Star Wars Rebels - Jedi Night

Star Wars Rebels returns from hiatus with the rescue of Hera (Vanessa Marshall) from the Empire and a farewell to one of the show's core characters. While ordering Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) back to the core feels like a bit of a cheat to keep the stench of failure off his hands, the small Lothal rebels do complete their mission in rescuing a drugged, tortured, but still spirited, Hera from the Empire. As to the loss, there is plenty of foreshadowing in the episode, such as giving control of the rescue mission to Ezra (Taylor Gray) and the emotional moments between the former Jedi and the Ghost's captain, and actually even more in the episodes leading up to "Jedi Night," that Kanan (Freddie Prinze Jr.) may be the first Rebel to fall. That said, the show does the character proud with his heroic sacrifice to complete the mission and make sure that his friends made it out alive.

The big question heading into the final episodes of the series is what does Kanan's loss do to the team's chemistry, and specifically to Hera and Ezra? Will Kanan the only regular to fall? Or is this just the beginning of dark days ahead for our heroes? And will his death push Ezra down a darker path, or has he learned his lessons from dabbling in the Dark Side of the Force? Whatever the outcome may be for the rest of the crew, I always expected Star Wars Rebels to have more of a tragic tone than the show's writers have always been willing to embrace. Kanan's death is earned here, and I'm sure the episodes to follow will continue to build on that loss heading into the series finale.