#precious cupcake | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tarisilmarwen · 9 months

Text

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.

#star wars #star wars rebels #rebels rewatch #kanan x hera #space dad and his precious pumpkin child #and his rainbow colored cupcake #sabezra #liveblog #spoilers #this is a pro jedi blog #meta rambling #Rebels Rambles #warning: hella sad #i'm not even kidding #grand admiral thrawn #dunking on the blue bastard #ezra bridger

66 notes · View notes

tarisilmarwen · 9 months

Text

Rebels Rewatch: "Trials of the Darksaber"

Delicious. Finally some good kriffing Sabine backstory. :)

Really love the unique design of Atollon, the coral reef type plantlife, like the ocean floor drained of water. Love that we get lots of establishing shots this season just looking at and admiring the coral formations. <3

From this look Sabine gives as Rau heads up the ramp into the Ghost's cargo hold I think she already suspects and/or dreads why he's there.

Rau looks at the darksaber with reverence and awe and disbelief like it's Excalibur.

"Liberated" is an awfully nice way of saying y'all stole it, Rau. And oh boy the ink I could spill on that.

Long story short, the thing never should have become a cultural icon for the Mandalorians in the first place, Tarre left it with the Temple, if he wanted the Mandos to have it he would have instructed the Jedi Order to give it to them. Actually kind of sick that a Jedi lightsaber--representative of peace and diplomacy--got used instead for warfare, conquest, and dominance.

Side note though, the 2D animation sequence of the darksaber's backstory is gorgeous.

"I imagine Sabine was excited to recover it." Yeeeeeeeah you don't know her at all, Rau. Sabine has too many family trauma-shaped issues for that. She thought for one second about the implications of finding the darksaber and was like, "Nope! Not dealing with that." straight into denial and avoidance.

Which is not the last time her character journey in this episode will mirror Ezra's from all the way back in "Empire Day/Gathering Forces".

This is so cute. <3

From how Sabine has painted herself this particular wall art must have been added sometime in Season Two, probably earlier in the season. Her depiction of Ezra here is a little bit more flattering than the one she painted in Season One... but still kind of poking fun at him. XD

(Really kind of amazing to contrast this portrait with the one she did in the finale, where Ezra is centered instead of her, and finally looks serene and grown up.)

Sabine is kind of curled up, clutching her helmet a bit self-protectively.

Be honest, you thought the purr Chopper gives when Sabine pets him as she passes was cute too.

The score is already heavily reliant on clarinet and harp, a combination that makes this cue sound vaguely exotic.

Hmm, does this collective family confrontation seem familar?

It does!

Ezra points out the obvious: It's a lot harder for someone non-Force Sensitive to wield and be proficient in a lightsaber. Something that the Ahsoka show will hopefully delve into.

Maybe?

Perhaps?

Please?

Kanan agrees that Sabine "can't fight like a Jedi" (more evidence that she's not actually Force Sensitive) but she can become proficient with the blade, to which Sabine objects because "[...]that is a lightsaber." and there is this raw look of actual fear in her eyes.

This is the first time we hear her theme, by the way, faint in the background.

Sabine has such a defeatist attitude about reconciling with her family. :(

Tiya's voice acting is amazing this episode, Sabine already sounds like she's about to cry.

(Also note she curls her arms around herself self-protectively here, juuuuust like a little Season One Loth-rat we could name. :) )

Hera is being SO very gentle about the fact that she has to, as Rebellion leader, ask Sabine to try and make a strategic alliance with a prominent Mandalorian clan. Sabine feels a little bit betrayed by this, obviously, but Kanan emphasizes she can still walk away if that's her choice, which I really wish the people who trauma-coddle Sabine would remember as a thing he and Hera did.

Does Sabine relent because she feels a sense of pressure? Probably. But also she was not healing ducking and avoiding the issue.

Even though she agrees she's not really committed to her actions yet, and Ezra points out that getting her head right about that is going to be the first step. (Hera kind of gives him stinkeye for this but Hera, this is Jedi Training 101, let the padawan who's already wrestled with this have a say. He's not even that mean about it.)

Sabine gets angry, which is the opposite of what she needs to be in order to do this. (Also, "Give me the lightsaber and I'll make the connection!"/"Gimme the sword, I'm gonna learn how to kick your--") At Kanan's urging she calms herself, though, and it's only then that he lets her hold the darksaber.

AND THUS WE GET ROAD TRIP AND JEDI BOOTCAMP WITH KANAN. :D

Ezra doesn't often get the chance to poke Sabine back so you know he's enjoying this.

Sabine is actually being way pricklier at the teasing than she normally would be, and that's one of our clues of just how emotionally unbalanced and rattled she is this episode.

They start setting up camp and Sabine immediately begins questioning Kanan's training methods, to which Ezra assures her this kind of thing is normal.

Something I really like and appreciate about this episode? Ezra never once acts jealous or bratty about the fact that Kanan's training Sabine too. He's actually very eager and helpful to walk her through the forms.

The only two times he complains it's because Kanan made him unload the supplies Fenn brought instead of taking a break to rest--which isn't really about Sabine at all, more like a typical teenager griping about the chores--and when Sabine uses her new gauntlet arsenal on him. Because you know, that's cheating.

There is nooooooo particular reason I'm including this screencap, nope. None at all.

I said like a liar.

Look at him, he's so proud for her. <3

I love watching the choreography in this episode. Sabine lunges, almost off balance from the very-start, movement heavily telegraphed, and slashes with very little thought or strategy, and none of the elegance or precision she's going to need with an actual lightsaber. So obviously, Kanan easily deflects and overpowers her.

This first clash is punctuated with some lovely drum percussion in the score. Possibly some wood blocks too? That or the drums are Japanese Taiko or something.

He's so excited to teach her, look at him. <3

Fun note from the closed captions: "Hey, slow down, all right? You're not gonna learn this in one day." Ezra being encouraging when she's frustrated about her progress.

After the commercial cut we're back with Ezra and Sabine again and she's almost gotten herself perfectly synced to him.

Hera: "Were you careful with Ezra?" Ah, that would be a NO, Hera. He was not. Lol.

Both Hera and Kanan have points here. Kanan, understandably, doesn't want Sabine to get hurt (his "I'm trying things differently" line) and Hera accuses him of doubting in her abilities because she doesn't have the Force. And it's not that it's that her emotional blockage is going to completely screw up her ability to hold a lightsaber, because to use the Force properly in any fashion, even just enough to hold a lightsaber without dismembering yourself you have to be at peace.

You can't be channeling your emotions because that feedback loops through the Force and amplifies whatever you're feeling and amps it up to dangerous levels you can't always control, especially if you aren't trained.

Kanan is the Jedi, he knows this. But Hera is the mom, and she knows Sabine. By not letting her actually confront herself via the real blade, Kanan isn't helping her work through her issues.

Mostly because he doesn't know how to even begin to approach those issues because Sabine's got everything so battened down and bottled up under stubborn layers of denial and anger and hurt. (So he's going to have to throw her in the deep end like he did with Ezra, and it seems like he doesn't want to.)

Like, this episode is an almost perfect encapsulation of why the Jedi practice mindfulness and why the Jedi way can't be for everyone who shows Force potential.

Though on those lines, again, please note that the show completely supports the premise that Sabine is not Force Sensitive, even with Kanan's line about how the Force resides in all things but you have to be open to it. We'll put a bookmark on this and hopefully we won't have to come back to it for reference with the Ahsoka show. *narrow stare at Filoni*

"I'll be sending out supplies, is there anything specific that you need?" "Patience, understanding..." SUCH a #married line lol.

Back to the boot camp and Sabine is doing marginally better, her movements sharper, more controlled, kept closer to her chest. She's still pressing forward too much, too eager to just attack and overwhelm; Ezra barely expends any effort dodging and blocking her. His form is polished, casual. You can spot several of the established canon block positions. Sabine's is erratic and stiff, her strikes all over the place.

She smacks him for his chipper encouraging compliment but also--

She smiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiing. ^_^

There's a move here Ezra does where he spins around Sabine's strike that gif-makers have noticed she uses later in her fight with Saxon.

Sabine is SO ANNOYED that Rau is adding to the chorus of critical voices lolol.

Rau spoiling Sabine like a doting uncle, aww.

The gifts provide Sabine with a temporary, artificial confidence, which leads to a bit of arrogance on her part. She's too caught up in getting one over her opponent that she forgets all respect and decorum and attacks Kanan out of turn.

Kanan gets a little pissy in return, quickly turning things around and emphasizing that her bullish attitude is going to get her killed.

Oh, something else I love? Sabine doesn't ever target Ezra with her anger, even here where she's yelling at Kanan, all her bitterness is directed squarely at him and she only mentions Ezra because she incredulous he's learned so well when he has such a "lousy" teacher.

But oof, Kanan and Ezra's expressions, ow.

There's this painful little pinch of guilt. Wonder if he's remembering Kanan's doubts about being a good teacher for him, about how when things were at their worst he was the one lashing out at Kanan and claiming he didn't need him.

Sabine goes off to be by herself and after a moment Ezra follows, attempting another of his infamous impromptu therapy sessions no doubt lol.

I love this scene so much. The soft lighting, the quiet rendition of Sabine's theme in harp. Ezra trying to be encouraging and understanding and Sabine just bursting at the seams with all the hurt and pain she's trying to hide because if she gives voice to the reason she left she has to confront it all over again.

Thematically it's all the same beats as their conversation back in "Gathering Forces" where Sabine was urging him to reconcile with and resolve the trauma in his past, reconnect with his former family, only now with the roles reversed, now he's the one urging her.

Gif-makers have not failed to notice the shot-for-shot blocking, the parallels are so strong and clearly deliberate. Ezra's trying to be there for Sabine the way she was for him, with the same results, Sabine shuts down and shuts him out. Ezra withdraws respectfully, though not before pointing out that she still has a chance, because her parents are still alive to reconcile with. (I hear a snatch of his theme right here, very nice.)

Boy fandom gave him so much unnecessary grief for that line. It made... zero sense. Then and now.

Sabine tries to call after him, a bit too late, and just stays alone with her thoughts some more.

Hi Bendu!

See what I said above, Kanan's thinking about the practicality of letting a volatile emotionally-compromised teenager swing around a Force weapon and Hera knows she's not going to get past her issues if she's given an out to avoid things. (Hera also alludes to her issues with Cham, which is probably what got Sabine to start trusting her in the first place.)

Ezra voicing some worry about how long she's been gone. <3 And complete faith in her abilities, feeling like Kanan's maybe pushing her too hard. <3

He's so happy to see her back, too. <3

Oooh this track, relying on those unique instruments again, some kind of flute and that might be an erhu but I'm not sure. This is "Sabine's Catharsis", a cue which takes her leitmotif through an emotional wringer, bending it around different percussion harmonies and giving the theme to different parts of the orchestra. (I counted at least four or five shifts, from the flute, to the erhu and violins, to a cello and some horns, to the full string section and back around again.)

Sabine looks trepidacious at finally being handed the darksaber.

Ezra with an expression of, "Oh this 'bout to get good."

And his anxious glance at Rau when he realizes Kanan isn't dialing down his saber to training mode lol.

Ho man this overhead shot.

This whole sequence. *chef's kiss* The lighting, the score, the character drama... Kanan pushing Sabine to her limit, physically and emotionally, to break past the walls that are preventing her from healing, from accessing that place of catharsis she needs.

Sabine's choreography starts fraying as the duel goes on, Kanan still easily able to knock her down or push her about. At one point the darksaber glances off her right vambrace, singing it, which is probably what Kanan was worried about when he hesitated to actually give her the sword.

(Ezra almost rushes in, because she's hurt, but Fenn holds him back. People holding Ezra back from trying to protect Sabine will almost become a running gag in this arc lol.)

Again, I would love to point out those sweet sweet parallels in the dialogue here.

"You're blocked!"/"You're not committed to this. You should quit."

"I'm not afraid of them!" "Then what?"/"You did run, didn't you?" "No!"

"Ezra, what are you afraid of?"/"Then what's the truth?"

And... it works.

"I'm... I'm afraid of knowing. I'm afraid of the truth!"/"The truth... is that... I left to save everyone!"

Frick, the emotion in Tiya's performance here, it's so raw. :(((((

And finally that juicy juicy Sabine backstory they've been sprinkling out a trickle at a time, lol.

:(((((

All of them pledging to support her as we close out on this powerful image.

Oh man I love this episode. Something that becomes apparent in Season Three is that Sabine is being moved forward into narrative prominence, to wind up ultimately as a co-protagonist to Ezra. That spot had previously been taken up by Kanan, who has been sort of stepping back, the writers very slowly shifting him out of focus and allowing Sabine to grow, and also allowing her and Ezra to grow up together. (I think at this point they already knew that Kanan's days were numbered as Ezra's mentor, and were making sure he still had someone who was always going to be in his corner.)

In the end the show is about them, the children who become adults too soon in a world at war. "A boy who was lost" and "a girl who was broken" as Hera's trailer voiceovers would say, later.

Sabine's backstory confession is heartbreaking. Slightly confusing in places, @seleneisrising has an attempt at a coherent timeline of events, but nothing that dampens the emotional resonance of the scene. So many things about Sabine make sense now, and boy I hurt for her.

Great music, great character work... This episode is on people's top fives for a reason.

#star wars #star wars rebels #space dad and his precious pumpkin child #and his rainbow colored cupcake #sabezra #rebels rewatch #liveblog #music #soundtracks

39 notes · View notes