On March 5, “Family Reunion and Farewell” marked the final episode of “Star Wars Rebels.” After a few fire-fights, daring rescues, and even a few deaths, "Star Wars" fans finally have answers to questions previously left by “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.” While the final episode provided a resolution for most of the series’ main characters, the fate of Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray) remains unanswered.
Recap of the final episode
After the rebels successfully defeat the Empire’s Military Governor, our heroes infiltrate the Empire’s command center. The rebels plan to seal off the command center, trapping Imperial Forces within and blowing them out of the sky.
Instead, assassin Rukh (Warwick Davis) warns Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) of the rebels' plans and is able to disarm the shield generators that protect Lothal’s capital city. Meanwhile, Ezra sets a plan in motion, directing a young rebel soldier, Mart, to the planet’s atmosphere to gather reinforcements. Thrawn arrives on the scene and begins bombing the now defenseless city. Ezra surrenders to Thrawn in order to save the city and buy the rebels more time to reactivate the shield generators.
With the help of Sabine Wren (Tiya Sircar), Ezra is able to sneak out of the command center and surrender himself to Admiral Thrawn. Once in Thrawn’s custody, the young Jedi is taken to meet with a holographic rendering of the Emperor.
Emperor Palpatine (Ian Diarmid), appears to Ezra as a kindly, old politician. The Emperor then tries to tempt Ezra, showing him the remains of the Jedi Temple from Lothal. Inside the temple, Ezra has a vision of his parents. Emperor Palpatine tries to turn young Bridger, promising to give the young boy the life he never had with his parents.
Ezra is able to resist the temptation and destroys the temple. He escapes the Emperor’s clutches, fighting his way to Admiral Thrawn.
Back in the command center on Lothal, the rebels fight to take back the shield generators from Rukh and Imperial forces. Zeb Orrelios (Steve Blum) is able to reactivate the shields, somewhat inadvertently killing Rukh in the process.
Gregor (Dee Bradley Baker), an old clone from "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," is mortally wounded in the skirmish. With the shields once again protecting the city, Ezra is free to fight his way to Thrawn.
Mart returns with his reinforcements, whale-like creatures that inhabit deep space. The Purrgils attack the Imperial Ships, trapping Thrawn and Ezra on the bridge of Thrawn’s flagship. As the Purrgils prepare to jump to hyperspace, dragging Thrawn’s ship with it, Ezra is able to get a message down to his friends. He tells Sabine that he is counting on her. Ezra stays aboard, ignoring pleas from his friends, and sacrifices himself in order to ensure the liberation of Lothal.
After the war
The rebels brace themselves for a counter-attack that never comes.
Hera and Rex participate in the Battle Of Endor, cementing their status as legends of the Rebel Alliance. Zeb and Agent Kallus (David Oyelowo) have a touching moment where the Lasat takes the former Imperial Agent to Lira San, revealing that Zeb is not the last of his kind after all. Hera is shown flying the Ghost with a new co-pilot and son, Jacan Syndulla. It is revealed that the late Jedi, Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prince, Jr.) is the boy’s father. Sabine Wren is shown with a fancy new haircut, contemplating the message that Ezra gave her right before he was dragged into hyperspace with Thrawn. The young Mandalorian decides that there was something more to Ezra’s final message. Ahsoka Tano appears on Lothal, presumably to take Sabine to the place between worlds to save Ezra.
What’s next?
In an interview with Collider Videos, series producer Dave Filioni says that he loves animation and is excited for whatever comes next. When asked about possibly participating in a live-action "Star Wars" production, Filioni told Kristian Harloff that while he loves animation, he’d be open to working on a live-action project, and that he can take a lesson from the Jedi that there is always something new to learn, “There’s a lot of things to learn about different types of production.” There are also rumors of a Sabine Wren spin-off. Certainly, the ending of "Star Wars Rebels" lends itself to a Sabine and Ahsoka spin-off. However, these rumors are purely speculation, as neither Filioni nor Lucasfilm have confirmed these rumors.
The series as a whole
Overall, "Star Wars Rebels" was able to neatly tie some of the loose ends that were left by the abrupt ending of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." We now know that Ahsoka Tano not only survived Order 66 but was able to survive until after the war. We know that Rex, Anakin Skywalker’s old Clone Commander, survived the Clone Wars and fought in the Battle of Endor. We also know the fate, supposedly, of our Jedi duo, Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger. Kanan gave his life to save his friends from an exploding fuel tank. His noble sacrifice was befitting of a true Jedi Knight. Ezra learned a valuable lesson from his master, following suit and sacrificing himself to ensure the liberation of his home planet, Lothal. Whether or not Sabine and Ahsoka will be able to save Ezra in the world between worlds remains to be seen.
