Prior Episodes | 7975 (2 BBY) | Next Episodes
Continuity & Analysis

Star Wars: Rebels - Steps Into Shadow (2016) [S3E1-2]
Ezra, having grown in power, leads a mission to break the crew's old friend Hondo Ohnaka out of
prison. Meanwhile, Grand Admiral Thrawn - a master Imperial strategist - has vowed to dismantle
and destroy the growing rebellion.
Star Wars: Rebels - The Holocrons of Fate (2016) [S3E3]
Maul returns to complete his dangerous plan, and the Ghost crew is caught in the middle.




CONTINUITY
These three episodes form a single storyline about the aftermath of the Battle of Malachor.
The planets Naraka and Yarma are seen for the first time, as are the Rings of Phelbos. Four worlds are seen in these episodes:

This two-part story takes place near the beginning of 7975 (2 BBY), and after a gap of some time since 'Twilight of the Apprentice'.
Some time gap is implied, however it is likely only weeks or months based on the spacing of events in this calendar year and
the resolution of pressing matters from the previous storyline. Ezra has now been Kanan's apprentice for more than two years.

- Naraka is a terrestrial planet located in the Phelleem Sector, in the Slice region of the Outer Rim, and along the Triellus Trade Route.
Little is known about Naraka other than it is habitable and in this time period hosts an Imperial prison. It is not known if there is
any indigenous ecosystem, nor is it known if there are any settlements or other inhabitants.


- Ezra uses telepathic projection to compel an Imperial walker's pilot to turn against the Empire and ultimately kill himself. This form of mind trick
certainly violates Jedi ethics, and requires the kind of power and malicious intent which probably require using the dark side to accomplish.

- Governor Pryce is seen for the first time despite having been mentioned repeatedly since early in the first season. Moff Tarkin was last seen
in 'Fire Across the Galaxy' (S1E15), almost two years earlier. Moff Pryce is the Governor of the Lothal Sector, which is part of the Dominus
Sector in the Outer Rim, and therefore she reports to Grand Moff Tarkin, who is the Governor of the Outer Rim.


Governor Pryce is a Moff, which is a fancy title for the Military Governor of a sector, yet she has been incorrectly given
the insignia of a Grand Moff, such as Governor Tarkin, who is in this very scene. The creators were either not paying
attention to detail, or more likely had no idea what the Moff insignia would look like and simply copied Tarkin's.
The correct insignia for a Moff is seen at the end of Episode III, where Tarkin is seen on the bridge of a star destroyer
with the Emperor and Vader overlooking the Death Star's construction. It is similar to his Grand Moff insignia,
but with five columns instead of six, with one less blue pip on the top row, and one less gold pip on the bottom row.
This error is never corrected and reoccurs in all of Pryce's subsequent appearances. This error is explained in detail in
the main article about ranks. It is a prime example of this series' terrible issues with rank and rank insignia continuity.
Main Article: Ranks and Rank Insignia


- When Ezra Bridger is made an officer, Commander Sato tells him he will "lead the mission as Lieutenant Commander". His response to
this is, "Lieutenant? A promotion?" Subsequently, Zeb and others refer to him as "Lieutenant", showing that 'commander' was not
meant to be taken as part of his rank title. Lt. Commander is a very high rank to give an officer who previously had no rank, and is
not known to be a rank used by the Alliance in any case. As is very common in the SW universe, anyone in command of something
is a "Commander". Ezra is in the future called "Lieutenant" and "Commander" but never again both in the same sentence.
Main Article: Ranks and Rank Insignia

- The Ghost can't jump directly to Yarma from Naraka, and must drop out of hyperspace at the Sereeda Waypoint and plot a new jump.
This is little seen in SW material but was always suspected to be the case for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that a safe
route from one planet to another would almost always require at least a brief stop to turn somewhere near the destination. Regions of
space which are conveniently positioned for such turns and are themselves known to be clear of obstacles are designated as waypoints
and given names of starcharts. These stops need only take as long as it takes to get new coordinates from the navcomputer.
Main Article: Hyperspace Travel

- At this point in time, Sereeda Waypoint lies within a "Mining Guild claim zone", and is being policed by the Guild in the name of the Empire
as a turnpike toll booth and security checkpoint. The Empire has apparently set up similarly lucrative monitoring operations at many
prominent hyperspace junctions to intercept unregistered traffic and tax legal transit. This reduces the profitability of independent or
smaller scale ventures, which suits the Empire's goals of discouraging travel, small operators, and self-sufficiency. Reducing travel to
officially allowed economic activity has the added bonus of making black market trade, criminal activity, piracy, and rebellion more
difficult than they already are, as the camouflage provided by regular trade and travel is their chief operational advantage. The Mining
Guild commander orders the Ghost to "transfer credits", once again proving that credits are basically accepted everywhere in
the Empire and are the dominant currency in the galaxy. This contradicts suggestions in this series and elsewhere that credits are not
widely used. Hondo suggests that, "Imperial prison is bad, but where the Mining Guild will send us is worse!" Considering that Imperial
prisons are most forced labor camps, the implication seems to be that the Guild's version of forced labor is even more unpalatable.


- The Bendu is a semi-corporeal being who is a powerful Force wielder, who resides in this time on Atollon in order to find peace and quiet.
The Bendu describes his connection to the Force by saying "Jedi and Sith wield the Ashla and Bogan, the light and the dark. I'm the one
in the middle, the Bendu." Ashla and Bogan are the names of the moons of Tython, which was a prominent world during the formation
of the Jedi movement over 25,000 years before these envents. These subsequently became liturgical names for the aspects of the Force
used in various ways throughout the galaxy. 'Bogan', which is the name for the dark side, has also come to mean an evil, or a devil or
demon or similar, such as Zeb referencing small creatures he considers pests as "little bogans". 'Ashla' is the name for the light side,
although sometimes it is a name for the Force entire such as among the Lasats, partly because in the ultimate nature of the Force is
more light than dark. The term 'Bendu' is the liturgical world for balance, especially in relation to the Force, thus this character's name
implies he is something like an avatar of the center of the Force, perhaps the avatar of it. Alternatively, it may be the case that he was
a being who attained a higher state of existence through knowledge of the Force, and his devotion to the Bendu ultimately became his
sole identity. His origins and history are never explored in this series. His abilities with the Force are considerably more advanced than
Jedi or Sith, as Kanan's imbalance woke him from a deep slumber, as Bendu calls his presence "like a violent storm in this quiet world."
This is also meant to illustrate how Kanan's internal turmoil and reduced connection to the Force seems like a personal issue with limited
consequences to the mundane observer, but to one sensitive to the Force, a Jedi in such a state on a quiet world is a seismic event.

- Grand Admiral Thrawn is a well-developed character from legends which made his first canon appearance in this episode. His rank of Grand
Admiral was the result of a recent promotion following Thrawn's victory at Batonn. Konstantine's response to this news indicated that
he was unaware of such a promotion for Thrawn, and seems to suggest that this is an unusual title. Based on his interest in political
climbing, Konstatine is likely jealous, as Thrawn was probably a Fleet Admiral like himself before being promoted. The rank above Fleet
Admiral is High Admiral, a sector-level command position which is the regular military equivalent of a Moff in the military government.
There should be more than a dozen of these High Admirals, who can probably be found at Imperial Naval Headquarters on Coruscant,
with rare exception, and who are unlikely to be leading forces in the field. Thrawn's promotion to Grand Admiral places on the highest
level, those who report to the Emperor and the Imperial Council directly, making them military high command, the regular military
equivalent of a Grand Moff in the military government. As Grand Moff Tarkin is the governor of the Outer Rim, this implies there are
other Grand Moffs for the other large galactic regions. It is uncertain if there are any other Grand Admirals, as Konstatine's statement
could be taken to imply this is a rare and honorific promotion given only to the most trusted agents of the Emperor. Supplementary and
non-canon material usually implies that Tarkin is the only Grand Moff and Thrawn the only Grand Admiral, as part of the brain dead
tendency of non-Lucas SW material creators to reduce the galaxy's important people to as few as possible, despite there being trillions
of people in the galaxy. There is no canon reason to believe he is the only Grand Admiral. Non-canon material has shown one Grand
General, however that material makes the same implication that it is a special title which essentially makes them the highest ranked
member of their entire branch of the military. As always, military government positions trump regular military positions of equal rank,
so Thrawn still takes orders from Grand Moff Tarkin. Thrawn's insignia was imported directly from legends, so its appearance is not
really consistent with the rest of the Imperial block insignia system, but nevertheless doesn't cause a continuity issue.
Main Article: Ranks and Rank Insignia

- Thrawn recently won a victory over rebel forces at the planet Batonn in a sufficiently brutal manner which led the Emperor to reward him
with promotion, placing his trust in Thrawn as an operative who shares his personal values and is at the same time ruthlessly effective.
Rebellions of this nature have taken place at every stage of the Empire, but have become increasingly common in recent years.
The situation on Batonn obviously escalated to a point of rebel success which elicited an overwhelming Imperial response. Kallus'
concern that "civilian casualties outnumbered the insurgents at the time" indicates the Empire dealt with this particular problem
with the application of blunt force. Imperial government considers these to be "acceptable margins, for there are no longer rebels
in that sector." According to non-canon material, this was a sector wide insurgency based on Batonn which managed to seize
part of the planet's surface and muster a small starfleet. Thrawn led a task force crushing both the fleet and the rebels on the surface.
Batonn is located in the Batonn Sector, which must be a sub-sector of one of the primary sectors, found somewhere in the Outer Rim.

- The planet Yarma is a terrestrial planet located in the Tharin Sector, within the Slice region of the Outer Rim, lying near to the Triellus
Trade Route, an important regional hyperspace route. It has a thick and cloudy atmosphere, which is breathable, and a rocky
surface below, however the planet does not seem to be useful for settlement, and there is no indication anyone has tried.
In this time period, Yarma hosts Reklam Station, a secret Imperial salvage yard which floats high above the shrouded surface.


- Brom Titus was last seen in 'Stealth Strike' (S2E9), which took place a bit over a year before these events. He has been severely demoted
due to his failures in that episode, which Ezra succinctly explains as "Last time we met you were captain of a top-secret star destroyer.
Now you run a junk yard?" While Titus believes Ezra's "capture and execution will mean my return to ranking status", each time he
meets Ezra his career take a turn for the worse, culminating in his final downfall. Brom Titus was incorrectly addressed as Admiral in
his previous appearance, however his rank insignia indicated that he was in fact a Brigadier General in Imperial Army Intelligence.
In this appearance, he is called Commander, which is not his actual rank but is his position at the station and is appropriate. His rank
insignia indicates that he has been demoted to Junior Lieutenant in Army Intelligence. His insignia is correct for Army Intelligence,
as is the work he is doing at this station, which along with his final appearance in this series reinforces the notion that he was part
of that branch all along, since in each appearance he is leading an assignment likely to be under their purview. What is very strange
is that an officer demoted to Junior Lieutenant would be made the commander of anything. This is not a continuity issue since
this remote outpost has no other officers who might outrank him, however that is not the case in his final appearance.
Main Article: Ranks and Rank Insignia


Why are Ugnaughts pigs in this series? Ugnaughts are used as technical laborers at Reklam Station, as they were
pigeon-holed into this role due to their appearance in Episode V, since creators of SW legendary material almost always
take the one thing that was seen about a species in the original trilogy and create a history and backstory in which it is
central to their whole identity. In this case, the idea that they were low-level but competent laborers in situations which
dealt with equipment was magnified. The race was given a non-canon backstory where they are considered valuable as
forced laborers because they are skilled, easy enough to manage, and small while still being hardy. Ugnaughts have
always had some porcine qualities to their appearance, however the sounds they made in Episode V had more of
a monkey quality to it than a pig-like noise. In this series they are portrayed as essentially a humanoid version of Earth's
pigs, who make pig-like noises. This series also introduces the Ugnaught spoken language, which is very pig sounding.
The appearance of an Ugnaught in The Mandalorian seems to have tried to portray something a bit more
enigmatically alien, similar to Episode V, rather than simply a caricature of a pig.


- The repulsors which hold Reklam Station aloft are powered by its main reactor, and thus the loss of main power results in the station plummeting
to its demise, crashing into the rocky surface. This suggests that there are different kinds of repulsors, and different techniques for generating
the repulsor effect. It is quite probable that a station this small would have a limited power supply, and whatever method it is using to
create the anti-gravity repulsor effect is clearly somewhat power intensive. It is has been seen that repulsors do not often require a device's
main power to be on to keep the object floating, however these are usually smaller objects like speeders or bikes. Something as large and
as heavy as Reklam Station would require much more energy to stay aloft. This is not universally the case, as entire floating cities and large
facilities are found around the galaxy, and that would not be the case if there was no redundancy for their repulsor systems. If this was not
highly safe, this civilization wouldn't build the way that it does. This suggests that Reklam Station produces the repulsor effect using a less
comprehensively safe method, probably due to cost, necessity, technical considerations, or a combination of factors.

- This was the last mission for the Phantom, as the ship is lost during the destruction of Reklam Station. It was irreplaceable due to being
specifically designed to act as a seamless part of the Ghost, and had been upgraded with a hyperdrive, something VCX-class
auxiliary shuttles are not ordinarily equipped with. Nevertheless, it had been used to achieve much in its history, and had
already beaten the odds of survival considering the battles and situations it had previously been used in.

- The Y-wings which are stolen are destined for General Dodonna's Massassi Group, any of which may have been among those seen in Episode IV.
This activity indicates that the coordinated activities of the different armed rebel cells which began almost two years prior means that
the Rebel Alliance is operational, despite not being fully-equipped nor publicly declared.

- Maul was last seen recently, escaping Malachor in one of the dead Inquisitors' abandoned TIE fighters in 'Twilight of the Apprentice' (S2E22). He has
accepted that his failure to take control of the superweapon on Malachor means he has no imaginable way left to defeat Sidious and Vader. Maul
has abandoned his plan to take revenge on the Sith in favor of taking revenge on the Jedi by killing Kanan, stealing Ezra as his apprentice, and
determining if Obi-Wan is still alive, and if so, killing him. It is a petty goal, but a realistic one which is very much in keeping with his character.


- Kanan's actual name is Caleb Dume, and Kanan Jarrus is an assumed identity he adopted as part of life hiding from the Empire. Caleb Dume is later
seen in material produced after this but set earlier chronologically, as a young Padawan of Depa Billaba near the end of the Clone Wars.
He appears as a background character in montages in The Clone Wars Season 7, and in the premier episode of The Bad Batch.


How does Maul know Kanan's real name? He is a very resourceful individual who has insight beyond the average person
and thus could have conceivably learned it many ways, having recently met Kanan and taken an interest in who he is.
Nevertheless, Maul does not have access to Imperial records about the Jedi the way the Inquisitors do, and it is clear
that Imperial authorities like the ISB don't have that information, or they would have called him that in one of their
encounters as a show of their knowledge and therefore power. It is not unbelievable that Maul could have discovered
his history as Caleb Dume through some method, even in a relatively short time, however it is hard to imagine what
method that might have been. Perhaps the computer in the Inquisitor's TIE fighter had such records, or could access
files on the Imperial network with the clearance level of an Inquisitor. This would be yet another example of awful
security procedures being employed by well-equipped authorities in SW, but it would at least be consistent and logical.


- Joining an open Sith holocron and an open Jedi holocron in proximity creates a vergence in the Force with provides those who unlocked them with
an unusually targeted ability in using the Force to reveal something to them in a vision. Bendu calls this "a clarity of vision beyond your kind."
Holocrons are libraries of information which are recorded on kyber crystals, which are the same Force sensitive crystals found in lightsabers,
and which channel and amplify the Force. As a result of this nature only Force wielders can operate them, and their ability to access knowledge
is not necessarily limited to merely what is recorded on one. This is explained to mean that if the two opposing holocrons are joined together,
"any secret, wisdom or destiny can be seen through the Force." Bendu suggests that this has been done before within his memory, and that
it is dangerous because it can reveal what should not be known, and has in the past lead to chaos by exposing hidden truths.

- Just as the Sith holocron cannot be opened without using the dark side, a Sith is incapable of opening a Jedi holocron, since they are unable to shed
their anger and tap into the Force passively, as a Jedi would. Maul tries to force a Jedi holocron to open with raw power, but since that power
is generated using the dark side this only increases the degree to which the holocron will not respond to him.

- The Rings of Phelbos are an unusually arrayed asteroid field in the Phelbos System, located in the Bright Jewel Sector in the New Territories region of
the Mid Rim. The dispersal of asteroids in ring formations suggests this is the product of the unique gravitation and astronomical history of this
particular starsystem. There is a single, large, half-ring shaped asteroid in the field which appears to have been forged into its shape by artificial
means at some point in history. The decaying edges of the half-ring shape suggest this may at one time have been an artificially constructed
ring made up of asteroid parts, or hewn out of a larger mass. This seems to be ancient history, but at some point a small base was built into
the remains of this large asteroid. Supplementary material identifies the base as 'Vizsla Keep 09', indicating that this was the ninth in a series
of secret bases previously built and utilized by Death Watch, the Mandalorian traditionalist militia which spent years in hiding building its
forces before leading the overthrow of the Mandalorian government, 16 years earlier. They likely abandoned this base at that time.



Is it possible to survive for about 12 seconds in the vacuum of space? That is about how long Kanan is exposed to hard
vacuum in this episode. Some examples of limited exposure to space have been shown in SW, and this is consistent
with how it is imagined to work in other SW material, as in, space is quickly deadly but brief exposure can be survived.
This of course ignores the ridiculous and non-canon disney "sequel" trilogy, where the Force is magic and Humans
can float around in space for a while and not die. What is shown in this episode maintains continuity with other canon
SW material, but is this what would actually happen to a Human body if exposed to space without a spacesuit? No one
can say for certain, and hopefully it will be a very long time before humanity on Earth has to learn the answer to that
question, unless some clever fake body can someday be tested in space to give us an approximate idea. According to
some theories, under ideal conditions Kanan was probably reaching the limit of survivability. According to more
pessimistic appraisals, Humans without protection are dead seconds after exposure. This example pushes the bounds
of realism, but not to an extreme. A small pocket of warm air would have formed around the airlock, having been
flushed out along with Kanan. That minuscule atmosphere could have made the difference in such an example.


- The knowledge Ezra desires from joining the holocrons is how to destroy the Sith, which is a Jedi goal, but is also an aggressive motive befitting
the dark side. Maul desires "hope", which is a worthy motive befitting the light side, however it is only out of desire to fulfill the Sith goal of
revenge. Ezra and company had come to Malachor looking for hope that they could defeat their enemies, which is what Maul now seeks,
and Maul had come to Malachor looking for the means to destroy the Sith, which is what Ezra now seeks. Both always had both goals,
and in each instance the Force's answer was the same, first leading both to Malachor, now pointing both towards Obi-Wan. Even though
Ezra is acting as a responsible Jedi for the most part at this point, he is in fact already emulating some of Maul's ways and goals, and for Maul
to call Ezra his apprentice is not simply enticement, but a realistic assessment, as Ezra has certainly studied Maul's teachings and used them.

ANALYSIS
The increase in open Rebel activity and the increased coordination between cells leads to an inevitable Imperial response. In the past, Rebel
progress in accumulating resources was slow but largely hidden from the Empire. Their program has now accelerated, however their actions
now provide the Empire with a clearer picture of their strategic goals and immediate objectives. The Rebels of Phoenix Squadron, based in
and around the Dominus Sector, are considered less of a threat because the Empire believes its Jedi leaders have been "dealt with", however
in terms of organization and success, Phoenix Squadron once again poses a particularly persistent problem. Admiral Konstatine's fleet, which
is assigned to this sector, employs standard Imperial tactics and is not very effective at inventive strategic thinking. He is more concerned with
political climbing than professional success, a common issue for Imperial effectiveness, as the military is one of the primary routes to political
power in the Empire and many who join its officer ranks are there for political advancement. Admiral Thrawn, on the other hand, cares more
about the Empire winning than his own career, and has earned his position by effectiveness and unconventional approaches to challenges.
The fact that Thrawn also values and seeks power, combined with his effectiveness, is why the Emperor has promoted him to the highest ranks
of the military. Despite his new position in High Command, Thrawn is a hands on officer who still commands his 7th Fleet in the field, rather
than operating from Naval Headquarters on Coruscant like most top-level Admirals. Konstantine believes, as do most Imperial leaders, that
"while it's true there are pockets of rebellion, there has never been any evidence of a larger scale, galaxy-wide operation." Thrawn is not aware
to what extent this is inaccurate, however like the Emperor he has already seen enough to believe that a larger scale Rebel organization is on
its way, and Thrawn intends to preempt that process by destroying larger, known cells like Phoenix Squadron. Thrawn intends to study this
group closely, and allow them to operate with minimal but credible resistance, thus luring them into complacency and deciphering their
weaknesses, finally moving against them in force, what he calls allowing them to be "the architects of their own destruction." Tarkin is not
concerned about the Rebels as a movement, only about the potential military threat they pose, and their potential to disrupt the Emperor's
plans. Allowing a full-scale rebellion to arise before the Death Star and other developing projects are finished would be a major setback.

The Empire established secret salvage yards such as Reklam Station on Yarma as part of the Imperial program to locate and destroy as much
old military equipment and battle-capable ships as possible. This reduces the material available to forces that may wish to resist the Empire,
and continues a program Sidious began during the Clone Wars to eliminate the diverse combat potential of the galaxy and limit new ship
production and sale to officially sanctioned entities. This reduces the mobility and disparate independence of people and private groups,
thus contributing to all aspects of the Imperial program including security. Conversely, the Rebels are in dire need of even decades-old
equipment if they are ever going to be in position to take advantage of their growing organizational strength. Combining their forces has
exposed the Rebels somewhat, but this is the cost of moving from active resistance, theft, and sabotage, to actual strategic warfare against
Imperial resources. The result of the Rebel theft from Reklam Station was the brief Battle of Yarma, where Admiral Konstantine arrived to
intercept the fleeing Rebel thieves only to be confronted by Phoneix Squadron's fleet. This should have provided the Empire with an easy
opportunity to make Rebel gains costly by damaging or destroying at least one of their escort ships. Thrawn instead orders that no serious
action be taken, as he intends to wait for a situation in which this cell will link up with another major Rebel cell before taking action against
them beyond basic reactive defense. Thus, the Battle of Yarma was a Rebel 'victory' because the Empire declined to present a serious threat.

Ezra and Kanan are a cautionary example of the dangers of teaching students to use the Force outside of a rigorously disciplined framework,
or more generally the dangers of Force sensitive individuals studying the Force without proper guidance. The dark side may be easy for most
to resist when confronted openly by evil, but the lure of the dark side is that it offers the possibility of greater power which the unwise often
assume they can use to achieve their noble goals without falling prey to its addictive and corrupting nature. Ezra was taught to be a Jedi in
the field, a warrior, because Kanan was afraid for himself and for Ezra, and he felt the highest priority was training Ezra to defend himself.
Ordinarily, a Jedi youth must spend years learning the humility and discipline of the religious life of a monk before ever being trusted with
martial arts training and weapons. Even Luke Skywalker spent his youth living a simple life of duty on a farm under his uncle's guidance,
sufficient preparation for being able to use power responsibly. Ezra, on the other hand, was an opportunistic scavenger and thief who now
is part of a crew which runs hit-and-run attacks. This is not to say Kanan has not taught him Jedi discipline, however it does mean Ezra is less
prepared to deal with the temptations of the dark side. This is compounded by Ezra having Sith teachers, first Maul and now Presence,
the voice which speaks to him from the holocron. They present an 'expert' opinion that not using the dark side is holding back potential,
and suggest using the dark side to achieve noble goals, omitting the fact that using the dark side will ultimately distort even the most
noble purpose. This is the trap of the dark side which requires wisdom and clarity of purpose to resist, and is one of the primary reasons
for the Jedi religion, which Ezra is supposed to be an adherent of, and Kanan is supposed to be teaching him. Kanan returns to guide Ezra
before he goes over to the dark side, however these recent experiences may have inexorably altered Ezra's future path in the Force. Ezra
believes that Yoda sent them to Malachor to get this holocron and thus learn the Sith teachings. Kanan believes they were presented with
Maul, three Inquisitors, and Vader, and thus offered them the chance to destroy the Sith just like they asked, only to learn that they are
not ready to defeat the Sith, or simply aren't going to win by engaging them in the fight they are looking for. Kanan's assessment is no doubt
accurate, however Ezra is also inadvertently correct, since the way to destroy the Sith is Obi-Wan Kenobi, who will induct Luke Skywalker
into the Jedi Order and return after death to aid the Jedi from beyond the grave. The events at Malachor lead to using the holocrons to
discover him, once again showing that the Jedi and the Sith seek the same things, only differing in their reasons, intent, and actions.


FURTHER ANALYSIS
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