Star Wars Rebels likes to keep connected to Clone Wars. Which makes sense, as most of the crew between the two shows happens to be the same.
Anyway, they decided to bring Cham Syndulla onto Rebels. He also just happens to be Hera’s father. They haven’t talked in years either, so you can guess why. Hera is reluctant to contact him in the first place, but the rebellion needs to take the Imperial carrier parked over Ryloth due to the fact that they’ve lost too many pilots to dangerous docking procedures.
Kanan, on the other hand, is a total Cham fanboy. He’s so flustered meeting his girlfriend’s father hero he can’t even make accurate introductions. Interestingly enough, one of Cham’s subordinates is Numa, a.k.a. that Twi’lek girl Waxer and Boil saved in that one episode of Clone Wars.
Later, Ezra asks Hera what the deal is between her and her father. After her mother died fighting, Cham threw himself into the fight to free Ryloth, to the degree that the fight was the only important thing to him. When Cham comes in, Ezra leaves with a pointed comment about the importance of family. Cahm is disappointed that Hera fell in with the Rebels, as his experience during the Clone Wars taught him that he really shouldn’t trust anyone. He wants to blow up the carrier, but Hera convinces him not to.
Or not. As they’re sneaking onto the carrier in a stolen bomber, Cham flips the script on them because he really wants to blow the damn thing up. They stun the crew of the Ghost, and Cham tells Hera there’s no way he’s not going to blow the ship up for all of Ryloth to see. He then leaves his daughter handcuffed to the seat of a burning TIE bomber.
This turns things into a fight of three fronts, so to speak. Sabine and Zeb hold off Cham’s fighters while Kanan, Ezra, Chopper and Hera make their way to the bridge. Their infiltration is really spectacular, with Kanan and Ezra force pushing and pulling each other through a series of closing blast doors. They finish off by having Ezra mind trick the captain to get the remaining soldiers off the ship (which is where that “evacuate the ship, i really mean it” clip that got used in the promos for this season came from).
Cham made a beeline to screw the hyperdrive though, so they’re going nowhere fast. It takes Hera reminding him why he started fighting in the first place, and actually winning over his fighters first, to convince him that stealing the ship is the best option. Sure they have to fight off the reinforcements and the bombers returning from their runs to actually do it, but there’s a charming father/daughter moment nestled in there somewhere, between the explosions and laser blasts. Hell, Cham does get to blow something up in the end; that cruiser had to go anyway.
Would I be open to seeing more Clone Wars wrap up on Star Wars Rebels? Yes, I would. And we’re certain to get it, too.
Final Thoughts:
- There was this moment mid-episode where Hera’s arguing with Cham, she starts talking in his accent. At first I thought it was weird, but in retrospect it’s a clever little touch.
- The entirety of the mind trick line was actually pretty funny.
- This was a much better Hera episode than Wings of the Master.
- We’re definitely getting Snoke, and we might get Revan. Prepare fresh underpants.
About Author
