hearing he wants to get home, she did not say a word about Thrawn being his only ticket home. Instead, she simply enjoys time with him.

If you know Sabine Wren, you know that she would never ignore a huge Imperial threat and put in danger people like Hera, who is definitely an older sister type of role model to her, or feel that Ezra is the only family she has, so I do understand why people think she is very distant from the original show.

There might be a reason for all of this. A reason that I'm not sure Filoni wants to dive into, but the way he's been writing Sabine, the vagueness every time Ezra is the conversation's topic, feels like she has fallen in love with him during his absence and honestly? This makes far more sense than any other explanation.

We've seen in Star Wars before, fiction in general, that love is blind. Sabine's focus on finding Ezra is described by Baylan as something that blinds her. Not only this would justify her out of character attitude, but also the parallels with Kanan and Hera.

Star Wars live-action TV shows this year have been interesting to decode. In both The Mandalorian season 3 and Ahsoka season 1, there's a lot of subtle implications that characters want to build a life with somebody.

Mando does this in Chapter 22 - Guns For Hire, an episode surrounded by romantic love, where a droid bartender tells Din and Bo that human life is so short and then they look at each other. They want to be together, but that has not been verbalized yet. It is still very much in the subconscious.

Ahsoka does it in Part 7 - Dreams and Madness, by showing Sabine's lack of urgency regarding Thrawn and simply enjoying Ezra's company. It really implies that this was what her mission was all about: Be with Ezra. Her real desire is build a life with him, but that desire is still in the subconscious.

I believe Favreau knows all of that when it comes to Din and Bo.

BUT DOES FILONI KNOW THAT WHEN IT COMES TO SABINE AND EZRA?

[a-dorin]

motherhood in star wars

this has probably been discussed before, but the theme of motherhood and being a mother in the realm of star wars media has been on my mind lately.

here is my question: why is theme of motherhood in star wars so fucking tragic?

first of all, most (not all) mothers of force-sensitive children have their children taken from them at a young age so they can join the jedi order. and the worst part is that these mothers never really see their children again because the order forbids attachments. it is so heart-breaking to have your child taken from you to join a weird, cult-like order where you will never see them again. there is a sense of loss and suffering in that aspect.

then we have a plethora of characters who are mothers and DIE (leia, padmé, shmi), who lose their mothers or lose someone close to them after becoming a mother.

padmé amidala literally loses her life to complications of childbirth. she did not even get to experience motherhood before her life was ripped away from her. it's so upsetting to me because of her eagerness to raise her children with anakin and live a life of happiness with her new family.

leia is born an orphan who has no mother (yes i know she is adopted by bail and breha) but she literally comes into this world without her biological mother because her mom dies from the complications of childbirth! then, leia loses her son ben to the dark side, only to sacrifice herself in the sequels. which, causes rey distress because she was a mentor and (sort of) a maternal figure towards her!

shmi skywalker literally loses her relationship with her son after he departs with qui-gon and obi-wan. and she literally also dies after reuniting with anakin once more in aotc. she loses the one thing that meant the most to her (ani - her pride and joy!) and does not get to fulfill her role of raising him into adulthood.

while hera does have an adopted family (zeb, ezra, sabine, chopper) she does not get to experience the life with the family she created with kanan because he literally dies. while she received the ability to be a mother to jacen, she lost her spouse.

why does being a mother in the star wars universe only bring you tragedy, loss, and even your life? what do the writers have against womanhood and motherhood? i am aware there are good portrayals of motherhood in star wars, but 75% of the mothers suffer.

it's infuriating to me, and i am sure it's just rambling, but it truly is so upsetting that we do not have many feel-good, healthy, fulfilling portrayals of motherhood in star wars. women deserve to see it. everyone deserves to see it.

[dtrizz94-blog]

Sabine realize Ezra is the One.

I watch all 4 seasons of rebels consistently and I seen Sabine was being a jerk in the last 2 seasons early on…but in missions she been hiding her face expressions. Also being worried about Ezra in big situations, but then after all that in season 4 in the last final episode called “a family reunion and farewell”, that was the moment that Sabine told for Ezra to get out of the star destroyer, while Ezra sacrifice himself. That was the first time Sabine begged for Ezra. Fast forward 10 years later she still has feelings for Ezra and she never get over the fact she live the mistakes that she made. Quite frankly she realize she should’ve known better..

Ezra Bridger did everything for Sabine..

Ezra Bridger saves Sabine 7 times on missions rescuing Sabine’s father at mandalore.

Ezra gives a gift for Sabine with tie fighter, to spray painted.

Ezra deserves all the credit for everything he has done before he went to hyperspace.

Through 10 years Sabine Wren had a ton of regrets about the fact she never had a chance to tell the real truth for Ezra Bridger with her true feelings. the same thing that Hera Syndulla never had a chance to tell the late Kanan Jarrus the fact that she’s pregnant.

Sabine really needs to look in the mirror and realize that Ezra Bridger is the ONLY REAL ONE.

How bad Sabine wanted to get Ezra back to her heart..

if Sabine want Ezra back?, GO GET HIM BACK!!!

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: "Jedi Night"

Right, just going to go ahead and pass around the boxes of tissues.

Live reaction version.

And here we are at last. The entire latter half of the season had already began shifting at "Rebel Assault", but here the shift becomes permanent.

From the promos and synopsis put out before this episode, the genre-savvy among us could kind of already tell what was coming. But it was still devastating.

All right, enough stalling, let's get into it.

Aww man, this is the same spot Ezra sits in the finale isn't it?

Dammit we're barely ten seconds in and I'm already sad.

The Loth-wolf theme is heavy over this scene as Kanan is bombarded with an audio portent and foreshadowing of things to come in the WBW.

"You want a ride?" "The Jedi Temple is in danger." "Kanan, you haven't gotten me a present since we met." "You can learn what it truly means to be a Jedi." "You didn't prepare me for this, Kanan." "There's something I need to tell you." "I know I can always count on you."

Kanan hears mostly himself, and the two most important people in his life--Hera and Ezra. He hears Ezra's despair at losing him, and his resolve in entrusting his life and mission to Sabine. He knows the Jedi Temple is in danger. He's connected deeply with the wolves at this point, and either knows or at least suspects what he and Ezra will be asked to do.

This is probably where those extra episodes explaining Kanan's backstory and connection to Lothal would have come in handy. As it is we get the mysterious voiceover dump and have to piece things together after the fact.

What I think makes the most sense is that the Loth-wolves stopped Kanan from going to rescue Hera last episode precisely because--connected deeply as they are in the Force, associated with the WBW--they could see ahead to the potential futures of that course of action and knew that if he went after her, he would die. No matter what he did, no matter which way he moved, one way or another, it would happen. So they warned him. They showed him why lay ahead.

If you do this, we cannot save you, they told him.

And that's why he spends so much of this episode trying to mentally prepare the others, especially Ezra, for his absence.

Because the wolves still a Jedi to save the Temple from Palpatine's evil intentions.

Kanan is resolved in his purpose: He's going to save Hera. He's resigned to his fate: He will trade his life for the chance. And he's determined in his resilience: "Then I will make it count." He won't just make his death a meaningless sacrifice. He will ensure the completion of her mission, honor her by fulfilling the end goal of her failed attack. He will save Lothal by destroying the fuel pods and bringing the factories to a halt. He will give his life for Hera's dream.

Kanan proves in the end that he understands how to love without attachment. (Also why he makes Ezra formulate the plan, because he knows his feelings are compromised when it comes to Hera.) He will not cling selfishly to her. He will free her and then let her go and then let his own life pass away. He will take his place in Hades, and then teach Ezra how to grieve. Because Ezra won't be able to save him.

Because you can't go back down into Hades to retrieve the ones you lose.

“In mythology, if you go to Hades to get them back you’re not doing it for them, you’re doing it for yourself. You’re doing it because you don’t want to give them up. You’re afraid to be without them. The key to the dark side is fear. You must be clean of fear, and fear of loss is the greatest fear. If you’re set up for fear of loss, you will do anything to keep that loss from happening, and you’re going to end up in the dark side. That’s the basic premise of Star Wars and the Jedi, and how it works."

George Lucas, Mellody Hobson George Lucas - Virtual Speaker Interview, 2021

I love this shot, Ezra entering lightsaber-first, a visual emphasis on the fact that they are Jedi, and the Force requires much of them. Much sacrifice, much compassion, much selflessness. To whom much is given, much is required. With great power comes great responsibility.

All that jazz.

Kanan is preparing Ezra for the greatest responsibility he's going to have, to be asked to do what is right regardless of what it will personally cost him. And he's about to become a very painful object lesson.

He also talks like he's been given multiple visions of the future and is arranging things specifically so that they'll fall out in a specific way. It mirrors how Ezra speaks in the finale--If Thrawn shows up too soon, then this path, if he doesn't, then this one.

Some very painful paralleling that you don't realize the first time through.

Ezra's a bit uncertain at first, but honors Kanan's request, and gets started formulating a plan to get them into the Capital.

OH HEY WOULD YOU LIKE TO DESPISE PRYCE A BIT MORE?

Conducting the interrogation personally in her own office is quite the flex.

Once again paralleling to the Season One finale, another character comes in to start the questioning, and gets awfully personal with the digs, bringing up the interrogated party's painful past and history. In this case, Thrawn has brought Hera's kalikori down from its pedastel in his office on the Chimaera--that "place of honor" he promised her--in order to rub it in how he's deciphered the cultural meaning behind it.

Really leaning in hard on those icky cultural appropriation vibes aren't we, writers? Let's be clear, it's not that Thrawn was curious about Twi'lek culture and researched what meant what on a kalikori that's so gross, it's that he did so in order to learn more about Hera specifically so that he could hurt her more personally, namely by taunting her about her dead brother. It's the context, not the curiosity.

Thrawn is an Imperial warlord and only comes into contact with these cultural relics because he's a member of the tyrannical force currently oppressing those cultures. If he really respected or cared about them as items important to the people the Empire was conquering, he should leave them in their damn place. OR, if destruction of the relics at the hand of the Empire was inevitable, he should save them from that destruction and then be finding a way to give them back to the people they belong to or the closest equivalent. Instead he hoards them in his own art gallery to dissect and study to glean more insight into the cultures, so that the Empire might better defeat them.

Yeah no, the staging parallels to the Grand Inquisitor are super 100% on purpose and deliberate.

Also! Because I like ruining people's days, would you like some more Fridge Horror that you may or may not already have seen if you've been following me?

IT-O droids monitor prisoner vitals. Heartrate, blood pressure, adrenaline, other hormones and physiological markers. Hera's already pregnant at this point. Possibly far enough along that the IT-O was able to detect it.

Thrawn and Pryce might knowingly have tortured a pregnant woman.

~You're weeeeeeeeeelcooooooooome.~

Love Sabine whacking Zeb and shushing him to not interrupt Ezra as he's meditating and sensing out.

Also this look. <3

And also the soft conspiratorial smiles between Ezra and Sabine as they vibe on the same wavelength in regards to this plan.

The Kiners go all out on the music this next scene, as we montage building the gliders and Kanan preparing to shave and cut his hair, fully reclaiming his identity as Caleb Dume, The Last Padawan, again.

Kanan's theme plays, in bright flute, with bouncy string accompaniment. It's ritualistic how he moves. Like a samurai slicing off his topknot. Luke's Theme crossfades in through his to mark the heroism of the moment, as the preparations are finished.

And thus begins a long series of hidden goodbyes.

"This is one of those times I'm glad the Force is with you." Zeb says, about how crazy the plan is, and Kanan just silently puts a hand on his shoulder, the last time the two men would ever speak.

(The animators also go all hell out, making this episode one of the most gorgeous yet put to print.)

Cut to our favorite blue asshole. And he's been summoned to Coruscant for a meeting of heads of state to quibble about budgetary proportions lol. Of all things to yank Thrawn away from Lothal, it's politics and bureaucracy, par the course. Thrawn seems offended and claims Palpatine assured him he supports the Defenders.

And while I'm sure Palpatine has paid a bit of lip service to Thrawn's face... yeah no sorry honey, Palpatine was always going to go with the Death Star thing, it's been in the works since before the Clone War broke out. The only issue is that it's sucking all the funding and resources of everything else dry because of the constant delays and problems (Krennic is apparently mismanaging to hell) so now they are considering ganking money from other various projects to feed it.

And that's just... SO like the government lol.

So exit Thrawn, straight into the Thrawn: Treason novel. And I am still SORELY disappointed that Zahn did not take full advantage of the fact that Treason was basically a Rebels tie-in in order to have Thrawn sloooooooowly losing his mind and patience over things dissolving on Lothal while he's not there so that by the time we get him back in the finale, his irritation and annoyance is peak comedy and perfect characterization follow-through.

"I was gone for ONE HOUR and you blew up my project???!??"

The gliders are telegraphed to us with a very slight sound effect, and the rigid wings. So it's amazingly effective at fooling the Troopers lol. Rukh on the other hand has probably picked up a whiff of Zeb lingering on the others so he's alert.

Aaaaaand hidden goodbye number two, frick my heart this one hurts. There's so much Kanan can't tell Ezra, lest the fear of loss cripple him and make him unable to act, drive him towards the Dark Side. Kanan needs Ezra to be able to function for this mission, so he just praises Ezra for being a good listener--a veiled admonition for him to continue listening to the will of the Force, to his instincts, to the wisdom of others, to the wolves--and tells him and Sabine, "May the Force be with you."

He entrusts their safety to the Force, and tells them to trust in it in turn.

"Ezra and Sabine have each other, they'll find their way home."

Oh boy, on this edition of "Terrible Rebels takes that make zero sense except to the perpetually offended", there were actually multiple people who complained about Hera's confession coming about as a result of the truth serum, and they were mad that her loopy state because of the truth serum was played for laughs.

To which all I will say is, shut up, Hera drunk on truth serum is hilarious. Maybe quit having such a stick up your butt about bad things happening to female characters and let them get in on the jokes and slapstick occasionally.

Heroic Main Theme here as Kanan makes his entrance.

About 90% certain the thing Hera wanted to tell Kanan here was that she was pregnant. I refuse to accept that time on the fuel pod as the first time she told Kanan she loved him. Does not make sense, rejected.

Not gonna comment much on the Kanan/Hera scenes, they're adorable and sweet and heartwarming and heartbreaking in hindsight but I will say this soft romantic cue that accompanies them is very lovely.

Pryce sounds more than a bit pissy that Hera got rescued right from under her nose. This leads directly into her recklessness later with the fuel pods.

Love Ezra and Sabine casually commandeering a gunship. "I'm the backup pilot, so I'm in the back." And the Troopers just accept that logic lol.

And the "something" Kanan needs to tell Hera is either that he knows she's pregnant (but maybe doesn't know she knows?) OR about his upcoming expiration. Too bad Rukh interferes.

Oh hey, another sad parallel, neither Jedi have their lightsaber for their moment of ultimate sacrifice.

Hgngnh watching all the pieces move into place for what I already know is coming is awful.

Still cannot get over just how polluted the streets are, look at that rust colored smog.

Lol Ezra's little fist pump, completely forgetting where he is a moment. He's so cute I love him.

Their teamwork in taking out the other Imperials is great too.

*watches the kiss, sighs with sadness*

You did not have to dig so hard into the mood whiplash guys. You really didn't.

All right, let's just... pull off the bandaid.

The animation, the music full of mournful male chorus and high siren wail, the muted soundtrack, the emphasis on Hera and Ezra, that Kanan is so deeply utterly in tune with the Force that his blindness doesn't even matter (which is what his eyes clearing up was, clumsily, attempting to convey) he can see them...

And then he's gone.

And how awful it was for Ezra, who literally just felt his bond with Kanan snap inside his head, to have to be the competent leader and shout at Sabine to, "Go! Go!". For him to have to be the one thinking clearly, because Hera is completely numb and in shock.

Sabine wiping her eyes as she flies them out of there, somehow still able to see through her tears.

And then a stark white and gray titlecard as ashen dust flickers down around the text.

:((((((((

Frick man it still hits hard. Looking back though, it was inevitable. The death flags were all there, the pieces all set up and in place. This wasn't done on a whim, this was meticulously thought out, to devastating effect.

I was never quite as emotionally attached to Kanan as a lot of other people in the fandom, and I'm also a grown adult, so Kanan's death, while incredibly saddening, was not nearly as emotionally devastating to me as it was to quite a few younger viewers. For a lot of fandom this was their first time experiencing a fictitious loss like that, of having a character, a person they had as a staple in their lives, suddenly leaving it. Leaving behind an empty hole.

And that's one of the reasons I have to respect the writers for doing it. They had a story they needed to tell--about loss, about dealing with grief, about how to pick yourself back up and continue doing the right thing, as a Jedi specifically for Ezra, and as a person for everyone else--and they knew they needed to give it the weight and gravitas it merited.

You can't cling to things forever. It's one of the core staple lessons of Star Wars, the "point of the prequels" to borrow a common if oft-misused phrase.

Loss will happen. Death will happen. Do not give into fear about it. Do not let your fear of loss drive you into darkness.

Give yourself time to process the loss. Let yourself grieve.

And then let go.

So I appreciate that the next few episodes are spent almost as if in a funk, the cloud of grief hanging over us as we process through our loss with the characters and then pick ourselves back up and return to the mission. Because the war isn't won yet, and there are still things left to do.

It is darkest before the dawn.

[notanodinarygirl]

@sabineweek

Alt Day 6: Sabine Post-Rebels but Pre-Ahsoka

Type of Submission: Fanfic

Thought Process Behind This Story: Honestly when I posted the snippet of this story, that was the only thing I had written for this prompt. I had an overall idea but didn't knew how to shape it. But over the days I figured it out, you know it is easy to write something sad and heart-wrenching when you are yourself feeling it, so that's what happened and here's the result! I hope you like it!

Warning (Contains topics): Depression, PTSD, Mentions of Suicide Attempt, Angst, Heavy Angst.

It was that day again.

The day when she would become colour blind to all the colours she loved. And would see in the shades of grey that she could feel.

When she would feel like the whole world was sinking in and leaving her with no oxygen to breathe.

Maybe she should stop breathing and drown into the emptiness of the day.

No. She thought. Mandalorians are not coward, they die through sacrifices. Like the one of Ezra and Kanan.

But did she had that strength of a mandalorian in her anymore?

It's also been years since she last wore her armour. She forgot her armour the day she heard about what happened on mandalore. After the deed her family met. After she lost the last strands of hope she was holding onto.

That dark thought came to her mind again. She should give in.

Stop breathing.

Stop living.

Stop hoping.

Hope. The more she hoped the more she lost.

Hope was when Kanan died and she believed it would all be worth it to save the people of lothal.

Hope was when she lost Ezra and she knew she would find him again.

Hope was when she had the confidence that they could win the battle on Mandalore.

But they lost. Terribly.

And hence hope was lost when she pulled herself together only to breakup into a million more pieces. Pieces which were now too small to pick up.

It was always this day when she would feel like her heart was beating only to crack into bits of puzzle that could no longer be put together.

Her chain of thoughts were broken when she heard her communicator beep.

She knew who it was and hence didn't want to pick it up. But she also knew that if she wouldn’t answer, she would face consequences none better than her current situation.

So she ended up answering.

"Hera, I won't come to the celebration you know that", she said as she answered Hera's holo call.

"I know and that's why I am not here to force you. I just wanted to say that Jacen wants to visit the fair."

Sabine knew what Hera wanted.

Hera wanted her to take Jacen to the fair.

Not anyone else.

But Her.

Hera no longer trusted Sabine to be alone on days like these after she ended up with a scar of relinquishment on her wrist.

"You can take him too", she remarked.

"I would. But I am busy with the arrangements for the celebration and plus it was Jacen's wish to visit the fair with his favourite aunt."

A smile touched Sabine's face when she heard Jacen's name.

She couldn't be the reason for the kid's disappointment.

"I'll be there", Sabine said with a sigh.

She saw Hera visibly relax as she said that sentence.

"I'll drop him by 0500", Hera said as she turned to end the holo call.

"Hera", Sabine said stopping Hera midway.

"Thankyou", She said to Hera looking into her eyes.

Thankyou.

An expression of gratitude.

Gratitude for always being there for her when she was at her lowest points.

Gratitude for being her guiding light when her days were dark.

Gratitude for everything.

"Hey, you know I'll always be there for you", Hera said with an affectionate smile and ended the holo call.

Sabine got up to get ready. She certainly couldn't go the Liberation Day fair in her current condition.

Liberation Day.

It was today years ago when they defeated the Empire here on Lothal. When the people of Lothal got what they had longed for all their life.

Liberty. Freedom.

The day she longed for, all these years. The day, she thought all her pain and suffering would go away. The day, when she hoped that she would forget all her loses and mistakes.

In some ways it was the day she dreamed of. But as years went by the day became none better than a nightmare.

This why over the years she felt nothing but hatred for this day. At this point she didn't even like naming this day as The Liberation Day.

Because even if the day was The Liberation Day, she was not free.

She didn't get her freedom yet.

She was still not liberated from the pain, grief, desolation, suffering, remorse and a ton more synonyms of nightmarish emotions she was rotting in.

And therefore, for her, the liberty was futile if she couldn't feel it.

[augustspage]

If Ezra was a Master at Luke's Jedi academy, a conversation on attachment.

Ezra's tone turned firm. "No, Luke. You're not separating these kids from their families. I don't care what the texts say."

Luke, with a weight of experience, replied, "You've met my father Ezra, you know what attachment does to us who are burdened with abilty, what it can turn us into."

Ezra closed his eyes, a dark Cape billowing in his mind, exhaling slowly, "I—maybe, but from my experience, the love of our familes only made me and Kanan stronger."

Luke looked sympathetically at Ezra "But in the end, you had to let them go, didn't you?"

Ezra flicked his eyes away.

Luke flexed his robotic hand " I learnt the hard way when I didn't heed Master Yodas advice on letting go" he continued "Plus, if I didn't let go of my life on Tatooine, I'd have never done anything."

Ezra interjected "Aren't you tired of letting go? Your aunt and uncle raised you, yet you never talk about them."

Luke's eyes widened, how'd ezra know about them?

"I can't focus on something that cannot be changed, that'd result only in pain, That is what I learnt and what the younglings need to understand. Why'd you even bring that up anyway?"

Ezra's smirked "Someone told me to take care of the quote 'softer twin' "

Ah Leia

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Worried she'd strangle you like the other Jabba?"

Ezra snorted, he paused for a moment and locked his earnest blue eyes with Luke's.

"Listen, I was only able to sacrifice myself because I love and am attached to my family and my planet, knowing that I would be protecting them."

Ezras face lightened.

"Also, because I knew my family wouldn't let go of me either; they'd move galaxies to save this Lothrat punk."

Luke felt the force become warmer at the strength of earnestness emanating of the man.

"They make me better, the younglings family makes them better, Hera keeps Jacen from blowing up your temple, Din plays with grogu when he gets sad, your karking family makes you better, Leia makes you actually interact with people, Han-"

Luke puts his hand over ezras mouth, which does not deter the mans jabbering.

Luke rolls his eyes and finally relents, sighing "Fine, Master Bridger, we'll listen to your oh so great wisdom over the ones of mellenias of jedi"

Luke's light blue eyes meet Ezra's deep blue gaze, He's looking at the blonde with elation. "Atleast temporarily... I just hope I'm doing the right thing"

Ezra licks Luke's hand, Luke immediately recoils, wiping it on Ezras robe looking aghast.

Ezra smirks before getting more serious. "Look, Luke, these kids will be stronger Jedi for having healthy relationships in their lives, and more importantly, they'll be better people."

[nikki-is-a-nerd]

Invisible String

Synopsis:

While in bed with Ezra, you tell him how you think you two were always destined to find your way to each other.

(it's also my apology for the angst fic and this Taylor Swift song hits in ways you don't know)

Genre: Fluff just tooth rotting fluff.

--------------------------------------------

It has already been about six months since you and Ezra have been reunited and three months since you two started dating and living together. It wasn't a difficult transition from being friends to lovers, not when you and him had so much history. It felt almost too natural, like you two were meant to end up here.

You and Ezra both grew up with the other members of the ghost crew, you more than him. You were younger than him by three years, but you were part of the crew way before him. When he disappeared, you and Sabine took it so hard, but Sabine at least had an outlet for a while when she was training with Ahsoka, while you stayed behind to help out the resistance in any way that you could.

All those years apart and gaining experiences, though different made you think about the what ifs in life.

"What are you thinking about?" Ezra asked softly as his fingers carded through your hair.

"Just...what if you stayed here. Like you didn't get to sacrifice yourself. Would we have arrived at this point in our lives still?" You asked truthfully.

"I think we would, maybe a lot faster than we did. I also think that it would have been less complicated too. I think I would have confessed to you in a nice field somewhere in either Lothal or we could go to Naboo." Ezra said looking at the ceiling.

"I think I would've liked that, but am I biased if I like the one I did get?" You teased.

"What? The one I said while I had the flu? You're weird." He laughed.

"Only for you." You joked.

You lay your head on his bare chest drawing patterns on it and some of the blaster scars he must've gotten in his time in Peridea. Ezra looked down on you, feeling content and happy, when he asked you a question as well.

Imagine how different life would've been if I declined Kanan's offer to teach me the ways of a Jedi." He said softly.

"I wouldn't have met you, gotten close to you and all of our little adventures with Sabine would be non existent. I don't think Lothal would be free without you." You said softly.

"I wouldn't know how happy I could've been." You added as you looked up at him through your lashes.

"Aw geez, you really know how to fluster a guy." Ezra said as a blush creeped up his face.

"You know I did try though, date other people while you were gone but they didn't work out." You whispered.

"I know, Sabine told me and that's totally fine. Like I told her, as much as I love you and wish to be with you, I don't want you waiting around for someone who might not come back." Ezra added kindly.

"No, Ezra. They didn't work out because I was looking for you in all of them. I was trying to see glimpses of you in them but, then again there's only one you."

It was silent for a while as Ezra let those words sink in. He felt so much unbridled happiness at the thought. He just felt so much happiness.

"I read a book somewhere how some people are connected by the force, or for some a red string, but with how life was with us. The way we keep finding each other. I'm starting to think ours is no measley red string. I think ours is a golden thread." Ezra said.

"Well aren't you a romantic." You teased as you poked his chest.

"Only for you." He returned your earlier words to you.

"Since we're not as busy in the resistance as of yet, wanna come with me to Yavin-4. I want to show you somewhere I used to go before I joined the ghost." You asked.

"Honestly I'd go anywhere with you. I don't think I can handle being away from you for too long now." He said as he kissed your temple.

"You're such a sap. Jacen tells me you talk his ear off during training and you just tell him how we met, albeit very different from how we actually met." You teased.

Ezra looks at you with a teasing grin as he shifts himself to hover over you and moves his hands to where you're ticklish. Letting the sound of both your laughter echo in your little haven. Although Ezra finds it funny to tickle you and finds it even funnier that now that you're both older, you're struggling to get him off of you, but he was much more focused on the sound of your laughter. A sound he truly did miss while in exile.

"Stop, stop, I admit defeat to the great Jabba the Hut!" You exclaimed a bit breathless.

"What? The great Jabba can't hear you clearly?" He said grinning.

"Oh great Jabba, love of my life, sunshine boy, I surrender." You said catching your breath as Ezra slowed his ministrations to a stop.

"Yay! You are now the captive of Jabba!" He said as he dropped his entire bodyweight on you.

"Ezra, no, you're heavier now and you're huge. You're as heavy as a loth wolf or something." You whined playfully.

"This Loth wolf wants to cuddle his darling girl, awooo" Ezra said hiding his face in the crook of your neck.

You card your fingers through his locks and he looks at you. Eyes full of affection, one you're sure you're reciprocating. At that moment, Ezra immediately knew that there was no time more perfect than this. No crowds, no fancy preparation, just you two in your happiest moment in your comfortable pajamas, with the light of the moon being the only light source in the room.

"Marry me?" Ezra asked shyly.

"Huh?" You asked, wanting to be sure.

Ezra moved away from you, allowing you to sit up as he opened a compartment in his bedside drawer, pulling out a small box. He then situated himself in front of you once more as he opened the box and got down on one knee.

"Will you marry me, your goofy and very much smitten boyfriend and make me the happiest guy in the universe, (Y/N) (Y/L/N)?" Ezra asked, his voice shaky as the nerves were settling in.

Your eyes pricked with tears, as you hugged Ezra tightly, nodding your head.

"Yes Ezra. Always yes." You answered as you pulled away.

"Thank the force, I thought I was getting a 'not yet Ezra', I mean I wouldn't mind it but that would definitely destroy my confidence." Ezra said as his own tears of joy rolled down his face.

He grabbed your hand and placed a beautiful ring on your hand. It wasn't too in your face or intricate but it was the perfect ring. You then noticed a certain detail engraved inside the ring.

"Ezra, did you ask the ring maker to engrave this?" You asked, a soft smile on your face.

Ezra looked at you as you handed him the ring so he could see it and he grinned as he read the words.

One single thread of gold tied me to you.

"Yeah, I did. I feel like it sums us up perfectly." Ezra said as he placed the ring back on your finger.

"I love you, I'll always find my way back to you." You said softly.

"I'd wait forever for you too. Now, let's sleep my future Mrs. Bridger." Ezra said with the brightest smile.

"Alright, only because I'd wake up seeing your handsome face." You said as you snuggled closer to Ezra.

The future was truly bright for you two. You won't know what would happen next but as long as you two are together. That would be enough.

[ask-the-almighty-google]

People love to talk about Darkness as a corrupting force, but I love the idea of Light that corrupts more for these specific reasons.

1. Corrupting Light is often mistaken as religious zeal or a Higher Calling, and thus disregarded as unimportant by those who only see the Dark as a corrupting force.

2. When you disregard all other things for your Higher Calling, you can become very cold and callous, but these are seen as “necessary sacrifices for the greater good” because the action is never done out of personal gain or greed.

3. A person’s personal image when they devote themselves to the Light is untainted, spotless. Seen as a pedestal of Purity and a benchmark to achieve on the path to purity. It makes it easier to manipulate people this way, and people are more likely to be swayed to your cause because they see your cause as Just and not self-serving.

4. The Mortis Arc in the Clone Wars does an insanely good job of explaining the dangers of being just as devoted to the Light and someone being just as devoted to the Dark. There is a *reason* the Father exists in the Grey between and does not let either his Daughter or his Son have complete control. The easiest solution would be to simply kill the Son and leave the Daughter, but the Father *does not do that.* He is adamant there must be Balance.

5. The concept of Ashla (Light), Bogan (Dark), and Bendu (Balance) is further explained as an underlying theme for the entire third season of Rebels, wherein Kanan (Ashla) is attempting to save his Padawan Ezra (Bogan) from the Dark Path. They find the answer lies in the Bendu, in the push and pull and the Balance, because one cannot exist without the other. And ultimately this understanding will sway the final story arc, it sways Sabine’s training with the Darksaber, it gives new understanding to flawed ideals upheld by both Jedi and Sith.

6. I love the idea that an Order of 10,000 Jedi versus 2 Sith is seen as Balanced, because at the core of it they *are.* Because Sith are not the only evil in the Galaxy; the Hutts have a massive slave empire, as do the Zygerrians. Evil is rotting the Republic from the inside out, and there are only so many Jedi to combat it. So when the Sith start to *also* gain control, the delicate Balance is tipped unequally.

7. Corrupting Light is the act of being callous and manipulative in the cost of a self-sacrificing act for the greater good, and as such can be excused by the general populace because “the ends justify the means.” I think a *major* point of Palpatine’s manipulation of the Jedi was *not,* in fact, seeing if he could turn them Dark, but rather seeing how far they would go in the *Light* to protect the Republic, thus having to discard their morals about what lines need to be drawn because the Greater Good is receiving more and more threats that need more aggressive responses.

8. Corrupting Dark is ultimately selfish, self-serving. It is easy to condemn it because it benefits only a few rather than benefiting the most. It is blatant and ugly and out in the open.

9. So, when Palpatine did what he did, he took the piety and devotion and made them become *Brighter,* not Darker, but having the same result of corruption in the opposite angle. You see Obi-Wan rationalizing harming Anakin during the Rako Hardeen Arc. You see the High Council trying to gaslight Ahsoka into being grateful for her trials in the Sabotage Arc, and being genuinely confused when she doesn’t see it that way. You see Obi-Wan’s desire to help the Zygerrian Slaves turned against him, and he no longer tries to help One because it will affect the Many, and his ideals prevent him from giving the Warden the killing blow - it has to come from Rex.

10. Dark and Light need the Balance or they can both Corrupt Absolutely, just in different ways, and the Force was Unbalanced in *both directions* during the Clone Wars.