This article contains spoilers for Star Wars Rebels Season 3, Episode 3
It didn’t take long for that Sith holocron to show up again, did it? I wish Disney XD seen fit to put all three of Star Wars Rebels’ new episodes together into a major, 90-minute event. The revelation at the end of “The Holocrons of Fate” (more on that in a moment) feels like a season-shaping event.
Still, Darth Maul’s return made for a strong story. Seeing Maul use the same dark side interrogation technique Kylo Ren uses against Rey in The Force Awakens intrigued me – as did the fact that, I believe, the scene marks the first on-screen use of Kanan’s real name.
I knew the name “Caleb Dume” from John Jackson Miller’s novel A New Dawn and from Marvel Comics’ Kanan series, but for some reason I’d pronounced Caleb’s last name as though it were French (“doo-MAY”). To hear Maul speak it as a homonym of “doom”? I’ve got a bad feeling about that…
“The Holocrons of Fate” leaves me with these three questions:
1) Have Ezra and Kanan really reconciled?
I think they have. Truthfully, I’m a little disappointed. I don’t want their master-apprentice relationship, let alone their friendship, to end in failure; but lingering conflict over Ezra’s actions during Kanan’s absence could have continued to be a rich source of plot and characterization. The potential for continuing friction exists – the Bendu twice uses the word “perhaps” regarding Kanan and Ezra’s restored “balance” – but for now it seems the two are a strong team. And the fact that they embrace in such an archetypally rich sequence – the classic descent into the underworld, undertaken to return with a gift – makes me think we’re supposed to accept their reconciliation as the journey’s true goal. Nevertheless, both holocrons remain aboard the Ghost, meaning Ezra might wrestle with the temptation to use that power, jeopardizing his relationship with Kanan again.
2) Who did Ezra and Maul see in their vision?
Ezra says he was looking for a way to destroy the Sith. Maul says he was looking for hope. Could anyone we know fit both those descriptions? I think Obi-Wan Kenobi might. Ezra’s glimpse of “twin suns” could, in theory, point to any number of planets – but it’s hard to imagine he’s glimpsed any place but Tatooine. Having narrowed our focus there, we can assume Darth Maul’s cry of “He lives!” refers to Obi-Wan, who is, at this point in Star Wars history, secretly on the desert planet, watching over young Luke Skywalker from a distance. Since Obi-Wan lives, so does Maul’s hope of revenge against him. And because Obi-Wan makes the destruction of the Sith possible by placing Luke on the path to restoring the Jedi, he seems a logical answer to Ezra’s question, too.
3) Will we meet Luke in Star Wars Rebels?
Executive producer Dave Filoni has spoken about his eagerness to have Ewan McGregor voice Obi-Wan in Rebels (a real-world reason to believe this season will take us to Tatooine). But as long as we’re on that planet farthest from the universe’s bright center, might we meet a 14- or 15-year-old Luke Skywalker? We’ve already seen his sister (in last season’s “A Princess on Lothal”). And given Mark Hamill’s voice acting talent, is it too far-fetched to think he could recreate a teenaged Luke who bulls-eyed womp rats in Beggar’s Canyon and “wastes time” with friends at Tosche Station? (Maybe we’d even get our first canonical sight of Camie, Windy, Fixer and Tank, too!) A Luke-Ezra team-up would be a great way to set the stage for the transition from one “new hope” for the Rebellion to another.
What did you think of “The Holocrons of Fate”? Let’s talk in the comments below!
