Rebel Transmissions: Vision Of Hope

This is Star Wars fanblogger Twilight, and I bring you more positive discussion and fangirly craziness the haters don’t want you to hear. You’re reading Rebel Transmissions.

Ahh sorry couldn’t resist! Felt appropriate to open up today’s post on Vision Of Hope. And don’t worry, I can promise you that I’m for real 🙂 Whoa, uh… that might’ve been a spoiler! If you haven’t seen the episode yet, go watch it and forget you read that last line! Le apologies. Anyway, let’s get to it!

Contains spoilers from Episode I, Episode III, Episode V, Episode VI, the Clone Wars Microseries, Menace Of The Sith, TCW episode The Wrong Jedi, and Rebels episodes Spark Of Rebellion, Rise Of The Old Masters, Breaking Ranks, Path Of The Jedi, and Vision Of Hope.

It started out an ordinary day for our crew. Ezra was getting to do some lightsaber training today, with Zeb, Chopper, and Sabine providing some firepower for him to practice deflecting. Kanan encourages Ezra to work harder on aiming the blasterfire at the target, but it’s not too easy. Deflecting blasterfire and stuff is something the Jedi do all the time, but they make it look so easy that I guess it had never occurred to me that it might be a tricky skill to learn. Ezra definitely shows us what Jedi training is like from a layman’s perspective, which is nice for those of us who like to dream and pretend we’re Jedi ourselves. But Ezra is confident he’ll nail that target; “‘Yet’, the key word is ‘yet'” 🙂 Man I wish I had that kind of confidence in my abilities some days. Kanan just facepalms XD

Stopping the practice, Kanan asks Ezra what his rush is. It happens to be that young Bridger is excited to hear from everyone’s favorite rebel senator, Gall Trayvis, and he just knows that he’ll be on today. But Kanan simply reminds him to keep his focus in the here and now where it belongs. I could totally hear Ezra saying, “Y’know, that guide I met in the temple told me to be mindful of the future.” And then Master Jarrus would throw out, “Yeah, but not at the expense of the moment. Especially when you’re being shot at.” Hehe, somebody stop me!

Anyway, returning to training. Amidst the fire coming from all ends, Ezra starts hearing voices… and it becomes a full-fledged vision from there. In the snippets, we get the sense that our Rebels’ day won’t stay ordinary. It appears their day’s going to involve a whole lot of running from Imperials, and apparently… Gall Trayvis on the run with them? And if Ezra needed any other reason to be majorly intrigued by what he saw, he catches the Senator saying, “your parents were very brave”! When he comes to, he’s got some major news regarding his favorite personality and the mystery surrounding his folks! Kanan doesn’t really seem to buy into this vision as truth. And understandably so; we know that these visions Jedi get have a tendency to be half-wrong a good bit (see: Luke’s, whose was kinda off, and Anakin’s, whose only became true when he freaked out over it). Not to mention that the whole idea of the gang running around with everyone’s hero — who just so happens to have known Ezra’s parents — must sound a bit like wishful thinking to the others. But Ezra isn’t about to ignore what he saw and the potential of what it could mean for him. And then, right on cue, Hera lets the gang know that Senator Trayvis is on the holonet. Don’t think I’ve ever seen Ezra as excited as he was when he dashed into the Ghost, ramming Zeb in his hurry. Sorry, but that subtle gag made me laugh way too loudly XD

It’s definitely interesting seeing just what a big deal Gall Trayvis is to these guys. I mean, these guys gather around the holonet like a family watching The Wonderful World Of Disney! It’s not the first time we’ve seen Trayvis on-air, but it’s the first time we’ve gotten a glimpse of the enthusiasm our Rebels share over this guy, in particular Hera and Ezra. As Trayvis eloquently roots on the rebels, he seems to have slipped in a subtle message for the Ghost crew. It looks like the senator wants to meet them! Hera and Ezra deduce it to be at the old senate building at sunset today. Kanan and Zeb are a bit skeptical, but the captain and padawan have an answer for every question they have. But taking into account that the Empire could still be up to something, Hera sends Ezra out to meet up with his friend on the inside to find out if there’s any funny business going on.

Before heading out, Kanan tries to help Ezra understand to not be too quick to trust his vision to the letter. But Ezra feels beyond a shadow of a doubt that what he saw is true. It’s got to be difficult to be told to trust your feelings, and then have those feelings be called into question. Like say, Ezra’s in an interesting situation, as he’s being raised in the Jedi ways at fifteen, giving him a definite layman’s approach to the Force… which can be both a good thing and a bad thing at times. But for now, Ezra goes off to meet up with his friend — the awesome Zare Leonis!

Yeah, I was thrilled to see Zare again, and quite thrilled to know that he’s still alive. Seriously, I need to read those books!! Anyway, Ezra meets up with Cadet Leonis in a back alley. Zare’s happy to bring some news, especially now that he’s been recently promoted and can access even more dirt on the Empire that’d be useful to “Dev” and his comrades. Zare relays that a good bunch of the Imperials are planning something at the old senate building, so that’s not good. Ezra believes now that Gall Trayvis might be walking into a trap. Before parting, Zare lets him know that he’s being transferred off-world, so it might be a while before they see each other again. Ezra, in farewell, was about to give Zare his real name, but then along come some stormtroopers and that conversation ended. The fact that Ezra didn’t get to tell him… that makes me wonder if Zare might be further connected to Ezra’s path than we know. Maybe their families were friends? It may not’ve meant anything, but I can’t help but wonder. But suddenly it hits Ezra: he’s surrounded by troopers at all ends in a back alley… and it all looks awfully familiar. But all familiarity aside, young Bridger’s forced to make a run for it. The troopers give chase for a bit before Ezra’s agility and blaster-saber aid in his escape.

Meanwhile, in that very senate building sits Agent Kallus, intently studying over his plans. Senator Maketh, as usual, is pretty skeptical of whatever he’s got up his sleeve. But Kallus is looking awfully smug about this one… he’s tired of The Quiz’s focus on just the Jedi, so he’s aiming to nab the whole Rebel gang. To quote a great mon calamari admiral, “IT’S A TRAP!”

Ezra finally returns to their rendezvous point at the Bridger household, only to find just about everyone downstairs talking about how awesome his parents were. Yes, of course they were awesome, but… wow, much awkward for Ezra here. Once that awkwardness cleared out, Ezra tells the crew about the Empire’s plans, so it looks like our gang’s got a rescue mission to attend to.

So there the crew was, crouching on the outskirts of the senate building, surveying for any sign of Trayvis or the Imperials. Sabine spots the ship the senator must’ve come in, and Kanan spots the troopers stalking around down below. Before our heroes go rushing off to save Trayvis, Hera does query as to why the Empire hasn’t gone after the senator yet. Kanan rolls that off as being a trap for the crew, which, considering the thing we saw with Kallus, it makes complete sense. Yet, looking back, Hera’s quandry makes a lot of sense, unfortunately. But I’ll save all the kicking myself over not having seen it coming for later. For now, our Rebels are putting together a plan, and Ezra decides the next step of said plan is going to involve a little shortcut… to the Lothal sewer systems. Oh joy.

After Chopper has a brief “discussion” with an Imperial mech guarding the sewers, the rest of the crew moves in. As you might expect, not everyone is a fan of this plan. But Ezra knows his way around, and quite frankly, the smell beats stormtrooper trouble any day. But hey, the Rebs got off easy… at least the sewers weren’t full and they didn’t have to swim in it like Obi-Wan and Anakin once did! Also, this moment was delightful: “It does smell like you…” “Wait. You know what I smell like?” XD But their trip underground doesn’t last long, ’cause soon our heroes find themselves back on the move on the premises of the senate building. With Zeb and Sabine up a level and Kanan, Hera, and Ezra going inside, what could go wrong?

And I jinxed it. Kinda. OK, not really, but you know how this ends…

So, the threesome find Senator Trayvis pretty quickly, just sittin’ with his droids like nothing’s weird. Hera and Ezra warn him of the danger he’s in and he’s all like, “Whoa whut??” Yeah, I hate that I didn’t see all this coming to begin with, but Gall’s a pretty amazing actor and I totally bought everything he said. And to think I was genuinely worried about him, the punk! (Sorry, that last part was uncalled for. Forgive me.) But on cue, along come the troopers and their little agent too, making quick work of Trayvis’ protocol droids. With their numbers, it’s uncertain whether Kanan’s blade, Ezra’s blaster-blade, and Hera’s blaster can save the senator… and their own lives.

Kallus gives some friendly “hellos” to the crew (fondly throwing out Ezra’s self-titled nickname “Jabba”), and then asks his soldiers if they could “encourage” the Rebs into conversing with him. Trayvis is like, “Yeah, let’s go with that plan. I like that plan!” Again, I mentally kick myself for not picking up on his true allegiance. Sounds a lot like Palpatine in Lego’s Menace Of The Sith, “Excuse me, but did you say ‘surrender, we will now‘? Because I think that’s a marvelous idea!” Here I was just thinking Trayvis was a petrified little ex-Republic senator who was in over his head and didn’t want to cause trouble! Anyway, thankfully, the threesome has some friends in high places — Zeb and Sabine wielding a few tiny “miracles” 🙂 Then they do their awesome thing as Zeb goes all lasat on them, and Sabine goes all… um, Mando on them, I guess. That gives our heroes a chance to make a run for it. But there’s always some hitch in the plans, and that might include the fact that the senator’s ship is long gone and an Imperial shuttle sits in its place. Maybe that should’ve tipped ’em off? The fact that his ship is missing but there’s no evidence that it was blown up seems to garner some questions… questions I should’ve been asking myself! But unfortunately, I was eating dinner when I was watching this for the first time, so my mind was a quarter-focused on my chicken tenders and macaroni, and I didn’t think much further on it. Oh, and speaking of hitches, Kallus isn’t the kind of guy gotten rid of so easily. Back to making a run for it!

The crew finally comes back to their sewer pipe shortcut and Trayvis is all, “Ew, we’re actually going in there?” Well, if nothing good came out of this, at least Trayvis got forced out of his comfort zone a bit. The guy may be a good actor, but his distaste for sewer travel is all real XD Another thought: so, Kallus tried to shoot ’em one last time before the pipe was closed, and then he barked orders to his troopers to go and get them at the next interval. My question is… if he knew Trayvis was a turncoat (which he clearly did), why was he still a bit antsy to nab the Rebs? I guess he knows they have a habit of getting out of sticky situations. You know, I just realized this was a dumb question, so let’s just drop it and move on.

As the gang dashed through the sewer, it seems that Gall can’t quite keep up. I didn’t think about this at first because, well, he’s not exactly… young. Plus, I don’t do well with running either, so I could feel his pain. His claim that the running plus the less-than-pleasant-smelling environment made it difficult sounded legit enough, but somehow, Hera’s look of suspicion didn’t hit me once. This coming from the same girl who, back while watching TCW, figured out early that Barriss was the Jedi traitor. I’m kinda ashamed of myself. Now, all of Trayvis’s ramblings sound so fishy they come canned with “Starkist” on the label, ’cause boy that guy can run when he wants to when the stormtroopers catch up! Kanan sends Hera and Ezra to get Trayvis to shelter. “How will you find us?” Sabine reassures, “I can smell you, remember?” Ezra looks like he’s about to throw back a retort, but there’s no time for flirty witticisms! Though I would like to consider one possibility: “Well, what an incredible smell you’ve discovered!” Ohh I kinda hope that wasn’t what he was thinking, though… XD

Think Chopper got the easy part of the mission? Ah, no. A couple of troopers came by and sealed the hatch shut, warning their assumptively Imperial droid of the Rebels. So now Chop’s got to go and get the stupid thing un-sealed now! Yup, things are just going swimmingly today, aren’t they?

So while Hera and Ezra and Trayvis were navigating the tunnels, I get another reminder why I really should’ve been suspicious of the senator. He casually asks who might be funding or who might be allies to their little gang. Thankfully, the answer is they have neither, but oh my gosh, what a sneak! And I’m sorry I’m dishing out this much smacktalk on the guy, but he is really grinding my gears right now, especially as I look back and see his plan from the get-go. Please forgive me if you’re a Gall Trayvis fan and I offended you; I hold no real hate for him, but he’s definitely not on my good side right now. Ezra comments on what an inspiration the senator’s transmissions have been, and Hera, though slightly less certain of the guy, does remark that it’s nice to know “we’re not the only ones out there.”

The three come to a stop in front of this giant fan blade. While Ezra checks to see if he can shut down the fan, Hera slips Gall a blaster to “watch their backs.” And again, I don’t know how I didn’t see it coming. Though I can admit I was a bit uneasy here… but I just didn’t want to think that he might not be the real deal! Right now, I’m just super-impressed that Hera already knew she’d have to slip him an unloaded gun. But man, when he goes and pulls that blaster on them… it’s just unreal. Yet it totally makes sense in retrospect. I’ll be honest, I thought the whole “Luminara” thing from back on Rise Of The Old Masters was a total accident! But how would you react if your hero suddenly turned on you and revealed himself not to be the total opposite of who  you thought he was? Well, despite Hera was on to him before Ezra was, she is no less disappointed in him. Ezra can’t fathom this whatsoever. I mean, it’d be like Walt Disney himself revealing himself to be an Imperial officer! (That was not a shot at Disney owning Lucasfilm, I promise! It’s a callback to that reference I made earlier.) Ugh, I couldn’t not hurt for Ezra when Trayvis brings up his parents. Of course he was commenting on their bravery in a villainous, derogatory manner, just to drop the bomb that they’re… evidently dead. A part of me still hopes it’s not true, but until proven otherwise, I can’t say much for now. But unfortunately for traitor Trayvis, his blaster isn’t loaded… and Hera has no problem punching an “elderly gentleman.”

So, the rest of the crew’s not too thrilled either about this news, but they’ve got bigger problems as they still have troopers on their tail and a giant fan right in front of them. Kanan uses the Force to stop it while the others stand guard and fire back at the baddies. Just as the Spectres leave, Ezra shoots this look of ultimate disappointment at Trayvis. But the senator kinda looks… well, he doesn’t look at Ezra with an, “aw man, they got away!” look. His expression almost looks… uncertain, maybe a little apologetic. Maybe I’m just looking into this too deeply, but one has to wonder if perhaps Gall Trayvis is not too far gone. Especially after Kallus shoots him this even more disappointed look. As frustrating as his betrayal is… I can’t pretend that there might not still be some good in him. Hey, if Vader can be redeemed, anyone can, right? But where his story goes next, I do not know…

Meanwhile, Chopper was just about to carve the hatch open for the Rebels when suddenly Kanan lightsabers the rest of their way out. Ever have one of those days you just can’t win? This little C1-10P has. Anyway, the crew is solemn upon returning to the Ghost, but not all is lost. Hera and Ezra have an awesome moment as she makes a point that, despite our feelings can make things confusing sometimes, and the fact that not everything goes the way we’d like it to, it is never wrong to hope.

Something I thought about in regards to this: whether in backtalking Trayvis or just talking with the rest of the crew, Hera and Ezra both point back to the Bridgers and what a difference they made. Fact is, his parents were the true embodiment of hope. You don’t need to be some fancy celebrity Rebel superhero, you just need to be brave, have hope, and be willing to fight for the right thing. And that’s what the Ghost crew will continue to do 🙂

Wow, so much feels! So much intrigue! So much to think about that it took me two days and became the first late Rebel Transmission ever! Ah well, it was time worth spent. Until next time around…

Keep The Peace,
– Twilight

Rebel Transmissions: Idiot’s Array

Hello, what have we here? Another Rebel Transmission!

If you’re not sure why I’m talking like Lando Calrissian… please stop reading this, watch this episode, and then come back. Because, yeah, this awesome episode involves everyone’s favorite old smoothie! No, not Han… though that would make sense since Lando called him an “old smoothie,” but in this case I’m referring to Lando! If I were referring to Han, I’d be calling him “everyone’s favorite scoundrel” or “everyone’s favorite nerf herder” or something of that sort. Wow, I am just chatty as a bird today aren’t I? Just excited!

After a handful of emotionally-stirring, heartstring-tugging episodes, Idiot’s Array brings us back to the more lighthearted side of the show with all the Ghost fam’! So let’s get started, shall we?

Contains spoilers from Episode III, Episode IV, Episode V, Episode VI, Zorba The Hutt’s Revenge, and Rebels episodes Empire Day, Path Of The Jedi, and Idiot’s Array.

We start off at a familiar old joint, the same one we saw back in Empire Day. We get to see it from the outside this time, and wow, it literally has a Republic gunship built into it! Seriously, it never ceases to wow me when I see those subtle ties to the world fifteen years past.

Kanan was asking the Ithorian barkeep for some potential work while Zeb played sabacc with a couple of strangers. Somehow, just knowing it’s sabacc immediately made me think, “Zeb’s gonna lose.” Between incidents involving the Falcon, and in one of Paul and Hollace Davids’ Jedi Prince books, Cloud City’s casinos, it seems that there’s a hit-or-miss ratio in this game… and Lando was the loser in both of the ones I mentioned! But I love how well they concealed Lando’s presence; if not for all the footage of him going around prior to the episode’s debut, I probably wouldn’tve picked up on it either! But yeah, even Chopper knows this game won’t end well and bangs his dome against the table. Is it just me, or does Chopper get more entertaining to watch each episode? 😀

As far as the job hunt is concerned, Old Jho redirects Kanan to the gentleman at the sabacc table, who might be looking for a pilot. Once Kanan gets over there, he discovers that Zeb might’ve bet Chopper in their little game. Kanan objects for ten seconds before seeing that there’s seemingly no way Zeb could lose. And then, those of us in the audience immediately mutter, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this…” Because, again, it can’t be that easy, right? Chopper’s clearly saying, “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!” XD In the end, Chopper and all of us are right. The only thing that can trump a “sabacc” is an “idiot’s array.” So, the winner and Chop’s new owner is… Lando Calrissian! YUS, this guy!!

Once I heard that he was going to be in the next episode and saw his Rebels look, I exploded in fangirliness. I mean, it’s been great having Billy Dee Williams himself playing Lando for the Lego world (in both The Yoda Chronicles and The Lego Movie), but there’s definitely something amazing about seeing him in the amazing animation and awesome visual style of Rebels. That first cocky expression he makes…! I about died squee-ing! This episode reminded me why I love this guy so much. Ahhhh, I need to watch Empire Strikes Back again now!! *Ahem* so, anyway… Kanan and Zeb are in troooooooublllllle…

You know something’s wrong when Chopper comes in griping, Zeb says “I can explain…”, and the three are joined by an uninvited new guy. Kanan introduces him to the others, letting them know they’re intending to help him get past the Imperial blockade. Hera picks up pretty fast that something’s up. Once Lando mentions that he’ll be returning their droid along with their payment, Hera is not happy. We’re talking using-Zeb’s-full-name “not happy.” And when Zeb throws the blame back to Kanan… she literally goes and slugs the Jedi in the arm. Yup, this is why we don’t cross Captain Syndulla. Hehe I love how Kanan shrugs like, “hey that’s just Hera for you, whatcha gonna do?” XD So now, the Ghost crew doesn’t have much choice in helping out Mr. Calrissian. Off they go…!

They haven’t gotten far before Lando interjects some of his charm into the conversation… ermagosh, the way he compliments Hera’s piloting skills and the way she rolls it off! Priceless. So much priceless. Gotta love that swagger, am I right? OK, Hera’s not loving it, and Kanan shoots quite the look of disapproval in his direction. Chopper seems to be enjoying himself a bit, though, ’cause now that he’s Lando’s droid, he doesn’t have to take orders from the Ghost crew anymore. Lando takes advantage of this and asks Chop for a tour, which the little booger does without question. And THEN he brings his new master coffee! We all know that this was part of the droid’s little plan to take Mr. Calrissian’s fuel in the end, but for a while, it seemed that all that charm of his was working on Chopper XD

Like Kanan, Ezra doesn’t seem terribly impressed either, especially after Lando compliments Sabine’s artwork. He compared it to that of another great anti-Empire artist’s work, but “more stunning.” That’d be like someone telling me my art outdid that of great concept artists like Jason Deamer, Carter Goodrich, or Killian Plunkett! This pretty much one-upped any compliment Ezra made on her art, because Lando had something to compare it to. Yeah, methinks Ezra feels Lando to be too smooth for his own good. The way Zeb is holding back laughing at the whole situation further cracks me up XD Yes, whether you’re Han, or Ezra, or perhaps Kanan… smoothness is overrated.

So, on their way to Lando’s supplier’s place, well… yeah… “You got the goods?” “Always.” THAT LOOK ON HIS FACE. HERA’S EYEROLL. KANAN’S DISAPPROVING GLARE. THAT WAS PERFECT. Anyway, Lando’s totally got this as he, Hera, and Kanan board. Or, so he says, as he also throws in a disclaimer that this ship does have escape pods. Yes, behind every swaggy scoundrel is a dude you don’t want to cross paths with. In this case, Azmorigan. Yeahhh… just watching him eat like he does made me immediately check my manners while eating. Props to his voice actor though, who I believe was Chi Fu in Mulan. He’s got what Lando wants… and Lando happens to be offering up a fabulous deal on a TWI’LEK. On HERA. WHUT. Now we’re torn as to whether Calrissian knows what he’s doing, or if something’s seriously wrong here. And good question; Lando didn’t know the ship he’d be riding on would have a twi’lek captain… so what was he originally going to trade? Or was he intending to trade whoever was on board? It’s a mystery.

Anyway, Kanan was not fond of this deal, but Hera is a bit more savvy than he knows and goes along with it. It’s definitely interesting watching this. When they were introducing the Rebels cast for the first time, I loved that the captain was a girl twi’lek, mainly because, well, who was the first girl twi’lek in Star Wars? Oola, the unfortunate Palace dancer who got eaten by a rancor. The presence of twi’lek ladies in seedy places is a completely common sight in the SW galaxy, giving me the impression that many of these women have accepted their so-called status as arm candy and dancers. Hera, however, is a self-reliant, caring, strong individual who doesn’t take crud from anyone. So, yeesh, it must’ve been weird for her to suddenly have to play the role of the naïve slave girl. She may play her voice a little bit softer, but the looks she’s shooting Lando’s way are sharp. And so, Kanan and Lando return back to the Ghost without the captain. Lando’s chill with it, as he believes Hera will stick to his (vaguely suggested) plan. Kanan is so not happy right now. First Chopper, and now Hera! Great. And what was it that Lando was willing to trade for Hera for? He calls it “sophisticated mining equipment” and tells Zeb and Ezra not to startle it. Real smart. Leave a box with something mysterious inside alone with these two. Honestly, Lando, you have no one to blame but yourself for what happens later.

So, how’s Hera enjoying the new master? Not so much. Azmorigan’s not as bad as Jabba… but he’s not really much better either. I did find it funny how he really dug into that fruit and then two seconds later threw the thing over his shoulder like trash. Thankfully, he’s more into his food than his twi’lek right now, ’cause Hera’s sticking to her own plan. Yup, it’s amazing what a food tray can do! Along with a little sweet-talking, you can do pretty much anything… or at least escape from this punk’s ship. Hehe, I’m getting all these Indiana Jones vibes right now… 🙂 Like a boss, Captain Syndulla. Like. a. boss. Right on schedule, Lando spots the escape pod Hera took. “You really should have more faith in our captain,” “Our captain?” Might Kanan be a little jelly? I’m sure he’d deny it if you asked him. So, Hera made it off that pod and back on board without any problem. Though Lando did not expect the greeting he got from her… dang that must’ve hurt. Did anyone else pick up on the way his voice went up a couple of pitches after that blow? Yeah, now you know even more why no one crosses the captain!

Then they have a new problem: an Imperial blockade. Hera asks Lando what exactly he was smuggling that was so important, and it seems Zeb and Ezra have already discovered that for themselves: a chubby little critter that soon reveals itself to be a puffer pig. It makes Ezra and Zeb give chase and the whole frightening experience ends up triggering the whole “puffer” part of “puffer pig”… it expands. A lot. Like, the whole hallway’s width. Kanan won’t even ask. I have to say, the puffer pig might be one of my fave SW critters now. Right up there with tauntauns, monkey-lizards, tookas, whatever Boga is, and a bunch of others I don’t know the name of. She’s quite the adorable little piggy isn’t she? Also, she’s the perfect mining tool, a digger with a nose for precious minerals. And something that would go undetected by radar after the last mining-equipment-smuggling job Lando pulled here. But just in case, he sends out Chopper to fix that cloaking device.

The Ghost was about to get through with flying colors… and then Ezra overheard Lando asking about purchasing some of Sabine’s art. You’d think a twentysomething smuggler wouldn’t be worth worrying about at his age, but Ezra is willing to climb over an inflated puffer pig to give Lando some choice words. But then Ezra stepped on the pig’s head, startled it again, and made it expand further, plastering him onto the roof and throwing Zeb into the control panel, turning off their cloaking. Much facepalm. Then onward cometh the TIEs! With Miss Puffer Piggy blocking the door, it’s just Zeb and Kanan at the controls, trying to figure out how to fly and shoot at the same time. It’s a bit of a challenge until Hera brilliantly suggests to take a turn into the clouds, which ultimately steers the team to victory!

Finally, the Ghost touches back down on Lothal at Lando’s little neck of the woods. But so much for getting paid and hitting the road, because… yup, Azmorigan showed up. With bodyguards. And guns. Yeah, let’s just say the negotiations were short. Really short. ‘Cause before you know it, Azmorigan’s shooting all over the place alongside his men. In the midst of the battle, Ezra pulls out his new ‘saber — except that he’s using it to shoot energy blasts. I love Kanan’s response, “Wait… mine doesn’t do that!” XD XD Good point, do you think any other Jedi have ever used a multi-use lightsaber like that before? Like, in the way that it shoots and ‘sabers? I don’t know, but it couldn’t be more perfect for Ezra. After all, now he can carry his lightsaber without arousing Imperial suspicion while still being able to fight baddies when need be! Maybe he should offer to build these extensions onto the lightsabers of other surviving Jedi, that’d be cool. Though considering Obi-Wan’s doesn’t have one, I guess it didn’t catch on.

Aside from the shooting ‘saber, our team has another secret weapon — the pig. After Zeb scares the poor thing again, Miss Puffer Piggy inflates and bounces like an oversized balloon into the paths of Azmorigan’s gunmen. Zeb gives an expression that seems to say, “What… just happened?” and Sabine’s all, “IDK but I’m just gonna roll with it.” All the while, Chopper is bent on getting a heavy fuel tank into the Ghost. But then alas… Azmorigan has Zeb at gunpoint and makes a deal: Lando for Zeb and all their freedom. Kanan and Ezra don’t bat an eyelash and agree to this. But Hera has other plans, because guess who was at the guns inside the Ghost? Chopper! Yeah, Azmorigan and his goons were outta there in a hurry.

Ultimately, it seems things went… mostly well. The payment Lando intended to give them was to take place after his pig found something of value. So, the most they got out of this deal was Chop back. Hera makes it clear that Lando still owes her big-time. But Mr. Calrissian brushes it off in the cool and confident way he does. He promises Chopper they’ll meet again, and I say, “YES!” to that — though our heroes may have some differing opinions on that matter 🙂 But in the end, it did give the gang a greater appreciation of their faithful droid and their faithful captain (Hehe, Ezra doesn’t miss a beat though — “I always appreciated you, Sabine” “Yes, Ezra I know…” XD) At least Chopper stole Lando’s fuel, so the crew’s got what they need to fight another day. Woot, teamwork! But turns out that Lando had fully intended for them to take the fuel as payment. Aw, you ol’ smoothie 😀

So that was awesome. Seriously seriously awesome! I thank you all for joining me on this fab-Rebel-ous journey through Idiot’s Array (Sorry, terrible pun. I will (probably) never do it again).

Until we meet again, Star Wars fans!

Keep The Peace,
– Twilight

Rebel Transmissions: Path Of The Jedi

Hellooooo, my fellow Star Wars fans! It’s a new year and time to get back on the blogging transport!

The first post of this gloriously SW-filled year is another Rebel Transmission, and this one’s on the mind-blowing, heart-wrenching, totally unpredictable, fantastically fantastic Path Of The Jedi!

Step inside… but remember, there’s no turning back. OK, technically, that’s what the “back” button on your browser is for, but I would hope you wouldn’t do that without having joined me in my thoughts, queries, theories, fangirly tidbits. So, without further ado, Path Of The Jedi‘s Rebel Transmission, ladies and gents!

Contains spoilers from Episode I, Episode III, Episode IV, Episode V, Episode VI, TCW episodes Voices and Sacrifice, and Rebels episodes Gathering Forces and Path Of The Jedi.

I’m sure we can all relate to Kanan in this situation at some point in our lives. We spend all day planning to do something with a friend or family member, and then, said friend or family member goes and forgets about it, or is late, or distracted, etc. Kanan has this whole Jedi test-thing planned for today and Ezra’s not on board the Ghost. His excuse? He was hanging out with Sabine. The question remains though… what were they doing out there anyway? Pranking some unsuspecting Imperial officer, I’m sure 🙂 Can you spell “paintballs”? Hehehe, that’d technically be paintBOMBS, knowing the way Miss Wren works! OK not the point. If Ezra had told his master that, this episode would’ve probably gone an entirely different direction (can you also spell “angry paint-splattered Imperial”?)

Needless to say, Kanan wasn’t really all that happy for his late arrival. Apparently, this whole “being-late-for-Jedi-training-or-sometimes-missing-it-entirely-to-begin-with” thing is nothing new as of late. It’s not easy being a kid and then suddenly being trained as a Jedi, and even harder starting out as a no-responsibilities street kid. This is a lot of the reason Kanan’s planned this test out for today. Back on that fyrnock-covered asteroid, Ezra might’ve played with dark-sidery in fighting the ‘Quiz, and Kanan’s well-aware that that incident plus his padawan’s lack of focus and discipline could become a bad combination. This test will prove if Ezra’s meant to be a Jedi or not. Which is kind of a huge, potentially planetshaking question… and just the fact alone that Ezra’s future as a Force-wielder is questionable has me all, “ermagosh whaaaat?!”

Young Bridger is clearly thinking the same thing I am. If he finds out that he’s not meant to be a Jedi… what does that make him? Is there really any in-between between Jedi and Sith? Thinking on this, not really… the Sith are selfish and the Jedi are selfless… no one’s able to be either way all the time, but what you choose to do with such powers, that’s where your loyalty to which side lies. If it’s used for the good of others, or if it’s used for your own good. Though I admit that’s somewhat of a simplification, because even good, seemingly harmless intentions can be corrupted. Don’t think for a moment that Anakin wanted chaos and destruction; he believed he was getting order and justice, but he figured out way down the road that order and justice don’t line up with your boss hitting your son with Force lightning. Did any of that make sense? If it did, yay, I can actually write deep meaningful conversations here! But yeah… still, who is Ezra, if not a Jedi? Which side does he really lean to? Ooooooh, intrigue!

On the lighter side of things though… I love that bit of, “My master would’ve never let you get away with–” “All the things you tried to get away with?” The look Kanan shoots him! XD Perhaps Kanan did his fair share of pranking as well back at the Jedi Temple? Somehow that wouldn’t surprise me. Anyway, off our master and padawan go! Before their departure, Kanan confesses to Hera his uncertainties about the whole thing, but she’s awesome and cheers him on, believing that both apprentice and master will pass the tests ahead of them. Aghh the feels here, I just about died!! Hera always knows what to say :3

So as the Phantom goes off on its merry way, Kanan explains where they’re headed. Apparently, that one Jedi Temple we all know from the prequels and the frosty one on Illum are far from the only ones. There are quite a number of them here and there and everywhere… except, of course, since most of them were destroyed by the Empire, they’re not really “everywhere.” But that’s the first problem on this test: Ezra needs to use the Force to find their closest Temple. After a few moments of uncertainty, Ezra discovers there’s one smack-dab on Lothal! He won’t even have to leave his home planet! Of course, Kanan already knew this because #HolocronMapBenefits. But hey, not too shabby, Young Bridger 🙂

The temple’s quite the impressive structure for sure; it’s basically a really big conical rock amongst smaller really big conical rocks. I know that’s hardly my best description, but whatever, you and I both know it’s some kinda awesome-looking! And on top of that, it appears it’s located at one of the Lothal poles, ’cause there’s a fair amount of ice, snow, and auroras up here. Not as frigid as Illum, but still a little chilly, evidently. Man, my head about exploded at those gorgeous auroras! Seems weird we’ve never seen them in SW before! (If we technically have and I don’t remember it, don’t out me on it please.) All awe over the temple aside, Ezra’s now in charge of finding the door. Turns out there’s only a door when both teacher and student use the Force together. Man, I never ever get tired of watching Kanan and Ezra work together! It’s one of the times when they’re both totally in sync, when they stand out in front of something with hands extended and full focus on the Force.

Now, the two walk into the dark tunnel that leads into the Lothal temple. Which goes great until HOLY CANNOLI, THERE’S A JEDI SKELETON, and Ezra did what all of us would do and freaks out. And that loss of focus = an ominous door closing. Whoops. Ezra has the best combination of expressions on his face, one of, “GOOD NIGHT, THAT WAS DISTURBING!” and the other all, “uh… I’m guessing that door closing’s my fault.” Kanan then explains the test at hand. Ezra’s basically going into the “cave” a la Luke Skywalker. He’s going to face his fears while Kanan’s sits this one out with his fellow (deceased) Jedi. Sooo, weird thought: these two Jedi who “sat this one out” never had their apprentices come back and I guess got locked in. But… didn’t anyone else come over and let them out? What happened to those padawans?? And how is it that they apparently died meditating? They just sat there and waited and waited and waiting until they joined with the Force? It’s at this point that we realize that Kanan’s life is riding on Ezra’s success out here. Yikes O.O

As soon as Ezra walks further into the temple, a door closes right behind him. Yup, it’s everyone’s nightmare of doing a test where you don’t know all the answers. OK, it’s worse than that in some aspects, but better than that in other ways. Hoo boy, this is where the fun begins. Ezra ventures through the dark tunnel until he comes upon three different pathways. He chooses his route with a little Lothal edition of eenie-meenie-miney-moe (which honestly made me chuckle a little). And then uh… Kanan shows up behind him, all, “Really man?” I’m all, “how’d he get through the doorOHhh wait, is this real??” Looking back, I’m surprised I didn’t realize it was for sure all an illusion. But at the time, the interactions between Ezra and Kanan seemed so real… it was hard to be certain. I remember back on the TCW episode Sacrifice how, when Yoda and Anakin were evidently leading the troops against the Emperor, it was also very hard to know if what was happening was for real or not — even when stuff happened that made no canonical sense, like Anakin killing Dooku, I still had to wonder. But boy oh boy, this episode upped the ante on the whole “real or illusion” thing in a way I couldn’tve imagined, taking the epicness of that TCW episode and bringing it up a few notches more.

So anyway, Ezra found himself running after his master, trying to figure out what the apparent rush was. And then there was the sound of a lightsaber striking and a cry of pain from Kanan. When Ezra turned around… there stood The Inquisitor. With a wounded Kanan. And that all-too familiar deadly double-red blade. Kanan had warned Ezra that the Empire could be watching, so the fact that ‘Quiz somehow got in here seemed really believable. And there’s nothing about Quizzy that seems out-of-place — he’s still his unique blend of classy-evil, asking who wants to die first as casually as asking who wants some tea. He takes a few steps toward Ezra, but then Kanan, even with his injured arm, pulls out his lightsaber to defend him. And so starts a seriously intense duel that continues to make us wonder if what we’re seeing is real or not. Ezra can only stand and watch; anything he tries to do just gets met with a Force-choke/throw from the ‘Quiz.

Yeah, looking back, this battle seems all-too familiar to another three-way lightsaber battle that didn’t end well. This is seriously one of the most frightening duels yet, as we really don’t know if this is reality. It’s still frightening even knowing how it ends! The ‘Quiz’s nasty grins in the midst of it all certainly don’t help. And then… oh gosh, The Inquisitor played dirty and pulled out the second blade on his ‘saber to trip Kanan up. And then that moment we all feared — The Inquisitor drove the blade through Master Jarrus’s chest. No words can adequately describe the sheer horror that comes when this kind of thing happens. No words. Except that I usually make a pained gasp-squeak of emotional turmoil. I mean, I spent a lot of this episode wondering if we’d indeed lost Kanan after not even half a season. If there’s one thing harder to watch than Kanan (assumptively) dying, it’s watching Ezra watch Kanan (assumptively) dying. *Makes pained gasp-squeak* Just seeing that hint of tears in Ezra’s eyes about made me lose it myself. Of course, after the grief comes the anger. Ezra grabs Kanan’s saber and intends to fully avenge his master, but The Inquisitor, throwing around his blade like he does, sent Ezra sprawling into an abyss.

Ezra then wakes up in… his room on the Ghost? Now, this part seemed to clearly be an illusion… mostly. Honestly, I felt like I’d gone to Wonderland at this point — all we needed now were the talking doorknobs. I admit, I was holding my breath in case it turned out to be like Episode IV and everyone he cared about had been killed by the Empire *shudders*. Oh, but it was almost as bad… Ezra finds himself overhearing a conversation amongst Hera, Zeb, and Sabine… and they’re all talking about him. Hera seems to have lost all faith in him, and only regrets his loss because of what he was capable of; Zeb’s just glad to have his quarters back to himself; and Sabine only pities him. OUCH. So much OUCH. At all of this, Ezra starts to put two and two together, that this can’t be real. But then, judging by the sudden shade of red in the room… and all the painful sounds that follow it… Ezra witnesses the very thing I feared we’d see the aftermath of. Augh, Sabine’s unanswered cry for help felt like a punch in the gut. Just seeing the hint of her having fallen at The Inquisitor’s hands… no words. I’m actually having trouble typing this, man… I hurt for Ezra so much right now, I can’t even. And then ‘Quiz slowly but surely corners Ezra. But before he knows it, Young Bridger takes another fall, and he’s back in the Temple. But he’s standing behind a locked door, and he still has no idea what to do, where to go, or whether or not he’d really lost his master. Yup, my heart’s pretty much broken now.

But then, Ezra discovers a single strand of hope. He’s survived being abandoned before, so he can do it again. And maybe Kanan’s not dead and he needs his help. But behind door number #1 is The Inquisitor. Ezra fires back that, since he was on the Ghost, the ‘Quiz must be an illusion, too. But then Quizzy is all, “Maybe that was, but I’m not.” The fact alone that he physically grabbed Ezra’s face is enough to send us in the audience into panic mode. If he can literally do that… doesn’t that make him real? Then we start freaking out for Ezra, and it starts to set in that Kanan might very well be dead. Hoo buddy, this part will never fail to terrify me, just because it really makes us question any lingering thoughts we had earlier about it being an illusion.

The Inquisitor corners Ezra once more, casually asking if the boy’s afraid to die. But as Ezra stands here, unarmed with seemingly nowhere to go and with no chance of surviving, he comes to realize that, while he may be afraid of abandonment, disappointing Kanan, and losing the people who matter to him most, he’s not afraid to face death. Gaahhhh, the bravery on Ezra’s face…! And then he calmly stands as the ‘Quiz strikes a red blade through him. But alas! Ezra’s still alive. Suddenly, the red light fades away and he’s alone once more. In the quiet of the moment, he hears a voice. A voice he’s never heard, but one we certainly have. Excuse me while I break up all this deep discussion with a fangirl moment, but OMGOSH, IT’S YODA!!! NOT ONLY THAT, BUT IT’S FRANK OZ YODA!! THE REAL FRANK OZ!!! (Not that, of course, Tom Kane wasn’t just as amazing, but you get what I mean) SQUEEEEEEEEEE! OwO “For what lies ahead, ready are you?” so much deep, Master Yoda! Then, the voice manifests himself in the form of sparkly lights, just like Qui-Gon did back on Voices! I can see Yoda’s done well in his immortality lessons thus far 🙂 Naturally, when someone in sparkly-light form introduces himself as a guide, you have to follow him. And so, Ezra starts on the next half of his journey, the one where he follows the light.

It is now that we finally see Kanan again. And oh happy day, he’s alive! Still just meditating away, wondering what’s taking Ezra so long. Then Yoda decides to talk to him for a bit. Consider Kanan’s mind BLOWN. As well… he was on the boat with everyone else that you can’t exactly go around talking to people when you’re dead. Of course, Yoda’s not dead, but does Kanan know that? Either way, it’s still kinda weird having someone subliminally talk to you when they’re not around. After he recovers from the shock, Kanan’s cool with getting to talk with his long-time-no-seen master-of-masters. Yoda can tell that Kanan’s a little reluctant in the teaching game. He admits that he does sometimes have second thoughts about training Ezra, only because Kanan doubts himself and his capabilities — poor guy still doesn’t feel qualified. With Ezra seemingly growing stronger by the minute, he’s not sure if he can keep up. And honestly? Kanan isn’t totally sure whether his feelings are right or wrong sometimes, he’s been out of the Jedi game for so long. But Kanan will do everything in his power to keep Ezra from taking the paths he took. YUS. You go, Master Jarrus!

Meanwhile, Ezra and Yoda’s conversation continues. When Ezra comes to that three-way doorway, Yoda tells him to trust the Force and himself to help him find his way. Once he’s picked his door, he finds himself in a room lit dimly by glowing carvings on the wall. And it’s there that Yoda decides to ask him why Ezra wants to be a Jedi in the first place. Yeah that’s a good question, because most of us would answer that with, “I’m in it for the lightsaber.” (C’mon, honest, you must be!) His first answer is because Kanan believes he can, which isn’t that good of an answer. His second answer is that he’s maybe interested in the power, and a lot interested in getting back at the Empire and everything they cost him. Yeah, that’s just a bad answer, period — Yoda knows that for sure. But it’s his third answer that’s the real truth; he wants to protect others, including the people who made him see that there was more to life than just fighting for oneself. The people who helped him see the joy in giving to others, in helping others, in showing love to others, and, in turn, helped him find joy and purpose in that as well. It makes him feel alive. Just… wow. Aw man… *sniff.* It’s then that Yoda assures him that, though the path will not be easy, becoming a Jedi is a very likely happening in Young Bridger’s future. And then… a glowing blue spark descends in the darkness. After a few seconds, it suddenly occurred to me and I squealed, “ERMAGOSH IT’S A LIGHTSABER CRYSTAL!!!” and started bouncing in my seat. Haha I will never forget that reaction as long as I live… XD

Ezra finally walks back through the Temple door to where his master sits. And boy, color Kanan impressed — his apprentice already has his hands on a kyber crystal! Once Ezra finds out what a kyber crystal is for, he’s pretty wowed himself. Yes, the master and padawan leave the Lothal temple on good terms, moving onward to whatever happens next.

A few weeks down the road, Ezra reveals to his comrades what he’s been working on — his lightsaber. And oh wow, oh wow, oh wow… it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. It’s different, but in the best of ways! Yeah, then I started getting all weepy and feely; “Ahmagosh, Ezra’s growing up!” Yup, really couldn’tve asked for a better lightsaber for Ezra… or a better ending, either.

So yeah, I didn’t think my mind could get this blown. Or my emotions go through so many highs and lows in under half an hour. But that’s just Star Wars for ya 😀 On an interesting note, I was surprised that there was a fair amount of similarity to Jude Watson’s Jedi Quest: The Path To Truth. Without giving much away, that tale tells of Anakin making his lightsaber on Illum, and the whole experience has a lot of similarities as both master and apprentice face some pretty earth-shattering, emotionally-draining visions. This episode proves my theory that not every padawan learns the same way. So, cool! Go read that book now, or if you’ve read it, go read my post on it.

Anyway, I’m excited for a whole new year of Star Wars awesomeness, and hopefully you can expect more blogs (including more topical, fun posts) from me in the weeks to come!

Keep The Peace,
– Twilight