#star wars rebels meta

[jaguarys]

One thing that really grinds my gears when it comes to the discussion of Rebels is the consistent misrepresentation of Kallus' redemption for ship purposes.

Kallus' redemption arc is not about Zeb. Yes, Zeb kickstarts it, but he did not make Kallus a rebel. And I find it so irritating when people reduce his arc down to "haha he fell so in love he switched sides" like please.

For Kallus' redemption to work, for it to be worth anything, Zeb cannot effectively be a part of it. The entire point of Zeb telling Kallus to search for the answers to questions he hasn't asked is because Kallus needs to see it for himself. He needs to realize for himself. He needs to realize everything he's been a part of.

And that's why I dislike it when people woobify him and turn him into this character who's constantly asking for forgiveness from Zeb. Because even aside from the fact that it's just weird to put Zeb in the position where he needs to constantly forgive the guy who was complicit in his planet's destruction, that's just not what the arc is about.

Kallus looks for the answers. And in the end he's more aware than anyone what he's done, what he's been a part of, and that it needs to be fixed. He's not a soft character and his redemption doesn't change that, it just means that he's changed his actions to be consistent with his morals. Zeb is not guiding him or teaching him or even present for most of it, and that's important.

[dotthings]

Finished my rewatch of Star Wars Rebels season one and thinking about the overall widening of the lens S1 has. From Ezra's isolation to finding Kanan to joining the Ghost crew team to his broadcast to the people of Lothal. The stronger together theme (that plays out strongly in The Mandalorian), and ultimately, the people of a planet, not just a small band of heroes, or even a rebel network, is the sole key to overturning fascism.

While Hera's arc is about allowing herself to let it be narrow at times. Hera is the leader of the team. She is very selfless, level-headed, caring, she is mindful of the bigger picture. She feels the responsibility of keeping her team safe, including that she keeps the identity of Fulcrum or even Fulcrum's existence from them to lessen the chances they'd be captured and tortured for information, or if they are captured and tortured, they can't harm the rebellion. It's both things. She's protecting them, she's also protecting the rebellion. When Kanan is captured at the end of S1, you can tell Hera is absolutely miserable, but she makes a selfless and big picture, protect the rebellion call (which is the call we know Kanan would make, he's a Jedi who understands the need at times for sacrifice and would also put the rebellion over his own life, and his own life over his crew's). She makes a Leader decision. And I think she thinks she can't let herself be the least bit selfish or act on her heart and not going to save Kanan torments her. But if the Ghost crew gets captured by the Empire, the rebellion is put into danger.

And then her crew, who respect the bigger picture, but also, refuse to accept that they have to just give up on Kanan, decide to go against her orders and launch a plan to save him. When Hera finds out, she's scared, she's angry, but she's also not actually angry, she's relieved.

Because it's like because the crew took the initiative there, that makes it okay for her to capitulate. She doesn't have to just think of the rebellion. It gave her the opening to give herself permission to go save Kanan which is what she wants, for herself, in her heart.

[myblacknightworld]

S2x03 The Lost Commanders - S2x04 Relics of the Old Republic

So. Oof. These two episodes are- I love these two episodes, I do. They’re not my favourites but they are top 15. 

So. I really, really do not like how Ahsoka acts in this episode. I mean, I kind of get it, but also I really do not like it. It’s not that it’s bad character writing or just anything bad, but it’s more of Ahsoka’s actions in regards to Kanan. Literally, I have so many feelings about that first scene, but I do think that Angry Me ranting on discord can explain my feelings quite well. I will, of course, comment on that too.

Now, I know perfectly well that Ahsoka couldn’t know about anything that happened to Kanan, but she still knew that he survived Order 66 and that clones turned on him. If she’s smart, she might’ve gleaned that he was a Padawan and fighting in the Clone Wars - which means she knew that he wouldn’t have been alright with clones. And yet she sent them on their way and just told Kanan to “trust him”. Dick behaviour, I’m telling you.

So, about this. my memory might be faulty with regards to TCW, but I just watched today Tales of the Jedi, and Ahsoka has been shown to have kept contact with Bail Organa, and in Rebels she’s said to have lost contact with Rex, Wolffe and Gregor, which implies they had been keeping in contact up to a certain point. She was alone, but it was by choice, and that’s the core difference between how she lived Order 66 and how Kanan lived it. Ahsoka had support. Kanan only had himself. 

I have nothing against Ahsoka, really. She’s a good character. I just think this was a dick move.

[ankahikoibaat]

Star Wars was and has always been meant to be hopepunk and good vs evil at its base, not grimdark and 'morally grey' and 'subversive', and this is a hill i will die on

[obiwanwhat]

I know someone has probably said this better but. There's really so much about Luke & Ahsoka interactions that can be explored. Because honestly they have every reason to resent each other?

Anakin was arguably much more of a father to Ahsoka than he ever was to Luke (even if he was more of an older brother figure to Ahsoka than an actual father figure). He trained her and built her lightsabers and had a dumb nickname for her and made dad jokes and like - everything Luke ever could have wanted out of his dad. She knew him when he was still Anakin Skywalker and not Darth Vader. She knew Padme!! Padme also was kind of her mom! Luke doesn't even know Padme's name until sometime post ROTJ - it's possible Ahsoka was the first person who could have told it to him.

Not only that, but she had the Jedi Order. She was trained by the Order at its peak, raised from infancy in the rituals and knowledge that Luke now must piece together from whispers from ghosts and whatever old texts he can scrounge up from the corners of the galaxy the Empire somehow missed. He is doing all of this on his own with no guidance, no oversight, meanwhile it's knowledge that came to her as easy as breathing.

And she walked away from all of it. Everything Luke has ever wanted - a relationship with his parents, proper Jedi training, the Jedi Order itself - she had without ever asking for it, and she walked away from it without a backward glance. And she's still walking away from it - she's not a Jedi, she won't claim that title, she won't join Luke's new Order. Maybe she shows up from time to time and tells him some stories and shares from knowledge, but she won't train him, and somewhere deep down he knows that he will never be as much of a Jedi as she is even though she doesn't claim that title anymore, and part of the reason because is she won't help him.

And for Ahsoka's part. Anakin returned from the Dark Side for Luke. He couldn't - or wouldn't - return for Ahsoka, who he trained, who knew him and loved him and would have died for him. He tried to kill her and would have if Ezra hadn't saved her. But this boy, who shares nothing with Anakin but a name and half his DNA - he was enough to bring Anakin back. She wasn't, not with everything they shared, not with all the times she'd almost died for him, and he'd saved her, and she'd saved him. How do you not kind of hate someone for that?

And besides, he's trying to bring back the Jedi Order. The Order that cast her aside as soon as it was convenient for them, the Order that allowed Anakin Skywalker to become what he did and was too blind to see a Sith Lord under their noses and that died for those mistakes. And sure, he's trying to do it differently, he's trying to do it better, but what does this boy know of better? What can he know of the sins of the Jedi Order? When he speaks of the Order with stars in his eyes, what can he know of the pain that she suffered? That so many suffered? How can he correct what he doesn't understand?

I just think it would be cool to see more of that explored in canon.

[cross-d-a]

something something about Caleb Dume surviving the genocide of his people and divorcing himself from his culture and remaking himself entirely in order to survive

and something something about orphaned Ezra Bridger who loves Lothal but doesn’t quite belong being adopted into a self-made-cobbled-together family of outcasts from multiple cultures

and something something about Kanan choosing to embrace his culture and religion again despite his fear and the risk it brings to him and his family

and something something about Ezra embracing that culture as whole-heartedly as he can when so much of it has been lost

and something something about both of being denied the ability to practice certain aspects of their religion because otherwise they might be killed for it

and something something about Kanan remembering how Master Billaba carefully sheared his hair and oh so reverently plaited his Padawan braid and held it gently between her fingertips and told him she would do right by him and told him not to be afraid and told him she would be there for him until her dying breath and beyond and told him that he was going to be a great Jedi Knight one day and told him “you are our future youngling and I will do everything in my power to protect that future”

and something something about Kanan looking at Ezra’s wild hair with something hollow and aching tucked between his ribs because he longs to show Ezra the devotion his Master showed him and her Master showed before her and his Master before him but it’s not safe to gently plait that Padawan braid behind Ezra’s ear because such a sign of devotion will mean death and Kanan can only hope that Ezra understands how much Kanan loves him and how much Kanan is proud of him and how much hope and life he sees in his Padawan because while that Padawan braid may be the physical link between future and past tying together generations of Masters and Padawans who have lived and loved and passed on because “we are what they grow beyond”—

Kanan knows that every moment has led to this and Ezra is the future his Master and her Master before her never expected but they would be so proud to see Ezra now and Kanan can only hope Ezra knows how proud Kanan is of him too and know when he looks at Ezra he knows everything is going to be okay because “we are what they grow beyond” and despite everything that’s been lost to them Ezra is carrying the heart and soul of thousands of years of legacy and Kanan looks at Ezra knowing he can’t give him that Padawan braid but he’ll be damned if he can’t teach him the things that matter and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t do everything to protect the future he sees in Ezra’s eyes

[stealingpotatoes]

Very random but knowing you've read the Grishaverse books I now have to ask how you imagine a meeting between Nikolai and Ezra going down... I feel like they have the exact same charisma levels but like. On opposite ends of the spectrum

oh my god YES!! WEASELLY LITTLE SHITS (affectionate) UNITED!!

(commission info // kofi support!)

[lovegrowsart]

i need people to recognise that while osha was/is emotionally repressed, that doesn't mean she's innately passive in her personality?? passivity is forced upon her by other characters (primarily sol and the jedi) but since she was a kid she expressed a desire for action and adventure - she was the one sneaking out of the fortress to the bunta tree, desiring her own life outside of the coven and her relationship with mae, drawn to the jedi and their lightsabers, and even when she leaves the jedi order, she doesn't exactly settle down somewhere quiet but goes to the other end of the galaxy and takes up a dangerous mechanic job that's only legal for droids to do while hopping from ship to ship and getting tattoos on drunk nights out with her crew? even in episode five with yord trying to haul her back to the ship, she doesn't exactly go completely willing (sol has to force push her into yord!) and is then the one that convinces yord to go back (💀), and she also immediately latches onto the idea of rejoining the jedi when she thinks sol is offering that at the beginning of episode four, and once she does know the truth, she instinctively force choked sol and bled his lightsaber (even anakin needed more convincing/encouragement to go dark side than she did)

mae comes across are more active/aggressive because she's more emotionally open/driven and has the truth that osha does not (that sol killed their mother) so is therefore incredibly motivated by that truth and desire for revenge/justice - but she's also the one that was comfortable and content with her life in the coven, that seemed to only need osha in her life, that didn't like osha sneaking out of the fortress, that seemed to flourish under the coven's teachings whereas osha chafed against it, doesn't actually seem to like conflict all that much considering how quickly she's willing to give herself up to the jedi once she knows osha is alive and then when she seems content for sol's punishment to be facing the high council/the republic, she seems surprised when she succeeds in killing indara and then doesn't kill the shopkeep alien even though that'd likely (and does) make things harder for her, offers torbin the option of going to the council or taking the poison, and doesn't even kill kelnecca or sol, and generally is clearly not all that committed to the dark side/sith stuff qimir's trying to teach her and spends episode five running from him/pleading for her life over trying to fight him (in comparison osha manages to (temporarily) defeat him by siccing giant bat moths on him)

they're both more complicated than they might appear on the surface!!

[agalaxycloserthanyouthink]

Rebels really gave us different and believable ways of grieving for each character. Hera hanging out with her oldest friend Chopper, finding some way to blame herself for Kanan's death and then honouring his memory in her family's Kalikori. Ezra wandering off alone, lost and directionless without his master, but slowly coming to accept Kanan's loss and letting him go, to learn from his sacrifice. Sabine and Zeb's immediate instinct to go blow shit up and make the Empire pay, but staying each other's hand when things get too violent, because Kanan taught them that how they fight is just as important as why. And all of them are able to come together after they've processed his death in their own ways, to hold each other in their grief and continue working as a team in his memory.

[adh-d2]

Mandalorian culture is built on two principles:

Any child is a potential Foundling. It doesnt matter where they come from, what they look like, or who they are. Every Foundling is a True Mandalorian.

Any adult Mandalorian who is different from you in the slightest imperceptible way is not a True Mandalorian.

[byfulcrums]

"You think you can take whatever you want. Things you didn’t make, didn’t earn, things you don’t understand." The story of an indigenous boy fighting against a colonizer to get his home back. A teenager telling the man who is destroying his world that because it is so much more complex and important than what he sees, he will never get to have it.

Ezra's story is about connection, with all living beings: loth cats and wolves, purrgils, people, etc. And it ends with nature reclaiming what has always been its from the machine that is the Empire. It ends with the people getting their home back from the people who occupied it

And here's the thing: Ezra doesn't know a galaxy without the influence of the Empire. The history of the Old Republic, the tales of the Jedi, they're all fairytales to him. Yet he still fights for it; he fights for something he hasn't yet seen, fights for what's right, for his people and his family. He fights for freedom even if he doesn't know what it feels like

And it's this determination, this endless hope, that drives others to do the same as him. He, with only his words, is able to make things different. It challenges the whole "I'm just one person, I won't change anything" belief. Because Ezra is just one person, and one person can't do much on their own; the war is lost if it's only you fighting it

But Ezra frees Lothal. Ezra banishes Thrawn. Ezra inspires others to fight back. Ezra's sacrifice was not meaningless, and it will always be remembered. He will always be remembered

[dotthings]

Some Star Wars Rebels rewatch thoughts:

There’s just something about how there is this idea for the Jedi to manage feelings carefully, and how Ezra breaks down sobbing and Kanan holds him

Rewatching this series for the first time since The Mandalorian has me noticing things. Sabine has cultural traits and even personality we might associate with being Mandalorian, but she’s also got her own independent Sabine type thing and her attachment to the Ghost crew, and she’s an artist. And how any time Sabine gets near other Mandalorians, she becomes the most Mandalorian to ever Mandalore, which now I realize is true of many Mandalorian characters. On The Mandalorian, all that in-fighting, and how intense they are about their various cultural beliefs, yet proud of their overall shared identity, but they fight each other so hard, and Rau pushes all of Sabine’s buttons, hard. She’s furious about Hera getting hurt. The Mandalorian of Sabine intensifies.

Sabine is Clan Wren of House Viszla. She’s also Clan Ghost crew.

Similar to how Hera’s Ryloth accent re-emerges during the argument with her father. Her first family and her heritage are an important part of her, but her current identity is very much tied to the Ghost crew.

Or Zeb. Who has lost his home but is proud of his heritage and keeps Lysat culture alive. Child of Lysat. (Legends of the Lasat is one of the most spectacular eps the animated series ever made btw. It’s stunning).

Ezra who is an orphan and chooses the Ghost crew as his family yet he feels attachment to Lothal

It’s like the Ghost crew are a family of no nation (planet) and yet their respective heritages are very important still.

Kanan is the only Ghost crew member with no strong lingering affiliation to an origin culture or planet. He’s a Jedi with a very big heart who loves his chosen family deeply. He breaks and remakes so many Jedi order rules, he has to create his own rules for this era he’s in. The Jedi without a Jedi order. And in the process Kanan embodies so many of the best ideals of the Jedi. Because it’s not about dogma or rules, it’s about what’s in the heart of a Jedi that makes it work (and that’s what the sequel films were getting at too)

SPACE WHALES!!!

Ezra, who started the series taking care of only himself and putting himself first in order to survive, who then opened himself up to his chosen family and caring about others first, being so disappointed in Cham Syndulla, muttering that nothing matters more to him than family was a Moment. Ezra’s all the more disappointed because he was where Cham got to, out of desperation, to survive. Maybe he shouldn’t judge so harshly, because he’s been there, but it’s heartbreaking that Ezra has such a strong reaction, because he knows. He’s been through it.

Zeb and Kallus in The Honorable Ones. Steve Blum and David Oyelowo went next level with the voice acting and I love this ep so much. Actual seismic change moment for the show that doesn’t seem like it yet. Thinking about Kallus in his lonely cell-like Imperial quarters at the end and how he keeps the glowy warm rock Zeb found for them, that helped keep them alive. Zeb found and re-awoke Kallus’ heart, symbolized by that rock. Kallus always had a heart but he buried it and rationalized what he was doing, what the Empire was doing, he froze it over, Zeb melted it. With his glowy warm rock. These two…absolutely outright murderous towards each other when the series begins. And it ending where it does. Legendary.

[ankahikoibaat]

my two sentence pithy hopepunk post escaped containment - you never can predict what will! - and it was obviously never going to encompass the whole spectrum of story possibilities hopepunk obviously like, omg, people in the notes. but i reiterate!

Star Wars is hopepunk! not grimdark!

it doesn't mean there's not darkness or evil or bad in the stories or genre, but ultimately it's about the triumph of good or the possibility thereof!

personally, i find the focus on stories in the fascist government point of view loses that - and are honestly a drain - and I stand by that, but also, stop defining morally gray at me people! i do know the meaning even if i'm not writing out the damn definition!

also, morally gray does not automatically mean more interesting or more nuanced! (anyone saying that can fight me.) (i'm a wuss and too chronically ill for this so not really.)

choosing to be good, to do good in a world of increasing darkness and evil and selfishness is a fucking compelling story, and it can be handled with such complexity and delicacy if someone actually gives a shit and doesn't go "good vs evil is boring" automatically!

[sailforvalinor]

A quick analysis of why Ezra and Thrawn are each other’s perfect nemesis (especially for those who aren’t as familiar with Rebels):

The reason that Thrawn is so dangerous is, of course, not just because of his analytical mind or brilliant battle tactics, but because he takes the time to know his enemy. He understands what all art historians or anyone in the liberal arts can tell you: that art is one of the clearest windows into a society, and studying a society’s art can tell you just as much, if not more than a history book can. Thrawn always takes the time to throughly understand his enemy before he fights them, and that includes the Jedi Ezra Bridger.

The problem is, however, that Ezra is not a typical Jedi. It stands to reason that what Thrawn knows about the Jedi comes from the Jedi Generals in the Clone Wars, who abided by very standard military tactics—and to a point, having fought in the Clone Wars, Kanan Jarrus, Ezra’s master, often used those tactics, and passed some of them on to Ezra. However, since he primarily fought in a small rebel cell, Ezra was primarily a guerrilla fighter. Even when they went on to join the larger Rebellion, Kanan and Ezra often avoided their larger full-scale battles in favor of smaller ops that catered to their talents, only joining large battles when it was absolutely necessary to turn the tables. And though he was a commander, it was actually fairly rare that he led troops into battle like the Jedi generals in the Clone Wars.

Additionally, while early on in his arc he shares some similarities with Anakin and Luke (especially in his struggle to figure out how to protects those he loves without falling to the Dark Side), it becomes apparent by the end of Rebels that he is on the path to becoming a Jedi like Qui-Gon Jinn or Yoda—that is, a Jedi very in-tune with the Living Force. Though he possesses many of the more physical talents we associate with the Jedi—heightened senses, strengthened physical abilities, skill with a lightsaber, etc—his talents have always tended towards the more cerebral (e.g., he was receiving extremely vivid visions of the future while struggling just to levitate an object). One really interesting thing about Rebels is that it often chooses to represent the presence of the Force with a high-pitched whistling sound, one that Ezra quite often seems to hear and let guide his decisions. He is also very prone to receiving extremely vivid Force visions. But the ability he is most known for, especially in Ahsoka, is his ability to connect to living beings. If you were wondering why such a deal is made over the Loth-Cat in episode one, it’s because Loth-Cats have become somewhat of a motif for Ezra, just like the purrgil—they seem to be always around him in Rebels, and serve as a sort of barometer to the audience as to how strong Ezra’s Force abilities are. In season one, they would just pop out and hiss at him every once in awhile, but by season four, they’re all over him—if he stood out in a field and held still for too long he’d just be buried in cats. The same goes for other creatures—he befriends the purrgil early on in the show, and is able to enlist their help in the finale. He’s also so in-tune with the Living Force on his home planet of Lothal that he is approached by Loth-Wolves, mysterious, spiritual beings who weren’t thought to exist outside the realm of myth, and shown a way to use a hyperspace corridor to travel to the other side of the planet.

However, this ability doesn’t just extend to animals—it extends to people, too. It’s like someone poured everything into his charisma stat. He makes friends everywhere he goes, so easily it’s like breathing, and people naturally gravitate towards him and want to help him. (It’s probably why he has made such good friends with those adorable rock people—he just can’t help being forcibly adopted wherever he goes.) The reason he is able to beat Thrawn in the end of Rebels is that he calls in every single favor from all the people he recruited to his side throughout the past four seasons, and when you see everyone on screen—former Imperial cadets, smugglers, deposed military leaders, space wolves, space whales, Clones, etc—it’s then that you realize just what an inspiring leader he is. If Ezra can get Hondo Onaka of all people to join Rebellion, you know he’s got something special.

Not to mention, since Ezra has spoken to and been indirectly trained by a Force being (the Bendu) and was the first on-screen Jedi to discover the World Between Worlds, it’s quite possible that he understands the Living Force better, or at least in a very different way, than most Jedi within the Order did.

To sum it all up, Ezra is just so different, so unconventional, both as a military leader and as a Jedi, that Thrawn, for all his military prowess, doesn’t know what to do with him. He is absolutely unpredictable, because he always abides by the will of the Force, something Thrawn is completely unable to get access to or understand. I always think of them when I see this meme:

because it’s almost quite literally what happens in the Rebels finale. Thrawn has pulled off a seemingly infallible maneuver, the Rebels are completely pinned-down, their resources are maxed-out, and he knows they will not risk the deaths of civilians. Ezra gives himself up, and he thinks he’s won. But then what does Ezra do? He summons a flock of purrgil who drag him, along with his entire Star Destroyer, into hyperspace and jump to another galaxy. How on earth could Thrawn have even predicted that? And even if he had known Ezra’s plan, what could he have even done?

That’s why Thrawn is so eager to kill Ezra in Ahsoka. Something tells me that he’s been hunting him in these ten years we haven’t seen them—because he knows that this one man is far more dangerous than anything waiting for him in the galaxy he is preparing to invade.

[kazoosandfannypacks]

Can we just talk about how both times Sabine lost Ezra, she could've stopped it?

The first time, when she knew he was leaving to sacrifice himself, and could've ratted him out, but let him go instead, and even diverted everyone else's attention from him?

The second time, when she was the one who convinced Ezra to jump, and she was the one who pushed him, and she was the one who chose to turn back and save Ahsoka, even while he was calling out to her, begging her to come with him this time?

Do you think she lives with the regret? Do you think she wonders what would've happened if she had told Hera that Ezra was leaving? Do you think she ever told anyone she could've stopped it? And do you think she blames herself?

Because I do. a lot.

image ids and tags under cut

Image ID: The first three gifs show Sabine in the Star Wars rebels finale, seeing Ezra about to leave, then telling the others about something nonrelated to distract them. The next three show Sabine in the Ahsoka Season 1 Finale, telling Ezra to jump, pushing him with the force, and then seeing that Ahsoka needs her. the last two show Rebels Sabine realizing Ezra's leaving her, and Ahsoka Series' Sabine realizing she needs to leave Ezra. End ID.

taglist: @laughingphoenixleader @accidental-spice @kanerallels @piraterefrigerator @jedi-nurse {if you'd like to be added to or removed from my Sabezra taglist, let me know!}

[mearchy]

HCs about Tarre Vizsla are cool because we know virtually nothing about him except that he was taken from Mandalorian culture as a child, raised and trained as a Jedi (the people Mandalorians are convinced are their existential enemies) and then after being a fully-fledged, blooded and painted adult Jedi Knight, he showed up and became the Mand'alor. The leader of the entire Mandalorian people. Like, what??? the fuck ?? happened??? I know Mandalorian history is notoriously unstable (understatement of the century, moving on) but what kind of position do you have to be in to take a beloathed arch nemesis who nominally claims Mandalorian heritage as planetary leader? On the other hand, he could've just been so Fucking Chill that the Mandos were willing to overlook the glowing blade and the Temple affiliation and the force powers. Anyway I'm so intensely curious about him I love Tarre fics and hcs give me more, please,