| 1 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1635617055031758700 |
| 2 | %% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread. |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/swr_s4.png]] |
| 5 | [[caption-width-right:350:''"If we don't stand up, who will?"''[[labelnote:Characters]] From left to right: [[KidHero Ezra]] [[TheApprentice Bridger]], [[MentorArchetype Kanan]] [[MagicKnight Jarrus]], [[TheBigGuy Zeb]] [[LastOfHisKind Orrelios]], [[TeamMom Hera]] [[TheCaptain Syndulla]], and [[ActionGirl Sabine]] [[CoolHelmet Wren]], with [[TokenRobot Chopper]]. Top row: [[TheDreaded Grand]] [[AwesomenessByAnalysis Admiral]] [[BatmanGambit Thrawn]], a [[NobleWolf Loth]][[WhiteWolvesAreSpecial wolf]], and [[AmbitionIsEvil Governor]] [[BadBoss Pryce]].]] |
| 6 | |
| 7 | ->''"We have been called criminals, but we are not. We are rebels, fighting for the people. Fighting for you... I see what the Empire has done to your lives, your family, and your freedom. It's only gonna get worse. Unless we stand up and fight back. It won't be easy; there'll be loss, and sacrifice, but we can't back down just because we're afraid -- that's when we need to stand the tallest. That's what my parents taught me. That's what my new family helped me remember. Stand up together, because that's when we're strongest: as one!"'' |
| 8 | -->-- '''Ezra Bridger''' |
| 9 | |
| 10 | ''Star Wars Rebels'' is a [[AllCGICartoon CGI animated series]] set in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise and a {{sequel|Series}} to ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', as well the first major ''Star Wars'' installment released following Creator/{{Disney}}'s acquisition of Creator/{{Lucasfilm}}. It is created by Creator/DaveFiloni, who directed ''The Clone Wars'', Simon Kinberg (''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'') and Carrie Beck, and executive produced by Filoni, Kinberg and Creator/GregWeisman (''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'').[[note]]Weisman later left the show after Season 1 to work on ''AudioPlay/RainOfTheGhosts'', though returned for the tie-in comic ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsKanan Kanan]]''.[[/note]] |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Set fourteen years after ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'',[[note]]or about five years after ''Film/{{Solo}}'', or five years before ''Film/RogueOne'' and ''Film/ANewHope''[[/note]] the [[TheEmpire Galactic Empire]] is securing its grip on the galaxy and hunting down the last of the Jedi Knights. Young orphan Ezra Bridger (Creator/TaylorGray) stumbles upon Kanan Jarrus (Creator/FreddiePrinzeJr), a former Jedi who leads a Rebel group including Twi'lek pilot Hera Syndulla (Creator/VanessaMarshall), Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren (Creator/TiyaSircar), Lasat strongman Zeb Orrelios (Creator/SteveBlum) and astromech droid Chopper ([[CharacterAsHimself Himself]]) aboard the ''Ghost''. As he joins up with them, Ezra learns the ways of the Force, and the ''Ghost'' crew fights alongside many allies against the ever growing threat of the Empire. Their journey takes them to many strange locales, and thanks to their stubborn belief in the power of hope, the ''Ghost'' crew becomes much more than they had ever dreamed of. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | The series premiered on October 3, 2014 as a one-hour special on the Creator/DisneyChannel and began airing regularly on Creator/DisneyXD the same month. The show ran for four seasons and concluded on March 5, 2018. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | While the show was airing, Chopper made an appearance in live-action for a background cameo in ''Film/RogueOne''. After the show's end, more characters from ''Rebels'' slowly began to reappear in live-action installments in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, starting with Zeb returning in ''Series/TheMandalorian'' (as a [[SerkisFolk CGI character]], once again voiced by Creator/SteveBlum). After that, Ezra, Sabine and Hera (now played by Eman Esfandi, Creator/NatashaLiuBordizzo and Creator/MaryElizabethWinstead, respectively) - as well as other recurring characters like Ryder Azadi and Grand Admiral Thrawn (with their actors Creator/ClancyBrown and Creator/LarsMikkelsen reprising their roles) - made the jump to live-action in ''Series/{{Ahsoka}}''. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | [[folder:Supplemental material]] |
| 19 | * ''Literature/ANewDawn'', a novel released about a month before the start of the series which provides backstory about two of the show's major characters: Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla. |
| 20 | * ''Literature/EzrasGamble'', a junior novel taking place shortly before the start of the series. |
| 21 | * ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsKanan Kanan]]'', a prequel comic further detailing the past of Kanan Jarrus at the very end of the Clone Wars and the beginning of the Dark Times, was also released, with former showrunner Greg Weisman writing several issues. |
| 22 | * ''[[Literature/StarWarsAhsoka Ahsoka]]'', a young adult novel that reveals how Ahsoka's survival in the aftermath of the Clone Wars led to her position in the Rebellion as we see in her debut. |
| 23 | * ''[=HoloNet=] News'', Imperial propaganda news report shorts on Website/{{Tumblr}} providing background information on Lothal for the then-upcoming show. |
| 24 | * There are also a number of other supplementary books to the series, including ''The Rebellion Begins'', a novelization and AdaptationExpansion of the premiere film ''Spark of Rebellion''; and ''Literature/ServantsOfTheEmpire'', a four-book series focused on Zare Leonis, an Imperial cadet who ends up serving as a spy for the Rebels. |
| 25 | * ''Magazine/StarWarsRebelsMagazine'' contained eight-page comic strips that took place in between episodes of the show. |
| 26 | * ''Literature/AdventuresInWildSpace'' takes place shortly after the rise of the Empire and contains cameos of characters from Lothal as well as nods towards concepts first introduced in ''Rebels''. |
| 27 | * The short story "Mercy Mission" explores Hera (and Chopper in a minor role) as a younger pilot delivering supplies to the Free Ryloth Movement while she was still centered around her homeworld. |
| 28 | * The short story "Literature/RebelBluff" revolves around Vizago, Lando, and Jho prior to the Siege of Lothal. |
| 29 | * The short story "Literature/TK462" is a LowerDeckEpisode, which, towards the end, explores a background event taking place on Lothal during the absence of the ''Ghost'' crew sometime in Season 2. |
| 30 | * ''Literature/{{Thrawn}}'', ''Literature/ThrawnAlliances'' and ''Literature/ThrawnTreason'', a series of novels about the titular villain. ''Thrawn'' is a prequel set before Thrawn joined the show in Season 3 (with some of the later parts concurrent with Seasons 1 and 2), ''Alliances'' is set between Seasons 3 and 4, and ''Treason'' is set during Season 4. |
| 31 | ---- |
| 32 | [[/folder]] |
| 33 | |
| 34 | ''Star Wars: Rebels'' is followed in production order by ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsResistance Resistance]]'', the seventh season of ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars The Clone Wars]]'' and ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheBadBatch The Bad Batch]]''. |
| 35 | |
| 36 | '''Please move any character tropes to the proper [[Characters/StarWarsRebels characters page]] and tropes associated with specific episodes and story arcs to the [[Recap/StarWarsRebels recap page]].''' |
| 37 | ---- |
| 38 | !!The show provides examples of: |
| 39 | |
| 40 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 41 | |
| 42 | [[folder:A-C]] |
| 43 | * AbortedArc: |
| 44 | ** The Wookiees from the first episode owe the ''Ghost'' crew. This debt is never brought up again. |
| 45 | ** Vizago sold the disruptors from "Droids in Distress" to someone, but this is never brought up again either. |
| 46 | ** We're introduced to [[HeroOfAnotherStory Zare Leonis]], who is infiltrating the Imperial Academy so that he can find his Force-sensitive sister, Dhara, who disappeared while attending the Academy. This is dropped after the first season, as that story is told in the ''Literature/ServantsOfTheEmpire'' book series. |
| 47 | ** In "The Siege of Lothal", Maketh Tua mentions that the Empire has a list of [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections rebel sympathizers that can't be touched by the Empire due to their connections]], which is never alluded to again. (This is likely meant to be a reference to Senator Organa and Princess Leia, but we never have that confirmed.) |
| 48 | ** In "The Lost Commanders" and "Relics of the Old Republic", Rex gives the crew information on locations throughout the Outer Rim that they could use to salvage parts from and possibly use as a base, including Mandalorian outposts. While his knowledge does get used throughout the show such as leading a mission to Agamar, this knowledge on Mandalorian outposts was never brought up again, and confrontations with Mandalorians were either through ties with Sabine or circumstantial coincidences. |
| 49 | ** In Season 3, Thrawn states that he intends on [[FeedTheMole feeding Fulcrum II bad information in order to play the rebels]]. However, the next time this is brought up, instead, [[spoiler:Thrawn [[BluffTheEavesdropper informs Pryce, Tarkin, Konstantine, and an eavesdropping Kallus that he's going to stop the rebels' attack on Lothal]]. Kallus travels to Ezra's tower so he can alert the rebels!... But this is AllAccordingToPlan for Thrawn, who knew that Kallus had overheard the meeting and thus used him to find the device he uses for his Fulcrum transmissions, which he matches the trajectory of its signal with the path that General Dodonna's fleet is going, thus starting up the season finale]]. This being [[MagnificentBastard Thrawn]], it's possible he [[RedHerring deliberately]] made everyone think he was going to FeedTheMole.[[invoked]] |
| 50 | ** In addition, in response to TheReveal that [[spoiler:Kallus]] is the new Fulcrum, the rebels expressed distrust, but over the season, began to build up their trust in [[spoiler:him]]. With Thrawn's claim to use a FeedTheMole plan, it seemed that this was set-up to destroy the rebels' newfound trust in Fulcrum, but as Thrawn ended up doing something else, in the end, [[spoiler:the rebels forgive Kallus and thank him for his efforts]]. |
| 51 | ** In "Wolves and a Door", Kanan and Ezra discover a mysterious cave painting in the Loth-wolf den, which shows what appears to be Lothalian wildlife watching a child being abducted by two Jedi that resemble Yoda and Ki-adi Mundi. Kanan is heavily implied to have a connection to these cave paintings (even being teased by his voice actor), but this apparent connection is not explored again. |
| 52 | * AceCustom: |
| 53 | ** Thrawn's Imperial Star Destroyer, the ''Chimaera'', sports a unique paint pattern on it's underside, resembling the beast of the same name. |
| 54 | ** Imperial TIE ace Commander Skerris pilots yellow and red-striped TIE Interceptors and later an advanced TIE Defender. |
| 55 | ** In ''Rebel Assault'', Hera flys an X-wing with a green and orange paint job reminiscent of the ''Ghost''. |
| 56 | * AcePilot: |
| 57 | ** Hera, who again and again pulls the crew out of situations they would never have survived otherwise. |
| 58 | ** Darth Vader, [[spoiler:who single-handedly brings down an entire rebel fighter squadron and frigate.]] |
| 59 | ** Fenn Rau. [[spoiler:He nearly manages to get Hera killed.]] |
| 60 | ** TIE Pilot Baron Valen Rudor apparently, at least [[InformedAbility according to]] [[PropagandaMachine the Empire]]. |
| 61 | ** Wedge Antilles and Hobbie Klivian, and of course, the other students at the Skystrike Academy. Rake and Commandant Relik were/are presumably this as well. |
| 62 | ** Captain Vult Skerris and his squadron of TIE Interceptors. |
| 63 | %%** Mart Mattin. |
| 64 | * AchievementsInIgnorance: Holocrons are generally thought to be MutuallyExclusiveMagic (someone on the Light Side of the Force can't use a Dark Side aligned holocron, and vice versa) until Ezra demonstrates the ability to use both. The truth is a bit more complicated: someone has to know how to ''think'' like a Jedi or Sith to use the holocrons, not necessarily ''be'' one, and since many Jedi and Sith are trained from a very young age they're either incapable of understanding [[GoodCannotComprehendEvil each]] [[EvilCannotComprehendGood other]]'s mindsets or refuse to try out of (rightful) fear of corruption. |
| 65 | * ActionGirl: Sabine, the graffiti-making Mandalorian weapons expert, and Hera Syndulla, the pilot of the ''Ghost''. Ketsu, Ahsoka, and Numa as well. |
| 66 | * ActorAllusion: |
| 67 | ** In general, Creator/SteveBlum as a member of a RagtagBunchOfMisfits stuck in PerpetualPoverty flying around in a CoolStarship. It shouldn't be hard to figure out [[Anime/CowboyBebop what else fits this description.]] |
| 68 | ** In [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS2E16ShroudOfDarkness "Shroud of Darkness"]], the Seventh Sister flirts with Kanan. Their voice actors, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze, Jr., are married in real life. |
| 69 | ** Creator/KevinMcKidd and Creator/RayStevenson [[Series/{{Rome}} are once again warriors of a once-proud regime that came long before us]], though here, they're bitter enemies. They are later joined by Creator/TobiasMenzies. |
| 70 | ** Creator/KevinMcKidd's character has the same haircut he had himself in ''Film/DogSoldiers''. |
| 71 | ** Possibly unintentional, as his role in ''Rebels'' is more of a shoutout to the ''Battlefront'' games if anything else. Creator/CoreyBurton voices a character who is a drill sergeant to military cadets, but unknown to him, at least one of them is a rebel spy (and at least another would become a turncoat). In ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', he ''is'' the spy, and the guy he framed becomes a genuine turncoat. |
| 72 | ** [[Anime/CodeGeass This is not the first time]] Creator/MaryElizabethMcGlynn has played a high-ranking, racist Imperial AntagonisticGovernor who is in charge of the show's main setting and is a major villain against the local rebels yet has a soft (though somewhat [[SkewedPriorities skewed]][=/=][[{{Hypocrite}} hypocritical]]) spot for family (though this part is addressed in ''Literature/{{Thrawn}}'' rather than in the show itself). And unlike Cornelia, [[spoiler:Pryce [[RedemptionRejection rejects redemption]].]] |
| 73 | * AirVentEscape: Played with in the pilot. When Ezra does this in the ''Ghost'', Sabine and Zeb can hear him clanking around in the vents. On the much larger Imperial Star Destroyer, however, it works perfectly. He stops doing this once he's grown bigger in Season 3. |
| 74 | * AirVentPassageway: It seems Ezra is quite accustomed and fond of using these to get around. He does it three times in the pilot and again in "Droids in Distress". His comments to Kanan along the way give the implication that he's no stranger to doing so. Notably works much better for Ezra (and sometimes Sabine) than for any of the adult characters, especially the massive Zeb who ''gets stuck'' when trying to climb into an air vent. Ezra stops doing this once he's grown bigger in Season 3. He is forced to do this again several times during the course of Season 4 though. |
| 75 | * TheAlcatraz: |
| 76 | ** The Spire on Stygeon Prime appears in the third episode, "Rise of the Old Masters". This is the same place Darth Maul was contained at the beginning of ''ComicBook/DarthMaulSonOfDathomir''. By the time frame of this series, Jedi Master Luminara Unduli [[spoiler:(or her corpse, at least)]] is being held there. |
| 77 | ** Mustafar is also treated as this during the final episodes of Season 1, specifically being called the place that 'Jedi go to die'. [[spoiler:Makes sense, since Darth Vader has taken up residence on the planet.]] |
| 78 | * AlienSky: |
| 79 | ** Lothal has two moons. Also, its atmosphere seems to be golden, rather than blue. Considering Lothal is an IndustrialGhetto and [[spoiler:Ezra's vision depicts an un-imperialized Lothal with a normal blue sky]], this can be chalked up to pollution. [[spoiler:The sky [[CueTheSun returns to blue]] in the GrandFinale, after the destruction of the Imperial forces occupying the planet and the reclamation of the capital city.]] |
| 80 | ** Garel's sky seems to be constantly purple like a sunset, being a desert/mesa planet. |
| 81 | ** In "Holocrons of Fate", [[spoiler:Ezra has a vision of the location of where 'the key to destroying the Sith' lies; [[Film/ANewHope twin suns]].]] |
| 82 | * AllCGICartoon: Much like ''The Clone Wars'', this series is also entirely generated on computer (specifically using Autodesk Maya). |
| 83 | * AllThereInTheManual: |
| 84 | ** Since the rebels left Lothal after Season 1, Zare Leonis's storyline was no longer given attention by the show. Instead, his quest to find his sister was continued in the ''Literature/ServantsOfTheEmpire'' book series. |
| 85 | ** You'll get a lot more out of this series if you watched [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars the previous one]]. |
| 86 | ** Why did the ''Ghost'' crew go to Lothal in the first place? The online game, ''Ghost Raid'', reveals that it was supposed to be just to resupply the ''Ghost'' after hitting Imperial convoys on several other worlds for the entire game. |
| 87 | ** Subsequently, the novelization for "Spark of Rebellion", ''The Rebellion Begins'', reveals that after acquainting with Vizago when they got to Lothal, he told them about the rebel Wookiees. But unfortunately, when the crew tries to meet up with them, Trandoshans and the Empire had already got to them first, kicking off the events of the pilot episode. |
| 88 | * AlmostKiss: At the end of the promotional short "The Machine in the Ghost", it appears as though Hera and Kanan are about to kiss before they are interrupted by Chopper. |
| 89 | * AmbiguouslyBrown: Ezra, Kanan, and Sabine's tan skin tones sparked some debate about what their ethnic origins could be. It was later [[http://eleven-thirtyeight.com/2014/02/rebels-kanan-jarrus-and-the-race-factor/ confirmed]] that all three human protagonists are mixed race. |
| 90 | * AmbiguousSituation: |
| 91 | ** In the episode "Dume", [[spoiler:the giant Loth-wolf named Dume that appears to Ezra. If it's not a reincarnation of Kanan, then why does it share his real name?]] |
| 92 | ** At the end of "Twilight of the Apprentice". [[spoiler:Is Ahsoka still alive and descending into the Sith Temple, and if so, why? Or is that her ghost and a [[RuleOfSymbolism metaphor]] to show that this is the end of her story?]] As of "A World Between Worlds", and the series finale, "Family Reunion - and Farewell", [[spoiler:she is shown to be alive even after the war.]] |
| 93 | ** Also in "Family Reunion - and Farewell", [[spoiler:Ezra and Thrawn's ultimate fate, after Ezra uses a pod of purrgil to drag the ship they were in through hyperspace to an unknown destination. The only thing we know for sure (as it was confirmed by the aftershow) is that both survived, and since Ahsoka sees fit to go look for Ezra after the war it can be presumed he survived that too. The question is finally answered in the live action series "Ahsoka", which reveals that Ezra and Thrawn were taken to another galaxy by the Purgill and stranded there.]] |
| 94 | * AndTheAdventureContinues: The finale, [[spoiler:[[DistantFinale taking place sometime after the war]], has Sabine and Ahsoka off to find Ezra]]. |
| 95 | * AnimationBump: Subtly. For starters, the lighting in Season 2 has improved from Season 1. There's also a noticeable case towards the end of Season 3 where Obi-Wan's holocron recording plays with more lively animation than previously seen in the beginning of Season 1. |
| 96 | * {{Animesque}}: Carrying over from ''WesternAnimation/TheCloneWars'', the characters have a touch of anime on their character designs. |
| 97 | * AnyoneCanDie: Season 3 going into Season 4 really started knocking down the bowling pins, with [[spoiler:Gar Saxon, Maul, Konstantine, and Sato]] perishing in late Season 3 and [[spoiler:Slavin, Titus, Old Jho, Vult Skerris, Kanan, Gregor, Rukh, and Pryce]] kicking the bucket in Season 4. |
| 98 | * ArcHero: Season 2 adds Ahsoka Tano to the cast as a BigGood type figure leading Kanan and Ezra to contrast the new BigBad ArcVillain Darth Vader leading the Inquisitors. She also has history with him as his former apprentice, and the climax has the two face off in battle. |
| 99 | * ArcVillain: Aside from the overarching villainy of [[GreaterScopeVillain Emperor Palpatine]] and [[BigBad Grand Moff Tarkin]] (plus the WildCard of [[spoiler:Darth Maul]]), there's: |
| 100 | ** The Grand Inquisitor (plus Agent Kallus and Maketh Tua) for Season 1, with Tarkin playing a direct role in the finale. |
| 101 | ** Darth Vader (plus the Inquisitors, Admiral Konstantine and Kallus) for Season 2. |
| 102 | ** Grand Admiral Thrawn (plus Governor Pryce, Konstantine, Kallus[[note]](although no for long)[[/note]], and the Mandalorians) for Seasons 3 and 4. |
| 103 | ** [[spoiler:Emperor Palpatine himself]] plays a direct role in the final few episodes of the series following [[spoiler:Kanan's death]], although Thrawn remains the main antagonist. |
| 104 | * ArcWelding: |
| 105 | ** The audience finally gets to see and hear Obi-Wan's unseen message from ''Revenge of the Sith'' almost a decade after the film came out. This, plus the number of cameos from characters from the original movies and prequels, ties the series tightly to the established canon. |
| 106 | ** The reveal of Fulcrum's identity, Ahsoka Tano, welds ''Rebels'' and ''The Clone Wars'' together. The appearances of several other ''The Clone Wars'' characters including Rex, Wolffe, Gregor, and Hondo Ohnaka on the show takes this even further. |
| 107 | ** Sabine being a Mandalorian allows the show to explore the aftermath of the Siege of Mandalore, the intended ending to ''The Clone Wars'' had it gotten there. [[CrypticBackgroundReference Taking advantage of the ambiguity behind the events]] helps serve the storyline, especially when Mandalore is touched upon in Season 3. |
| 108 | ** Likewise, the Grand Inquisitor [[spoiler:was one of the Temple Guards that arrested Barriss Offee but took her MotiveRant [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech into]] [[WhatTheHellHero consideration]], which is part of the reason why he became who he is now]]. |
| 109 | ** "Breaking Ranks" is released around the same time the unfinished ''The Clone Wars'' episode arc "The Crystal Crisis on Utapau" is. Said arc reveals that kyber crystals (AKA, lightsaber crystals) can be used for superweapons, bringing to the viewer's mind of the Death Star. We learn later that the Lothal Jedi Temple is specifically on Lothal because of Lothal's abundance in kyber crystals, with the show and ''Literature/ServantsOfTheEmpire'' noting that Imperials are taking farms so that they can mine in them and the reason why Lando is on Lothal. ''Film/RogueOne'' revealed that Jedha, another Jedi/Force-related place, is being harvested by the Empire for its kyber crystals. ''Literature/{{Catalyst}}'' finally outright confirmed that the Empire needed kyber crystals to build the Death Star laser, meaning that the Empire is on Lothal to harvest its kyber crystals, while also cashing in on factories for things like new ion disruptors and [[spoiler:TIE Defenders]] to make the most of their time on the backwater world. |
| 110 | ** In the Season 2 premiere, Maketh Tua promises that she knows "the true reason the Empire came to Lothal" but [[spoiler:gets killed before she can explain what she meant.]] Season 4 finally reveals the truth: The Emperor brought his Forces to Lothal because [[spoiler:Lothal's Jedi Temple has a portal to [[VoidBetweenTheWorlds The World Between Worlds.]]]] |
| 111 | ** The situation in "Zero Hour" is caused by the "A-plot" of Thrawn and the Imperials searching for Chopper Base after [[spoiler:manipulating Kallus when Thrawn discovers the agent's Fulcrum plot thread]]. As a response, Mandalorians from Sabine's plot thread become BigDamnHeroes[=/=]TheCavalry to help the rebels escape with their lives. |
| 112 | ** A truly awe-inspiring example in "A World Between Worlds", when [[spoiler:Ezra enters the titular World Between Worlds and hears voices from ''' ''EVERY'' ''' major canon installment in the franchise since the Disney buyout, including past seasons of ''Rebels'', ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', and even ''Film/RogueOne'', thus neatly tying the past, present, and future of '''the entire Star Wars saga''' together in one single scene.]] |
| 113 | * ArcWords: |
| 114 | ** "I'll be right behind you." or any other variation will be followed by something bad, usually [[spoiler:whoever says it]]. |
| 115 | *** [[spoiler:Chronologically, Depa said it first in ''ComicBook/StarWarsKanan'' to Caleb before being killed during [[ThePurge Order 66]].]] |
| 116 | *** Kanan says it to Ezra [[spoiler:before being captured in "Call to Action"]]. |
| 117 | *** Ezra to [[spoiler:[[HeelFaceDoorSlam Tua]] to board a shuttle that exploded and got her killed in "Siege of Lothal"]]. |
| 118 | *** Hera to Sabine [[spoiler:to flee while being shot down by the Protectors in "Protector of Concord Dawn". Unlike the other examples, she survives and gets better.]] |
| 119 | *** Sabine to Ezra on saying she'll use her jetpack to board the ''Phantom II'', telling him to use his Force powers to go on ahead. She ends up getting her jetpack shot mid-flight by Saxon, but gets on board and is fine. |
| 120 | ** A 'spark of rebellion' and ignition of a flame, though this is mostly used in other media in reference to ''Rebels'' and not actually by the show itself, such as the act names in ''Literature/ANewDawn'', the NEU novelization of ''Return of the Jedi'', ''Literature/ServantsOfTheEmpire'', and so on. |
| 121 | ** In Season 2: "Malachor." |
| 122 | ** Season 4 specific: "All paths are coming together" and "Dume." |
| 123 | * ArmorIsUseless: |
| 124 | ** Played straight for Stormtroopers in regards to blocking blaster bolts, but averted in regards to explosions, which they can survive as indicated by "Art Attack" and "Entanglement". |
| 125 | ** Subverted when it comes to Ezra's energy slingshot; the bolts are too weak individually to stop a Stormtrooper, though several in quick succession will do the trick, and the Grand Inquisitor's armor blocks them completely, which greatly explains why he lets Ezra blast him rather than dodging them. |
| 126 | ** Averted entirely for Kallus; he takes a blaster bolt to the chest and is no worse for wear. Sabine similarly gets shot in the head and chest (by her own pistol shots deflected back at her by Vader), both of which her armor stops. |
| 127 | ** Also averted with Kanan's shoulder pauldron, which stops Vader's lightsaber from cutting his arm off during their duel. |
| 128 | ** In "Stealth Strike," Rex points out the poor quality of Stormtrooper armor compared to Clone trooper armor--considering that he survived a blaster bolt two inches from his heart way back when, he can attest to this pretty well. Even Kanan is aware that Stormtrooper armor doesn't protect against ''anything''. |
| 129 | * ArmorPiercingQuestion |
| 130 | ** In "The Protector of Concord Dawn", [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Sabine to the Protectors]], who are aligned with the Empire solely for business. |
| 131 | --->'''Sabine''': So who's in charge here; the Empire or Mandalore? |
| 132 | ** In "The Honorable Ones", Kallus never questioned his duty to the Empire, he fails to understand why they would do something like wipe out the Geonosians and [[Film/ANewHope the point of it]]. He directs these questions to Zeb, who tells him to find out for himself. |
| 133 | ** Later on in the same episode, after Kallus explains the [[DarkAndTroubledPast origins]] of his grudge towards [[BlackAndGreyMorality rebels]] and [[FantasticRacism Lasats]], Zeb says that he can't treat all of them as [[ALighterShadeOfGray the same]]. Kallus asks if that same sentiment applies to Imperials, and Zeb replies that it does, [[BlackAndWhiteMorality just only to the Imperials he knows]]. By the end of this episode, their answers have likely changed. |
| 134 | * ArtReflectsPersonality: In one early episode, Ezra asks Sabine to paint something in his and Zeb's quarters, so she paints a cartoon-ish picture of them doing something goofy earlier that episode. When Ezra and Zeb express disapproval at being depicted as fools, she simply states that [[StealthInsult she draws what she sees]]. This is one of a number of moments through the first half of Season 1 that shows that Sabine doesn't like Ezra until they both have CharacterDevelopment. |
| 135 | * ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: |
| 136 | ** Hera's blaster pistol is noticeably lacking a trigger guard. |
| 137 | ** This gets lampshaded during Ezra's first few experiences holding Kanan's lightsaber. The first time he ignites it (while looking through Kanan's room), Kanan warns him that he'll cut his own arm off if he's not careful. The second time, Ezra activates it (this time with Kanan's permission) with the emitter pointed towards Kanan's face and [[IJustShotMarvinInTheFace almost skewers him through it]]. Kanan wisely decides to shorten the blade length to avoid any repeat accidents. |
| 138 | * ArtShiftedSequel: |
| 139 | ** Compared to ''The Clone Wars'', the art of ''Rebels'' is -- while similar -- more cartoony, "Disney-fied", with smoother, rounder edges. Also the paintbrush-style coloring of ''The Clone Wars'' is gone, and a more vibrant palette is used. The differences are probably best shown on the respective models of [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B9dDZFMCcAAYZed.jpg Tarkin.]], though really, this can apply to any previously established character featured in ''The Clone Wars'' that made it into ''Rebels'', even accounting for the TimeSkip in-between installments. |
| 140 | ** Vader appears subtly different from the way he does in the movies -- specifically, his mask has more of an [[RageHelm "angry" appearance]] with more elongated features and the red of his eyes is more pronounced. This is because the show's art style is based on Ralph [=McQuarrie=]'s original artwork, rather than the finished designs that appear in the films. |
| 141 | ** The Stormtroopers are an interesting case; while they're more or less given the same look as in the films, said appearance is far more cartoony in the show. Their facial features seem especially exaggerated. |
| 142 | ** Ahsoka's appearance in Rebels has various changes from her appearance in ''The Clone Wars'', even accounting for age. The blue stripes on her horns and head-tails are thinner and wavy, the markings on her cheeks extend further up to be level with her eyes, her eye markings are extended to just below her eyes, and her forehead markings are wider. She also now has a long ovalish/rectangular face instead of a square face, something that age normally doesn't change. Her lips are also notably thinner. |
| 143 | ** The entire Ithorian race seems to have a much less bulky body compared to how they looked back in ''The Clone Wars''. The Wookiees also appear quite different. |
| 144 | ** As shown in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAGvFBwG834 this preview of "The Lost Commanders,"]] the heads of the basic model of [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars Separatist tactical droids]] seem a bit larger and more elongated when compared to their original appearance and their vocabulators seem more teeth-like. |
| 145 | * AscendedMeme: Kanan and Hera were given the respective [[invoked]]{{Fan Nickname}}s "Space Dad" and "Space Mom" based on their roles as TeamDad and TeamMom. In "The Siege Of Lothal", after the other members of the ''Ghost'' report in, Hera states "Alright kids, do mom and dad proud!" in the presence of Kanan, alluding to these nicknames. Alluded to even earlier; in "Fighter Flight", when Ezra and Zeb get sent away on a supply run, Hera comments to Kanan about how much quieter it is when "the kids" are away. |
| 146 | * AuthorAppeal: |
| 147 | ** Dave Filoni is a cat person, so it's no surprise that Lothal has a population of alien cats. And the fact that Chopper is "the family cat." |
| 148 | ** Filoni wanted to involve giant wolves in helping Ahsoka escape from Order 66 and even having her ride one (as a ShoutOut to ''Anime/PrincessMononoke''), though was not to be. However, in ''Rebels'', we get several references to giant wolves native to Lothal (the aptly named [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin lothwolves]]), [[spoiler:with one finally appearing in the flesh in the final season of the show to help Kanan, Sabine, and Ezra, also letting them ride it]]. There's also the ancient art of wolves in the Force temples, as well as the show being codenamed ''Wolf'' in production. |
| 149 | ** Simon Kinberg has been trying to write an anti-gravity scene for years, which he would finally do in [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsSparkOfRebellion "Spark of Rebellion"]]. |
| 150 | * AwesomeButImpractical: The Inquisitors use a double-bladed lightsaber mounted to a ring mechanism which allows the blades to spin rapidly. While very flashy, the tactical advantages of this are outweighed by the flaws of the design. On the plus side, the spinning allows the user to quickly reorient the blade without adjusting their hands ("Fire Across the Galaxy"), hit with additional force (Ezra's dream sequence in "Path of the Jedi"), turn it into a DeadlyDisc when thrown (numerous examples), and create a shield of sorts ("Fire Across the Galaxy"). The ''Rebels'' Encyclopedia actually invokes this, explaining that the weapon is meant to unnerve inexperienced Jedi opponents, making them more vulnerable for the real deadly strike. The big flaw is demonstrated in the season finale when [[spoiler:Kanan uses his lightsabers to break the ring while the sabers are spinning, causing both parts of the saber to fly out of the Grand Inquisitor's hand and spelling his defeat. By comparison, when Maul got his saber cut in half, he still had at least one functioning saber to work with. Of note, Kanan had overcome his fear of the Inquisitor by then, making the unnerving and intimidation tactic the weapon is meant for completely worthless as well.]] |
| 151 | * BabiesEverAfter: The DistantFinale shows [[spoiler:Hera with her and Kanan's young son, Jacen]]. |
| 152 | * BackForTheDead: |
| 153 | ** Morad Sumar returns in "An Inside Man" just long enough to die when Thrawn forces him to test a speeder that [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Sumar himself rigged to explode.]] |
| 154 | ** [[spoiler:Titus]] and [[spoiler:Slavin]] return after a season-long absence in the first and second parts of "In the Name of the Rebellion", and both of them die when their ships get blown up. |
| 155 | ** [[spoiler:Gregor]] returns in the final episodes and joins the liberation of Lothal, but suffers fatal wounds during the battle and dies in his commander's arms. |
| 156 | * BackForTheFinale: |
| 157 | ** A large number of previously absent characters return in the final episodes, including Kallus, Rex, Gregor and Wolfe, Ketsu Onyo, and Hondo and Melch. [[spoiler:And the purrgil.]] |
| 158 | ** [[spoiler:Chava and Gron]] get a non-speaking cameo together during the epilogue when Zeb [[spoiler:takes Kallus to Lira San.]] |
| 159 | * BaitAndSwitch: Through season 4, Kanan and Hera have a number of conversations about their relationship, and Hera [[spoiler:mourns that she never told him after his death]], giving the impression that they'd never actually been together. It's not until the coda to the GrandFinale that we learn they weren't talking about [[spoiler:getting together, but the fact that they had a child on the way]]. |
| 160 | * BetterToDieThanBeKilled: After being defeated by Kanan in a lightsaber duel in the season 1 finale, [[spoiler:the Grand Inquisitor chooses a DisneyVillainDeath over reporting back to his boss, Lord Vader.]] |
| 161 | * {{BFG}}: The T-7 Ion Disruptor that first appears in episode 3, "Droids in Distress"; it's a powerful hand-held rifle designed to disable ''starships'' and when used on living beings the results are rather nasty -- in the old Expanded Universe, it was said that Disruptors disintegrate living beings, though the effect is just slow enough that the target dies in ''utter agony'', feeling all of their atoms burning away into vapor.[[note]]Word of God says that this is the case in the NEU as well, and their use on Lasan was the first time they'd been used on organic lifeforms, leading directly to their ban by the Imperial Senate.[[/note]] Even the Empire bans their use -- or at least, pays lip-service to the idea that they are illegal, but discretely uses them on rebellious planets they want to make an example out of. (They're kind of the sci-fi equivalent of using nerve gas.) Zeb doesn't like them [[spoiler:because he has gotten a real good look at what they can do when the Empire invaded his homeworld]]. |
| 162 | * BigBad: |
| 163 | ** The Grand Inquisitor is TheHeavy hunting down the Jedi in the first season, though Tarkin ([[GreaterScopeVillain despite his limited appearances]]) is largely responsible for Lothal's poor state and is the superior of the Imperial forces. |
| 164 | ** Darth Vader becomes this in Season Two, undoing what good the Rebellion managed to accomplish in the premiere before sending two more Inquisitors, the Fifth Brother and the Seventh Sister, to hunt down the Jedi. He returns in the finale to confront Ahsoka Tano personally, [[spoiler:though Maul has his own agenda]]. |
| 165 | ** Grand Admiral Thrawn is brought in to deal with the Rebellion in Season Three, [[spoiler:with massive results come the finale]]. He's also part of a BigBadEnsemble with the WildCard Maul. |
| 166 | ** In the final season, Thrawn remains the central antagonist, but [[spoiler:Emperor Palpatine himself, much like in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'',]] steps in to play an active role in the last few episodes. |
| 167 | * BigBadEnsemble: In season three, the primary antagonists are Grand Admiral Thrawn, who is out to crush the fledgling Rebel Alliance, and Maul, who wants to take revenge against all those who have wronged him (which includes the Empire) and corrupt Ezra into becoming his new apprentice. [[spoiler:Maul is KilledOffForReal by Obi-Wan Kenobi in ''Twin Suns'', the final episode before the Zero Hour season finale two-parter, leaving Thrawn as the sole Big Bad.]] |
| 168 | * BigBadWannabe: The Seventh Sister in Vader's absence during Season 2. Out of the other shown Inquisitors, the Seventh Sister is seen to be the most ambitious for the position of Grand Inquisitor. She is also seen giving orders to the Fifth Brother (who is implied to be of higher rank than her) and later the Eighth Brother as well. Ultimately, [[CurbStompBattle they all get ousted by Ahsoka and Maul]], and she will still be [[AlwaysABiggerFish under the command of]] [[BigBad Vader]] no matter if she gets the promotion or not. |
| 169 | * BigGood: Primarily Fulcrum/Ahsoka, who coordinates various rebel cells including the Lothal crew. Bail Organa serves as a secondary one, scouting out the team for what would become the Rebel Alliance and working with Fulcrum, and serves as the overarching good guy for the most part. Season 3 introduces the primary one of the franchise--Mon Mothma, who officially kickstarted the Rebel Alliance. |
| 170 | * TheBigDamnKiss: Finally. In the season 4 episode "Kindred", [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther Kanan and Hera]] share a long one. A few good seconds. Sabine takes notice and gets everyone's attention for it. |
| 171 | * TheBigGuy: Zeb is the physically strongest and largest member of the ''Ghost'' crew, and he also seems a bit gruff at first, but in reality, [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold he's a deeply caring person]]. |
| 172 | * BigNo: At least twice with Ezra, when he's saving Zeb from Agent Kallus and when the Grand Inquisitor threatens to [[BerserkButton kill his friends]]. Kanan also invokes this three times in concern for Ezra, in "Rise of the Old Masters", "Gathering Forces", and "Fire Across the Galaxy". |
| 173 | * BilingualBonus: The various signs written in Aurebesh actually do spell out what they're supposed to be saying. |
| 174 | * BilingualDialogue: All the main characters speak Basic, except for Chopper, who speaks a garbled droidspeak. However, his actor [[spoiler:Dave Filoni]], uncredited until the final episode, is speaking English and if you pay attention you can figure out what he's saying (he has a ''filthy'' mouth). |
| 175 | * BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:How the series ends overall. Ezra makes a HeroicSacrifice to send himself, Thrawn and the Star Destroyer they were in to an unknown point of the deepest reaches of space, effectively taking both one of the remaining Jedi and one of the Empire's most efficient generals off of the board for the entirety of the original trilogy with UncertainDoom but a hope that Ezra lives. The people of Lothal are freed, albeit not without losses along the way like Kanan or Gregor, and when the heroes tried to anticipate for an Imperial retaliation, the Rebellion would rise up shortly after the series, culminating in peace for the galaxy. While it won't [[Film/StarWarsTheForceAwakens last forever]], the heroes earned their victory -- though Sabine decides she's not going to simply let things sit, and sets off with Ahsoka to [[{{Series/Ahsoka}} find Ezra.]]]] |
| 176 | * ABirthdayNotABreak: The "Empire Day"/"Gathering Forces" two-parter takes place on Ezra's birthday. Throughout the ''Ghost'' crew has to protect a Rodian with sensitive intel from the Empire, Ezra's forced to deal with his long-repressed issues about his parents, and [[spoiler:Ezra taps into the dark side in a moment of desperation]]. On the bright side, [[ThrowTheDogABone Sabine found a holo-image of his parents]]. |
| 177 | * BlackAndWhiteMorality: Played straight at the extremes: The ''Ghost'' Crew are good, the Emperor, Tarkin, Pryce and Thrawn are bad. Subverted with prejudice practically everywhere else, as a wide variety of sympathetic Imperial characters are introduced, while both the Rebels and anti-Imperials get at least one villainous figure. One of Ezra's most important lessons is that good and evil can come from anywhere, but also learns that not all of his allies share the same values or even fight the Empire for the same reasons he does. |
| 178 | * BookEnds: One of the first shots in ''Rebels'' is Ezra looking off from the tower he lives in, onto Lothal's capital city. The "epilogue" portion of the finale also starts this way. |
| 179 | * BoringButPractical: Thrawn realizes the Rebellion has a significant fighter advantage, so his master plan is "develop better starfighters." It's not as flashy as a superweapon, but just the handful of prototypes he gets built nearly destroy the Rebellion before it begins. |
| 180 | * BottleEpisode: |
| 181 | ** Or rather, bottle ''season''--the first season of the show is largely concerned with the affairs of the planet Lothal, which is Ezra's home. Given that the theme of the series is that the spark of rebellion will spread like wildfire, the rest of the series explores a greater number of settings. |
| 182 | ** Season 4 is once again is confined to Lothal. The planet is locked down tight and once the ''Ghost'' crew enters, they will be stranded and unable to leave. They make the choice knowing this. |
| 183 | * BrickJoke: |
| 184 | ** In "Spark Of Rebellion", when Kallus asks for Ezra's name, he answers; "Jabba The Hutt". Ten or so Episodes later, when Kallus corners Kanan & Ezra, he refers to Ezra as; "Jabba"? |
| 185 | ** In the [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsSparkOfRebellion pilot]], he falls on Ezra, who immediately claims he can't breathe because of Zeb's smell. In the first episode of season two, Zeb gets locked into a crate and breaks out gasping for air, explicitly citing his own stench as the cause. |
| 186 | ** And in [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E01TheHolocronsOfFate "The Holocrons of Fate"]], we get [[spoiler:Maul]] commenting on his and Ezra's cabin: "What a . . . ''curious'' smell." |
| 187 | * BrilliantButLazy: Chopper's personality in a nutshell. |
| 188 | * BrokenAesop: |
| 189 | ** Deconstructed. Kanan tries to teach Ezra the peaceful ways of the Jedi, but ultimately every problem they have is solved with [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption conflict]]. [[spoiler:Maul's influence]] ultimately proves to be a catalyst to what Ezra had been internalizing for a long time, and he starts SlowlySlippingIntoEvil as a result. |
| 190 | ** This dynamic is PlayedForDrama in "Mystery of Chopper Base" where Kanan's contradictory actions lead to Ezra having trouble knowing when to play diplomacy and when to use violence against the spider creatures. Though once Kanan experiences a paradigm shift, he revises his previous actions and shows Ezra the possibility of making peace with the spiders. |
| 191 | * TheBrute: |
| 192 | ** Taskmaster Myles Grint, a large, dumb subordinate of Aresko. |
| 193 | ** The Fifth Brother in Season 2, is a short-sighted BloodKnight, who refuses help from others and would kill his target without hesitation, instead of capturing them to be used as bait for their comrades. |
| 194 | * TheBusCameBack: Nearly every character of significance returns for the final season. |
| 195 | ** Captains Slavin and Titus return for the first few episodes. [[spoiler:[[BackForTheDead And both die in the same episodes they return in.]]]] |
| 196 | ** Saw Gerrera returns for the first time since Season 3. |
| 197 | ** Baron Valen Rudor shows up as the new proprietor and owner of Old Jho's Bar. Unfortunately, it turns out this was because the previous owner and namesake [[BusCrash was executed offscreen for crimes against the Empire.]] |
| 198 | ** Mart Mattin and Jai Kell join the Rebel cells for the first time since Seasons 3 and 1, respectively. |
| 199 | ** Gregor and Wolfe rejoin Rex in the finale after last appearing in early season 2, as does Hondo Ohnaka and his Ugnaught crewman, Melch, absent since season 3. |
| 200 | ** Ketsu Onyo, last seen in Season 2, joins her bloodsister Sabine in the final episodes. |
| 201 | ** Cikatro Vizago shows up as a slave aboard the Imperial crawler after last being seen in mid-Season 2. |
| 202 | ** [[spoiler:The [[SpaceWhale Purrgil]] return in ''massive numbers'']] in the finale as a vital part of Ezra's plan, where he [[spoiler:uses them to destroy Thrawn's fleet and teleport [[HeroicSacrifice himself and Thrawn]] to an unknown sector of hyperspace.]] |
| 203 | ** Possibly the longest bus ride of them all: [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars The Mortis Gods]] return as part of a mural on Lothal after not being seen since their arc in Season 3 of ''The Clone Wars.'' |
| 204 | ** The [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/T-6_shuttle T-6 shuttle]], a vehicle not seen since ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', makes its return in the finale, fittingly as [[spoiler:the starship Ahsoka presumably uses to return to Lothal.]] |
| 205 | * ButtMonkey: TIE pilot Baron Valen Rudor. He's been robbed by Ezra, beaten up by Zeb twice, and can't manage to get his hands on a TIE without someone messing that up (once his TIE fighter was blown up, the other time it was stolen). And at the Empire Day ceremony his new prototype fighter was blown to bits in a very public attack, while he was being praised by the Minister no less. Pretty much every appearance ends with him lying unconscious on the ground. |
| 206 | * CannotSpitItOut: Ezra has a crush on Sabine, but he's too nervous to say anything to her outright, so he resorts to unpolished, cheesy "smooth" talking. Naturally, she's less than impressed. |
| 207 | * CanonImmigrant: Grand Admiral Thrawn is reintroduced to canon in Season 3, serving as the BigBad of that season and the following one. Season 3 also reintroduces [[spoiler:the TIE Defenders, advanced 3-winged TIE Fighters that have been a major part of many Star Wars games going all the way back to 1994's Videogame/TIEFighter.]] |
| 208 | * CargoConcealmentCaper: In the pilot episode, our heroes rescue a group of Wookiees from Kessel by hiding them in a cargo container that the ''Ghost'' picks up. Kanan calls this a "22-pickup". |
| 209 | * CastingGag: |
| 210 | ** This isn't the first time Freddie Prinze Jr. played [[WesternAnimation/{{Delgo}} someone who could lift rocks with his mind]], [[VideoGame/MassEffect3 flew around in a cool spaceship as part of a ragtag bunch of misfits that made use of "Spectre" as a designation]], or [[Film/WingCommander flew around space with a deeper connection to the galaxy than the average person]]. |
| 211 | ** Not only is this not the first time Creator/VanessaMarshall voiced a character in the ''Star Wars'' universe, [[VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga this also isn't the first time she voiced the pilot of a ship belonging to a retired Jedi]]. |
| 212 | ** Creator/SteveBlum flying around with a ragtag bunch of misfits in a spaceship. [[Anime/CowboyBebop Sounds]] [[VideoGame/MassEffect2 familiar]]. |
| 213 | ** The leader of the ''Ghost'' rebel crew, Hera Syndulla, is voiced by Creator/VanessaMarshall. Marshall's ex-husband, Andrew Kishino, played the Partisan rebel leader, Saw Gerrera, back in ''The Clone Wars'' (though Creator/ForestWhitaker plays Saw here like he did in ''Film/RogueOne''). |
| 214 | ** Creator/KevinMcKidd was the main character of the short-lived ''Series/{{Journeyman}}'' television series. Here, he's the leader of the Journeyman Protectors. |
| 215 | ** Kallus's first name being Alexsandr is a reference to a production manager, Alex Spotswood, who voices him in temp recording. |
| 216 | ** Andrew Kishino, the [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars original]] voice for Saw, plays a minor character in ''Rebels'' that is nearly the exact opposite of Saw's current characterization--a ReasonableAuthorityFigure Imperial trooper that puts the well-being of the innocent first. |
| 217 | *** He also uses a similar inflection he uses for Janja in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionGuard'', a MookLieutenant that worries about his own skin but wants to look good in front of his superiors--which is the characterization of Captain Hark's boss, Tiber Saxon. |
| 218 | ** Creator/WarwickDavis has a long history of physically playing but not voicing [[PeopleInRubberSuits various aliens]] throughout the franchise. Now he's playing a character ''only'' through his voice. |
| 219 | * CasualDangerDialogue: |
| 220 | ** This seems to be a staple of Kanan and Hera's interactions. In the pilot alone, she discusses recruiting Ezra with Kanan while he's trying to get her to focus on TIE Fighters trying to kill them. |
| 221 | ** The intro to "Shroud of Darkness" has Kanan and Ezra showing annoyance at another encounter with the Inquisitors. |
| 222 | * CentralTheme: |
| 223 | ** Fight for the right thing even if it's you against the world, because the truth is, [[YouAreNotAlone you are not alone in your struggle]], and [[TrueCompanions they'll be there to back you up]]. |
| 224 | ** If you find that you are [[DarkestHour hurting]], reconcile with your [[DarkAndTroubledPast past]] so that you and the people around you can have a brighter future. YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre. |
| 225 | *** It's never too late to start changing yourself for the better. |
| 226 | * CerebusRetcon: Possibly. In "Spark of Rebellion", Kallus has an OhCrap moment when he gets caught in Sabine's explosion. While it's partly because he was about to be [[ThrownOutTheAirlock sucked into outer space]], "The Honorable Ones" reveals that [[spoiler:Kallus got knocked out and paralyzed by a rebel explosion, which made him helpless as he watched his brothers-in-arms be mercilessly killed.]] |
| 227 | * CharacterAsHimself: Chopper is credited "as himself" in the credits. Given that Lucasfilm actually went the extra mile and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S32k1YdFW4&list=UUZGYJFUizSax-yElQaFDp5Q built]] the character, this isn't too much of a stretch. It becomes useful for gags in Rebels Recon and [[spoiler:[[TheCameo cameo]] appearances in live-action works like ''Film/RogueOne''.]] |
| 228 | ** Averted in the last episode, where Chopper's actor is revealed (see WhamLine). |
| 229 | ** [[spoiler:Dume, the giant loth-wolf that's [[AmbiguousSituation apparently]] not Kanan]] is credited as being played by "The Force." |
| 230 | * ChekhovsGunman: |
| 231 | ** Senator Gall Trayvis appears as a hologram in "Rise of the Old Masters" and briefly in "Empire Day" before showing up in person in "Vision Of Hope". |
| 232 | ** Sabine stays with Rau and Clan Wren to deal with the Second Mandalorian Civil War halfway through Season 3. In the season finale, when the Empire lays siege to Atollon and the rebels are unable to call for reinforcements without risking further destruction of the Rebel Alliance, so Ezra chooses to get help from Sabine, Rau, and Clan Wren. |
| 233 | * ChekhovsSkill: In "Siege of Lothal", Darth Vader catches Kanan's wrist and twists it into a throw. In "Twilight of the Apprentice", Kanan uses the same maneuver to beat [[spoiler:Maul]]. |
| 234 | * ChildSoldiers: |
| 235 | ** Ezra and Sabine are this, being 15 and 16 respectively. They fall under the "Tragic" type. |
| 236 | ** The Imperial Academy cadets. While we don't get to see much of it in the show, supporting material such as ''Literature/ServantsOfTheEmpire'' and [[Magazine/StarWarsRebelsMagazine comic strips]] have cadets participating in things such as maintaining curfews and helping investigations. In the show itself, we get things like Sabine having been a cadet when she participated in an unspecific but questionably moral actions, and other officers on Lothal don't bat an eye whenever they see a cadet [[DressingAsTheEnemy (Ezra in disguise)]] doing things like helping arrest a likely high-prioritized criminal.[[note]] The ''Legends'' continuity included COMPNOR, the [=COMmission=] for the Preservation of the New [=ORder=], which included Sub-Adult groups to instill Imperial ideaolgy in young people. [=SAGroup=] leaders could be issued stun blasters and given authority to discipline other [=SAGroup=] members, and assist in "peacekeeping" initiatives. [[SchrodingersCanon Cadet behavior here is likely a call-back to this idea.]][[/note]] |
| 237 | * ChronicHeroSyndrome: It appears to be contagious, as spending a little time with the Ghost's crew inspires Ezra to help them out and to rescue a Wookiee child despite his earlier cynicism. The crew doesn't try to right every wrong they see, but they still take on very dangerous missions for no other reason than it being the right thing to do. Zeb in particular felt he owed these Wookiees, because they were Old Republic soldiers, and when the Empire killed off most of his species to make an example of them, the only reason he and a handful of other Lasats managed to survive was because some Wookiee soldiers helped them fight their way out (though it wasn't even this same group of Wookiees). |
| 238 | * CircleOfStandingStones: There are a few on Lothal, and true to the trope, supplementary material confirms that they're artificial and their origin is unknown. |
| 239 | * ClipShow: "Star Wars Rebels: The Ultimate Guide" is a clip show summary of the first season. |
| 240 | * ClonesArePeopleToo: [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor]] are ''really'' showing strong individuation from their standardized upbringing by the time of this show. |
| 241 | * CoDragons: |
| 242 | ** The Grand Inquisitor and Agent Kallus for Grand Moff Tarkin in Season 1. They encounter the Ghost crew the most and are the biggest threats to them, The Inquisitor is a [[spoiler:fallen]] Dark Jedi while Agent Kallus is a BadassNormal who can beat up Zeb with a weapon not built for his hands. Minister Tua to a lesser extent, as she doesn't participate in the action and is relegated to barking orders. [[spoiler:After that, Kallus is the only one left loyal to Tarkin]]. |
| 243 | ** The Fifth Brother and Seventh Sister take the role along with Agent Kallus in Season 2 to Darth Vader. |
| 244 | ** Season 3 has Agent Kallus with Admiral Konstantine and Governor Pryce under Grand Admiral Thrawn. |
| 245 | * ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Adding another layer to Lightsaber color denoting allegiance; in Season 2 [[spoiler:Ahsoka's]] new lightsabers [[http://youtu.be/xggYEpemcck?t=2m53s have white blades.]] Which [[invoked]][[WordOfGod Dave Filoni]] has revealed "reflects a lack of affiliation". |
| 246 | * ContinuityNod: |
| 247 | ** In ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', Obi-Wan said that he sent out a message to tell the Jedi to go into hiding. In this show, we actually get to hear it when Ezra takes a look at a Holocron. |
| 248 | ** The promotion-campaign revealed several nods towards ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': |
| 249 | *** Hera Syndulla, the Twi'lek pilot and captain of the ''Ghost'', is the daughter of Cham Syndulla, the leader of the Twi'lek [[LaResistance freedom fighters]] during the Separatist occupation of Ryloth. Cham was also one of the main characters in ''Literature/LordsOfTheSith'', which mentions Hera in passing a few times. |
| 250 | *** The visor-shape of Sabine's helmet has the same owl-face design as Bo-Katan's helmet, who was the second-in-command of Death Watch. [[spoiler:As it turns out, she is descended from House Vizsla through her mother, who was a member of Death Watch]]. |
| 251 | *** Concept art also shows that Sabine has created graffiti-portraits of Cad Bane and Embo on the walls of the ''Ghost''. |
| 252 | ** In the pilot, Grint and Aresko harass a Lothal citizen over jogan fruit, which were first introduced in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars''. |
| 253 | ** In the pilot movie, the Empire makes the same mistake they did in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', jamming the Rebels before the trap was fully sprung. |
| 254 | ** In "Droids in Distress", Bail Organa checks R2-D2 to find more about the rebels while on an Alderaan Diplomatic ship, a nod to how his adopted daughter Leia uploads a message to R2-D2 during ''Film/ANewHope'' while her Alderaan Diplomatic ship is being boarded by the Empire. |
| 255 | ** "Breaking Ranks" features Kanan and Hera stopping a Kyber crystal from being delivered to the Empire. In the WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars ''Crystal Crisis on Utapau'' story reels, a giant Kyber crystal was featured as the MacGuffin that Obi-Wan and Anakin tries to prevent from falling into Grevious's hands, and it's heavily implied to be the power source of the Death Star's laser. |
| 256 | ** The episode also resembles "Death Trap" from ''The Clone Wars'' in that a boy who's more skilled than his peers (Boba Fett/Ezra Bridger) infiltrates the army ranks as a cadet. |
| 257 | ** In "Out of Darkness", the rhydonium Sabine uses were also used by clone commando Gregor in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars''. |
| 258 | ** In "Path of the Jedi", Yoda appears to Ezra as a swarm of fireflies; Qui-Gon Jinn appeared to Yoda the same way in the Yoda arc for ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars''. |
| 259 | ** Also in "Path of the Jedi", when Kanan questions how Yoda can commune with him, he responds with "I am here because you are here". Qui-Gon said the same thing to Obi-Wan on Mortis in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', when Obi-Wan questioned Qui-Gon's presence. |
| 260 | ** We get to see how Jedi obtain their lightsaber crystals, which was also previously introduced in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars''. |
| 261 | ** In "Call to Action", Tarkin mentions [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars his past experience]] with Jedi. |
| 262 | ** The artwork in Hera's cabin resembles Twi'lek art seen in the Ryloth arc of ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars The Clone Wars]]'' |
| 263 | ** In "Fire Across the Galaxy", the rebels steal an Imperial Transport from the same TIE Fighter landing field Sabine raided in the "Art Attack" short. The stormtroopers even remember her, saying "the artist is back" when they spot her (doesn't stop her from blowing up the base yet again). The crew also use the TIE Fighter stolen by Ezra and Zeb from "Fighter Flight" as a Trojan horse/escape vehicle during the mission to Mustafar. |
| 264 | ** Also in "Fire Across the Galaxy", Kanan and Ezra's final battle with the Inquisitor bears a remarkable resemblance to Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's battle with Darth Maul at the end of ''[[Film/ThePhantomMenace The Phantom Menace]]''. Two Jedi -- master and padawan -- fight a darksider wielding a dual-bladed lightsaber over a series of catwalks. One of the Jedi is knocked out, leaving the other to finish the job. The darksider dies ([[NotQuiteDead or appears to]]) when he falls into a power core. However, there are some notable differences as well. Instead of the padawan being the one to finish the duel, it is the master. In addition, the victor does not push his victim to the latter's death; rather, the victim chooses death, [[DrivenToSuicide rather than face the wrath of his master]]. |
| 265 | ** During "The Siege of Lothal," Darth Vader states that he believes Ahsoka can lead the Empire to the other surviving Jedi who are in hiding across the galaxy. He specifically singles out Obi-Wan Kenobi before the Emperor tells him to remain patient. Anyone who has seen ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' knows that Vader is eager to get revenge on Obi-Wan after the latter chopped off three of his limbs and left him for dead on Mustafar. |
| 266 | ** In "Brothers of the Broken Horn", Hondo mentions that he was once good friends with a Jedi many years ago. [[FriendlyEnemy Or at least he thinks they were friends.]] He's referring to his adventures with Obi-Wan Kenobi, which occurred in ''The Clone Wars''. |
| 267 | ** In "Protector of Concord Dawn", Sabine reveals that she is (or was) a part of [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars House Vizsla]]. |
| 268 | ** In "Homecoming", it's mentioned that Cham once fought alongside Mace Windu during the Clone Wars. |
| 269 | ** In "The Honorable Ones", Kallus mentions that his first unit was deployed to [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars Onderon]], and were subsequently ambushed by Saw Gerrera's rebels. |
| 270 | ** The population of Geonosis is mysteriously gone, according to "The Honorable Ones". ''ComicBook/StarWarsDarthVader'' reveals that it was sterilized to keep the construction of the Death Star a secret. |
| 271 | ** In "Twilight of the Apprentice", on Malachor, Ezra finds an ancient crossguard lightsaber (and a couple others have the same design as well) similar to the one used by Kylo Ren in ''Film/TheForceAwakens''. This is a CallForward, as Kylo Ren based his lightsaber off of a design found from the remains of "the Scourge of Malachor". |
| 272 | ** In "Steps into Shadow", the Spectres are ordered to deliver the Y-wings they captured to [[Film/ANewHope General Dodonna's unit]]. |
| 273 | ** In "The Holocrons of Fate," [[spoiler:Ezra sees a vision of what will eventually destroy the Sith. Kanan pulls him out of the vision before it goes too far, but Ezra mentions having seen "[[Film/ANewHope Twin suns...]]"]] |
| 274 | * CoolPlane: The Blade Wing, the prototype B-Wing star fighter. Comes equipped with a [[spoiler:WaveMotionGun]] that [[spoiler:Hera uses to take a cruiser out to break an Imperial blockade]]. |
| 275 | * CoolStarship: The flagship of Phoenix Squadron is a Pelta-Class Frigate known as ''Phoenix Home'', but it gets destroyed by Vader. Later, it gets replaced with a stolen Imperial Carrier. |
| 276 | * ConvenientColorChange: [[spoiler:After his first lightsaber is destroyed by Vader, Ezra rebuilds it into a simpler form with the blade changing from blue to green.]] |
| 277 | * CostumeEvolution: As the show takes place over a period of years, this is bound to happen. Prior to Season 3, it's mostly color changes. |
| 278 | ** In Season 1 and "The Siege of Lothal", Sabine had blonde streaks in her hair and a faded coat of burgundy on her armor with her [[ZorroMark firebird insignia]], with a dejarik-patterned shoulderpiece and a red anooba on the other. A couple of episodes in, Sabine starts wearing more pouches and ammo. After being [[spoiler:shot by Vader]], she dyes her hair to blue-green, gets a long-sleeved body glove, adds a '5' decal to the dejarik shoulderpiece and colors the anooba shoulderpiece blue, and also adds more orange and yellow to her armor and helmet. |
| 279 | ** Kallus is given an unstated promotion after "The Siege of Lothal" and is given a different rank badge and symbols on his helmet and collar. |
| 280 | ** Hera gets a pilot's helmet from Quarrie and is seen a couple of times with just her head cap. |
| 281 | ** In Season 3, due to a TimeSkip, all of the crew minus Chopper receive one: |
| 282 | *** Ezra is given a buzzcut, civilian clothes appropriate for combat, and is now as tall as Sabine. |
| 283 | *** Zeb has a shoulderless chestplate. |
| 284 | *** Sabine has added purple to her armor and helmet, repainted her starbird insignia as well as seemingly given her armor a fresh coat of burgundy, a new bodyglove (her underarms are colored grey now), and a convor replacing the anooba. [[FreezeFrameBonus Her hair no longer peeks out of her helmet]] like in previous seasons, as she has cut her hair into a half-tone and dyed it light purple/pink/white. |
| 285 | *** Kanan has a beard, a green outfit similar to Ezra's, and [[spoiler:a visor covering his blind eyes]]. |
| 286 | *** Hera's outfit becomes slightly more official and militaristic, as she grows more involved in the Rebellion. |
| 287 | * CrapsackWorld: Let's just say society on Lothal ''really'' went to hell after the Empire took over the planet. Aside from environmental pollution caused by the factories and strip-mining, and the farmers being forcefully removed from their homes for land development, there are also plenty of corrupt Imperials taking advantage of middle-to-lower class citizens. One can get arrested for "treason" if they say anything negative about the Empire (and being compared to the Old Republic). Also, [[StuffBlowingUp explosions are incredibly common in Capital City]]. In Season Two, Darth Vader brings the hammer down on the planet to find the ''Ghost'' crew and it's a wrecked shell the next time the heroes visit. By season four, it's a full totalitarian regime, the entire population is enslaved to work the factories, the majority of Lothal has been burned so badly that the sky is just smoke around even minor towns, Lothal's culture has been all but annihilated, and there's the implication that once the empire is done with the planet there won't be a single living thing left. |
| 288 | * CreatorCameo: Dave Filoni voices an AT-AT driver in "Relics of the Old Republic", as well as a couple of other minor roles in other episodes from then on. |
| 289 | * CrypticBackgroundReference: The episode guide for "Out of Darkness" mentions that a cup of Spiran caf reminds Kanan of when he and Hera were on the moons of Rion. In ''Legends'', Rion is a tropical resort planet, suggesting this fact is ShipTease. |
| 290 | * CunningPeoplePlayPoker: One episode opens with Zeb losing the team droid, Chopper, to none other than Lando Calrissian in a game of Sabacc. This establishes his characterization in the episode as a cunning shyster and manipulator as he joins the crew of the Ghost on an inpromptu mission in exchange for Chopper. |
| 291 | * CurbStompBattle: |
| 292 | ** Ezra and Kanan have both improved a lot since the start of the show, but it's not enough to help them against Darth Vader. The Sith Lord spends the entire battle smacking them around like they were nothing. To make matters worse, he didn't really seem to be trying all that hard, especially considering the power he showed [[OutOfTheInferno at the end]]. There's a reason he's TheDreaded. |
| 293 | ** Ahsoka deals an embarrassing CurbStompBattle to the Seventh Sister and Fifth Brother, which paints them in a ''far'' less threatening light for the remainder of the series. |
| 294 | ** Sabine is on the receiving end of one from Kanan when she first starts training with [[spoiler:the Darksaber]]. He's initially wielding his lightsaber with only one hand, then ''turns it off'' and dodges all of her strikes. He takes advantage of this to [[IShallTauntYou taunt]] her, using ReversePsychology to help her find the focus and clarity she needs [[spoiler:to use the Darksaber to its full potential]]. |
| 295 | ** Obi-Wan Kenobi takes Maul out in about five seconds once their duel begins. |
| 296 | * CurtainsMatchTheWindow: |
| 297 | ** Ezra has indigo blue hair and eyes. |
| 298 | ** His father, Ephraim Bridger, has black/blue hair and similarly colored eyes as well. |
| 299 | ** Kallus has light-brown hair (specifically strawberry blonde) and light-brown eyes. |
| 300 | ** Jai is a dark brunette with dark brown eyes. |
| 301 | ** Zare's hair is dark brown and so are his eyes. |
| 302 | ** Like in live-action, Wedge's hair and eyes are dark brown. |
| 303 | [[/folder]] |
| 304 | |
| 305 | [[folder:D-G]] |
| 306 | * DarkAndTroubledPast: Almost the entire crew. |
| 307 | ** Kanan is plagued by the guilt that most of the other Jedi died during Order 66 and he did not. Specifically, he is wracked by guilt that his own master sacrificed herself so that he could escape - even though this is what she ''wanted'' to happen, and her last words to him were to run and save himself. |
| 308 | ** Ezra lost both of his parents on his seventh birthday (which he shares with Empire Day) when they protested against the Empire, causing him to develop a (temporary) "look out for number one" mentality and some abandonment issues. |
| 309 | ** Zeb is one of the few remaining Lasats left in the galaxy after they were nearly wiped out in a genocide using banned weapons. |
| 310 | ** Sabine was a former cadet at the Imperial academy on Mandalore, and was [[spoiler:manipulated into building superweapons for them, which they then turned on Mandalore and her loved ones. When she tried to speak out, her family abandoned her to her fate]]. She then was forced to run from Mandalore, became a bounty hunter and was left for dead by her partner before finally joining up with the ''Ghost'' crew. |
| 311 | ** Hera grew up on Ryloth, a planet occupied first by the Separatists, then by the Empire. She lost her mother, who was fighting for the Resistance, at an early age, and grew estranged from her father as he neglected his family for the sake of his cause. Word Of God also states that she was personally hurt by Order 66. |
| 312 | ** Kallus has one too. His first unit was stationed on [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars Onderon]], where they were attacked by Gerrera's rebels and a hired Lasat mercenary. Kallus was conscious but [[ForcedToWatch unable to do anything due to injuries]] when the Lasat made sure his remaining, already-wounded teammates were [[MakeSureHesDead dead]]. For reasons Kallus did not understand, he was [[SoleSurvivor spared.]] |
| 313 | * DarkActionGirl: Ketsu Onyo (who is a {{Foil}} to [[ActionGirl Sabine]]), at least initially. The Seventh Sister counts as well. |
| 314 | * DarkerAndEdgier: |
| 315 | ** Much like ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars The Clone Wars]]'' before it, ''Rebels'' grows noticeably more sombre the further in you get. You can see the transition in the first season alone, which gradually gets darker and more violent. To put it this way: the TV movie that started off the whole story has Wookie kids being sentenced to slave labor in the Star Wars equivalent of salt mines, and the first episode introduces us to war crimes and ''genocide'' the Empire has committed. By the end of the season, [[spoiler:three of the main Imperial characters are dead, Darth Vader has arrived, Rebel warships are openly attacking the Imperial Navy and Ezra has gotten a nasty pair of scars]]. This still pales in comparison to the [[WhamEpisode finale]] of Season 2. |
| 316 | ** Season 3 is incredibly ominous, with [[spoiler:Ezra gradually becoming more corrupted by the Sith holocron and committing increasingly dubious acts - in the premiere episode of the season he mindcontrols an Imperial gunner into murdering other people and then committing suicide! - Kanan coping with PTSD and the loss of his sight, Hera in personal danger on at least two occasions, Maul determined to sway Ezra to the Dark Side and kill Kanan, and Grand Admiral Thrawn showing up with the intention of setting the Rebels against each other and utterly destroying them.]] |
| 317 | * DarkReprise: |
| 318 | ** [[InvertedTrope Inverted]], "Empire Day" reveals that the Imperial March is the Empire's actual anthem, though the melody is much more upbeat than its usual sound. |
| 319 | ** Another inversion occurs in the series finale, when we get a higher-pitched, more "heroic" version of [[invoked]][[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic "Thrawn's Web"]] as Ezra defiantly [[ShutUpHannibal shuts Thrawn down]] [[spoiler:while in captivity aboard the ''Chimaera.'']] |
| 320 | * DeadpanSnarker: Whenever they're not being serious (and sometimes when they are), all six heroes regularly count as this. |
| 321 | %%* {{Deconstruction}} |
| 322 | * DeconReconSwitch: |
| 323 | ** Who Ezra and Kanan choose to become will determine their future and their role in the Galaxy. |
| 324 | ** Continuing from the above, Ezra is constantly exposed to new ways of thinking from different mentors and enemies, which is not helped by his growing natural affinity with the Force, and also being impressionable and curious: |
| 325 | *** Kanan (who had never formerly finished his own training and had to learn [[DieOrFly via duels with the Inquisitors]]; his biggest concern is preserving your humanity while managing to find another way around to survive) attempts to constantly control and protect Ezra from the Dark side due to his own insecurities, while [[spoiler:Maul and the Presence]] (the former being raw to emotion like Ezra and the latter being a revered official [[spoiler:Sith Lord]]) encourage him to go in the opposite direction, by doing whatever it takes to get the job done faster and pragmatically, no matter how scrupulous and to use his negative emotions as his strength. |
| 326 | *** Among the others are Ahsoka, who, while does not seems to be heavily involved in Ezra's training, serves as a personal example to Ezra as a non-Jedi who is still strong in both morality and skill; and Rex, who though isn't a Force-user, teaches Ezra on ruthlessness without going off the deep end. |
| 327 | ** "Rise of the Old Masters" does this with ThereIsNoTry. Kanan says this to Ezra during his training, who asks him how you can do something without trying. Kanan admits that he never understood it either and is just parroting Master Yoda. At the end of the episode, Kanan figures out what it means - if you simply ''try'' to do something, you'll have far less chance of succeeding than if you focus on ''doing'' it. |
| 328 | ** Of the KidHero trope (and likely of Anakin as well): |
| 329 | *** Ezra is rather [[DeadpanSnarker humorous]] and clumsy, but it turns out he has powers (The Force), which throws him into the Galaxy of the Rebels vs. TheEmpire, and of course, his powers are part of his [[DarkAndTroubledPast sob story]], which motivates him to join the Rebels. |
| 330 | *** It sounds like it will be a fun adventure about kicking evil's butt... but the show explores what kind of stress that induces on a teenager, including the horrors of war like the [[ILetGwenStacyDie loss of family]], [[ItsAllMyFault friends]], [[MyGreatestFailure and]] [[SurvivorsGuilt innocents caught in the crossfire]], and the burden of attempting to carry on a legacy of a dying philosophy, also being constantly susceptible to people who want to take Ezra under their wing, as described above. |
| 331 | *** Ezra is constantly wondering if [[HopelessWar the fight is worth it]], [[MoralityChain but what keeps]] Ezra from JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and staying a good person at heart is [[TeamMom maternal support]] [[TheHeart from Hera]], [[TeamDad Kanan's]] [[TheMentor teachings]], [[CoolBigBro Zeb's respect]], [[CoolBigSis Sabine's faith]] [[ShipTease in him]], and his friendships with Chopper, Rex, Ahsoka, etc. |
| 332 | *** To sum it all up, like the movies, ''Rebels'' is a ComingOfAgeStory. |
| 333 | ** Briefly discussed in "A Princess on Lothal". The crew tries to come up with ways to retrieve the ships, until each one is shut down, and they are brought to silence, discouraged with the plan. Leia brings life and hope back to the discussion with this piece of encouragement: |
| 334 | --->'''Leia''': I know you need those ships, so don't tell me why we can't get them; tell me how we ''will''. |
| 335 | * DeusExitMachina: |
| 336 | ** [[spoiler:The Bendu mysteriously disappears]] after being shot down by Thrawn, keeping the [[spoiler:most overpowered Force being in the show]] absent for the final season. |
| 337 | ** Ultimately how the series [[DoomedByCanon deals with the question]] of where [[spoiler:Thrawn and Ezra]] were during the original trilogy. In the series finale, [[spoiler:Ezra pulls a (non-lethal) HeroicSacrifice and jumps himself and Thrawn [[AmbiguousSituation somewhere]] into hyperspace, leaving both the Empire's [[TheChessmaster most brilliant tactician]] and the only other surviving Jedi (or more accurately, Padawan) MIA for the entire timeline of the original movies.]] |
| 338 | * DidntSeeThatComing: Thrawn {{lampshades}} the fact that the rebels always pull an unexpected tactic out of their ass, and that's how they manage to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. He's able to anticipate a lot of the crap they pull, but in the third and fourth season finales, the Jedi surprise even him. |
| 339 | * DiegeticSoundtrackUsage: At the beginning of the "Property of Ezra Bridger" short, Ezra's whistling the ''Rebels'' main theme while taking a walk on Lothal's plains. |
| 340 | * DisabledMeansHelpless: Subverted [[spoiler:when Kanan is blinded]]. Kanan sees himself as useless and Ezra is overprotective of him, which they both attribute to [[spoiler:his disability]]. As they go deeper into the root of their issues, however, it's revealed that Kanan's feelings of uselessness stem from his failure to stop the events of Malachor and Ezra's overprotective because he doesn't want to see him hurt again. |
| 341 | * DiscOneFinalBoss: [[spoiler:The Grand Inquisitor is set up to be a major antagonist, but he does not survive beyond the first season's finale.]] |
| 342 | * DistractedByTheSexy: Ezra by Sabine, to the point of SkewedPriorities. In "Rise of the Old Masters", he takes a moment to smile at her as he's about to fall off the ''Ghost'' and towards the distant ground. |
| 343 | * DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: |
| 344 | ** The town full of homeless people displaced by the Empire is ironically called "Tarkintown". It's clearly inspired by the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooverville Hoovervilles]] of TheGreatDepression. |
| 345 | ** Another episode shows that the Empire has a five-year plan for Lothal and the majority of worlds in the Outer Rim. A [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five-year_plans_for_the_national_economy_of_the_Soviet_Union "five-year plan"]] was the term for a series of economic intervention plans within the Soviet Union and other communist states; the Nazis employed a similar four-year plan. |
| 346 | * DoNotCallMePaul: [[invoked]][[WordOfSaintPaul According to his voice actor]] Creator/SteveBlum, Zeb "is also know as Garazeb Orrelios, but only to his mom." [[TeamMom Hera]] uses it as a FullNameUltimatum whenever she's mad at him. |
| 347 | * DoomedByCanon: |
| 348 | ** Kanan, Ezra, and Ahsoka are all Jedi in various forms that aren't around for the films, so by necessity there must be some circumstance that will, at the very least, distance them from the Rebellion proper. Despite Yoda's claim that Luke was the last of the Jedi in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', [[invoked]]WordOfGod says they're going with Yoda not knowing due to limited contact -- he's in hiding on Dagobah, after all -- specifically to try and avoid getting locked into this trope. It's worth noting that Yoda isn't above bending the truth if he feels it's necessary. The series plays with this by having Ahsoka specifically deny being a Jedi in the present, while Kanan and Ezra don't go around advertising their abilities. Ultimately, [[spoiler:Kanan dies in a HeroicSacrifice in "Jedi Night" (Filoni stated in the follow up Rebel Recon that they didn't kill him off because of the aforementioned 'last of the Jedi', but because 'he had to be an example of how to be selfless, how to become enlightened'), Ezra is taken to parts unknown, and Ahsoka is stranded on Malachor for most of the war and only shows up after the war is over to start looking for Ezra.]] |
| 349 | ** A notable subversion would be Grand Admiral Thrawn. While in the original ''Legends'' continuity, he was [[spoiler:assassinated by his own bodyguard]], the Disney-era continuity cast aside ''Legends'' as being non-canon, making it very possible Thrawn's fate in this series could be something completely different, and whether he would live or die was up in the air. Even in the ''Legends'' continuity, he lived until several years after the movies. [[spoiler:Thrawn ends up taken off to parts unknown and is assumed still alive, and his bodyguard definitely can't assassinate him because he's definitely dead.]] |
| 350 | ** Thrawn's TIE Defender project can't become widespread, because the Empire doesn't make use of them in the trilogy. [[spoiler:After a limited production run, events conspire to cripple production and resources are presumably diverted to the Death Star rather than try to rebuild the necessary infrastructure.]] |
| 351 | * DramaticIrony: |
| 352 | ** For people that have seen ''Revenge Of The Sith'', Obi-Wan's hopeful message becomes a bit darker in hindsight when one remembers that he delivered the message ''just'' before learning that Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader. "Our friendships will be tested," indeed. |
| 353 | ** In the pilot, Kanan tells Ezra that if he decides to train under him he can learn what it truly means to be a Jedi. As the series progresses, it becomes clear that learning how to be a Jedi again by teaching Ezra is going to be Kanan's character arc. |
| 354 | ** In "The Siege of Lothal", Kallus mocks Tua [[spoiler:before she dies in an [[FalseFlagOperation assassination]] planned by him and [[TheChessmaster Vader]], due to her wanting [[HeelFaceDoorSlam to switch sides]]]]. Come "The Honorable Ones", and now ''he's'' the one that's [[spoiler:shaken up and [[HeelRealization in doubt]]]]. |
| 355 | ** Before the Season 2 finale, "Twilight of the Apprentice", in the ending of [[BreatherEpisode "The Mystery of Chopper Base"]], Kanan comforts Hera by telling her that they'll see each other again. [[spoiler:When he returns, [[EyeScream he can no longer see]]. He failed his promise.]] Although this would bear further fruit in the episode "Jedi Night", when [[spoiler:Kanan's eyes clear before his death due to being close enough to the Force that sight doesn't matter, allowing him to fulfill his promise to Hera.]] |
| 356 | * TheDreaded: |
| 357 | ** Darth Vader. As Kanan put it, it's not a matter of fighting him, just surviving. |
| 358 | ** Judging by the crew's [[OhCrap reactions]] in the Season 3 trailer, [[spoiler:Grand Admiral Thrawn]] also qualifies. |
| 359 | * DressingAsTheEnemy: |
| 360 | ** The human members of Spectre team frequently use stolen Imperial uniforms and trooper armor for infiltration purposes. |
| 361 | ** Chopper is frequently repainted as an Imperial astromech (white and black with some red highlights) to infiltrate their ships and installations. This actually backfires in the season 3 episode "Double Agent Droid", when a team of Imperial programmers set a trap for him. |
| 362 | * DroneOfDread: The sound effect used to indicate the dark side of the Force takes the usual high tone used for the light side and pitches it up until it's piercing. |
| 363 | * DualWielding: |
| 364 | ** Kanan and the Grand Inquisitor both do this with borrowed/stolen lightsabers at one point. And Ahsoka is once again armed with both a standard and short lightsaber. |
| 365 | ** Kanan once again dual wields, this time with his normal lightsaber and a red lightsaber, when fighting against the Sentinel. [[spoiler:Becomes a MeaningfulEcho to "Fire Across the Galaxy", because the Sentinel is a Force-vision of who the Grand Inquisitor once was.]] |
| 366 | * DwindlingParty: A rare villainous example with the major recurring Imperials: |
| 367 | ** Season 1 introduces [[EvilDuo Aresko and Grint]], [[BadassNormal Agent Kallus]], [[AntiVillain Minister Maketh Tua]], [[GloryHound Kassius Konstantine]], [[RecurringExtra Lieutenant Lyste]], and [[TheHeavy the Grand Inquisitor]], while Governor Pryce is mentioned a few times. By the end of the season, [[spoiler:Aresko, Grint, and the Grand Inquisitor have been killed]]. |
| 368 | ** At the beginning of Season 2, [[spoiler:Maketh Tua]] is eliminated. The Fifth Brother, Seventh Sister, Eighth Brother, and Admiral Titus are introduced afterward, [[spoiler:with all the Inquisitors being killed in the season finale]]. |
| 369 | ** Season 3 introduces Grand Admiral Thrawn, Captain Slavin, Commander Skerris, and Governor Saxon, while Titus returns with a demotion, and Governor Pryce finally shows up in-person. By the end of the season, [[spoiler:Skerris, Saxon, and Konstantine are dead, Lyste is framed & arrested, and Kallus has defected to the Rebel Alliance]]. |
| 370 | ** [[spoiler:Titus and Slavin]] are both killed near the beginning of Season 4. Thrawn's assassin, Rukh, is brought in, [[spoiler:leaving only Thrawn, Rukh, and Pryce left by the midpoint of the season]]. |
| 371 | * DueToTheDead: After Ahsoka [[spoiler:is apparently killed by Vader]] on Malachor, Sabine paints a Morai (the owl-things associated with Ahsoka) on her left pauldron. |
| 372 | %%* DyeHard: Sabine's hair is naturally black. In Season 1, she had blonde highlights on her bangs. In Season 2, to accompany her new armor design, she dyes her hair blue-green. |
| 373 | * EarlyBirdCameo: Listen closely toward the end of the "Mystery of Chopper Base," [[spoiler:a laugh can be heard in the distance. Presumably the Bendu.]] |
| 374 | * EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: |
| 375 | ** How the ''Phantom'' docks with the ''Ghost'' seems to change a lot in the first season. Normally, we see it docked facing backwards, with the crew entering through the rear hatch. However, some scenes show it docking facing forward, with the rear hatch facing outside the ship. Later episodes seem to rectify this, with the crew now shown climbing a ladder into the ''Phantom'', making which direction it's pointing while docked moot. |
| 376 | ** Kallus makes no note of Zeb in "Spark of Rebellion" and also has his bo-rifle in the first half of the episode, but only seems to realize that Zeb is a Lasat or decides to use his bo-rifle against Zeb in the next episode when Minister Tua reports a Lasat in the ''Ghost'' crew. |
| 377 | ** May be a case of shifting story tones, but Season 1 has a linear story, while the rest of the seasons have episodes that have different seemingly unrelated plots with parts of the episode order being interchangeable with one another. |
| 378 | * EarnYourHappyEnding: After endless failures, tragedies, and false starts, at the end, [[spoiler:Lothal is liberated, everyone but Kanan survives the war, Zeb returns home, Hera bears Kanan's son, and Sabine and Ahsoka set off to find Ezra and bring him home.]] |
| 379 | * EliteMooks: The Grand Inquisitor (and possibly the rest of the Inquisition as well) has his own special forces units that are a cut above the regular Imperial troops on Lothal. |
| 380 | * TheEmpire: Palpatine's Galactic Empire, of course. The series takes place during the time when the Empire is securing its grip on the galaxy. |
| 381 | * TheEmperor: Palpatine/Darth Sidious, naturally. |
| 382 | * EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: So far the Grand Inquisitor has NoNameGiven, and even he refers to himself simply as "the Inquisitor". After it's established that there are multiple Inquisitors in Season Two, he is referred to as the "Grand Inquisitor". [[spoiler:Even when we get to see him as a Jedi in "Shroud of Darkness", he never gets named and is only credited as "the Sentinel".]] |
| 383 | * EvilBrit: Par for the Star Wars course, almost every Imperial character that isn't a Stormtrooper speaks this. Ezra exploits this trope by speaking in their accent when he's on their own communication channels. The Grand Inquisitor is also voiced by British actor Creator/JasonIsaacs, making him one of the few Star Wars aliens with a British accent. According to the ''Servants of the Empire'' tie-in series, it's called a "Core Worlds accent" in-universe. |
| 384 | ** Subverted with Grand Admiral Thrawn in seasons three and four. While it's not exaggerated, he speaks with a dialed-down version of his voice actor's Danish accent (that sometimes gets more pronounced, such as when Thrawn finally loses patience with Pryce.) WordOfGod states Filoni chose a Danish voice because the accent was "alien" but not readily identifiable to American audiences and would set Thrawn apart even among the other villains. |
| 385 | * EvilDuo: Commander Aresko and Taskmaster Grint are slated for these roles, with Aresko being the brains and Grint being the brawn. They even have the same voice actor. |
| 386 | * EvilIsDeathlyCold: Whenever Ezra senses Darth Vader, he feels a deep chill throughout his body. Ahsoka feels the same thing too in the finale. |
| 387 | * EvilLaugh: The Grand Inquisitor laughs twice as he taunts Ezra, threatening to kill him, his master and his friends, which really [[BerserkButton sets the boy off]]. |
| 388 | * EvilLearnsOfOutsideContext: After finally tracking Obi-Wan down to Tatooine, Maul questions Obi-Wan as to why he specifically chose to come to this planet of all places. Maul is quickly able to decipher that there's [[Characters/StarWarsLukeSkywalker someone]] on Tatooine Obi-Wan is protecting, and because Maul now knows this, Obi-Wan can now not let Maul leave Tatooine alive. |
| 389 | * EvilMentor: According to Kanan's voice actor, the dark-aligned villains (Grand Inquisitor, Darth Vader, Maul, and other Inquisitors to a lesser extent) unknowingly taught the IncompletelyTrained Kanan to be a better fighter and teacher for Ezra, and Kanan subconsciously went along with it. It's worth noting that the Grand Inquisitor's past self (which is actually the Force itself taking AFormYouAreComfortableWith, according to WordOfGod) is the one to promote Kanan into Jedi Knight. |
| 390 | * ExpressiveEars: Lasats like Zeb, and Cikatro Vizago. |
| 391 | * {{Expy}}: |
| 392 | ** Chopper, the ''Ghost's'' resident astromech, is based on R2-D2's early designs and shares much the same role. With his grumpy personality and tendency to ignore orders, he also has a bit of C-3PO and [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars R3-S6]] in him. Dave Filoni told his crew "If R2-D2 was a dog, then Chopper is a cat." When the astromechs meet, they're quick to butt heads. |
| 393 | ** Zeb, the alien muscle of the group, is a member of a species similar to Wookies (called Lasats) and is based on early concept art for Chewbacca, as well as filling a similar role. |
| 394 | * FacelessGoons: |
| 395 | ** Not just the Stormtroopers, but done with the generic Imperial officers, as well. Almost all of them have [[EyeObscuringHat their visors angled in such a way that their eyes are hidden]], and they all share the same chin. This is particularly noticeable in "Gathering Forces", where the Grand Inquisitor walks down the bridge of a Star Destroyer and past a half-dozen identical officers. |
| 396 | ** A heroic variation for Phoenix Squadron, who at least have both genders and different colored suits and helmets. |
| 397 | * FailureIsTheOnlyOption: For starters, Ezra will never find his parents, and no matter great their efforts, the rebels will ''never'' succeed in liberating Lothal, at least this early in the war. |
| 398 | ** To elaborate, the rebels cannot win any major incursion or battle as the first victory is on Scarif. (As dictated by the opening crawl in ANH) |
| 399 | ** As of the finale, [[spoiler:turns out to be a case of ExactWords. Lothal is liberated, but not by the Rebel Alliance. In the grand scheme of things, it became too late in the game to be considered a serious blow to the Empire. After all, Krennic already came up with Plan B--the Death Star to attempt to rectify this]]. |
| 400 | * FakeStatic: Zeb attempts some in "Fighter Flight" when speaking to Imperials on the ground from the stolen TIE Fighter after they ask him for his operating number. They don't buy it and start ignoring his orders. |
| 401 | * FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: The Inquisitors tend to have nasty ends. [[spoiler:The original Inquisitor [[DrivenToSuicide drops himself into a pit of fire]], the Seventh Sister is cut in half, and the Fifth Brother is impaled. While most of these hide behind a GoryDiscretionShot, the nature of them isn't sugar-coated in the least.]] |
| 402 | * FamilyUnfriendlyViolence: Kanan [[spoiler:takes a lightsaber to the eyes in "Twilight of the Apprentice." Unlike the aforementioned [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath Family-Unfriendly Deaths]], this one surprisingly ''isn't'' off-screen. The wound is shown for all of a second, but it is particularly nasty and leaves him blind.]] |
| 403 | * FanGirl: Sabine has graffiti of [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars Cad Bane and Embo]] (with the latter circled with a heart-shape) on the wall of her quarters aboard the ''Ghost''. |
| 404 | * FantasticRacism: According to the visual guide (and carrying over from the ''Legends'' ExpandedUniverse), the human-o-centric Empire looks down on aliens, and it is rare for them to serve in high-ranking positions. The Grand Inquisitor is one of those exceptions, as is Grand Vizier Mas Amedda (a Chagrian). Notably, the new Inquisitors also appear to be nonhuman. |
| 405 | ** Agent Kallus seems to be this, though most of it has been against Lasats. [[spoiler:It turns out it's from a misplaced grudge, due to [[DarkAndTroubledPast trauma]] from seeing his first unit getting killed by a mercenary that just so happened to be a Lasat. He's actually pretty remorseful about the massacre of Lasan when he recounts it to Zeb in "The Honorable Ones", but it isn't clear if he felt bad ever since the massacre or he was blinded by [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex his]] [[{{Pride}} vices]], [[ThePowerOfHate hatred]], [[SurvivorGuilt and]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone guilt]] to distract himself up until then, but it's [[WhatYouAreInTheDark likely the latter]].]] |
| 406 | *** It also seemed like he was about to harass Hera for being a [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Twi'lek]] when they finally get acquainted in "Vision of Hope" before Tua walks in and tells him to cut to the chase. |
| 407 | * FashionDissonance: It's ''Star Wars'', and ''especially'' closer to the Original Trilogy in the timeline, so the fashion may remind you of the 70's. Noticeably, Ezra and Mart have moppy hair with colorful outfits, Sabine's color palette edges between this and modern day fashion, Kallus [[spoiler:as a rebel]] has unkempt hair and a puffy jacket that cuts off before the hips, several Imperials have the standard sideburns of the day, and so forth. |
| 408 | * FashionableAsymmetry: |
| 409 | ** Kanan has a a right shoulderpad but not a left one, and Ezra has a guard on his right leg but not his left. Appropriate for a master and apprentice. |
| 410 | ** Sabine's shoulderpads are coloured differently, and her armour as a whole is decorated with splotches of her spray paint. |
| 411 | ** Numa has a left shoulderpad from [[TragicKeepsake Waxer's armor]]. |
| 412 | ** Chopper's left leg is from a different model of astromech droid. |
| 413 | * FastballSpecial: Kanan and Ezra develop a modified version of one where Kanan uses the Force to "throw" Ezra over large distances. |
| 414 | * FauxAffablyEvil: Maul has learned proper manners and is usually quite polite about killing you. Thrawn is always poised and very polite. Both of them are still completely evil. |
| 415 | * FlirtingUnderFire: Ezra tries to flirt with Sabine while she's shooting down TIE fighters, which she responds to by rolling her eyes and getting back to shooting. |
| 416 | * FoeRomanceSubtext: There's some '''really''' creepy [[PerfectlyCromulentWord foemeroticism]] between the Seventh Sister and Ezra. (Completely one-sided on her part, though - Ezra's terrified of her while [[TheVamp she's the one actually temping him with the Dark Side]] [[{{Ephebophile}} and making subtextually-uncomfortable advances]].) She's apparently grabby with everyone, since she exchanges snarks with Kanan and gets touchy with Darja, and she stops being specifically 'flirty' with Ezra by "Future of the Force". |
| 417 | * FollowTheWhiteRabbit: A white loth-cat. It first shows up in "Legacy" and leads Ezra towards his parents, and later shows up in season 4 to guide him (presumably) towards safety. |
| 418 | * ForegoneConclusion: |
| 419 | ** Zig-zagged, just like in ''The Clone Wars''. The ''Ghost'' crew obviously won't be the ones to defeat the Emperor, though they do have a hand in building the fledgling Rebellion itself, and by necessity any characters from the Original Trilogy must survive, but everyone else is fair game. |
| 420 | ** The ''Ghost'' and Chopper are visible on screen in Film/RogueOne, so they must survive the series. And WordOfGod from the filmmakers says the 'General Syndulla' being paged by the base intercom is Hera, not Cham. |
| 421 | ** The [[Film/RogueOneAStarWarsStory Battle of Scarif]] is established by the opening crawl of [[Film/StarWarsEpisodeIVANewHope the original film]] as the Rebellion's first victory against the Empire in a pitched battle. Any major offensive or defensive action by the nascent Alliance fleet is therefore doomed to failure. Indeed, except for small-unit raids, skirmishes, and hit-and-run attacks, every major battle between the Rebel Alliance and the Empire ends in a Rebel defeat, ''at best'' escaping with enough ships left to fight another day. Even the liberation of Lothal is largely the result of a local uprising with the only assistance from the Rebellion being the ''Ghost'' crew itself. |
| 422 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: |
| 423 | ** In the promo short [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsArtAttack "Art Attack"]], Sabine taunts the stormtroopers by claiming that she's "read [their] book. It's a short one!" It's later revealed she's a former Imperial cadet. |
| 424 | ** If you watch Sabine's introduction video, her pre-rendering model shows her as being a dark brunette. We learn in Season 3 that her natural hair color is dark brown. |
| 425 | ** In [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsSparkOfRebellion "Spark of Rebellion"]], Ezra says that the ''Ghost'' crew aren't going to come for him, because people don't do that. In [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS1E07GatheringForces "Gathering Forces"]], he tells Sabine that if he believed that his parents would save him he wouldn't have been able to survive. |
| 426 | ** Sabine pretends to be an Imperial cadet in [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS1E01DroidsInDistress "Droids in Distress"]]. In [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS1E05OutOfDarkness "Out of Darkness"]], it's revealed that she is a former Imperial cadet. |
| 427 | ** At the end of [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS1E02FighterFlight "Fighter Flight"]], it's implied through facial expressions and body language that despite what they claimed, Ezra and Zeb didn't destroy the stolen TIE fighter. It [[ChekhovsGun returns]] in the season finale, proving instrumental in the plan to rescue Kanan. |
| 428 | ** [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS1E03RiseOfTheOldMasters "Rise of the Old Masters"]]: |
| 429 | *** The crew is tipped off about Luminara Unduli being imprisoned in the Spire by a broadcast from [[VoiceOfTheResistance Senator-in-Exile Gall Trayvis]], and it turns out to be a trap. When Trayvis appears in person in [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS1E10VisionOfHope "Vision of Hope"]], it's revealed he's [[TheMole an Imperial agent]]. |
| 430 | *** The Grand Inquisitor offers to train Ezra in the Dark Side, and Ezra replies that he's never heard of it. In [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS1E07GatheringForces "Gathering Forces"]], Ezra taps into the Dark Side to hold him off. The hints that the Grand Inquisitor (and even the Seventh Sister at one point) might have viewed Ezra has a potential Dark Side apprentice become harsh and relevant when Maul gets the closest to even having Ezra as a Dark Side student. |
| 431 | ** Hera tells Sabine in [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS1E05OutOfDarkness "Out of Darkness"]] that the reason all intel is on a need-to-know basis is that, if captured, the crew members can't reveal what they don't know. After [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS1E11CallToAction "Call to Action"]], Kanan is captured and tortured for information, but it's ultimately pointless because he doesn't know anything about a larger rebellion. Hera also reassures Sabine that there is a greater movement going on, which is revealed in [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS1E13FireAcrossTheGalaxy "Fire Across the Galaxy"]] when several cells join forces to extricate our heroes, Bail Organa is revealed as a mover-shaker of the Rebels, and Fulcrum reveals their identity. |
| 432 | ** A meta-example: A promotional slogan for the Season 1 finale, [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS1E13FireAcrossTheGalaxy "Fire Across the Galaxy"]], was "Who will fall?" It's the Grand Inquisitor, [[DisneyVillainDeath quite literally]]. |
| 433 | ** In [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsTheSiegeOfLothal "The Siege of Lothal"]], Kanan at one point sarcastically addresses Hera as "General". Fast-forward a few years, and ''Film/RogueOne'' reveals via a namedrop that she's been promoted to that rank. It was later confirmed by Filoni at Celebration 2017 that Hera would be promoted to General by the series finale. |
| 434 | ** In [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS2E12LegendsOfTheLasat "Legends of the Lasat"]], Chava tells Zeb of a prophecy involving the salvation of the Lasat race, where the Child saves the life of the Warrior. She later reveals Zeb is the Child and Agent Kallus is the Warrior. Sure enough, two episodes later, [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS2E15TheHonorableOnes "The Honorable Ones"]] involves Zeb saving Kallus' life as part of an EnemyMine situation, which ends up with Kallus beginning to genuinely question the Empire, opening the road to his redemption arc. |
| 435 | ** [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS2E16ShroudOfDarkness "Shroud of Darkness"]]: |
| 436 | *** The Sentinel's mannerisms, voice, uniform, etc. are very similar to the Grand Inquisitor's, and it indeed is him before his fall. Also counts as FiveSecondForeshadowing, because he only has a total of about five minutes of screentime before he unmasks himself. |
| 437 | *** Kanan's interaction with the vision of the Temple Guard Sentinel becomes meaningful when he takes up an old Temple Guard mask to conceal his eye wounds. Also, in the first part of [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS2E19TwilightOfTheApprentice "Twilight of]] [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS2E20TwilightOfTheApprenticePartII the Apprentice"]], he briefly examines the petrified corpse of a masked Temple Guard. |
| 438 | *** Kanan realizes that he can't protect Ezra forever, only train him as best he can. In a case of DramaticIrony, Kanan's [[HeroicBSOD depression]] after the events of Malachor leads him to isolate himself and neglect Ezra's training, resulting in Ezra falling under the influence of the Sith holocron. |
| 439 | ** [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS2E18TheMysteryOfChopperBase "The Mystery of Chopper Base"]]: |
| 440 | *** Kanan and Ezra are sparring, and Kanan tells Ezra to keep his blade up, as raising it could cost precious time in deflecting an attack. This is exactly how he's blinded: he lets his blade down after a fight against the Inquisitors ends, Maul abruptly attacks him, and Kanan can't block it in time. |
| 441 | *** Before the Jedi trio leave to deal with the Inquisitors, Kanan promises Hera that they'll see each other again, and doubts he can keep that promise. This turns out to be ExactWords; while Kanan does return to the ''Ghost'', he was blinded on Malachor. |
| 442 | *** [[spoiler:On Lothal, just before he's consumed by the explosion he's holding back, his eyes turn clear, allowing him to see Hera one last time before his death. Kanan kept his promise, in the end.]] |
| 443 | ** The Fifth Brother is blind and uses the Force to see. Shortly after he dies, Kanan ends up blind and has to rely on the Force for vision. |
| 444 | ** A cross-media example: In [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsStepsIntoShadow "Steps Into Shadow"]], Agent Kallus comments with restrained, but audible, disdain that Thrawn's most recent victory in the Battle of Batonn (which got him promoted to Grand Admiral) had a large number of civilian casualties. Governor Pryce in response states that the casualties were "within acceptable limits," Thrawn remains notably silent. Come the ''[[Literature/StarWarsThrawn Thrawn]]'' novel, it's revealed that the civilian casualties at Batonn were all Pryce's direct fault, not Thrawn's, and only he and Eli Vanto suspect the truth (and have no evidence to call her on it). |
| 445 | ** The Visual Guide for ''Film/RogueOne'' (released prior to the second half of Season 3, around the time ''Rogue One'' came out) revealed that Saw would conduct an investigation on Geonosis in 2 BBY, but his lungs would be poisoned with Geonosian insecticide, hence why he has a respirator by the time of ''Rogue One''. As Season 3 takes place during this time, we get to see this happen in [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E10GhostsOfGeonosis "Ghosts of]] [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E11GhostsOfGeonosisPartII Geonosis"]]... though apparently the poisoning happens ''later''. |
| 446 | ** Similarly, the same book revealed that Senator Mothma would become public enemy number one for publicly calling Palpatine a "lying executioner". The second half of Season 3 has the episode [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E16SecretCargo "Secret Cargo"]], in which Thrawn is going after Mothma for committing treason, as well as Mothma personally helping the Rebellion become the Rebel Alliance. |
| 447 | ** In [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsHeroesOfMandalore "Heroes of Mandalore"]], Ezra and Sabine talk about Mandalore's devastation, with Ezra noting that her homeworld is very different from his. When he returns to Lothal in [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS4E03TheOccupation "The Occupation"]], he learns that Lothal is in ''much worse'' shape than Mandalore. |
| 448 | ** In "[[Recap/StarWarsRebelsTheSiegeOfLothal "The Siege of Lothal"]], Maketh Tua mentions there's a secret reason the Empire wants Lothal. Since she's killed before she can divulge it, it isn't until two seasons later that we get hints of what's actually happening on Lothal, with the loth-wolf arc slowly building towards TheReveal that [[spoiler:Lothal has a portal to the World Between Worlds, which can access all of space and time.]] |
| 449 | ** There's glimpses of the [[VoidBetweenTheWorlds World Between Worlds]] long before Ezra formally visits it in "The World Between Worlds", first when Ezra is getting his kyber crystal in [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS1E08PathOfTheJedi "Path of the Jedi"]] and next in [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS2E16ShroudOfDarkness "Shroud of Darkness"]] when he's talking to Yoda. |
| 450 | ** In "Zero Hour", the Bendu tells [[spoiler:Admiral Thrawn]] "I see your defeat. Like many arms surrounding you in a cold embrace." As it [[ProphecyTwist ultimately turns out]], this refers to [[spoiler:the many tentacles of the Purrgil, restraining Thrawn while Ezra jumps them both to hyperspace.]] |
| 451 | ** When Ezra speaks with Yoda, he usually appears in a black, void-like space filled with stars and white glowing runes, [[spoiler:which is exactly the form the World Between Worlds takes.]] |
| 452 | ** One moment in "World Between Worlds" and two moments "Family Reunion" where [[spoiler:Hera has her hand on her stomach.]] |
| 453 | ** In "The Mystery of Chopper Base" Zeb cheers up Ezra by telling him that he'll be back, and then jokes they'll probably have toppled the Empire by that time. [[spoiler:This is Ezra's exact fate by the end of the series, vanishing into hyperspace and later returning after the Empire falls.]] |
| 454 | ** As mentioned in FreezeFrameBonus directly below, [[spoiler:the silhouettes of Ezra's parents are visible behind him as he flies through the portal, which foreshadows Palpatine using a portal to his old life to tempt him in "Family Reunion - and Farewell".]] |
| 455 | ** The words "[[ArcWords All paths are coming together]]" are spoken several times before we reach [[spoiler:the World Between Worlds, which consists entirely of long pathways linked together.]] |
| 456 | * FreezeFrameBonus: Right after [[spoiler:Ezra flies out of the portal in]] "World Between Worlds", for a split second one can see [[spoiler:the silhouetted figures of his parents in the portal]] behind him. |
| 457 | * FunnyRobot: Chopper enjoys pulling pranks on the rest of the ''Ghost'' crew. |
| 458 | * GenocideSurvivor: |
| 459 | ** Kanan Jarrus is one of the few survivors of the Jedi purges, which affected him deeply. He changed his name and spent over a decade denying he had ever been a Jedi. |
| 460 | ** After TheEmpire bombed the hell out of Lasan, Zeb believed that he was the LastOfHisKind. This changed when [[spoiler:he encountered two fellow survivors who guided him to the true homeworld of the Lasat]]. |
| 461 | ** The Empire also genocided the Geonosians, leaving one fellow referred to as Klik-Klak. |
| 462 | * TheGhost: |
| 463 | ** No, [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant not the ship itself]]; a background character, Governor Arihnda Pryce is neither seen nor heard at any point, merely referred to... that is, until Season 3, where she appears in the flesh. |
| 464 | ** Emperor Palpatine is in this territory for the most part, as he is mentioned a lot. We do hear him talk to Vader in the Season 2 premiere, but we never see him make an appearance at all. [[spoiler:And after ''so'' long, the series will end with Ezra facing the Emperor himself]]. |
| 465 | ** By Season 4, not only is Orson Krennic mentioned frequently, he has worked his way into the story without appearing in the flesh. |
| 466 | * GlamourFailure: [[spoiler:Palpatine's]] illusion portraying himself as a kind old man briefly flickers to that of the [[spoiler:Emperor]] when Ezra destroys [[spoiler:the Lothal temple]]. |
| 467 | * GodzillaThreshold: |
| 468 | ** In the pilot, Kanan actually using his lightsaber and revealing himself to be a Jedi was seen as an absolute last resort by the ''Ghost'' crew. It's no longer the case later on, now that the cat of Kanan being a Jedi is out of the bag, though he still doesn't use it at all the time so as to avoid drawing attention to himself. |
| 469 | ** Ezra indebts himself to Vizago and reveals that he and Kanan are Jedi in order to get information from him that will [[spoiler:help rescue Kanan from Tarkin]]. |
| 470 | ** In the season one finale, Fulcrum reveals her identity ([[spoiler:Ahsoka Tano]]) and brings together a number of Rebel cells in violation of existing protocols [[spoiler:in order to extract the crew of the ''Ghost'' after they rescue Kanan over Mustafar.]] |
| 471 | * GogglesDoNothing: Hera's goggles seem to be perpetually ''above'' her eyes but never ''on'' them, or in other cases, off her head. One can assume they're supposed to make her look like a legitimate pilot (she owns the ''Ghost'', after all), she would never need them when flying since her cockpit is airtight. Whenever she needs facial protection, she trades the goggles for a full face visor. Subverted in the last season, where Hera puts the goggles over her eyes when she's [[spoiler:riding a loth-wolf through tall grass]], when her eyes could reasonably need some protection. |
| 472 | * GoingCosmic: The first season is fairly mundane with a little Jedi weirdness in the form of the Temple, but otherwise pretty straightforward. As the seasons go on and we learn more and more of the Imperial's plans the series journeys further and further into the esoteric sides of the Force, with neutral Force beings, a GateOfTruth, reincarnation, and {{Magitek}} becoming a matter of course, culminating in the discovery of [[spoiler:a portal to a Force dimension through which all space and time can be accessed and actual time travel.]] Atypical in that the elements were planned from the start so it feels organic, with lots of {{Foreshadowing}} and build-up to the reveals. |
| 473 | * GoryDiscretionShot: The Grand Inquisitor's decapitation of [[spoiler:Grint and Aresko]] is blocked by Tarkin's shoulders, followed by a cutaway to Tua and Kallus's shocked expressions. This being in spite of the fact that lightsabers instantly cauterize wounds instantly for nearly every species in the Galaxy, this trope is enforced for dramatic purposes. |
| 474 | ** In "Path of the Jedi", we get a distant shot of [[spoiler:Kanan getting [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice stabbed]], as well as [[ShadowDiscretionShot Shadow Discretion Shots]] of the crew being cut down (with a shot of Sabine's legs, the rest of her body behind the dejarik table)]]. |
| 475 | ** "Twilight of the Apprentice" has [[spoiler:the Seventh Sister [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe getting cut]] [[OffWithHisHead in half]], with only a shot of her torso falling to the ground, and the Fifth Brother getting ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice, with only a shot of his reaction. Then it gets averted when Kanan gets a lightsaber thrown at his '''face''' and scarring his [[EyeScream eyes]], with [[FreezeFrameBonus an actual model]] of his [[ScarsAreForever scars]].]] |
| 476 | ** In [[GrandFinale "Family Reunion - and Farewell"]], we don't get to see [[spoiler:Rukh getting electrocuted]], but from the way Zeb flinches away in disgust, [[TakeOurWordForIt it can't have been pleasant.]] |
| 477 | * GraffitiOfTheResistance: Sabine's starbird insignia (itself likely being based off of the Clan Vizsla insignia) eventually evolves into the insignia of the Rebel Alliance. |
| 478 | * GreaterScopeVillain: |
| 479 | ** Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine; The Inquisitor works for Darth Vader while Emperor Palpatine is, of course, the ruler of the [[PunctuatedForEmphasis First! Galactic! Empire!]] Vader steps down to a more direct role in season 2, and after four seasons, [[spoiler:Palpatine finally takes the BigBad seat of the show for the final episodes after a brief voice cameo in the Season 2 premiere, although his role is ultimately secondary to Thrawn's.]] |
| 480 | ** In a non-person example, the Death Star. Starting towards the middle of Season 2, more and more of the conflicts the ''Ghost'' crew encounter are caused by the fallout of the Empire's construction of their super weapon. Thrawn works hard on his [[spoiler:TIE Defender]] project in direct competition with the Death Star for Imperial resources and funding, and, as he's TheHeavy of the show's second half, it naturally helps cause great conflict for the heroes. |
| 481 | * GrievousHarmWithABody: Zeb disables a couple of Stormtroopers by grabbing them and throwing them at their partners. He shows fondness of this trope when does it again in a later episode. |
| 482 | * GroinAttack: |
| 483 | ** Hera punches Lando in the nads after he puts her through trouble in "Idiot's Array". |
| 484 | ** A stormtrooper regains consciousness right when Ketsu decides to use the space between his legs to make an assisted jump with her staff. Just the space, not his crotch. |
| 485 | * TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: In the pilot, Ezra fakes being sick to trick two Stormtroopers into the cell while hiding behind the steps. They go in and check, then he runs out and traps them in. |
| 486 | * GunsAkimbo: Sabine dual wields blaster pistols. Fenn Rau as well. |
| 487 | * GunshipRescue: [[spoiler:A squadron of Rebel Blockade Runners saves the Ghost crew during their rescue mission to Mustafar.]] |
| 488 | ** Hera and the prototype B-Wing in "Wings of the Master." |
| 489 | [[/folder]] |
| 490 | |
| 491 | [[folder:H-L]] |
| 492 | * HandOnWomb: [[spoiler:Blink-and-you-miss-it at the beginning of the series finale, Hera does this while overhearing Ezra talking to his family photo, {{foreshadowing}} that she is pregnant with Kanan's child.]] |
| 493 | * HappyEndingOverride: Sabine's Mandalorian arc, built up throughout the show, culminates with the [[spoiler:laying of the first seeds of Mandalorian revolution against the Empire, along with her bestowing the Darksaber upon Bo-Katan]]. Then ''Series/TheMandalorian'' and ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett'' reveal that [[spoiler:The Empire responded with "The Great Purge", the near-extermination of the Mandalorian people and culture. Moff Gideon, who oversaw the Purge, managed to take the Darksaber from Bo-Katan, although she narrowly survived.]] |
| 494 | * TheHeavy: The Grand Inquisitor, a Dark Side user who's one of Vader's top lieutenants, seems to be set up as this. [[spoiler:He is for a while, but it doesn't quite shake out that way long-term.]] |
| 495 | ** The Seventh Sister and the Fifth Brother attempt to pick up the slack [[spoiler:after the Grand Inquisitor's death, but they don't last long either.]] |
| 496 | ** Grand Admiral Thrawn, upon showing up, runs the Empire's efforts against the Rebellion under Tarkin's command, [[spoiler:and unlike the Inquisitors, Thrawn managed to survive his introductory season, allowing him to continue his role past Season 3]]. |
| 497 | ** Agent Kallus started out as the BigBad for the pilot movie, but became the most recurring villain, and hunts down the Ghost crew and the growing rebellion where ever they may be. [[spoiler:Now that Kallus has had a HeelFaceTurn, this is no longer the case.]] |
| 498 | * HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: The criminals the Ghost crew run into have a complicated relationship with each other. |
| 499 | ** Lando initially had a deal with Azmorigan to trade his puffer pig for Hera up until he screws him over by telling her to make a run for it when she gets the opportunity. Azmorigan is an associate of Vizago, and Vizago is the guy who hired Lando on Lothal (which is probably how the deal got set up in the first place). |
| 500 | ** In ''Literature/RebelBluff'', Vizago and his subordinate Lando (and [[CoolOldGuy Jho]] at the beginning, but he pretty much stays out of it and was only there to play with them) play sabacc with each other before the [[SoreLoser former]] loses and accuses the [[ProfessionalGambler latter]] of cheating, until Ria steals the pot, forcing them to do an EnemyMine to get it back. By the end of it, Vizago ends up offering Lando a job offworld (also avoiding the Siege). |
| 501 | ** Hondo somehow tripped up Vizago and temporarily stole his ship, then tried to steal his credits when he would trade his power generators to Azmorigan by claiming he was standing in for him. Hondo ends the episode on both of their bad sides, but by the time the latter returns (in Season 3), the duo create an alliance and decide to go to the crew (or Ezra, mostly) to help them go on a treasure hunt. In the series finale, he fully devotes himself to the Rebellion for Ezra's sake. |
| 502 | * HeinousnessRetcon: In the season one episode [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS1E01DroidsInDistress "Droids in Distress"]], Agent Kallus gloats to Zeb about how he took a bo-rifle (a weapon only wielded by the honor guard of Zeb's species, the Lasat) [[BattleTrophy from a Lasat he killed]], and that he was the one who gave the order for the Imperial forces to use the T-7 ion disruptors (weapons meant to take down starships) to decimate the population of Lasan. However, during an EnemyMine situation in the season two episode [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS2E15TheHonorableOnes "The Honorable Ones"]], Kallus admits that he was given the bo-rifle after defeating its owner in combat (as per [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt Lasat tradition]]). It is also revealed that Kallus wasn't the one who gave the order to use the disruptors, and had only claimed credit to make Zeb angry. |
| 503 | * HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic: |
| 504 | ** Averted with Sabine, who does wear the helmet belonging to her Mandalorian armor when appropriate. |
| 505 | ** Also averted from time to time with Ezra, who wears a customized cadet helmet whenever they go on long missions. |
| 506 | ** Kanan gets a helmet of his own in "The Call" so that all three can breathe in the toxic environment. |
| 507 | ** Yet still played straight for all of them since they often remove their helmets or lift their visor in any situation when it's helpful for the audience to see their faces even though blaster bolts are flying left and right. |
| 508 | * HeroOfAnotherStory: |
| 509 | ** [[Creator/DaveFiloni Dave Filoni]] mentioned/hinted in an [[http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/10/27/star-wars-rebels-dave-filoni-on-kanan-as-a-flawed-jedi-master interview]] that this is what the Ghost crew are and would end up as through the course of the story with relation to the Rebel Alliance from ''A New Hope''. |
| 510 | ** Zare's story is never followed up in the show. "Breaking Ranks" was a backdoor pilot to the ''Literature/ServantsOfTheEmpire'' series, which is concurrent to ''Rebels''. |
| 511 | * HeroWithBadPublicity: Any surviving Jedi are largely dismissed by Imperial citizens, who view them as traitors to the Republic/Empire, disappointments, inefficient, or any combination of the above. Considering there aren't many of them left, no one really cares anymore, let alone give a second glance. |
| 512 | * HighDiveEscape: [[StudentAndMasterTeam Kanan and Ezra]] pull this kind of escape from a pair of [[TheDreaded Inquisitors]]. It helps that Ezra has already used the Force to summon some flying creatures to aid their escape. |
| 513 | * HomageShot: |
| 514 | ** "Droids In Distress" has Senator Organa kneeling next to Artoo to learn about the Ghost crew, paralleling [[Film/ANewHope Leia giving the plans to Artoo]]. |
| 515 | ** Grand Moff Tarkin's arrival on Lothal parallels Darth Vader's arrival on the Death Star II in the opening of [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi Return of the Jedi]]. And for bonus points, the Imperial March from [[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack The Empire Strikes Back]] is playing. |
| 516 | * HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler:This happens to Ahsoka when she finds out who Darth Vader really is.]] Doesn't slow her down, though. |
| 517 | * HumongousMecha: The Empire uses walkers yet again. However, unlike the more familiar AT-ST and AT-AT used in the movies (although the AT-AT does appear in season 2) the primary walker unit in the series is the AT-DP, which in terms of size is somewhere between the AT-ST and AT-AT. |
| 518 | * HypocriticalHumor: Sabine loves to call the Stormtroopers "bucketheads". While wearing a Mandalorian helmet, which looks even more like a bucket. |
| 519 | * IDidWhatIHadToDo: Ezra says this word-for-word to Jai Kell after [[ItMakesSenseInContext shoving him off a moving platform]]. |
| 520 | * ImStandingRightHere: |
| 521 | ** The rebels have to come up with a different plan when they're trying to free Jedi Master Luminara Unduli. In the elevator, Sabine and Zeb voice their frustration: |
| 522 | --->'''Sabine:''' Ugh, his plan gets worse all the time.\ |
| 523 | '''Zeb:''' Just hope he doesn't change it again.\ |
| 524 | '''Kanan:''' I'm standing right here.\ |
| 525 | '''Sabine and Zeb:''' ...We know. |
| 526 | ** In "Out of Darkness", Zeb and Ezra decide to tell Kanan that Hera and Sabine are stranded without fuel, but not that it's their fault for not checking the diagnostic. He finds out anyway, since they're yelling at each other right outside his door. |
| 527 | * ImpliedLoveInterest: |
| 528 | ** Kanan and Hera act a lot like a couple that has [[LikeAnOldMarriedCouple been together for a while]], with Hera calling Kanan 'love' and 'dear' and the way they act with each other. There's also their TeamMom and TeamDad aspects, and their reunion in the season one finale practically begged for a kiss, making it seem like they are already an OfficialCouple, even though they don't show it. (Or not around "the kids", at any rate.) At the end of the "Machine in the Ghost" short, Kanan and Hera seem quite close to sharing a kiss. In the prequel book ''A New Dawn'' Kanan is clearly ''very'' attracted to Hera and would be interested in pursuing a physical relationship, but she makes it clear she [[MarriedToTheJob doesn't have time for romance;]] whether that's changed in seven years has yet to be seen. |
| 529 | ** In the season two episode ''Homecoming'', when preparing to meet Hera's father [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars Cham]] for the first time, Kanan acts like a suitor who's about to be introduced to his girlfriends father. [[WordOfSaintPaul According to Kanan's voice actor]], Freddie Prinze, Jr., this in part is because the two do have feeling for each other. |
| 530 | ** Season 4 takes the Implied part of their relationship and shoves it out the airlock. The trailers leading up to the season premiere showed Kanan wanting to upgrade their relationship. Episode 5 marks their first onscreen kiss. Episode 8 has Hera finally confess to Kanan the full extent of her feelings for him [[spoiler:moments before Kanan is killed]]. And to top it all, [[spoiler:the series finale reveals in its epilogue that they had conceived a child prior to Kanan's death.]] |
| 531 | * ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Over the course of the entire series the Empire's finest have never managed to shoot ''anyone'' or anything important: |
| 532 | ** The first season in particular took a fair amount of heat for this. In some episodes it can be worse than it was in the original series, and that's saying something. |
| 533 | ** Sabine lampshades this to the [[TropeNamer Trope Namers]] themselves during a diversion on a TIE flight pad. She even tells them they could benefit from more time at the academy. |
| 534 | --->'''Sabine:''' You call that shooting? I think you boys need a little more time on the practice range. |
| 535 | *** Meanwhile, Sabine shoots very well [[AvertedTrope despite having been trained in an Imperial academy]]. |
| 536 | ** A pretty noticeable case occurs in "Spark Of Rebellion", in which Kanan jumps out of cover while Stormtroopers are shooting at him and ''walks directly toward them slowly and without a weapon'', '''[[EpicFail and they all keep missing him]]'''. The only ones that come close come within inches of him, but he tilts his head a bit to avoid the blaster fire. Of course, given that this is the point where he pulls out his lightsaber and reveals himself as a Jedi, RuleOfCool is in effect. |
| 537 | ** "The Siege of Lothal" contains a moment where they're [[SubvertedTrope deliberately]] ''not'' firing at rebels when said rebels are hidden already behind cover, so they fire at their only possible escape route to trap them as the Imperials approach them and kill anyone that feels stupid enough to walk into the line of fire. |
| 538 | ** The concept is mocked by [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars Rex]]: |
| 539 | --->'''Rex:''' I hope you brought a better class of soldier than these... ''storm troopers''. |
| 540 | ** Later on Rex complains about the armor they wear, which is apparently ill-fitting and the helmet badly obscurs vision. Even Rex is firing like normal Stormtroopers until he takes off his helmet, then his Clone Wars skills kick right back in. However the ill-fitting part may simply be due to Rex being out of shape. |
| 541 | ** In the first episode of Season 3 the team is shot at – and missed by – stormtroopers, [=TIEs=], and an AT-ST; on top of that, the heroes themselves consistently miss their opponents even in straight hallways. For some reason, almost everyone hits what they aim for on their ''first'' shot (usually fired without aiming) and then falls into this trope. |
| 542 | ** Very notably averted by any stormtroopers under the command of [[spoiler:Thrawn]], ''especially'' the Death Troopers which immediately subdue Kanan with one stun blast. |
| 543 | * ImprobableAimingSkills: Sabine covers Ezra and Kanan's escape from Darth Vader by shooting a pair of blast at him. Vader oneups the usual blaster deflection trick by sending the shots straight back at her, hitting her in the left side of the chest and the head. Her armor saves her life, or else he'd have almost effortlessly killed her. |
| 544 | * InappropriatePride: After his HeelFaceTurn, Kallus was not happy about the low level assignments he was getting. |
| 545 | --> '''Kallus''': Why would she give me such a meaningless task? I've commanded Imperial squadrons. |
| 546 | --> '''Rex''': I think you just answered your own question. |
| 547 | * InnocuouslyImportantEpisode: Episodes that are supposedly {{Filler}} end up being this. |
| 548 | ** "Out of Darkness," introduces [[spoiler:the asteroid base where Fulcrum has been leaving supplies. At first, it seems to be a one-off episode involving Sabine and Hera bonding. Only two episodes later, it turns out to be the place that Kanan and Ezra lead the Inquisitor to throw him off Tseebo's trail.]] |
| 549 | ** "Idiot's Array" gives us TheCharmer himself, [[spoiler:Lando Calrissian. He has the ''Ghost'' crew smuggle some "mining equipment" to Lothal. Fast forward to the Season Two premiere, "The Siege of Lothal," and he helps the crew escape from Darth Vader himself (admittedly, Lando appears in a cameo with a SmallRoleBigImpact, but still...).]] |
| 550 | ** Inverted in "Twin Suns", with the [[spoiler:Obi-Wan and Maul conflict]] being so important to the saga as a whole that it overshadows the more relevant to the series plot of Ezra [[spoiler:finally giving up on hunting the Sith and choosing his family and the rebellion over power and revenge]]. |
| 551 | ** Out of all of season 2, "The Call" seems the most like filler, focusing only on a raid and Ezra connecting with space whales. In season 4, the lessons Ezra learned from the purrgil help him commune with the loth-wolves which proves vital to the final arc. [[spoiler:This gets a ''massive'' CallBack in the series finale, where Ezra summons ''an entire armada's worth of purrgil and uses them to jump him and Thrawn into hyperspace.'']] |
| 552 | * InsistentTerminology: |
| 553 | ** Hera Syndulla doesn't ''crash'', she has ''very exciting landings''. |
| 554 | ** Likewise, Hondo is a ''pirate'', not smug. . . glug. . . whatever you just said. |
| 555 | * {{Interquel}}: The series bridges the nineteen-year gap between ''Revenge Of The Sith'' and ''A New Hope''. Specifically, it is set fifteen years after ''Revenge of the Sith'', and about four years before ''A New Hope'' (Season 1's "Empire Day" is specifically stated to take place on the fifteenth anniversary of Palpatine's formation of the Galactic Empire). |
| 556 | * InterspeciesRomance: Kanan, who is human, and Hera, who is a Twi'lek |
| 557 | * InvasionOfTheBabySnatchers: In "The Future of the Force", the Inquistors go so far as to kidnap Force-sensitive children right in front of their parents, who are powerless to stop them. |
| 558 | * IronicEcho: Ahsoka, Maul, and Thrawn have similar ideas on how to defeat enemy forces. |
| 559 | -->'''Ahsoka''': [We're here to find knowledge in] [[GodzillaThreshold the forbi]][[GoMadFromTheRevelation dden kind]]. To defeat your enemy, you have to understand them. |
| 560 | -->'''Maul''': To defeat your enemy, you must know your enemy. [[HeWhoFightsMonsters Even practice their beliefs.]] |
| 561 | -->'''Thrawn''': To defeat an enemy, you must know them. Not simply their battle tactics, but their [[DarkAndTroubledPast history]], philosophy, and art. |
| 562 | * IronicName: The [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek Goddess]] Hera was Zeus's wife and patron of marriage, but she's also known for her vengeful nature, hunting Zeus's illegitimate children, and being an [[AbusiveParent Abusive Parent]] for Hephaestus. Considering this, it's quite ironic that Hera Syndulla, the TeamMom of this series, is named after her. |
| 563 | * IWorkAlone: In ''Spark of Rebellion'', Ezra Bridger says this to Agent Kallus when he accuses him of being a Jedi Padawan training under Kanan Jarrus. Not long after, however, the accusation ends up becoming true. |
| 564 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Pretty much every crew member of the ''Ghost'' is this at one point or another. |
| 565 | ** [[TookALevelInKindness Kanan isn't as much of this as he was in]] ''Literature/ANewDawn'', but he's still very skeptical towards some non-crew members because they could be troublesome. |
| 566 | ** Ezra starts off as a cynical street rat only looking out for himself, but that didn't stop him saving a fruit vendor from being arrested for a misdemeanor against the Empire. Like Kanan, he becomes nicer and less self-serving after he meets the crew. |
| 567 | ** Zeb seems pretty gruff and willing to kill Ezra when they first meet, but he ultimately cares for the crew and their cause and eventually comes to respect Ezra. |
| 568 | ** Hera can sometimes come off as a nagging TeamMom whenever any of the crew does something stupid, but only because she has their best interests at heart. Otherwise, she's probably the nicest member of the crew. |
| 569 | ** Sabine has some trust issues (a result of her time with the Empire) and comes off as a bit dismissive towards Ezra, but like everyone else in the crew, is fighting for a righteous cause. |
| 570 | ** Chopper for the most part is an [[TheGadfly obnoxious]], [[TheHedonist hedonistic]] (and [[ComedicSociopathy mildly sociopathic]]) prankster towards just about everyone, but his loyalties ultimately lie with the crew, even if his ownership rights have been lost to someone else. |
| 571 | * JurisdictionFriction: Kallus starts having some friction with the Grand Inquisitor. While the Grand Inquisitor seems fixated on Kanan and Ezra, Kallus aims to bag the whole group. [[spoiler:He still has this to some degree with Tarkin, but quickly realizes he is way outside his depth in dealing with the top of the Imperial food chain.]] |
| 572 | ** [[spoiler:He still clearly can't resist being subtly snarky when Tarkin himself returns in defeat from Mustafar... and then he sees Tarkin's "guest", and he realizes the depth is beyond his head at this point.]] |
| 573 | ** There seems to be some friction between the Navy and the ISB whenever naval personnel screw up. However, when it comes to dealing with mystical Inquisitor mumbo-jumbo, Agent Kallus and whatever Imperial commander is present usually side with each other against the Inquisitorius in friction events. |
| 574 | * KingpinInHisGym: In [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E15ThroughImperialEyes "Through Imperial Eyes,"]] when Agent Kallus and Lieutenant Lyste are admitted into Grand Admiral Thrawn's office, they see him sparring with assassin droids in a side room. |
| 575 | * KnightOfCerebus: |
| 576 | ** Although Agent Kallus brought a decent level of threat with himself, the Grand Inquisitor is the real one for the show. Right up until he showed up in "Rise of the Old Masters" the series was rather light, with only occasional and momentary dips into a serious tone. Then, in the span of just a few moments, [[spoiler:a holo-recording of Luminara Unduli's last moments and her mummified corpse was shown, followed up by the Grand Inquisitor curb-stomping Kanan, and a chase sequence that the heroes barely get out of.]] |
| 577 | ** Tarkin serves as a ''far'' more aggressive example - he shows up in "Call of Action" and, in order: [[spoiler:''executes Aresko and Grint'' for their incompetence and warns Kallus and Tua that further failure will not be tolerated, manages to trap the rebels, and captures Kanan.]] His final lines imply that he's just getting started. |
| 578 | ** The last scene of season one finale hints that [[spoiler:Darth Vader will be this for season two, if not the entire series]], and certainly is when [[spoiler:he]] shows up. [[spoiler:Flushing the rebels out of Lothal, then decimating the rebel fleet in the season 2 premiere]]. |
| 579 | ** "Twilight of the Apprentice" is one of the (if not the number one) darkest episode in the show, thanks to [[spoiler:Darth Maul]]. For starters, he [[spoiler:kills both the [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe Seventh Sister]] and the [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice Fifth Brother]], and [[EyeScream blinds]] Kanan]]. |
| 580 | * KnowWhenToFoldEm: The GrandFinale ultimately reveals that [[spoiler:after the destruction of the Imperial control center on Lothal (with all personnel onboard) and the loss of the Jedi temple's gateway to the World Between Worlds, the Empire decided to cut its losses and abandon the planet to focus on more pressing issues, like the growing Galactic Civil War and the [[Film/RogueOne Stardust Project.]]]] |
| 581 | * LampshadeHanging: In "Kindred," Ryder Azadi is introduced to the crew's rather haphazard way of getting out of trouble. He's not exactly impressed with it. |
| 582 | --> '''Ryder:''' How have you people survived this long?! |
| 583 | * LaResistance: The series starts on a planet recently occupied by the Empire, where the citizens show dissatisfaction for its iron-fisted rule and for labor for its war-facilities. |
| 584 | * TheLeader: Kanan is the de facto leader of the group, though Kanan and Hera sort of form a Team Dad and Team Mom leadership duo. Hera actually owns the ship they live on (the ''Ghost'' is consistently referred to as ''her'' ship, not Kanan's) and she is its pilot. Moreover, ''Hera'' is the one who communicates with their mission contact Fulcrum, not Kanan. It's implied that they did this on purpose to compartmentalize information: Kanan is out in the field running ops while Hera is usually flying the ship, thus he is more likely to be captured, in which case they don't want him to have any vital information about the wider rebel network that can be tortured out of him. [[spoiler:This is exactly what happens at the end of Season 1: Kanan is captured in the assault on the planetary communications array, but even under heavy torture he simply doesn't know anything about Fulcrum to tell the Grand Inquisitor, because Hera always handled that.]] |
| 585 | * LeaningOnTheFourthWall: The midseason trailer for Season 2 has Ahsoka do this in a clip taken from "Twilight of the Apprentice", likely in reference to the increasing amount of [[CanonImmigrant re-entries into new canon]] starting ''especially'' at this part of the series. |
| 586 | -->'''Ahsoka''': There is always a bit of truth in [[Franchise/StarWarsLegends Legends]]. |
| 587 | * LegacyCharacter: |
| 588 | ** In Season 2, the Fifth Brother shows up to replace the Grand Inquisitor [[spoiler:who died in the Season 1 finale]]. The Seventh Sister invites herself in, and they end up running into the Eighth Brother along the way. |
| 589 | ** Season 3 introduced a new Fulcrum after [[spoiler:Ahsoka's disappearance in the Season 2 finale]]. |
| 590 | * {{Leitmotif}}: |
| 591 | ** The sinister [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jon84qsbFwI Enter Kallus]] and variations such as the also militaristic [[https://soundcloud.com/deankinersounds/holocall-with-kallus Holocall With Kallus]] and the beginning of New Found Respect. 0:43 in the former is his cue (ex. plays when the rebels first spot him in "Empire Day"), and he also has another cue for whenever he begins a showdown with Zeb (notably when he challenges him in "Droids in Distress" and reveals the trap in "The Honorable Ones"), and one similar to a ScareChord on horns (when he shows up in "Breaking Ranks"). |
| 592 | *** Enter Kallus sounds like a twisted version (as in, the notes are deeper) of this part of ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM0sSV1DNsM&feature=player_detailpage#t=15 The Clone Wars]]'' theme. It could be showing how Kallus is loyal to the successor of the Republic so that the 'dark times' never occur again... or possible {{Foreshadowing}}, if "The Honorable Ones" means anything. |
| 593 | ** A haunting organ can be heard whenever [[spoiler:Grand Admiral Thrawn]] appears. |
| 594 | * LensmanArmsRace: The Empire typically uses TIE Fighters and Interceptors, built for speed but lacking armor, shields, or even a hyperdrive. However, they use a lot of them to make up for their weaknesses. The Rebels, on the other hand, use hardier and more versatile fighters, since they have fewer resources and pilots. In response to this, the Empire, under the guidance of Thrawn, begins manufacturing [[spoiler:TIE Defenders, which retain the speed of a TIE Fighter but have shields and a hyperdrive.]] |
| 595 | * LighterAndSofter: Started off as one of the lightest canon Star Wars works, and especially compared to ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' (which had its own lighter beginning but was still quite intense). The tone in the first season was fairly playful and sometimes comes across as playing pranks on the Empire instead of being genuine guerilla combatants. There are substantially fewer on-screen deaths and the action is more [[TapOnTheHead ambiguous about the severity of the violence]], deaths that ''are'' on-screen are substantially less graphic. ''The Clone Wars'' utilized GoryDiscretionShot but never shied away from making it clear when someone was dismembered, while this shows adheres more strictly to NeverSayDie (IE, Ezra's parents and [[spoiler:Kanan]] are merely said to be "gone"). The show does end up going in some dark directions, particularly once Maul enters the picture, but never quite gets as intense as ''The Clone Wars'' could be. |
| 596 | * LiveActionEscortMission: |
| 597 | ** The "Empire Day"/"Gathering Forces" two-parter has the ''Ghost'' crew trying to get Tseebo, a Rodian with half the Empire's secrets in his implant, off Lothal and to safety. Unlike most examples, Tseebo's catatonic most of the time, and actively helpful for the rest. |
| 598 | ** "Secret Cargo" has a squadron of Y-Wings and the ''Ghost'' crew escorting Senator Mon Mothma to the secret rebel base on Dantooine after she pretty much flips off the Empire. [[spoiler:Thrawn]] and the Seventh Fleet [[spoiler:including TIE Defenders]] are in hot pursuit of them. |
| 599 | * LostHimInACardGame: In "Idiot's Array", Zeb bets Chopper in a game of Sabacc, believing his hand is unbeatable. Lando, however, has an "[[InstantWinCondition Idiot's Array]]" and takes Chopper, forcing Kanan to broker a deal so Lando will give him back. |
| 600 | * LovableRogue: |
| 601 | ** Lando Calrissian. He's such an asshole that nearly everyone in the show hates him...but he's such a ''smooth'' asshole that most of the audience loves him. |
| 602 | ** Hondo Ohnaka, carried over from ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars The Clone Wars]]''. Age hasn't slowed him down one bit... though he doesn't have his pirate crew anymore. Despite this, he never ceases to amaze. |
| 603 | [[/folder]] |
| 604 | |
| 605 | [[folder:M-P]] |
| 606 | * MamaBear: Sabine's mom may have [[spoiler:abandoned her own daughter]], but it's not something she'll do again. Proof? [[spoiler:She shot Saxon when he tried to shoot Sabine InTheBack after he lost their match]]. Don't threaten her kids. |
| 607 | * TheManBehindTheMan: Darth Vader, for training the Grand Inquisitor, and Emperor Palpatine, for running the Empire. As Lothal is pretty out of the way, most of the work is left to the Grand Inquisitor and local security. |
| 608 | * MeaningfulEcho: [[HistoryRepeats Star Wars]] [[ContinuityNod is a]] [[CallBack story of]] [[CallForward repetition,]] after all. |
| 609 | ** "Twilight of the Apprentice" to ''Film/TheForceAwakens''. [[spoiler:Ahsoka confronting Vader, with the latter saying that the man she once knew is [[ThatManIsDead dead by his hand]], is similar to Han trying to reach out to Kylo Ren, who also says that Ben Solo is dead. Both heroes die ([[AmbiguousSituation ambiguously in Ahsoka's case]]) in their attempt to bring back the good in their loved one. WordOfGod says that this parallel was unintentional though.]] |
| 610 | ** Season Three to ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' in regards to Ezra's character arc. When we first see him, he is older, wiser, and wielding a new green lightsaber to replace his blue one that he lost in a battle with Darth Vader, along with his innocence. [[spoiler:He is also perilously close to falling to the Dark Side]]. Its a nearly spot on match for Luke's arc by ''Jedi''. |
| 611 | ** [[ArcWords "I'll be right behind you."]] Specifically, these were the last words Depa said to Caleb [[ComicBook/StarWarsKanan during Order 66]], [[HeroicSacrifice to save himself while she stalls]]. In "Call to Action", [[spoiler:[[HeroicSacrifice Kanan stays behind to stall the Imperials]] so that the crew can live to fight another day, knowing he will be captured. They also end up being more or less his last words when he sacrifices his life in late Season 4.]] |
| 612 | * MeaningfulName: |
| 613 | ** Kallus is a very ''callous'' person, indeed. But surprisingly less so than most Imperials, or at least, that is what it seemed like at first. [[KickTheDog Not only does he murder a stormtrooper for making a sly remark]], [[spoiler:but we later learn that [[MoralEventHorizon he was the one who gave the order to decimate Zeb's people, driving them to near extinction. A fact that he mocks Zeb with]].]] |
| 614 | *** Somewhat subverted in "The Honorable Ones" when [[spoiler:he helps Zeb for reasons other than pragmatism and expresses regret for the events on Lasan, which he lied about commanding out of a grudge he grew from the trauma of his first unit being mercilessly killed by a Lasat mercenary.]] |
| 615 | ** Like how a skywalk means 'to walk in the sky' and ''above'' things, a bridge... well, is a path above something that connects two other paths together. Take out the 'Z' in Ezra and you get 'Era Bridger'. He's the protagonist of a show that ''bridges'' the ''eras'' of the prequels and sequels, or Republic and Empire, together. |
| 616 | ** Some of the episode titles are either this or they're the NonIndicativeName trope. |
| 617 | *** "Spark of Rebellion". As Kallus said himself, [[TitleDrop a spark left unchecked can catch fire]], in an analogy to how easily rebellion can be spread. Fitting for the pilot episode of a show about rebels. |
| 618 | *** "Droids in Distress" is in reference to C3-PO and R2-D2 getting stuck with a band of apparent thieves. [[spoiler:Though it seems that the only one that was in any real distress was [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Threepio]].]] |
| 619 | *** "Rise of the Old Masters" can be seen as this. [[spoiler:In a way, Luminara ''seemed'' to have risen from the dead if you didn't know that it was actually a special hologram. And this episode ''did'' make Kanan realize that he needs to step up his game. And if you've watched Season 2, it might make sense if it's also in reference to the Grand Inquisitor.]] |
| 620 | *** "Breaking Ranks". To 'break ranks' means to march or charge out of your designated order in a military unit, as well as publicly disagreeing with your own group. The episode is about TheInfiltration of the Imperial Academy by Ezra [[spoiler:and [[HeroOfAnotherStory Zare]], as well as getting [[HeelRealization Jai]] out of future peril.]] |
| 621 | *** "Out of Darkness" is referring to the [[WeakenedByTheLight fyrnocks.]] |
| 622 | *** "Empire Day" is about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Empire Day.]] |
| 623 | *** "Gathering Forces" is about [[spoiler:Ezra tapping into the stronger parts of the Force... and he goes too far and taps into the Dark Side.]] |
| 624 | *** "Path of the Jedi" is when [[spoiler:Ezra undergoes Jedi trials and gains his kyber crystal so he can make a lightsaber.]] |
| 625 | *** "Idiot's Array" is in reference to the InstantWinCondition in sabacc, which starts up the whole plot. This also references how most of the crew were [[ButtMonkey butt monkeys]]. |
| 626 | * MidseasonUpgrade: The ''Ghost'''s auxiliary ship, the ''Phantom'' fighter/shuttle, got kitted with a hyperdrive engine by the Mon Calamari engineer Quarrie midway through Season 2, and also with an astromech socket so Chopper can serve as an astronavigator for it. |
| 627 | ** Halfway through Season 3, Sabine gets [[spoiler:the Darksaber]] and set of Madalorian Vambraces (wrist-mounted weapons similar to those used by Boba Fett). |
| 628 | * AMindIsATerribleThingToRead: [[spoiler:In "The Siege of Lothal", Ahsoka joined the Ghost crew in their attempt to stop Vader from destroying the rest of Phoenix Squadron. When she realizes that the pilot of the lone [=TIE=] is a Force-sensitive, she and Kanan use the Force together to try and probe him. She's so thoroughly horrified when she and Vader mutually recognize each other that she faints.]] |
| 629 | * MixAndMatchWeapon: Ezra's lightsaber has a stun blaster built into it. It was inspired by Lasat bo-rifles, which can alternate between blaster rifles and electrostaffs. |
| 630 | ** In "Legends of the Lasat", it turns out Zeb's bo-rifle doubles as a [[spoiler:mystic staff]] as well. |
| 631 | * TheMomVoice: Hera is the TeamMom, and it shows, from the way she will use a FullNameUltimatum on Zeb (Garizeb Orrelios!) to when she has to explain to a frustrated Sabine why it is that she and Kanan keep details from the others, to once giving an explanation to Ezra about why it is that the sale of ion rifles has Zeb in a particularly foul mood, advising Ezra to give Zeb his space. And on one occasion, she uses her "Mom" voice to send Ezra and Zeb on a SnipeHunt for a piece of fruit she knew would be next to impossible to find on Lothal, telling them not to come back without at least one. It was meant to be a Team Building Exercise, but if Hera knew the antics that Zeb and Ezra got up to during that outing, she'd probably never let them off the ship again. |
| 632 | * MoodWhiplash: |
| 633 | ** Episode 11, "Call To Action", feels like this. Two episodes previous, we were hyuk-hyuking it up with Lando Calrissian in cartoon hijinx which, while enjoyable, were ultimately light-hearted. The first scene after the intro of "Call To Action" itself has the two recurring funny bumbling cartoon-like Imperials chasing our heroes in a good fun bike chase. [[spoiler:And then, two episodes after Lando and five ''minutes'' after the chase, [[KnightOfCerebus Tarkin]] has said bumbling officers ''[[ShooOutTheClowns beheaded without warning]]'' in front of the other Imperial characters to make a point that failure will no longer be tolerated. The Imperials then barely let up on the brutality for the remaining fifty minutes or so of runtime of the season.]] |
| 634 | ** There was a lead-up to the Season 2 finale in the form of "Shroud of Darkness", but it is followed by closing the B-Plot of the new base location in [[BreatherEpisode the more light-hearted episodes, "The Forgotten Droid" and "The Mystery of Chopper Base"]]. |
| 635 | * MythArc: The series ultimately revolves around two themes: the liberation of Lothal, and the question of what the Empire wants on Lothal in the first place. Initially, it seems that they just want its' resources, for [[spoiler:either Thrawn's TIE Defender Project or]] the Death Star, or something else. However, the endgame of the series reveals that [[spoiler:Palpatine himself wanted the Lothal Jedi Temple so that he could access a portal to the World Between Worlds and conquer all of time and space.]] The series finale also culminates with [[spoiler:the ''Ghost'' crew summoning as many allies as possible and ultimately liberating Lothal from the Empire.]] |
| 636 | * MythicalMotifs: ThePhoenix. Nearly all the protagonists have arcs focusing on becoming new, better people after their DarkAndTroubledPast, the rebel fleet in season 2 is called Phoenix Sqaudron, Sabine's symbol (confirmed to be the inspiration for the Rebel insignia) is the GFFA version of a phoenix, the starbird, and Ezra wears primarily orange with a bird's head on his back. To a lesser extent, fire is a running motif throughout the series, with the rebellion being compared to fire spreading, and fire appearing in several events that permanently change a character's life or the show itself. |
| 637 | * MythologyGag: |
| 638 | ** As in the original trilogy films, the series starts with an Imperial Star Destroyer gliding ominously across the top of the screen. (This time, it's in a planet's atmosphere.) |
| 639 | ** During one scene, Zeb [[PaperThinDisguise poses as a "Hairless Wookiee"]] in order to infiltrate an Imperial compound. Zeb's design is based on the early concept art for Wookiees. |
| 640 | ** Obi-Wan's holocron message (itself a ContinuityNod to ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'') ends with him saying the remains of the Jedi Order need to stay in hiding, but "Film/ANewHope will emerge." |
| 641 | ** The Inquisitor is [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith Pau'an]]. |
| 642 | ** Kanan's speeder-bike is described in supplementary materials as being a Joben-T85 produced by Zebulon Dak Speeder Corporation, referring back to the ending of the first arc of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Droids}}'' cartoon. |
| 643 | ** The pilot droid RX-24 from "Droids in Distress" was the pilot in the original ''Ride/StarTours'' ride. They're both even voiced by Paul Ruebens. |
| 644 | ** In "Breaking Ranks", Kanan and Hera go after an Imperial kyber shipment, mention of which goes all the way back to a May 1975 synopsis of an early draft of ''Film/ANewHope'' (although its first actual appearance was as the MacGuffin in ''Literature/SplinterOfTheMindsEye'' and it's now spelled as [[SpellMyNameWithAnS "kyber crystal"]]). |
| 645 | ** The Imperial troop transports bear a strong resemblance [[https://starwarsblog.starwars.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/original-transporter.jpg to this 1979 toy,]] down to the prisoner cells mounted on the sides. |
| 646 | ** The training obstacle course in "Breaking Ranks" is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Tyu3rrBgHk&list=PL148kCvXk8pBBJ1-qxpc_fdnlg0WiFWDS confirmed by Dave Filoni]] to be based on both the Box and the clone training yard from ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars''. |
| 647 | ** The lines that the Grand Inquisitor says to Ezra in "Gathering Forces" are similar to what Emperor Palpatine says to Luke in his throne room in the Death Star in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''. |
| 648 | *** Kanan has a [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic star map]] in the holocron. |
| 649 | *** [[spoiler:Ezra's]] lightsaber sounds similar to Kylo Ren's from the ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' teaser. |
| 650 | *** When [[spoiler:Ezra]] first activates his lightsaber, he holds it very similarly to Luke in some of the [[https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/images/Star-Wars-New-Hope-IV-Poster_c217085b.jpeg?region=49%2C43%2C580%2C914 original artwork]] for [[Film/ANewHope A New Hope.]] |
| 651 | ** The title of the episode "Idiot's Array". In the old Expanded Universe an "Idiot's Array" is [[InstantWinCondition a winning hand]] in sabbac (and the episode establishes that that's still the case in the new continuity). |
| 652 | ** The [[spoiler:Kanan vs Vader]] fight in "The Siege of Lothal" is noticeably slower and heavier than fights in the rest of the series, resembling the original Obi-Wan vs Vader fight in ''A New Hope''. |
| 653 | ** "Shantipole" is the project name for Quarrie's B-Wing development program as well as the planet it takes it name from. In the old EU, Shantipole was the name of the asteroid base where the same B-Wing development program (called the Shantipole Project) was conducted by Admiral Ackbar. |
| 654 | ** The ''Hammerhead''-class corvettes used by Princess Leia resembles the Endar Spire from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic''. They even share the same class name, ''Hammerhead'', with the difference being that the former are corvettes while the latter were cruisers. |
| 655 | ** The Empire's national anthem in "Empire Day" is an upbeat remix of the Imperial March. |
| 656 | ** Darth Vader's helmet design is reminiscent of Ralph [=McQuarrie=]'s original concept, which featured a brow that made him look very sinister. |
| 657 | ** The outfit worn by the young Princess Leia is taken from unused concept art [=McQuarrie=] did of Leia for ''A New Hope''. |
| 658 | ** The Lasat term for the Force, "The Ashla", was the proper name for the Light Side of the Force that George Lucas created for early script drafts. The Dark Side on the other hand was referred to as the Bogan, which the Bendu brings in Season 3. |
| 659 | ** Ahsoka states "There is always a bit of truth in legends", referencing the formerly ExiledFromContinuity elements in the ''Legends'' continuity. |
| 660 | ** The Bendu's name is a reference to Lucas's idea of the Jedi-Bendu, who became the Jedi in the final product. |
| 661 | ** The Imperial Security droids in "The Wynkahthu Job" bear a strong resemblence to the Phase-II Dark Troopers from Videogame/DarkForces. |
| 662 | ** Kanan using the Force to launch a missile back into the imperial walker that fired it is a reference to ''[[VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed The Force Unleashed II]]''. The fact that he resembles Rahm Kota while doing it is a bonus. |
| 663 | ** Season 3 has [[spoiler:Maul confronting Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine, like he did in the ''Old Wounds'' comic]]. He even says "I will mend this old wound". |
| 664 | ** The code word to shut down the droids Thrawn spars with is "Rukh", the name of his Noghri bodyguard in the ''Legends'' continuity. He'd later appear in Season 4. |
| 665 | ** The Kalikori, a Twi'lek family heirloom, takes its name from a Twi'lek village on Tython in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic''. In the game, the name was said to mean "Beginning". |
| 666 | * NeverSayDie: Averted, most of the time. A notable exception is in "Spark of Rebellion", which uses "end" as a verb twice in places where the meaning was obviously "kill", even though it's still used later on in the same special. |
| 667 | ** Another notable exception comes after [[spoiler:Kanan dies. Ezra says he's "gone" when Zeb asks what happened to him, and an Imperial mook confirms to Governor Pryce that he "perished."]] |
| 668 | * NeverTrustATrailer: Based upon the early trailers and especially the character shorts released on [=YouTube=], the show appeared to go for a LighterAndSofter direction to the point that was on the verge of becoming DenserAndWackier. Then the pilot premiered, and while it turned out to be LighterAndSofter compared to later seasons of ''The Clone Wars'', it also became clear that the show ''does'' take itself seriously, and it got DarkerAndEdgier as it went on. |
| 669 | ** These are more of cases of Never Trust Merchandise, thanks to toylines and accompanying artwork for it. |
| 670 | *** The Grand Inquisitor had a shield (which would've made lightsaber combat impractical if he actually used it) and wore his helmet in combat like the Seventh Sister. He never uses the shield, and he never uses the helmet outside of its one appearance when he flew a TIE. |
| 671 | *** Kanan had a jetpack and an oxygen respirator, he never uses them and probably never will [[spoiler:because he can't fly if he's ''blind'', and the figure that had the accessories was from Season 1-2 anyway]]. |
| 672 | *** Zeb had a piece of headgear during the toyline for Season 1-2, but has not yet worn it, though there's still a chance it could appear. |
| 673 | ** One of the Season 2 trailers had Azadi tell Ezra that his parents escaped prison and are alive, making it seem like Ezra would be torn between staying with the Rebellion or going to go look for his parents. [[spoiler:Nope, it was an edited voice clip. [[TearJerker They're dead.]]]] |
| 674 | ** The Season 3 trailer implied that the plot of the pilot, "Steps Into Shadow", was about the ''Ghost'' crew stealing Y-wings from Reklam station, for a strike fleet. In actuality, Ezra comes up with idea when they were actually just supposed to scout the area, and it nearly ends up getting him and the others killed. |
| 675 | ** Downplayed with the Season 3 trailer's introduction of Thrawn. Cham stated that the Empire has become better at anticipating their moves, and that he underestimated the commander. It sounds like he is referring to Thrawn, and is immediately succeeded by Thrawn emerging from the shadows, but in the actual episode, he is referring to Captain Slaven. However, considering how incompetent Slaven seemed in the same episode, it is likely that he only did this with Thrawn overseeing him. |
| 676 | ** The trailers for the second half of Season 3 greatly hyped up that the forthcoming confrontation between [[spoiler:Darth Maul and Obi-Wan Kenobi]] would be an epic battle with a massive scope. "Twin Suns", the episode the confrontation takes place in, actually focuses far more on Ezra himself, and the actual fight is very poetic, subdued, and quick, as opposed to the massive lightsaber battle the trailers hyped up. |
| 677 | * NoFlowInCGI: Played with. The characters have specific locks of hair that flow fairly realistically with motion and the wind. Outside of these sections, however, their hair tends to stay still even when it shouldn't be. Averted completely with Hera's lekku, since they're much easier to animate. |
| 678 | * NoGravityForYou: |
| 679 | ** In the pilot, the team disables the gravity on a prisoner transport to trip up some Stormtroopers. |
| 680 | ** Chopper activates this while sabotaging the Interdictor's gravity well in "Stealth Strike". |
| 681 | * NonIndicativeName: Some episode titles. |
| 682 | ** "Rise of the Old Masters" only involves one Jedi Master, [[spoiler:and she turns out to be DeadAllAlong]]. |
| 683 | ** "Gathering Forces" sounds like it involves TheCavalry or recruitment, but it's actually [[spoiler:referring to Ezra's growth in his connection to the Force, at a rate that makes him more vulnerable to the dark side.]] |
| 684 | ** "Vision of Hope" does involve an actual vision, [[spoiler:but it's one that was [[YankTheDogsChain horrifically misinterpreted]]]]. |
| 685 | * NoOSHACompliance: |
| 686 | ** According to the visual guide, the working conditions in the spice mines of Kessel are brutal, as the workers are constantly exposed to a mineral that is also used for a dangerous drug without protective gear (for RealLife analogies, it's like a combination of working in a salt mine and on a drug plantation), and the royal family of Kessel (located on the other hemisphere of the planet) allows the operations, but turns a blind eye to the lethal working conditions. The Empire takes advantage of this and sends prisoners there as a subtle means of executing them, [[WouldHurtAChild including children]]. If old ''Legends'' lore is anything to go by, spice is produced by [[GiantSpider energy spiders]] (and said spiders eat people) and are highly flammable. So spice mining without proper gear or protection is suicide, and the Empire has no problem in sending slaves to their deaths for fast drug credits. |
| 687 | ** As shown in "Fire Across the Galaxy", the engine rooms of Imperial Star Destroyers have narrow walkways over a large chasm with no guardrails. Thus, there's nothing preventing any crew men from accidentally stumbling over or accidentally dropping something dangerous into the engines and causing them to explode [[spoiler:(such as the Grand Inquisitor's lightsaber)]]. |
| 688 | ** The room housing the shield generator for Lothal's capital building abides by the traditional Imperial policy of narrow walkways with no safety rails suspended over exposed power relays. |
| 689 | ** In the finale, we see that there is absolutely nothing protecting from someone from falling into the power conduits of the Lothal planetary shield generator, nor is there a ladder, access hatch, or any other easy way to escape from the pit once fallen in. Which makes it particularly absurd is the (completely unshielded) electrical conduits are more than powerful enough to electrocute, or possibly ''vaporize'' a living being, as [[spoiler:Rukh]] unfortunately finds out. |
| 690 | * NobodyPoops: Played for laughs. AP-5 walks in on Wedge trying to urinate, and [[NoodleIncident apparently he's done this to Zeb before too]]. |
| 691 | * NomDeGuerre: The ''Ghost''[='s=] crew refer to each other as "Spectre ([[YouAreNumberSix Number]])" when they're on missions or else don't want people to know their names. If one's piloting the ''Ghost'' or the ''Phantom'', then the name of the ship is used as the callsign instead. |
| 692 | * NotSoDifferentRemark: In [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E19ZeroHour "Zero Hour"]], Kallus says this to Thrawn about how the latter thinks he'll be the one to defeat the rebels just because he supposedly has the skills to do so, but he can be vanquished like any other Imperial such as himself from experience. Thrawn rebuffs this, saying that he isn't Kallus. |
| 693 | * NotQuiteTheRightThing: Inverted in the season one finale. [[spoiler:The crew is ordered to go into hiding to ensure that their message of hope will not meet a depressing end. They decide to go rescue Kanan, which all of them know is risky and, at least in a military sense, a bad decision. After they succeed, whispers of what happened reach across the galaxy, sending the message that the Empire is NotSoInvincibleAfterAll. While people did listen to their message, the fact that they backed it up is what sparks unrest on Lothal.]] |
| 694 | * NothingIsTheSameAnymore: The last season is notably darker, and the music reflects this. The show is aware it's ending. |
| 695 | * OffStageVillainy: |
| 696 | ** The [[spoiler:destruction of Tarkintown]] in "The Siege of Lothal" takes place offscreen; we only get to witness the aftermath and the characters' reactions. Granted, it ''is'' less than forty-five minutes long and has to remain kid-friendly, but they avoid showing even a single shot of the Empire destroying the town. |
| 697 | ** The Inquisitors are seen boarding a ship in "The Future of the Force" in the intro and proceeding to [[HeKnowsTooMuch kill off onlookers]]. The next time we see the ship, it is empty and floating around in the void, with a SoleSurvivor that dies soon after [[spoiler:Ahsoka]] finds her. |
| 698 | * OhCrap: |
| 699 | ** [[spoiler:Kallus and Tua have ''stark'' reactions of this sort to the surprise beheading of [[ThoseTwoGuys Aresko and Grint]] right in front of them. Poor Tua barely manages to avoid screaming in pure terror but is still obviously struggling to maintain her composure at all; Kallus manages to remain a little more collected but is still obviously having trouble ''believing'' what he's seeing.]] |
| 700 | ** Kanan and Ezra [[spoiler:react this way when Darth Vader uses the force to lift a walker that had fallen on top of him. It makes Kanan and Ezra realize just how hopelessly outmatched they are and convinces them to run away.]] |
| 701 | ** The entire episode of "The Honorable Ones", from Zeb and [[NotSoStoic Kallus]] when they realize they're about to crash into the moon of Bahryn, to [[spoiler:escaping the bonzami]]. |
| 702 | * OncePerEpisode: For most of Season 2, new characters are introduced every episode. The only one that seems to avert this is "The Mystery of Chopper Base". |
| 703 | ** "The Siege of Lothal" introduced Commander Jun Sato and [[RedShirtArmy Phoenix Squadron]]. |
| 704 | ** "The Lost Commanders" brought back Captain Rex, Commander Wolffe, and Captain Gregor. |
| 705 | ** "Relics of the Old Republic" introduced the Fifth Brother. |
| 706 | ** "Always Two There Are" introduced the Seventh Sister and her parrot droids. |
| 707 | ** "Brothers of the Broken Horn" brought back Hondo Ohnaka. |
| 708 | ** "Wings of the Old Master" introduced Quarrie, BG-81, and Eesh Fahm. |
| 709 | ** "Blood Sisters" introduced Ketsu Onyo and EG-86. |
| 710 | ** "Stealth Strike" introduced Admiral Brom Titus. |
| 711 | ** "The Future of the Force" introduced [[WeHardlyKnewYe Darja]], Oora, and babies Elora and Pypey. |
| 712 | ** "Legacy" introduced Ryder Azadi and a [[ShoutOut white]] [[Literature/AliceInWonderland lothcat]]. |
| 713 | ** "A Princess On Lothal" introduced [[spoiler:Princess Leia Organa]]. |
| 714 | ** "The Protector of Concord Dawn" introduced Fenn Rau and the Protectors, who also debuted in the [[ComicBook/StarWarsKanan Kanan comic issue]] that was [[MeaningfulReleaseDate released on the same day]]. |
| 715 | ** "Legends of the Lasat" introduced Chava and Gron. |
| 716 | ** "The Call" introduced [[WeHardlyKnewYe Boss Yushyn]]. |
| 717 | ** "Homecoming" brought back Cham Syndulla, Gobi Gile, and Numa Bril. |
| 718 | ** "The Honorable Ones" could count as an exception, unless the mentions of Saw Gerrera and the [[spoiler:Lasat mercenary]] count. |
| 719 | ** "Shroud of Darkness" had [[spoiler:a vision/holorecording of Anakin Skywalker, the Sentinel (a younger Grand Inquisitor), and Yoda debuting with a real model]]. |
| 720 | ** "The Forgotten Droid" introduces AP-5 and [[NoNameGiven an unnamed Imperial freighter captain]]. |
| 721 | *** "Mystery of Chopper Base" introduced [[RedShirt Lieutenant Dicer]]. |
| 722 | ** "Twilight of the Apprentice" introduces [[spoiler:[[LastEpisodeNewCharacter Darth Maul]] and [[EleventhHourRanger the Eighth Brother]].]] |
| 723 | * OnlySixFaces: Noticeable among the non-named Imperials, as well as the members of the Phoenix Squadron and citizens. Lyste's and Tua's models aren't even original, the former just being a raised hat to remove the anonymity it gives to generic officers, while the latter is a PaletteSwap of a generic citizen. Rudor is also just a helmetless TIE pilot and [[TheFaceless Oleg]] is just a generic cadet with green markings to accompany the rest of his unit. |
| 724 | * OurWeaponsWillBeBoxyInTheFuture: |
| 725 | ** Sabine's blasters are basically bricks with a grip, which is pretty standard for Mandalorian weapons. |
| 726 | ** Ezra's lightsaber, built from whatever parts the crew had lying around, looks like a staple gun with the saber hilt as the handle. It doubles as a stun blaster. |
| 727 | * OutOfTheInferno: In "The Siege of Lothal", Vader gets ''two'' burning [=AT-DP=]s toppled on top of him by the Ghost crew. Just as they're about to leave, he almost casually lifts them of himself. |
| 728 | -->'''Ezra''': If that doesn't kill him, what will? |
| 729 | -->'''Kanan''': Not us. |
| 730 | ** Kallus recalls [[spoiler:the Lasat mercenary]] walking out of smoke and fire as he [[spoiler:executed the rest of Kallus's unit one by one]]. |
| 731 | * OutsideContextProblem: Grand Admiral Thrawn is one of the greatest strategists of his universe, known for coming up with extremely elaborate plans and predicting the unpredictable. It's probably safe to say, however, [[spoiler:that giant force-sensitive space-traveling whales appearing and trashing his fleet]] is fairly hard to plan for. |
| 732 | * PassingTheTorch: Obi-Wan's message at the end of the pilot can be seen as this, not just from the Jedi to whatever new hope rises, nor from ''The Clone Wars'' to ''Rebels'', but potentially from the entire pre-Disney era to the current era of ''Star Wars'' itself. |
| 733 | * {{Pastiche}}: The series's art-style has been repeatedly described as "Ralph [=McQuarrie=]'s concept-arts brought to life in CG", as a deliberate {{homage}} to the late artist's work. While it may be harder to see in individual stills, it's easier to notice in the actual animation; it's at its most apparent with the lightsaber blades & Darth Vader's helmet. |
| 734 | * PinkMeansFeminine: Sabine wears pink Mandalorian armor. WordOfGod has once [[InsistentTerminology insisted]] that it's actually more of a burgundy color. She adds more colors to it over the seasons, with her hair in Season 3 also being dyed something between purple, pink, and white. |
| 735 | * PoliceBrutality: Some of the Imperials on Lothal (including the Stormtroopers) use their positions for personal gain and sometimes take advantage of the weak and helpless, such as demanding protection money from factory workers who are essentially working as slave labor. They'll even consider showing dislike for the Empire as "treason". |
| 736 | * ProductionForeshadowing: Late in Season 1, Hera mentions Mustafar as the place "where Jedi go to die." In ''Film/RogueOne'', released two years later, we found that Darth Vader has set up a castle on Mustafar. |
| 737 | * PropagandaMachine: [=HoloNet=] News acts as this, routinely twisting events to make the Empire look better. |
| 738 | * ThePurge: |
| 739 | ** Order 66 already got most of the Jedi. It's the job of the Inquisitorius to hunt down those who are left. |
| 740 | ** Zeb's race was subjected to this; he is one of the few Lasats left. |
| 741 | ** The Geonosians, [[ContinuityNod as detailed in]] ''ComicBook/StarWarsDarthVader''. |
| 742 | [[/folder]] |
| 743 | |
| 744 | [[folder:R-Z]] |
| 745 | * RailingKill: |
| 746 | ** Subverted when Agent Kallus and a random Stormtrooper are knocked over a railing into a pit, as they both manage to hold on to one of the pylons. Double subverted when Agent Kallus kicks the Stormtrooper down anyway. |
| 747 | ** Sabine knocks a Stormtrooper down one in "Rise of the Old Masters". |
| 748 | * {{Reconstruction}}: ''Rebels'' is essentially this to the entire ''Star Wars'' franchise. The prequels tended to deconstruct many popular elements of the series; for instance, showing us how a lonesome boy who grew up surrounded by war would likely turn out in reality. ''Rebels'' takes many of the Original Trilogy's elements (including the one mentioned) and puts them in a whole new light, letting us remember what was so great about ''Star Wars'' in the first place while still keeping in mind how to make it work. |
| 749 | ** "Rise of the Old Masters" in particular has a DeconReconSwitch as an underlying theme. In the beginning of the episode, [[spoiler:Kanan quotes Yoda's "Do or do not; there is no try," from ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'',]] only for Ezra to point out the (apparent) contradiction, leading to Kanan second-guessing the teaching. However, the episode ends with Kanan saying [[spoiler:that he won't ''try'' to teach Ezra, he ''will'' teach Ezra. They may fail, but they will ''do'' what is required of them]]. |
| 750 | ** "Relics of the Old Republic" seems aimed at fixing many of the problems with the [[HumongousMecha AT-ATs]] from ''The Empire Strikes Back''. Their weaknesses are lampshaded, but so are their strengths. In particular, the weak point at the neck [[spoiler:ends up being used as a plot point]]. |
| 751 | ** As time goes on, the rebels become identified by the Empire through information that already exists on them. |
| 752 | *** In Season 1, information on Kanan Jarrus and how he used to be Caleb Dume was known as early as "Rise of the Old Masters". Ezra's identity wasn't identified until "Vision of Hope", when he reveals to Trayvis that his parents were responsible for the Bridger transmissions. Kallus learned that Hera was the pilot of the ship in "Vision of Hope". An image of Sabine without her helmet was somehow taken and identified as her, as we learn in Season 3. |
| 753 | *** In Season 2, Kallus found out sometime before "Wings of the Master" that the name of the crew's ship is the ''Ghost'', as well as Zeb's name before "The Honorable Ones". |
| 754 | *** In Season 3, they had enough information on Chopper to be able to pull up a complete profile of him (including images of each time he went undercover with an Imperial paintjob) when he tripped an alarm. |
| 755 | * RecurringElement: ''Rebels'' continues the ''Star Wars'' tradition of creating ideas inspired by those in Wuxia and JidaiGeki genres. |
| 756 | ** Kanan is a SamuraiCowboy [[spoiler:and later a BlindWeaponmaster, which explicitly was said to be a homage to ''Film/{{Zatoichi}}'']]. He's even got the samurai-like ponytail, the goatee (which becomes a full-on beard later), and a piece of samurai-like armor for one of his arms. |
| 757 | ** Ahsoka, as well as the Seventh Sister, the Fifth Brother, and the Sixth Brother also have samurai-inspired appearances as well. |
| 758 | ** The Bendu is an old, wise creature with knowledge of the higher world. |
| 759 | ** Sabine uniting the Mandalorian clans to rise against Saxon and the Imperial occupation by showing she has the power of the Darksaber sword sounds almost like something out of a medieval story (such as King Arthur or Joan of Arc), including old samurai movies, where the prodigal offspring returns to their homeland with a MacGuffin so to rally the daimyo (feudal rulers) back into battle to reclaim the family's fortune and honor. |
| 760 | * RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: |
| 761 | ** The Grand Inquisitor has gray skin with red FacialMarkings (a standard for the Pau'an species), wears black armor, and wields a [[DoubleWeapon double-bladed]] red lightsaber. |
| 762 | ** Even moreso Darth Vader, who shows up to [[CurbStompBattle Curb Stomp]] the entire crew of the Ghost AND take out most of a Rebel squadron on his own. |
| 763 | ** Maul, once he makes his reappearance on Malachor. |
| 764 | * RedShirtArmy: Phoenix Squadron, introduced in Season 2. First appearing in "The Siege of Lothal", the Squadron is shown to do pretty well against average TIE fighter squadrons, but near the end, find themselves on the receiving end of a CurbStompBattle from Darth Vader, with only a small number of them surviving. Afterward, they usually have at least one unnamed pilot getting killed whenever they get a space battle scene. |
| 765 | * RelativeButton: When the Grand Inquisitor taunts Ezra, threatening to kill his master and friends, Ezra's anger summons a huge creature to attack the darksider. |
| 766 | * ResolvedNoodleIncident: Two instances of events that were referenced in ''Rebels'', but hadn't been shown yet in canon. In "The Lost Commanders", the Siege of Mandalore is mentioned. In the Season 2 finale, [[spoiler:Maul and Ahsoka appear to know one another, and Maul even taunts her by saying, "Running away again, Lady Tano?" The planned ''The Clone Wars'' finale arc was the Siege of Mandalore where Maul and Ahsoka would have met, but it was scrapped when the series was cancelled.]] With ''The Clone Wars'' being brought back for [[UnCancelled a seventh and final season]], [[spoiler:the Siege of Mandalore, as well as Maul and Ahsoka's meeting, have been revealed in spectacular fashion.]] |
| 767 | * RetiredBadass: |
| 768 | ** Kanan has forsaken his past as a Jedi since the Order was destroyed. He's forced to come out of retirement at the start of the series. |
| 769 | ** Dave Filoni [[http://www.hitfix.com/news/dave-filoni-on-star-wars-rebels-place-in-the-timeline confirmed]] that all of the surviving Clone Troopers from the Clone Wars were relieved from combat duty and were reassigned to managing various Imperial projects due to their CloneDegeneration. He also notes that a number of them are either [[ShellShockedVeteran bitter]] or [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone distraught]] over Order 66. Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor are among them, though they all have their brain chips removed, keeping them from carrying out the order. Rex himself later comes out of retirement. |
| 770 | * RetiredBadassRoundup: Captain Rex and a few other old clone troopers take up the cause again. Ultimately, Rex is the only one who joins the Rebel network, though Wolffe and Gregor both cover his escape. |
| 771 | * {{Retraux}}: Well, close as you could get in [=CGI=], but the lightsabers and blaster shots look more like the effects from the original trilogy than the prequel era. |
| 772 | * TheReveal: |
| 773 | ** As revealed by "Fire Across The Galaxy", the first Fulcrum is Ahsoka Tano. The second Fulcrum, revealed through "An Inside Man" is [[spoiler:Kallus]]. |
| 774 | ** As revealed by "Legacy" [[spoiler:Ezra's parents were executed between the events of the first two seasons]]. |
| 775 | ** "Shroud Of Darkness" reveals that [[spoiler:the Grand Inquisitor used to be a Jedi Temple Guard]]. |
| 776 | ** As revealed in "The Holocrons Of Fate", the key to destroying the Sith is [[TheChosenOne Luke Skywalker]], [[ForegoneConclusion as anyone familiar with the movies will be able to tell you]]. It should be noted that this is mostly implied by means of the answers for Maul and Ezra's queries revolving around Tatooine, even though none of the characters actually realize this (making it something of an InternalReveal for the audience). |
| 777 | ** "A World Between Worlds" reveals that [[spoiler:Emperor Palpatine ''himself'' wanted Lothal and its' Jedi Temple because it housed a gateway to a dimension that lets a visitor influence and control all of time and space, which would let him essentially conquer all of reality. Furthermore, Ezra uses this dimension to save Ahsoka from being killed by Vader on Malachor, confirming her survival after two years of uncertainty.]] |
| 778 | * TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified: Hera's group tries to keep the death count to minimum, and when they do attack the Empire deaths tend to be just the result of defending themselves and never the objective. Tarkin even points this out when informed of their latest raid, deeming them more principled than other Rebel cells. This actually makes them more dangerous to the Empire because it's harder to paint them as simple terrorists, while also making it easier for the civilian population to sympathize with them. |
| 779 | * RunOrDie: |
| 780 | ** Whenever the Grand Inquisitor shows up, the only option is to hold him off long enough to escape - at least until "Fire Across The Galaxy". |
| 781 | ** And when Vader shows up, the team is lucky to even have the chance to run. |
| 782 | ** Same thing with the other Inquisitors, although by this point, they can hold them off a little easier than with the Grand Inquisitor. |
| 783 | * {{Sampling}}: The music used in the show often borrows and reworks music from the first six ''Star Wars'' movies. Interestingly, the show also borrows a bit of the soundtrack of the ''Indiana Jones'' movies on occasion. |
| 784 | * SamuraiCowboy: Kanan is described as a "Cowboy Jedi", he uses blasters, has a lightsaber with a Chokuto-style tip, and wears his hair in a samurai-esque ponytail. This becomes a lot more interesting when you consider that ''Star Wars'' was partially inspired by the Western and Wuxia genres in the first place. |
| 785 | * SavedByCanon: The ''Ghost'' itself appears at the battle over Scarif in ''Film/RogueOne'', ensuring that it survives to around the era of ''Film/ANewHope''. Given that it's not clear who is actually '''piloting''' the ship, however, the survival of all of the crew is not a ForegoneConclusion. [[spoiler:Although Hera at least does make it through the events of the series -- she's name-dropped on the comm chatter as "General Syndulla" (and WordOfGod confirms it's her, not her father Cham) -- as does Chopper, who we briefly see.]] |
| 786 | ** [[spoiler:A ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsForcesOfDestiny Forces of Destiny]]'' short features Hera interacting with Leia and Han after the Battle for Endor, so she at least is confirmed to make it all the way through the Rebellion and into the era of the New Republic.]] |
| 787 | ** [[spoiler:Hera also appears in the game ''VideoGame/StarWarsSquadrons'', set about two years after the Battle of Endor, as the commander of the Starhawk Poject, and description text from the game's cosmetic rewards state that Chopper is still with her.]] |
| 788 | * SchrodingersCanon: Like ''The Clone Wars'' before it, ''Rebels'' uses, alters, or discards elements from the ''Legends'' continuity as it sees fit: |
| 789 | ** A news report the ''Ghost'' crew listens to mentions the "Base Delta-Zero Initiative." In ''Legends'', Base Delta-Zero was an Imperial code phrase for orbitally bombarding a planet so thoroughly as to destroy all life on it (the Star Wars equivalent of [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 Exterminatus]]). |
| 790 | ** The Imperial Inquisition, charged with hunting down Jedi and other Force-Sensitives not troublesome enough to draw the attention of Darth Vader himself, were detailed in various ''Legends'' works, notably as antagonists in assorted tabletop role-playing games. |
| 791 | ** Lightsaber crystals (renamed Kyber crystals) appear. |
| 792 | ** Interdictor cruisers were a popular tool in the ''Legends'' canon, especially of. . . |
| 793 | ** [[Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy Grand Admiral Thrawn]], who appears at the start of Season 3 as an antagonist for the Rebels. |
| 794 | ** The ISB, the Imperial Security Bureau, was detailed in a few ''Legends'' works, where it was Palpatine's initiative to keep the Empire completely under his personal control (drawing parallels between various institutions in Nazi Germany, like the SS and Youth Groups, to instill the Nazi idealogy into everyone). How much of a StateSec they are remains unexplored thus far. |
| 795 | ** The Code of the Sith and Malachor, both introduced in the ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' games, have been brought back. Like in Legends, the Battle of Malachor occurred thousands of years ago that resulted in the planet being devastated by a superweapon with massive loss of life. However, unlike in Legends, the planet is called Malachor instead of Malachor V, the war was fought by different parties for different reasons and the superweapon functioned differently.[[labelnote:differences]]Legends: The war was fought between the Jedi-backed Republic and the Mandalorians, and the superweapon crushed both fleets into the planet with gravity waves. Canon: the war was fought between the Jedi and the Sith and the superweapon was a Force artifact that released a Force vortex that [[TakenForGranite petrified]] both armies. Ironically, this is a LOT like the Thought Bomb from Legends.[[/labelnote]] |
| 796 | ** The Imperial Light Carrier the Rebels steal is based on the [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Quasar_Fire-class_cruiser-carrier Quasar Fire-class cruiser/carrier]] from ''Legends'', specifically the ''[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Flurry Flurry]]'' which appeared in ''Literature/TheTruceAtBakura''. |
| 797 | ** The TIE Defender first appeared in ''VideoGame/TIEFighter'', and sporadically in other ''Legends'' canon since (mostly, other video games, or stats for it in various [=RPGs=]). In a case of BroadStrokes, in ''Legends'' the TIE Defender wasn't conceived until after the Battle of Hoth, and it (as well as the preceeding production model of Darth Vader's TIE Advanced) was designed to remain competitive with the more advanced Rebel starfighters that were appearing, like the X, A, and B-Wings. The TIE Defender in ''Legends'' also had ion cannons in addition to its lasers, while the Defender in ''Rebels'' appears to only have lasers. |
| 798 | ** In a similar case of BroadStrokes, the B-Wing in ''Legends'' was the result of "Project Shantipole," Admiral Ackbar working with [[InsectoidAliens Verpine]] engineers to build a fighter to replace the [[MightyGlacier sturdy, yet aging, slow, and unmaneuverable]] Y-Wing, with one of the stated design goals being that the fighter would be able to reliably destroy Nebulon-B Frigates, which the Empire was increasingly deploying to guard supply convoys the Rebellion desperately wanted to raid. In ''Rebels'', the B-Wing is developed on the planet Shantipole by a Mon Calamari engineer (melding Admiral Ackbar coming up with the concept and the Verpine actually building it), and is explicitly stated to be designed to destroy much larger ships. |
| 799 | ** [[spoiler:[[Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy Rukh, and by extension probably the Noghri]], are also re-canonized partway through Season 4.]] |
| 800 | ** [[spoiler:WordOfGod confirms that Thrawn survives Ezra jumping them both to lightspeed,]] so, assuming that he's still with Ezra when [[spoiler:Sabine and Ahsoka go looking for Ezra]], he's alive post-''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', just like in Legends. |
| 801 | * SceneryPorn: Just about every place in the show, from Lothal, to the Ghost, to the Star Destroyers. |
| 802 | * SecondEpisodeIntroduction: It's technically the ''first'' episode of the season, if you don't count the premiere movies. |
| 803 | ** Minister Tua is introduced in the episode after "Spark of Rebellion". A minor case, as she is only a major character to Season 1. |
| 804 | ** Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor return in "The Lost Commanders". |
| 805 | ** Not really a character introduction, but "Holocrons of Fate" reveals [[spoiler:'he lives' and the key to destroying the Sith are the 'twin suns', possibly in reference to Obi-Wan and the Skywalker twins. Confirmed as of "Visions and Voices."]] |
| 806 | * SecretPolice: The Imperial Security Bureau, or the ISB for short, is tasked with taking out hidden Rebel cells. |
| 807 | * SecretTestOfCharacter: |
| 808 | ** Kanan allows Ezra to steal his holocron as a test to see if Ezra can open it. He also allows Ezra to steal his lightsaber later on, offering to let him keep it as a trinket or make his own as a Jedi. |
| 809 | ** While in the Lothal Jedi Temple, Ezra is led to believe that the Grand Inquisitor has killed the crew and that the crew has no faith in him, his worse fear being alone again. He overcomes it, as he realizes that his friends are TrueCompanions and even if he is left alone once more, he can still continue forward. This allows him to make contact with Yoda, who leads him to the next part of his trial. |
| 810 | ** Before giving him his kyber crystal, Yoda asks Ezra why he wants to become a Jedi. Ezra says he wants power and revenge on the Empire for taking everything away from him. Yoda leads him to a better answer by asking if he was taught to think this way by Kanan, to which he answers no, as the crew has taught many including himself how to hope again and that they are protectors; they're his inspiration. Somewhat subverted, as Ezra starts to go back to his original style of thinking (wanting power) by the next time he speaks with Yoda. |
| 811 | ** Hearing that the Sentinel wants to kill Ezra before he falls, Kanan refuses to let him do so and fights him. Kanan ends up not doing so well, and is forced to resign to the Sentinel's mercy, coming to admit that he has to put faith in what he has taught Ezra and that Ezra will be okay in Kanan's absence. And for that, [[spoiler:the Sentinel grants Kanan his knighthood]]. |
| 812 | ** To make sure he's definite in wanting to defect, Sabine talks with Wedge about how this is NotWhatISignedUpFor when it turns out the Empire has no problem with shooting down civilian and unarmed transports. Wedge agrees, and with that, Sabine reveals her identity as a Rebel infiltrator that has come to help him and the other sympathizers at Skystrike. |
| 813 | * SensorCharacter: |
| 814 | ** Ezra and Kanan first meet when they sense each other's presence in the marketplace. |
| 815 | ** Kanan senses Rex in "Stealth Strike" [[spoiler:when the latter is about to be tortured.]] |
| 816 | ** The Fifth Brother senses Zeb and Sabine hiding in "Always Two There Are". |
| 817 | ** The Seventh Sister sensed Kanan, Ezra, and Ahsoka at the Lothal Jedi Temple in "Shroud of Darkness". |
| 818 | * SequelHook: |
| 819 | ** The final scene of Season 1 is Darth Vader arriving on Lothal to stamp out the fledgling rebellion. |
| 820 | ** The last scene of Season 2 shows Ezra opening the Sith Holocron. |
| 821 | ** [[spoiler:Why the Emperor appears to need Ezra to open a portal to the "World between Worlds". The place is equally left mysterious beyond it's ability to transcend space and time.]] |
| 822 | ** The entire series ends with Ezra and Grand Admiral Thrawn [[spoiler:having been lost in Hyperspace during the elimination of the Emprie's control over Lothal]]. After a TimeSkip, [[spoiler:Sabine reveals that she and Asohka are off on a quest to find Ezra]]. |
| 823 | * SeriesGoal: For the heroes of this story, liberate Lothal from the Empire. However, this goal just gets more and more elusive each season. |
| 824 | * SilentSnarker: Chopper is a variation: while he can't speak a language discernible to viewers, [[ParrotExposition everyone]] in-universe can understand his quips. |
| 825 | * SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers: Ezra finds the idea that anyone would act selflessly to help others to be ridiculous. Hera calls him out on this, telling him his life is worth nothing if it only means something to himself. Surprisingly, even Kallus shares this view; when Ezra repeats the sentiment after being told he'll be used as bait, Kallus just smiles and says nothing, clearly knowing better. |
| 826 | * ShaggyDogStory: After the ending of Season 1 establishes the possibility that the people of Lothal could overthrow the Imperial presence on the planet, Darth Vader shows up in Season 2 and ensures that it remains firmly under the Empire's control. |
| 827 | * ShellShockedVeteran: The three retired clone troopers in "The Lost Commanders" are still carrying a lot of baggage from the Clone Wars; Rex is bitter about his forced retirement by the Emperor, and ashamed at the Clone Army's betrayal of their Jedi Generals. Wollfe is paranoid and fearful of the Empire, and Gregor has become a cackling CloudCuckoolander. |
| 828 | * ShipTease: |
| 829 | ** A little between Kanan and Hera at the end of "The Machine In The Ghost", which is promptly interrupted by Chopper. In the show itself, Hera calls Kanan "love" as an AffectionateNickname. It helps that they're the TeamDad and TeamMom of the group, respectively. |
| 830 | *** In the season 2 episode ''Homecoming'' Kanan spends a good part of the first half of the episode trying to look good in front of Cham, acting very much like a boyfriend trying to impress his girlfriend's father. |
| 831 | *** They embrace at the end of "The Mystery of Chopper Base" before he leaves for Malachor, with him promising that they'll see each other again. And they [[BookEnds embrace once more]] at the end of "Twilight of the Apprentice", when Hera realizes [[spoiler:he's blind]]. |
| 832 | ** Ezra is a bit surprised to see Sabine is BeautifulAllAlong without her helmet in "Spark Of Rebellion". Sabine mostly responds with irritation at his attempts to flirt in succeeding episodes, until "Empire Day" and "Gathering Forces" give them some moments. Though they later had some moments during the third and fourth seasons. During the, series finale, Ezra hyperjumps away to parts unknown. Several years later, after the Empire has been defeated, Sabine (after caressing the mural of his face) still believes he is alive and finally has time to search for him. |
| 833 | ** Both Ezra and Kanan's intense dislike of Lando in "Idiot's Aray" stem from his flirting with Sabine and Hera, respectively. |
| 834 | ** Ezra and Princess Leia get quite a bit in "A Princess on Lothal". |
| 835 | * ShooOutTheClowns: |
| 836 | ** Bumbling Imperial officers Aresko and Grint are [[spoiler:executed on Grand Moff Tarkin's order for their embarrassing defeats at the hands of the rebels]]. This serves as a sign that Tarkin and the Empire are taking the kid gloves off, and as a warning to Kallus and Tua that further failure is unacceptable. |
| 837 | ** While Lyste is extremely downplayed (being more of a ButtMonkey with amusing fails), his last episode ends with him [[FrameUp being dragged away to a detention cell]] [[YouHaveToBelieveMe while screaming that he is innocent]] and begging Kallus to help him after the latter betrays him. Thrawn has no interest in freeing him [[spoiler:even after discovering Kallus is the true rebel spy]] because it would screw things up for his plans. |
| 838 | ** Hondo is as funny as ever and also has pretty much done a HeelFaceTurn, or at least isn't actively trying to go after the heroes like he sometimes did in ''The Clone Wars''. However, he stops being a recurring character mid-Season 3 as the plot gets more serious and the threat of Thrawn and the Empire becomes more dire. He doesn't return until [[BackForTheFinale the series finale]]. |
| 839 | * ShortTeensTallAdults: |
| 840 | ** Ezra is noticeably shorter than the adult characters, despite being 15. Averted after the TimeSkip, with Ezra becoming as tall as Sabine and Hera. |
| 841 | ** Averted for Sabine herself, who is as tall as Hera. This never changes. Also justified, as women are typically shorter than men. |
| 842 | ** Leia is shorter than Ezra, though looks more mature. |
| 843 | ** The cadets are also the same height as Ezra as well. |
| 844 | * ShoutOut: |
| 845 | ** One of the Stormtroopers' identification number is TK-[[Franchise/LiloAndStitch 626]]. |
| 846 | ** The clones' AT-TE is a moving house on legs, referencing ''Anime/HowlsMovingCastle''. |
| 847 | ** According to Pablo Hidalgo, [[spoiler:Kanan becoming blind after an attack from Maul was a reference to ''Film/{{Zatoichi}}''.]] |
| 848 | ** The scene where Ezra meets "Old Master" is ah obvious homage to Luke's first meeting with Yoda in Empire, with some lines taken word for word. |
| 849 | ** Governor Pryce's whole appearance is pretty much a Star Wars reskin of [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull Irina Spalko.]] |
| 850 | ** An undercover Kanan and Ezra claim to Stormtroopers that they were supposed to be stationed in B-17. B-17 is the bomber that the design of the ''Ghost'' was based off of. |
| 851 | *** Likewise, the disruptors were located in the similarly named Bay 7 in "Droids in Distress", and Sabine lied to Tua that they were located in Bay 17. |
| 852 | *** In "Through Imperial Eyes", Ezra's first detention cell is B-7. |
| 853 | ** In "Warhead", the infiltrator droid's self-destruct countdown is an exact replica of the self-destruct countdown used by ''[[Franchise/{{Predator}} predators]]''. |
| 854 | ** In "Flight of the Defender", Thrawn at one point stands in the open firing his sidearm at the hijacked TIE Defender baring down on him, mirroring a similar scene from ''Film/{{Patton}}''. |
| 855 | ** Dave Filoni confirmed that [[spoiler:Ahsoka's appearance in the finale, with white robes and a staff,]] is a deliberate homage to [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings the fall and return of Gandalf]], with [[spoiler:Ahsoka returning from her apparent death and changing from grey robes to white after her battle with the "Balrog" Vader.]] |
| 856 | * ShownTheirWork: When super tactical droid General Kalani appears in "The Last Battle", it's on a planet called Agamar. When he was PutOnABus at the end of the Onderon arc in ''The Clone Wars'', Dooku had instructed him to take all the munitions he could off the planet and take them to Agamar. Doubly-impressive since this was such a minor character. |
| 857 | * SimultaneousArcs: With ''Series/{{Andor}}''. Both start off in 5 BBY and continue up until shortly before the [[Film/RogueOne Battle of Scarif]] and the [[Film/ANewHope the Battle of Yavin]], and both deal with the [[SparkOfTheRebellion then-burgeoning Rebel Alliance]] beginning to confront the Imperials out in the open. |
| 858 | * SingleStrokeBattle: [[spoiler:Obi-Wan Kenobi versus Maul]]. |
| 859 | * SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer: |
| 860 | ** Fulcrum's voice actor/actress goes uncredited prior to the character's reveal, most likely to avoid bringing an InterfaceSpoiler about. In fact, heavy distortion and different actors are used to throw off any attempt to figure it out. Not that [[TheUntwist it worked]], but points for trying. |
| 861 | ** Agent Kallus is absent from the Season 3 debut trailer... [[spoiler:and it turns out he's actually Fulcrum II, the voice informing the rebels about the defecting TIE pilots]]. Same thing nearly happened in the Season 2 midseason trailer, having only a total of two scenes shown, though this is due to only having one episode where he plays a prominent role. |
| 862 | * TheSmurfettePrinciple: |
| 863 | ** As of the first half of Season 3, there have only been three female Imperials: Minister Tua, the Seventh Sister, and Governor Pryce, and ''none of them have ever had screentime with each other''. |
| 864 | ** Captain Brunson is introduced as a minor character in a Season 3 episode and a subsequent [[TheCameo cameo]] later on, but otherwise, the situation is still pretty bad. |
| 865 | * SolarAndLunar: A recurring theme in ''Rebels'' seems to be the moon, as how Luke is associated with the twin suns of Tatooine. |
| 866 | ** The theme that plays at the end of "Legacy" where Ezra has a vision of parents (who he discovered had [[spoiler:died the night before]]) in a happier Lothal is called "Twin Moons", in reference to the two moons of Lothal, also similar in name to Luke's "Binary Sunset". |
| 867 | ** "It's Over" was used in the final product, but "Where the Sun Sails and the Moon Walks" was a concept piece for the ending montage of "Twilight of the Apprentice". The 'sun' is either referring to Ahsoka [[spoiler:being presumed dead]] or once again emphasizing Anakin's fall, while the 'moon', Ezra, lives on, though traumatized and corrupted. |
| 868 | ** Lothal has twin moons, while Tatooine has twin suns. [[spoiler:Ezra learns that the 'key to defeating the Sith' (either Obi-Wan or Luke) is on a world with twin suns.]] |
| 869 | *** Kallus's TrustPassword to [[spoiler:reveal that he is Fulcrum]] is "By the light of Lothal's moons." In addition, at one point, Kallus journeys to Ezra's tower at night... or should we say, under the light of Lothal's moons. |
| 870 | ** The moon seems to be referencing how it is the light in the dark of the night, and not necessarily an evil, possibly referring to how Ezra and Kanan, as Jedi/relatively light-sided users of the Force, bring hope to the dark times. Plus, it could well also be hinting to how Ezra and Kanan are not conventional Jedi and ''have'' done more questionable things with the Force (Ezra much moreso), [[DarkIsNotEvil but are still good people at heart]]. |
| 871 | ** When [[spoiler:Maul dies]], there's a shot of Tatooine's twin moons. |
| 872 | * SoldierVersusWarrior: Brought up several times by Rex in-regards to Clone Troopers and Stormtroopers: where time-and-again the BandOfBrothers nature of the Clones who were oriented towards completing their missions have managed to outmaneuver the GloryHound-oriented Imperial Officers and their bumbling Stormtroopers. |
| 873 | * SomeoneToRememberHimBy: In the DistantFinale, [[spoiler:Hera is revealed to have given birth to Kanan's son, a HalfHumanHybrid named Jacen Syndulla]]. |
| 874 | * SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: |
| 875 | ** Played straight in the first season. The first threat to the heroes is local ISB agent Kallus, who is talented but a small fry nonetheless. Once Kanan is outed as a Jedi, the Grand Inquisitor joins the fold to even out the odds. After a string of failures, Tarkin shows up to set things right. Finally, when Tarkin is outmaneuvered by [[spoiler:several Rebel cells joining together]] and [[spoiler:the Grand Inquisitor dies]], he calls in Darth Vader. |
| 876 | ** Completely averted starting in the second season, however. Darth Vader is the first threat the characters face, and he would have easily killed them all if he hadn't toyed with them. When the Emperor calls him to direct his attention elsewhere, he sends two Inquisitors after them... both of whom rank significantly lower than the Grand Inqusitor that hunted them earlier. Then Vader comes back in the Season 2 finale. [[spoiler:Maul]] also enters the scene to inflict heavy losses and show how obsolete the Inquisitors have become. |
| 877 | ** In Season 3, as [[spoiler:Maul]] continues to be a thorn in the team's side even if he can't do much else, [[spoiler:Thrawn]] arrives to hunt them down with an entire fleet and a spy network as well as new, more competent sidekicks. |
| 878 | ** By the fourth season, [[spoiler:Palpatine enters the stage, and tops ''every single bad guy'' the Rebels have ever met and is coming specifically for Ezra]]. |
| 879 | * SpaceNavy: The Imperial Navy, naturally. |
| 880 | * SpaceWhale: Or space squid. The purrgil are actually a bit of both with tentacles trailing out the back but a face akin to a sperm whale. They're even capable of entering {{hyperspace}} unassisted. |
| 881 | * SpannerInTheWorks: Had Hera not recruited Kanan as seen in ''Literature/ANewDawn'', then Zeb, Sabine, and Ezra wouldn't have joined as they were recruited by Kanan. And had they not joined as rebels, then not only would several people not have joined as well, but major events, including Kanan making a comeback as a Jedi with Ezra as his apprentice, Sabine rallying her people against the Empire, Zeb finding the new home of his people, and so forth, would never have happened either. |
| 882 | * SpiritualAntithesis: ''Rebels'' zigs where ''The Clone Wars'' zags. Using a consistent cast of original characters instead of characters from the movies occasionally straying into LimelightSeries. Using story arcs instead of standalone anthology episodes. Being a good bit DarkerAndEdgier instead of more kid-friendly. And so on. |
| 883 | * SpiritualSuccessor: The show is basically ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' in ''Star Wars''. A crew that smuggles and transports cargo while working against a corrupt government. |
| 884 | * StateSec: |
| 885 | ** The Inquisitorius is a secret division consisting of dark side Force-sensitive agents tasked by the Emperor to hunt down the remaining Jedi. |
| 886 | ** The Imperial Security Bureau is, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zstnZrz_3M according to the developers]], a combination of the FBI and a military police force. In ''Legends'' the ISB had their own Stormtroopers that operated outside the command structure of the regular Imperial Military, their own specialized warships and enforcement; a branch responsible for providing specialized enforcers and muscle to assist in the Bureau's operations (mainly by hiring mercenaries). The devs have hinted [[SchrodingersCanon many of these features are making it over into the new canon.]] |
| 887 | * StealthSequel: ''Rebels'' is very much a sequel to ''The Clone Wars'', even though it wasn't advertised as being one in the first season. Come the second season, a number of characters from the series (including Ahsoka, Rex, Wolffe, Gregor, and Hondo) make appearances, with their storylines carrying over from the previous cartoon. |
| 888 | * StockScream: The Wilhelm scream is heard when Ezra knocks a Stormtrooper off a bridge in "Spark of Rebellion". He's fine until Kallus kicks him down to his death. |
| 889 | * StreetUrchin: Ezra is an orphan who lives on the streets, looking out for only himself, and often steals from the Imperials. |
| 890 | * SuicideMission: The bulk of Season 4 is one as it is a last ditch effort to save Lothal, which has since heavy with Imperial presence and Mon Mothma has declared Lothal a lost cause. The Specters accept that it's a one-way trip if they take this endeavor; Once they enter, they will be completely outgunned, have no means of escape, be unable to call for reinforcements, and cannot expect to make it out alive. They are on their own on this one. |
| 891 | * SupernaturalGoldEyes: The Grand Inquisitor, the Seventh Sister, and Darth Vader have gold eyes, signalling their status as users of the Dark Side. |
| 892 | * SuperPrototype: The "Blade Wing" prototype B-Wing starfighter which packs a [[spoiler:[[WaveMotionGun superlaser]]]] powerful enough to take out small capital ships in one shot, something the mass production model seen in ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' doesn't have. As well as a separate gunner's station in the lower half of the ship, which production B-Wings also lack. On the other hand, it has its share of [[FlawedPrototype flaws]], such as the fact that firing the [[spoiler:superlaser]] ruins the hyperdrive. |
| 893 | * SurprisinglyHappyEnding: Downplayed: although it's safe to say that probably no one expected a ''Film/RogueOne'' [[EverybodyDiesEnding ending]], it was a ForegoneConclusion that neither of the Jedi protagonists would make it to ''Film/ANewHope'' and the Lothal rebellion was DoomedByCanon to failure. [[spoiler:Nope. The GrandFinale ends with the revelation that the Empire cut its losses on Lothal and pulled out after Phoenix Squadron forced the occupiers from the planet (''without'' aid from the Rebel Alliance), and Lothal [[EarnYourHappyEnding experienced a period of peace that lasted all the way through the original trilogy.]] While Kanan did die and Ezra removed himself (and Thrawn) from the equation, both he and Ahsoka are confirmed to still be alive-post ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''. The series ends with [[SequelHook Sabine and Ahsoka, both alive and older, meeting up on Lothal to go search for Ezra.]]]] |
| 894 | * SwirlingDust: |
| 895 | ** [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS1E07GatheringForces "Gathering Forces"]]: When Ezra taps into the Dark Side, small pieces of rubble around him levitate as he summons the big fyrnock. |
| 896 | ** [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS4E14FamilyReunionAndFarewellPartII "Family Reunion — and Farewell, Part II"]]: Glass shards float around Ezra when he's protecting the bridge and calling on the Force. |
| 897 | * SwivelChairAntics: Ezra whenever he's in the co-pilot's chair. |
| 898 | * TakeThat: |
| 899 | ** Continuing from how ''The Clone Wars'' did it, "The Protector of Concord Dawn" makes some subtle jabs at Creator/KarenTraviss' depiction of the [[ProudWarriorRace Mandalorians]] back in ''Legends''. |
| 900 | --->'''[[HeroicSelfDeprecation Sabine]]:''' (''after Kanan comments on [[ShatteredWorld Concord Dawn]]'') My people don't ''need'' a reason to pick a fight. |
| 901 | ** Later, she tries to utilize Mandalorian [[SwissArmyWeapon vambraces]] in duel with Kanan. He soundly defeats her and reminds both the Mandalorians and their out-of-universe fans that tricks and gadgets are no match for the Force. |
| 902 | --->'''Kanan''': History lesson: The Jedi ''won'' the war with Mandalore! |
| 903 | ** [[ItMakesSenseInContext When AP-5 gets stranded in space]], he's surrounded by small [[SpaceWhale space betta fish]] and is about to break into a musical number about how he likes being alone until the ''Ghost'' suddenly shows up and rescues him, cutting him off before he can get any further. It's a jab to audience members who think that the show is [[invoked]][[AnimationAgeGhetto "Disney-fied"]], this scene being as close as it will ever get to traditional Disney movies. |
| 904 | * SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: |
| 905 | ** For most of the first season, the crew is regularly skirmishing with the local Imperials, in a pretty ratings-friendly way, and with some of the Imperials even acting a bit like standard "I'll get you next time!" villains. In "Call to Action", Tarkin grows tired of this incompetence and shows up to handle things personally. [[spoiler:Which begins with the ''brutal execution'' of half the old Imperial recurring cast as a warning to the other half.]] |
| 906 | ** A lot of these happen when Kanan and Rex impersonate Stormtroopers in "Stealth Strike". Rex lampshades the hell out of the impracticality of the Stormtrooper Armor and how the helmet actually makes his marksmanship go down. And just because they know which cell block Ezra is being held in doesn't mean they know ''how'' to get there. [[spoiler:Finally, running towards your ally while disguised as the enemy probably means you're gonna get shot at instead of a welcomed hello, as both Rex and Kanan found out the hard way when they showed up moments after Ezra just escaped from his Stormtrooper Guards. Thankfully, Ezra had his gun set to Stun, and it was a good thing Ezra recognized Chopper in spite of his disguise.]] |
| 907 | ** And as for Rex, he may have been an uber-badass soldier in his prime and he may still be a good fighter, but he's not as young as he used to be. His genetically-accelerated aging coupled with his falling out of practice on Seelos means that he has far less stamina than his younger allies, leading to him being captured and needing Kanan to rescue him. |
| 908 | ** Maul has made his way to Tatooine to finish his business with Obi-Wan Kenobi. There's just one problem: Tatooine is a ''planet'', and planets are '''big'''. when we see him again, Maul has been lost for some time, and no closer to finding Kenobi. |
| 909 | ** Similarly, when Maul finally ''finds'' Kenobi , [[spoiler:their final duel is over in three strokes, which is exactly how most samurai duels went [[TruthInTelevision in real life]]. While both of them are much older, Kenobi still has his entire body and has spent his time in the desert ''productively'', training and meditating until he is truly a master of all the forms of lightsaber combat - shown in the shifting stances he takes before the first swing. Maul, in contrast, is ''literally'' HalfTheManHeUsedToBe both figuratively and in terms of skillset, has done absolutely no training or done anything to attain the "inner peace" that Obi-Wan has, hasn't had a genuine lightsaber fight in years and is driven by little more than his hatred and vengeance. All of this on top of the fact that Obi-Wan has been peacefully relaxing at his camp, while Maul has been hunting him fruitlessly through the desert for ''weeks'' and is half-mad from thirst, hunger, exhaustion, and heat exposure, as well as [[TraumaCongaLine other reasons.]] ThePowerOfHate is no substitute for training and discipline, especially when you've only got half the body you had at your highest point.]] |
| 910 | ** Just because you're in a kids' cartoon does not mean ArmorIsUseless. Going into battle with no protection whatsoever on your chest is a ''bad'' idea, even if some of the enemies you're fighting against are essentially armed workers. [[spoiler:Gregor found that out the hard way.]] |
| 911 | ** No matter how vastly outnumbered and outgunned the rebellion is by TheEmpire, [[SmugSnake arrogance]] and [[ArmchairMilitary inexperience]] are not qualities you want in your military leadership, as Pryce and Konstantine demonstrate on ''multiple'' occasions. The chain of command exists for a reason, and [[MilitaryMaverick insubordination]] by someone commanding '''armies''' can be absolutely catastrophic. When Pryce and Konstantine ignore orders from [[TheChessmaster Thrawn]] and take matters into their own hands on how to deal with the rebels, it usually backfires spectacularly. Konstantine breaking from the formation during a space battle just so he can have his own shot at glory [[spoiler:gets his flagship blown up with him on board]], and Pryce ordering her troops to [[spoiler:[[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill blow up the Imperial fuel deposits]] just to kill Kanan [[PyrrhicVictory cripples the Imperial operation on Lothal and scuttles the TIE Defender program]] with only a single dead Jedi to show for it.]] Thrawn is absolutely ''seething'' with rage in both these scenarios, and the only reason he doesn't have both Pryce and Konstantine [[YouHaveFailedMe court-martialed and executed]] is because [[spoiler:both of them die before he gets the chance.]] |
| 912 | ** There's a reason why [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill ridiculously excessive force]] to crush a vastly smaller opponent is not often a workable strategy and treating your soldiers and facilities as [[WeHaveReserves expendable]] will play into the hands of a numerically inferior enemy. It is ''not'' a good idea to sacrifice a site of massive strategic importance to your cause just to take out your enemy's leadership, as Pryce discovers when she [[spoiler:detonates her own power plant with Kanan inside.]] Sure, she managed to kill a major enemy leader, but at a steep [[{{Pun}} price]]. The Empire can't afford to give her the resources she needs to fix the damage her dumbass mistake caused (and has no reason to do so) and is forced to [[GodzillaThreshold take extreme aggressive measures]] to cement its hold on the planet as a result. |
| 913 | ** The Galactic Empire is '''huge.''' Even when taking the franchise's usual [[SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale approach to scale]] into account, no matter how powerful the Empire is, it can't possibly hope to maintain absolute control of every planet, especially during a time of Galactic Civil War when the Empire's resources are severely strained both by the ongoing conflict and by ''massive'' costly expenses like the Death Star project. Consequently, [[spoiler:when Phoenix Squadron destroys the Imperial control center ''and'' wipes out the Imperial presence on Lothal in one fell swoop, and the citizenry seizes on this opportunity by revolting en masse, the Empire [[KnowWhenToFoldEm cuts its losses and abandons the planet]] to the Rebellion rather than waste time and effort it can't afford reclaiming a backwater planet which offers little strategic importance. As a result, [[EarnYourHappyEnding Lothal gets to experience a period of peace and freedom unprecedented amongst the primary worlds]] for at least the entire period of the original trilogy.]] |
| 914 | ** It also goes the other way for the official Rebel Alliance. After numerous failed attempts at freeing Lothal, the Rebel Alliance [[spoiler:abandons Lothal as a lost cause.]] Despite being Ezra's homeworld, Lothal has no strategic value and is ultimately just one of the ''thousands'' of backwater planets being subjugated by the Empire. [[spoiler:The only meaningful targets were the TIE Defender factory, which Pryce crippled herself, and the portal to the World between Worlds, which is only a concern to the force users.]] |
| 915 | * TeamDad: Kanan helps Hera look after the other members and keep the peace between them, mentors Ezra (in the Force, but also in general), encourages his crew, and protects them with his life. Ezra even calls him 'dad' as part of a ruse for the benefit of a stormtrooper. |
| 916 | * TeamKids: Ezra, Sabine, and Zeb are the Kids to Kanan and Hera. Ezra and Zeb act like brothers, sometimes pranking each other, sometimes working together to deal with Imperial troops. They're even sent out on a SnipeHunt by Hera to teach them to get along (and manage to return with the "snipe"). And in one episode, Sabine has a serious conversation with Hera about keeping her and the others in the dark, with Hera telling her it's to protect them, as well as the movement against the Empire. Hera also uses FullNameUltimatum on Zeb from time to time. |
| 917 | * TeamMom: Hera is described as the one who keeps the team together, by both providing emotional support and keeping the members in line. She's even been known to offer a FullNameUltimatum to one of the ''Ghost'' crew (usually Zeb) when they mess up in an undeniable "Mom Voice." |
| 918 | * TeethClenchedTeamwork: |
| 919 | ** Ezra and Zeb are the epitome of this. |
| 920 | ** The entire crew (except Sabine) when having to go along with Lando. |
| 921 | ** Kanan doesn't like the Rebel network very much due to their large, enigmatic, militaristic nature. [[CharacterDevelopment He gets over it around the same time he gets on good terms with Rex in "Stealth Strike".]] |
| 922 | ** In "The Honorable Ones", [[spoiler:Zeb and Agent Kallus have to resort to this when they're stranded on on of Geonosis' moons.]] |
| 923 | * TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: When he lands on Lothal, the first thing Grand Moff Tarkin does is call out each of the main Imperial characters (Minister Tua, Agent Kallus, and the Grand Inquisitor) for their individual failures in dealing with the Ghost crew. |
| 924 | * ThemeNaming: The ship is the ''Ghost'', the auxiliary craft is the ''Phantom'', and each crew member is identified as "Specter (number)". |
| 925 | * ThreeActStructure: According to WordOfGod, though not every one Season is equivalent to an Act. |
| 926 | ** Season 1 is Act 1, shown by giving us a taste of who the characters are and the setting, the beginning of discussion of Kanan and Ezra as Jedi, using the Grand Inquisitor as a demo of what the antagonists will be like, and introduction of the episodes being told in serials rather than direct arcs like ''The Clone Wars'', among other things. |
| 927 | ** Season 2, 3 and the first half of Season 4 are parts of Act 2. Here, we are introduced to more characters, more conflicts (such as cracks in characters' beliefs and morals, coping with different types of loss, etc.), including more dangerous foes, with at least a few moments that qualify as [[DarkestHour dark hours]] with [[NothingIsTheSameAnymore irreversible consequences]]. |
| 928 | ** The second half of Season 4 serves as Act 3. This is when the protagonists recover from their DarkestHour and get back up on their feet. We see our characters finally confront the show's main antagonists ([[spoiler:Palpatine]] and Thrawn) and [[spoiler:eventually triumph. The denouement takes place during the epilogue, where loose ends are tied up and we learn the fates of the main cast after the final battle.]] |
| 929 | * TimeSkip: In regards to the returning characters from ''The Clone Wars''. Due to the show's cancellation, many plot threads regarding the characters were LeftHanging, with the fates of Hondo Ohnaka, Ahsoka Tano, various Clone Troopers, and possibly others remaining uncertain. The show alludes to what happened between then and this show while developing these characters further. |
| 930 | ** Season 3 is said to take six months after "Twilight of the Apprentice". |
| 931 | ** In general, nearly all of the episodes take place after some span of time after one another, which is usually a few weeks. Considering the rebels have other missions to do that are irrelevant in moving the plot of ''Rebels'' forward like milk runs, this makes sense. Namely: |
| 932 | *** There was enough time between "Future of the Force" and "Legacy" for another confrontation with the Inquisitors and a supply mission to another rebel cell, as seen in the [[Magazine/StarWarsRebelsMagazine magazine comics]]. [[spoiler:From this, we now know that the Imperials took time to plan their attack on Garel instead of immediately attacking it.]] |
| 933 | *** The tie-in Marvel comics ''Kanan'' utilized these inferred time skips around the time of the season one's first half. |
| 934 | *** "Path of the Jedi" contains a time jump at the end to some weeks after Ezra gets his kyber crystal, allowing us to see Ezra ignite his lightsaber for the first time, as he had constructing it over the timeskip. |
| 935 | ** In the series finale, [[spoiler:Sabine]] narrates a Time Skip that covers the entire period of time during which ''Film/RogueOne'', ''Film/ANewHope'', ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', and ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' take place. |
| 936 | * TitleDrop: Kallus drops the "Spark Of Rebellion" episode title into one of his lines during the series premiere. |
| 937 | * TooDumbToLive: In a trailer, a stormtrooper stands mere inches from an explosive charge seconds before it goes off. Somewhat justified as the short "Art Attack" shows the events leading up to this; namely it is the second time the trooper saw the graffiti (the first time the bomb wasn't there). He does have an OhCrap moment a second before it detonates. |
| 938 | ** Ezra and Zeb also often fall under this category, as they have a tendency to cause trouble for the entire crew, usually while childishly bickering. Lessened in Season 2 and virtually gone by Season 3. |
| 939 | * TookALevelInBadass: |
| 940 | ** Ahsoka was a Padawan during ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', and even then she was pretty good in a fight, but the episode "Future of the Force" shows that she has likely spent a great deal of the decade-plus between series training in the ways of the Jedi. |
| 941 | ** Ezra and Kanan [[CharacterDevelopment have come a long way]] from where they were in "Spark of Rebellion", where the former only had 'adrenaline rushes' of the Force and a slingshot that only amounted as a nuisance, while the latter could only manage holding off lightsabers and making no strikes due to [[RetiredBadass being out of practice]]. But thanks to the [[KnightOfCerebus Grand Inquisitor]], the pressure of learning how to defend themselves ends up being the right motivation for them. |
| 942 | --->'''[[VillainRespect Grand Inquisitor]]:''' ''[after Kanan lands kick on him]'' [[WorthyOpponent You've been practicing!]]\ |
| 943 | '''[[DeadpanSnarker Kanan]]:''' [[CasualDangerDialogue Nice of you to notice]]. |
| 944 | ** Ezra in Season 3. He now has a separate blaster and lightsaber, and is also more willing to commit more questionable deeds such as not hesitating to shoot down opponents and slicing them down, and [[spoiler:mindtricking a walker to walk off a cliff]], for starters. It's NotQuiteTheRightThing, however... |
| 945 | * TortureIsIneffective: Despite Hera's claim in one episode that they keep information on a need-to-know basis because "[[TortureAlwaysWorks the Empire can make anyone talk]]", no torture scene is ever shown to actually work, even with the help of TruthSerums. The closest they get is making a person chattier than usual, but even then they manage to keep enough of their wits about them to not answer the torturer's questions. |
| 946 | * TrailersAlwaysSpoil: |
| 947 | ** An ''Entertainment Weekly'' clip featuring the Grand Inquisitor's first duel with Kanan revealed the episode's PlotTwist - namely, that [[spoiler:prisoner Luminara Unduli was DeadAllAlong]] by means of a FreezeFrameBonus during a close-up of Kanan. |
| 948 | ** The Season 2 mid-season trailer is full of this, due to the increasing number of [[WhamEpisode Wham Episodes]]. Filoni even put up a warning the day before it was uploaded. Said spoilers include [[spoiler:Zeb not being the LastOfHisKind and getting into some sort of mystic ritual, Cham (and [[EnsembleDarkhorse Numa]]) returning, Ketsu returning (due to FreezeFrameBonus of the Shadow Caster), Zeb and Kallus scenes, Vader vs. Ahsoka, another Inquisitor, a Yoda appearance, Ahsoka reminiscing of Anakin, and Maul returning.]] |
| 949 | ** Season 3's initial trailer had [[spoiler:the recanonization of Thrawn, the introduction of Governor Pryce, Mandotroopers vs. a jetpack-bearing Sabine, Ezra, and a HeelFaceTurn Fenn Rau, a [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Lion Turtle-esque]] Force figure named Bendu giving advice to Kanan, Maul returning and [[HostageCrisis using the Ghost crew as leverage]] against Kanan and Ezra to fuse the Holocrons together, the Presence and Maul continuing to encourage Ezra to use his emotions as his power, Kanan getting possessed and fighting Maul, still-active battle droids, Sabine getting the Darksaber, and Sabine infiltrating the Skystrike Academy to help defecting pilots including Wedge, using information from the new Fulcrum]]. And by the way, if you edit the audio of Fulcrum II's voice, [[spoiler:it's [[HeelFaceTurn Agent Kallus]]]]. |
| 950 | *** Further promotional videos revealed that [[spoiler:the crew (minus Ezra and Kanan) gets held hostage, Sabine, Ezra, and Maul also get possessed by the same spirit(s) that possessed Kanan in the trailer and end up fighting each other, we return to Ryloth and Hera gets held hostage by Thrawn there, and that we will return to Lothal]]. |
| 951 | ** The midseason trailer for Season 3 revealed that [[spoiler:Thrawn finds and destroys Chopper Base, as well as doing a number on the recently united rebel fleet, Kallus's cover eventually being blown, Sabine somehow losing the Darksaber to Saxon but fights a final battle with him while using Ezra's lightsaber, a number of Mandalorian Fang Fighters joining the rebel fleet, and that Obi-Wan and Maul will fight, with Ezra and Chopper in pursuit of the latter]]. In comparison to the other trailers, though, this has shown the least spoilers and WordOfGod is that a lot was left out of the trailer. |
| 952 | ** And now the midseason trailer for Season 4 qualifies due to [[spoiler:a significant number of its scenes lacking Kanan's presence]]. |
| 953 | ** As if the above wasn't bad enough, Disney XD's Website/YouTube channel posted a clip from [[spoiler:"Jedi Night" titled "The Death of Caleb Dume" ''the same day the episode aired''.]] Gee, thanks a lot, Disney XD. |
| 954 | * TrojanPrisoner: In "Spark of Rebellion", the crew of the Ghost attempt to infiltrate an Imperial Cruiser, by claiming that Zeb is a captured Wookie. [[BlatantLies A rare, hairless Wookie]]. |
| 955 | * TwoGirlsToATeam: Hera and Sabine are the only women on the team, though given the team's size, that comes to 40%, not counting the droid. |
| 956 | ** Ahsoka joins in with the ''Ghost'' crew's antics every once in a while in Season Two, bringing it up to three. It ends up staying at two by the end of the season, though. |
| 957 | * UnexpectedCharacter: |
| 958 | ** Depa Billaba, former Jedi High Councilor, posthumously. ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' had completely ignored her [[note]]although they were going to use her ([[BackForTheDead to be a death for an arc's plot point]]) when Disney pulled the plug[[/note]]; before that, the ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' had depicted her as getting incapacitated early in the war, with her seat going to Obi-Wan Kenobi, so making her Kanan's mentor right until Order 66 was rather surprising. |
| 959 | ** Obi-Wan Kenobi's holocron cameo in "Spark of Rebellion" wasn't expected. |
| 960 | ** Why hello there, '''Luminara Unduli'''. |
| 961 | *** Up until the SDCC 2014 trailer for the show, it had been presumed that she had died along with all the other Jedi with the advent of Order 66, especially considering that she was on Kashyyyk with Yoda, and that there was no indication that she had escaped from the other Clone Troopers. The fact that she was simply taken prisoner instead of simply being executed is also surprising. |
| 962 | *** This is played with in that [[spoiler:Luminara is DeadAllAlong and her being "alive" was simply a trap set by the Grand Inquisitor]]. |
| 963 | ** Darth Vader was expected to show up at one point -- that his appearance in the series was slated to happen ''less than a month after the series premiere'' threw people off-guard. Bonus unexpected points should be added by being voiced by Creator/JamesEarlJones when Matt Sloan seems to be the go-to guy for Darth Vader voices in other official ''Star Wars'' media. |
| 964 | ** Yoda's appearance (or more accurately, his voice) in "Path of the Jedi" was also unexpected, [[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack as Yoda was isolating himself on Dagobah at the time]]. Similar to Darth Vader above, being voiced by Frank Oz was even more unexpected, as Creator/TomKane is usually the go-to-guy for a Yoda voice outside the films, including Lucasfilm Animation's previous project, ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars The Clone Wars]]''. |
| 965 | ** Lando makes his appearance in "Idiot's Array" when he ropes the ''Ghost'' crew into his schemes after winning Chopper in a game of Sabacc. |
| 966 | ** Tarkin shows up in "Call to Action" and things get serious real quick. |
| 967 | ** While the Clone Troopers were expected to show up eventually, many were surprised that Gregor - who only appeared once in the series and was [[BolivianArmyEnding left in a situation where he was hopelessly outnumbered and believed to have died]] - was among them. |
| 968 | ** In the second trailer, an "Old Master" offers to help Ezra. His identity? [[spoiler:'''Darth Maul!''']] |
| 969 | ** And then there's the Season 3 trailer, where possibly one of the most hyped characters ever appears: [[spoiler:'''Grand Admiral Thrawn'''.]] |
| 970 | ** General Kalani appearing in "The Last Battle", as many assumed he (actually look-a-like, due to a crediting error in his unnamed appearances in the Crystal Crisis arc of ''The Clone Wars'') died and was [[VillainOfTheWeek a one-shot villain]]. |
| 971 | ** Gar Saxon from ''[[ComicBook/DarthMaulSonOfDathomir Son of Dathomir]]'' apparently survived the Siege of Mandalore and became a major Imperial antagonist to Sabine. |
| 972 | ** The Season 4 trailer introduced [[spoiler:Thrawn's Noghri bodyguard Rukh, also from ''Legends'']], who was assumed to have been AdaptedOut due to [[spoiler:his name being used as the OverrideCommand for Thrawn's sparring droids from [[Recap/StarWarsRebelsS3E15ThroughImperialEyes "Through Imperial Eyes"]]]]. |
| 973 | * UnflinchingWalk: |
| 974 | ** Kanan walks straight at the Stormtroopers' blaster fire just before he pulls out his lightsaber in the pilot. |
| 975 | ** The Grand Inquisitor does a menacing advance towards the heroes during "Rise of the Old Masters", until the doors start closing at a rapid speed, requiring him to run. |
| 976 | * TheUnreveal: |
| 977 | ** A lot of characters comment on what a T-7 disruptor will do to an organic being, but they never specify exactly what happens, possibly as a NothingIsScarier situation. However, it ''does'' get touched upon in outside material such as ''Battlefront: Twilight Company'', and it's exactly what you'd imagine would happen to flesh if it were to be fried. |
| 978 | ** We never get to find out if Jai was really Force-sensitive or not. Likewise, this can apply to [[HeroOfAnotherStory Zare's]] [[Literature/ServantsOfTheEmpire story]] if you're unaware it continues as a book series. |
| 979 | ** After having her vision in "Shroud of Darkness", Ahsoka realizes that "there is another way" and runs down a hall. We never get to find out what she was talking about. There also are implications that there might have been an off-screen conversation between her and Yoda. |
| 980 | * UnrevealAngle: |
| 981 | ** In "Fire Across the Galaxy", Chopper calls Fulcrum as a last resort. The camera begins to rotate around Fulcrum's cloak... before cutting to the next scene right before we can see who's underneath. |
| 982 | ** Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious' appearance in "The Siege of Lothal" is this, as the camera angles never allow the audience to actually see him. The closest we get is seeing the bright reflection of his hologram's light against Vader's mask. |
| 983 | * UsedFuture: The series centers around a backwater planet and a rebel cell that's barely scraping by. As such, most of the machines are cobbled together (Chopper and Ezra's lightsaber being examples), the ''Ghost'' looks dirty and banged-up, and the buildings have graffiti and visible wear and tear. |
| 984 | * VillainBall: At the end of "Twilight of the Apprentice", [[spoiler:Maul helps Kanan and Ahsoka defeat the Inquisitors, and then boasts of his plans to them, while he is still outnumbered by them. If he had just waited, either to intervene in the fight, or to betray them, he might have succeeded.]] |
| 985 | ** In "Zero Hour", even though [[spoiler:The Bendu's appearance meant Thrawn couldn't capture the Rebel leaders on the ground, they still would have been stopped by the second Interdictor cruiser and Kallus wouldn't have escaped, if Pryce hadn't suddenly grabbed the Villain Ball and been too angry to deal with a few Mandaorians, or to stop and think when Kallus goads her into ordering him thrown out the airlock, which gives him the chance to escape.]] |
| 986 | * VillainWithGoodPublicity: Up until they start carrying out [[KickTheDog pointlessly oppressive actions]], the Empire's more authoritative rule has largely been seen as a step up from the Republic in the eyes of many citizens, and a key reason that a major Rebellion hasn't started since the Empire's formation. |
| 987 | * VoiceOfTheResistance |
| 988 | ** Senator-in-exile Gall Trayvis, who frequently interrupts the Imperial [=HoloNet=] News broadcasts with "news the Empire doesn't want you to hear." It remains to be seen, though, if he is real or merely a ploy to root out dissidents. [[spoiler:It's revealed in "Vision of Hope" that he's an Imperial Agent.]] |
| 989 | ** Later, Ezra Bridger becomes this with his submission sent from one of Lothal's radio towers that the rebels have captured. |
| 990 | -->'''Ezra''': We have been called criminals, but we are not. We are rebels, fighting for the people. Fighting for you... ...Stand up together, because that's when we're strongest: as one! |
| 991 | * WeaponBasedCharacterization: |
| 992 | ** The Inquisitors all use a double-bladed saber with a ring mechanism that allows the blades to spin. |
| 993 | ** Sabine's [[MoreDakka dual pistols]]. |
| 994 | ** Ezra's slingshot until he gets his [[MixAndMatchWeapon gunsaber]]. [[spoiler:After Darth Vader destroys it, he uses a lightaber and blaster separately.]] |
| 995 | ** The Honor Guard of Lasan's signature weapon, the bo-rifle. [[spoiler:There's a warrior code in place that has the loser give up their bo-rifle when [[YouKillItYouBoughtIt bested in combat.]]]] |
| 996 | ** Kallus' bo-rifle. In "The Siege of Lothal", he's seen with a non-standard issue blaster, suggesting he's fond of using non-standard issues. |
| 997 | ** Hera's Blurrg pistol. |
| 998 | * WeHelpTheHelpless: |
| 999 | ** Ezra believes that this is the reason the rebels exist. The crew goes to great lengths to help the people on Lothal in addition to being a thorn in the Empire's side, [[spoiler:and they leave the planet once they realize their presence will just make the situation worse]]. |
| 1000 | ** After [[spoiler:having just indirectly lost his parents because chose to stand up for this ideal]], Ezra asks [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething Leia]] why ''she'' fights, because she's a princess - she pretty much can do anything, and she doesn't have to use that to risk her life for others. She answers that it's exactly why she's fighting; she ''has'' to, for those who cannot. And she's well aware that this is why Ezra fights too. |
| 1001 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: |
| 1002 | ** In "The Siege of Lothal", Admiral Konstantine accidentally captures Darth Vader's TIE Fighter in a tractor beam, and plans to lay the blame on the poor tractor beam officer who followed his orders. Later in the episode, Konstantine is alive and well, but we don't know if the man he used as a patsy is still alive or not. |
| 1003 | ** Jai Kell and the rest of the Lothol insurgency mysteriously disappear from the story after Pryce is taken prisoner. |
| 1004 | * WhatMeasureIsAMook: |
| 1005 | ** The heroes regularly gun down Stormtroopers. The only one who ever fires stun shots is Ezra, since his lightsaber's built-in blaster doesn't have a kill setting. However, in "Call to Action", it's reported that the crew's latest heist resulted in no casualties, even though Kanan clearly guns down one of the Stormtroopers; whether this is meant to suggest no civilian casualties or their Stormtroopers are surviving getting shot is hard to say. [[WeHaveReserves Or maybe a few Stormtroopers dying is just THAT insignificant to the Empire.]] |
| 1006 | ** Kallus is implied to have been a Stormtrooper before joining ISB. It is also implied he joined specifically because [[spoiler:Saw Gerrera and the Onderon rebels believed in this trope, and thus had no problem with gunning down wounded men, influential on the high ranks or not. So of course, this gives Kallus a motivation to fight rebels, as he's under the assumption they're all weak in morality.]] |
| 1007 | * WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: |
| 1008 | ** At the end of "Blood Sisters", Sabine blows up a ship with the droid captain still onboard - one who isn't particularly malicious, either. This is actually PlayedForLaughs. |
| 1009 | ** Chopper receives this from Ketsu in the same episode (which is why it makes this particular example rather off-putting) and later Cham in "Homecoming", of whom the latter is clearly irritated that Hera is putting more attention to (or rather, towards the greater Rebellion) instead of her own father and homeworld. |
| 1010 | ** AP-5 is treated like a doormat by his freighter captain. |
| 1011 | * WhamEpisode: |
| 1012 | ** "Call to Action". [[spoiler:Grint and Aresko are executed for their incompetence, Kanan is taken prisoner, and the ''Ghost'' crew sends out a message across several systems that inspires others to stand up against the Empire.]] |
| 1013 | ** "Fire Across the Galaxy". [[spoiler:Kanan is rescued, Ahsoka Tano is alive and leading the Rebels that rescue the heroes along with Bail Organa, Vader is on Lothal and the Grand Inquisitor is ''dead''.]] |
| 1014 | ** "The Siege Of Lothal" is easily the darkest and most shocking episode released yet. [[spoiler:Maketh Tua tries to defect to the Rebels, but she is killed in a plot by Darth Vader and Kallus. Ezra's hideout is destroyed, and Tarkintown is razed by the Empire. Lothal's liberation becomes a lost cause for a long while. Much of Phoenix Squadron is destroyed. Ahsoka Tano and Darth Vader learn of each other's identities. Emperor Palpatine authorizes Darth Vader to send two Inquisitors to kill the ''Ghost'' crew and retrieve Ahsoka as a means to find and kill more Jedi.]] |
| 1015 | ** "Legacy" resolved one of Ezra's major subplots throughout the series up to that point: [[spoiler:that Ezra's parents have been killed by the Empire after he spent the entire series looking for them.]] |
| 1016 | ** "Twilight of the Apprentice" provides several major changes to the status quo. [[spoiler:Darth Maul escapes Malachor, but not before permanently blinding Kanan. The Seventh Sister and the Fifth Brother die in battle against Maul. Ahsoka stays behind, fighting Vader so that Kanan and Ezra have to time to escape, leaving her fate unknown. And at the very end of the episode, Ezra finally taps into the dark side, using it to open the Sith holocron.]] |
| 1017 | ** "An Inside Man". [[spoiler:[[HeelFaceTurn Kallus]] is [[TheMole Fulcrum]], and Thrawn has his suspicions.]] |
| 1018 | ** "Through Imperial Eyes". [[spoiler:The rebels attempt a rescue mission for Kallus, but he [[IChooseToStay chooses to stay and continue his cover]], [[ShaggyDogStory with the only things coming out of the episode]] being that Thrawn is now certain of Kallus's betrayal and intends on [[FeedTheMole putting his plan for him in action]].]] |
| 1019 | ** "Jedi Night". [[spoiler:As the rebels rescue Hera, Pryce orders her troops to fire on the fuel tank they're standing on (which supplies fuel to the whole TIE Defender project); Kanan [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices himself]] to save the rest from the ensuing explosion.]] |
| 1020 | ** "A World Between Worlds". [[spoiler:The Jedi temple on Lothal is revealed to house a portal to a nexus between time and space itself, explaining why the Emperor has been so interested in the planet. Ezra enters the Nexus and rescues Ahsoka from being killed by Vader in their duel on Malachor, though Ahsoka returns to Malachor after the temple's destruction with her current fate still unclear. Ezra and Hera make their peace with Kanan's death... but Emperor Palpatine is ''personally'' taking the reigns of BigBad for the show's final episodes.]] |
| 1021 | * WhamLine: |
| 1022 | ** In the final trailer for Season 2, [[TheReveal Sabine drops a serious bombshell about who she is]], particularly for those who have seen ''The Clone Wars''. |
| 1023 | --->'''Sabine:''' I'm Clan Wren, House Vizsla. |
| 1024 | ** An even ''bigger'' one happens in ''Shroud of Darkness'', straight from Yoda himself: |
| 1025 | --->'''Yoda:''' Find... [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords Malachor]]. |
| 1026 | ** Also from ''Shroud of Darkness''. |
| 1027 | --->'''The Sentinel:''' [[{{Knighting}} By the right of the Council, by the will of the Force,]] [[AwesomeMomentOfCrowning Kanan Jarrus, you may rise.]] |
| 1028 | ** From the Season 2 finale: |
| 1029 | --->'''Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker:''' [[spoiler:Ahsoka!]] |
| 1030 | ** Why should Sabine trust Kallus will help her, Wedge, and Hobbie escape from Imperial custody, in "The Antilles Extraction"? It also implied that there was much more going on behind Kallus's actions than what he claims here: |
| 1031 | --->'''Kallus''': Tell Garazeb Orrelios, 'we're even'. |
| 1032 | ** Regarding TheReveal from Kallus in "An Inside Man": |
| 1033 | --->'''Kallus''': Listen to me; [[spoiler:I am Fulcrum]]!\ |
| 1034 | '''Ezra''': Yeah, right.\ |
| 1035 | '''Kanan''': You want us to believe that?\ |
| 1036 | '''Kallus''': [[TrustPassword By the light of Lothal's moons.]] |
| 1037 | ** Later on in the same episode: |
| 1038 | --->'''Thrawn''': Patience, Governor. Acting out of emotion will not serve us here. We must wait and watch. And when we find our spy, and we will find them, [[FeedTheMole we shall turn them from an obstacle to an asset]]. [[ShameIfSomethingHappened Wouldn't you agree, Agent Kallus?]]\ |
| 1039 | '''Kallus''': *seemingly calm* [[IKnowYouKnowIKnow Your strategy is without flaw, Grand Admiral]]. [[OhCrap As always]]. |
| 1040 | ** The end credits of the series finale finally reveal the voice of Chopper: |
| 1041 | ---> And [[spoiler:[[DescendedCreator DAVE FILONI]]]] as C1-10P/CHOPPER |
| 1042 | * WhamShot: |
| 1043 | ** "Fire Across the Galaxy" has two. First, the reveal of Fulcrum, naturally - Ahsoka Tano climbing down the ladder and facing the ''Ghost'' crew. The second is after Kallus informs Tarkin that there is unrest spreading over Lothal because word leaked of what happened at Mustafar. Tarkin replies not to worry as the Emperor has sent an alternative solution for the Lothal problem. Cue that familiar VaderBreath sound as the Imperial March starts up in all of its dark glory and Darth Vader proceeds to walk down the shuttle's ramp behind Tarkin. |
| 1044 | ** From ''Shroud of Darkness'', when the Sentinel takes off his [[DramaticUnmask mask to reveal]] that he is [[spoiler:a pre-fallen Grand Inquisitor]]. Also accompanied by a WhamLine. |
| 1045 | --->'''The Sentinel:''' [The knighting] means that you are what I once was; a knight of the Jedi Order. |
| 1046 | ** [[spoiler:Maul]] leaping towards Kanan, and [[spoiler:the screen going [[CameraAbuse red]] as his [[EyeScream blade slashes across Kanan's eyes]].]] |
| 1047 | ** [[spoiler:Grand Admiral Thrawn]] stepping out of the shadows in the Season 3 trailer. |
| 1048 | ** Also in the trailer for Season 3, Sabine [[spoiler:holding the Darksaber]]. |
| 1049 | ** In "A World Between Worlds" [[spoiler:Ezra reaches through time and pulls Ahsoka off of Malachor just as Vader is about to strike her down.]] |
| 1050 | * {{Wipe}}: Per standard of ''Star Wars'' scene transitions. |
| 1051 | * WolverinePublicity: R2-D2 and C-3PO appear in "Droids In Distress" even though any other two droids could serve the same purpose in the story. |
| 1052 | ** Well, any of ''Bail Organa's'' droids, maybe. Their appearance wasn't just a random chance meeting: Senator Organa had heard rumors of a local rebel cell operating around Lothal, so he sent the droids to surreptitiously scope them out to see if they were worth recruiting into the larger rebel cell network he's setting up. |
| 1053 | * TheWorfEffect: |
| 1054 | ** Zeb and Kallus get into a staff-to-staff duel. Kallus is ultimately victorious in spite of fighting an alien with greater physical strength using a weapon designed specifically for the latter's species (although Zeb remarks later that Kallus' has been modified to better suit him). This is partially thanks to Kallus playing on Zeb's past tragedy to unbalance him, though Kallus is legitimately skilled regardless. |
| 1055 | ** Kanan's first duel with the Grand Inquisitor is pretty one-sided, due to the character's status as a KnightOfCerebus. He and Ezra are lucky to escape. While Kanan does get better in subsequent duels, he's still outclassed. |
| 1056 | * WouldHurtAChild: |
| 1057 | ** In the "Property of Ezra Bridger" promo short, we meet Baron Valen Rudor, the pilot of a crashed imperial TIE fighter. He fires on Ezra with his ship's guns after Ezra has stolen his helmet. An imperial naval officer, bringing [[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill anti-vehicle grade guns]] to bear on a teenager. Fortunately, Ezra has a [[MySignificanceSenseIsTingling Force-sense moment]] and handily dodges. |
| 1058 | ** In the series proper, a Wookiee child is sent to the spice mines, and Kallus has no problem with killing Ezra for being a Jedi, even though Ezra is only a Force-sensitive just now getting clued in. |
| 1059 | ** Kallus has participated in genocide, so there's a possibility that he may have killed children. However, it gets implied that he mainly fought adult soldiers. |
| 1060 | ** The Grand Inquisitor is perfectly willing to murder Ezra if he refuses to join the Empire. Darth Vader explicitly says that his task is to hunt for "Children of the Force", pretty explicitly stating that the target's age is not an issue for the Empire. |
| 1061 | *** The rest of the Inquisition has no problem with hurting kids too, since they abduct children and are more than welcome to bring harm to Ezra and Sabine. |
| 1062 | * WreckedWeapon: [[spoiler:Kanan destroys the Grand Inquisitor's lightsaber in "Fire Across the Galaxy".]] |
| 1063 | ** [[spoiler:Two occurences in Twilight of the Apprentice. The Eighth Brother's lightsaber is damaged in battle and then wrecks ''itself'' when he tries to use it to fly away, bursting apart and sending him falling to his presumed death. Then, Ezra's blaster-saber is destroyed in his duel with Darth Vader.]] |
| 1064 | ** Ezra starts slicing up blasters in Season 3. Kanan also did this occasionally prior to Season 3. |
| 1065 | * WrenchWench: Both of the two lead female characters fall into the category. Hera Syndulla, aside from being the AcePilot, maintain and repairs her own ships. Sabine Wren is also a talented vehicle mechanic, but her backstory is as a child prodigy genius in developing weapons technology. |
| 1066 | * YouAreNotAlone: Multiple characters are {{Sole Survivor}}s and/or estranged from their loved ones which often appears in the case of abandonment. |
| 1067 | ** After her MotiveRant about how she was abandoned by her family, [[HonoraryUncle Raul]] his friend Ezra, and [[ParentalSubstitute Kanan]] kneel before Sabine and the Darksaber, telling her that they will always stand by her and the choices she makes. |
| 1068 | * YouHaveFailedMe: Tarkin has two of his officers beheaded in his office for this reason, and as an example to the other Imperials on Lothal. |
| 1069 | -->'''[[KnightOfCerebus Tarkin]]:''' [[NothingIsTheSameAnymore From now on, failure will have consequences.]] |
| 1070 | * YouHaveToBelieveMe: Ezra says as much to Kanan and Hera [[spoiler:when he has a vision of his parents]] in "Legacy", [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure though they accept it pretty quickly]] and [[ExpositionDump catch him up with what they learned about the situation offscreen]] instead of [[NotNowKid denying his claims.]] |
| 1071 | * YouKillItYouBoughtIt: [[spoiler:It is the Lasat warrior way to give up your weapon when a superior foe bests you in combat. This is how Kallus got his bo-rifle.]] |
| 1072 | * YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: The Imperials on Lothal actually refer to the local rebel cell as "insurgents" more than they call them "rebels". The "Rebel Alliance" hasn't officially formed yet so it isn't a common term in Season 1 (though the formal name is actually "The Alliance to Restore the Republic"). When he arrives, Tarkin calls them both terms interchangeably. Also his arrival marks a shift, as he's the first to inform the local Imperials that there are other "rebel cells" bubbling up around the galaxy on the local level, plus the larger scale actions by multiple rebel cells in the Season 1 finale. They gradually shift to calling them "rebels" as the scale of the threat they pose to the Empire increases. |
| 1073 | * ZorroMark: When she strikes, Sabine always leaves the phoenix-symbol (starbird) of the Rebels on walls of the scene, either as graffiti, or using her blasters. Beware, the graffiti ones might explode (she makes them out of combustible materials). Actually, the organized "Rebel Alliance" doesn't exist yet, but apparently this is a symbol that has been circulating around their pop culture as an anti-Empire symbol. In "Idiot's Array" she explains to Lando that she was "inspired" by a similar symbol used in the protest paintings of Garel's Janyor of Bith. |
| 1074 | ** Thrawn ends up getting a hold of a photo of at least two of her artpieces, including the starbird. Considering he could practically know the entirety of your history and character ''just'' by looking at your work, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero this probably isn't such a good thing for Sabine and co]]. |
| 1075 | ** Ketsu has done this at least once. Seeing one of her tags on Garel in "Blood Sisters" tips Sabine off that Ketsu may be near. |
| 1076 | [[/folder]] |
| 1077 | ---- |
| 1078 | ->''"Remember, Ezra; without hope, we have nothing."'' |
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