SPOILER WARNING!
Author’s Note: (below)
After every show, I'll be posting the column Rebels Dispatch for @The_GWW. It'll be a brief of thoughts that could lead to features.
— Jon Reyes (@werdynerdy) September 24, 2016
Of the three things I speculated would possibly occur throughout season three of “Star Wars Rebels,” only one seems to be of certainty; the other two not so much. The one that looks like an early lock is Kanan regaining his sight back after being blinded by Darth Maul during the season two finale, but there’s a catch, however. It won’t be by simply returning to how he originally was. Instead the new character Bendu will teach him how to use the force in order to see through perception, surroundings, feelings, and so on. And, of course, with some of the fantastical involved as well, otherwise it wouldn’t be Star Wars.
As for the two where I think I may end up being wrong, for starters I thought Ezra wouldn’t eventually give in to the dark side. Now, I still have immense faith in him not to fall into what Kanan rightfully calls a “trap.” In the hour premiere “Steps Into Shadow,” seeing Ezra angry at his fellow rebels, his family really, and opening the Sith holocron were images of utmost concern to me. It’s a relief that Kanan entrusted the holocron with Bendu, as a “gift” to keep it safe and Ezra. This path he’s on is a season long plot point, so we see what comes of it until maybe the midseason finale.
For the final idea I had: Sabine playing a bigger role. I’m moving those chips I placed on her and sliding them over to the Bendu camp. He showed up much earlier in Rebels than I expected, it might’ve been even before Grand Admiral Thrawn showed up on screen. It was definitely before Maul has had a chance to cause some reckoning, who’ll show up next week on “The Holocrons of Fate.” Those two facts alone tell me he’s going to be a major character, and I’m super stoked for that because his introduction, design and voice are plain awesome.
I’ll have more to say on Thrawn after episode three, hopefully. He didn’t have much of a role in the first two episodes. All I have for right now is that he’s a different kind of villain that we’re not necessarily accustomed to.
If you haven’t already, please take the time to read my love letter to Rebels.