The stage is set for an amazing season finale! Also, Chopper gets a paint job.
In the penultimate episode of season one, the Rebels attempt to hijack an Imperial communications courier to discover where Kanan is being held prisoner. Governor Tarkin and the Inquisitor return in this episode, using their interrogation skills in hopes of finding more information about rebel cells from Kanan.
In the previous episode, Kanan sacrifices himself to help his team escape after they sent their message of hope from an Imperial communications tower. Naturally, the rebels’ first inclination is to find where Kanan has been taken and plan a rescue. However, we see Hera on board the Ghost receiving a message from the mysterious hooded figure named “Fulcrum,” instructing her and the others not to go after Kanan and to lay low. Apparently, Fulcrum is the head of the rebellion and a character just now surfacing on the show. Hera obviously doesn’t want to leave Kanan, but understands that if any of her crew are caught, it could spell disaster for the other rebel cells. Interestingly, Fulcrum takes special care to remind Hera how important Ezra is–and emphatically states the need to protect Ezra.
This raises a number of questions. Who is Fulcrum? This individual clearly issues orders to Hera, and Hera is the only one in communication with this person. Fulcrum is hooded and no face is revealed on the transmission. I have a feeling somewhere down the line, perhaps not in season one, Fulcrum will be revealed to us viewers as someone we may already know or have heard of. Based on how much importance Fulcrum places on Ezra’s protection, my instinct is to say Fulcrum may turn out to be Ezra’s mother or father. After all, we don’t really know what happened to Ezra’s family; we only know what we’ve been told – they are gone. This may mean they’re dead, or maybe they’re just in hiding.
That’s just my theory. Perhaps Fulcrum is a Jedi master and knows how important Ezra could be to the future of the Rebellion. What if Fulcrum is a known character from the Star Wars universe, like Mon Mothma?
The predominant theory going around is that Fulcrum is actually Ahsoka Tano. We know she declined her reinstatement to rejoin the Jedi Order after she was expelled due to false accusations of murder. Where did she go, and what did she plan to do? Fulcrum could easily be Ahsoka; note Hera’s caution to keep Fulcrum’s identity secret. Ahsoka would be a hefty prize to the Empire. Also, she would have the contacts, ideas, and motivation to fight the Empire (and, not to mention Tarkin).
There could be a lot of possibilities as to the identity of this being, but they are clearly a leader and cares about the Rebels’ cause.
Hera tells the crew about her agreement to lay low and not go after Kanan, which is met with disbelief from the others. It’s clear Hera is very conflicted; she knows there is a bigger picture (the rebellion), but Kanan is part of her crew and a friend. Ezra, Sabine, Zeb, and Chopper take it upon themselves to go after Kanan. Chopper creates a diversion to distract Hera, and the other three take off in hopes of finding information on Kanan’s whereabouts. Ezra locates an old smuggler he’s worked with before named Vizago and bargains a trade for information, promising Vizago he can have a favor from a Jedi in exchange for helping Ezra. This could pose a major problem down the road for either Kanan or Ezra. Vizago basically can ask anything of Kanan (or Ezra if he becomes a full fledged Jedi). It is sure to be something challenging, whether physically or morally, for a Jedi.
Vizago gives Ezra info on how to find out where Kanan is being held. Ezra devises a plan to replace an Imperial courier droid with Chopper, thus allowing Chopper to board an Imperial ship an access their communications records. Hera finds out about Ezra’s plans, and while furious at him and the others for going behind her back, decides to help them. I don’t think this was much of a leap of faith for Hera, deep down she didn’t want to follow Fulcrum’s orders anyhow.
Meanwhile, Kanan gets to spend some quality time with Tarkin, the Inquisitor, and a mind probe droid. Kanan proves to be adept at resisting the mind probe, so the Inquisitor resorts to electroshock. I found this a bit puzzling; why didn’t the Inquisitor just use his dark side powers to cause Kanan pain? Perhaps he doesn’t have the ability to create Force lightning. What other abilities does the Inquisitor have–or lack?
The Rebels are able to capture the courier droid and switch it out with a freshly painted Chopper. Once on the Imperial ship, Chopper hacks into their systems and is able to get information on where Kanan is. Hera, Sabine, Zeb, and Ezra do a strafing run in the Ghost in order to pick up Chopper. Chopper opens an air lock to escape so the Ghost can pick him up, and in the process vents four stormtroopers. Impressively hardcore for a droid.
The Ghost makes it way back to Lothal with Chopper’s information. The crew still has the Imperial courier droid, who has been surprisingly helpful for them. They decide to keep the Imperial droid on board, and just as the bay doors are closing on the Ghost, Chopper pushes the droid out! The poor droid falls to Lothal, but thankfully we see him pop up in a field no worse for wear. I was down right shocked at Chopper’s actions. What kind of droid gets jealous? Can droids get jealous? In this episode we get to see a lot of plucky little Chopper. He seems to show a lot more emotion than Artoo; plus he’s got those spindly robotic arms that animate his emotions well.
Hera knows that Kanan is most likely being tortured somehow since they find he’s aboard Tarkin’s ship. She tells Zeb and Sabine earlier in the episode that Kanan couldn’t possibly tell Tarkin about the crew of the Ghost, as he “doesn’t know anything” about them. Zeb and Sabine seemed surprised by this. Hera almost seems ashamed, in a way. I think this hearkens back to Hera’s earlier communication with Fulcrum; that perhaps Hera is the only one that knows the real leader behind the rebellion, and hasn’t been forthcoming with Kanan. Maybe Hera hasn’t told him all he needs to know about their cause, nor the crew of the Ghost. Perhaps Hera doesn’t want Kanan to know about Fulcrum because it may affect his relationship with Ezra?
At the end of the episode we find that Kanan is aboard Tarkin’s ship, the Sovereign. However, Sovereign is scheduled to leave Lothal soon for a new system: Mustafar.
All Star Wars fans know the importance of Mustafar, and for new fans, all you need to know is what Hera says, “Mustafar is where Jedi go to die.”
Season one is sure to end spectacularly. I, for one, can’t wait for the last episode.
Courtney Martin is a graduate of Indiana University and works in publishing. She’s an avid Star Wars fan and wrote the recipe blog Courtney Cooks Star Wars on suvudu.com. When not enveloped a science fiction or fantasy novel, she is watching television with her husband and son, doing crossword puzzles, or playing with her Shih Tzu, Burt.