Chezmono's Thoughts On Star Wars Rebels Season 3

Today I'm here to share my thoughts on what I'd like to see out of Star Wars Rebels Season 3, so don't just assume this is only going to be predictions and/or facts. Now, I'm not a hardcore Rebels fan, but I love watching it and have seen all or most of the episodes. If you're like me or many other Rebels fans, you have that gut feeling that Ezra is going to turn the Dark Side and can't wait to see how it happens or what happens next. We certainly got a lot of clues of the direction of this upcoming season from the trailer, and some of us got even more out of watching leaked clips showing even more amazing scenes. So, let's start there.

Even in the first few seconds, we have some clever wordplay. After hearing Ezra shout "Ahsoka", Kanan starts us off by saying, "Battles leave scars... some you can't see." We already know Kanan has been blinded by Maul, but as we saw in the season 2 finale, he tried to turn that weakness into a strength. Though he succeeded at the time, from leaked clips it is clear that his lack of sight can get him into trouble. Directly after his spot-on sentence, Ezra promises that he will never let his friends get hurt again. Knowing the pain and drama of Star Wars, that is clearly going to turn out to be a lie. Though, it does suggest that Ezra will do anything to protect his friends, perhaps even turn to the Dark Side as Maul's apprentice.

That brings up an interesting topic. There's a short leaked video of season 3 where Kanan and Ezra show up at whatever place Maul is hiding out at. At the start of the video, it his clear that Ezra is still pissed as hell that Maul blinded his mentor and best friend, it didn't help that Maul was taunting Kanan about his blindness. Not only that, but it seems Maul is holding their friends captive until Maul and ezra "finish their business" which supposedly has something to do with the Sith Holocron. They don't specify who is being held, but they show us Hera, Zeb, Sabine, Chopper, and Chopper all tied up and guarded by blaster-wielding droids. Ezra, wanting his friends back, goes with Maul's droids to the command center. Maul threatens that if he tries anything, his friends will die, but he says it in such a light and friendly tone, it's like it was a casual conversation. Maul confesses to Kanan that he was never trying to blind him in an almost sympathetic tone, as if he felt bad that he tortured Kanan like this rather than ending his life swiftly and painlessly. Maul then proceeds to knock Kanan out of the air lock where he is thrown out into space. The end (of the video)!

Back to the trailer now, about 14 seconds into the video, Ezra is shown with three helmets behind him. These three helmets are Imperial helmets that he has worn in the past for battle, to disguise himself, and such. Did I mention he got a hair cut? It gives off more of a military vibe now, but hey, that's just my thoughts. The Sith Holocron, as mentioned earlier, will most likely play a significant role in this season. According to the dialogue in the background, Kanan fears that it is changing Ezra. Though, anything in this trailer could be misleading, whether by our own misinterpretations or the producers purposefully leading us down a false path. Oh, by the way, Ezra is a total boss now and can own everything. Ezra is still confident that the Holocron possesses secrets that could help them destroy the Sith, Kanan warning him that the secrets in "that thing" almost destroyed him. Assuming Darth Vader survives the series, as he definitely will, I'm going to have to say they don't destroy the Sith.

We then cut to a scene where we are introduced to 3 TIE pilots who apparently want to join the Rebellion against the Empire. They obviously open them with welcome arms as if not suspecting they're spies or something logical like that. In the next scene, it is revealed that (for some reason) our main group must break our good pal Hondo Ohnaka out of prison. His return leads to him introducing a crucial part of what will most likely be the starting storyline of the season. Our many rebels plan to infiltrate an Imperial base and steal supplies that could prove to be necessities to continuing their rebellion stronger than before.The trailer begins introducing a lot more action, and we are shown Mandalorians who serve the Empire. A Mandalorian confesses to Sabine that he respects that she hasn't forgotten their ways. I would immediately think he is acknowledging how much of an amazing combatant she is, but it's strange that they are standing alone chatting. One theory might suggest that she's re-joining the Mandallorians, but that makes no sense whatsoever. Hera asks Hondo and his buddy what's in it for them, him replying with "Riches untold, that sort of thing." Zeb says "So, we'll split the treasure" and Hondo laughs in his face, makes sense.

The next scene introduces the man that will most likely be the main antagonist of the season, or one of them anyway. Who know, Maul might actually pose a big threat instead of them ducking out his character for a while to make room for more crossovers. Though, this guy would just show another crossover is here. Who has the Empire recruited to take out the rebels? None other than Grand Admiral Thrawn, in the flesh. Not only should he be a major villain this season and possibly in the seasons to come, but his dialogue is intriguing... "To defeat an enemy, you must know them, not send me their battle tactics, but their history, philosophy, art."

The next scenes continue as more jumbled up pieces of episodes that make our heads explode. Maul tells Ezra to embrace his destiny and we are shown Ezra holding the Sith Holocron, might he be trying to 'open' it. In multiple scenes in the trailer, Kanan is shown without his eye-shielding mask on and instead has glowing green smoky eyes. Whatever is inside him speaks, saying "Jedi and Sith, the light and the dark", then after "Once a secret is known, it cannot be unkown." Though, the voice is then revealed to also belong to the Bendu, another (most likely important) character introduced this season. The female voice the Sith Temple uttered before is heard saying "Your anger gives you strength." Kanan is then shown walking out of the green smoke that possesses him with his growing green eyes, but he is also missing a leg. From what I've seen, many have not noticed this obvious detailed or have disregarded it believing he was still taking his leg out of the smoke. Then, for whatever reason Sabine is shown with the legendary darksaber. As if that wasn't enough, the trailer ends with Maul and Ezra trying to unite a Sith and a Jedi Holocron into one as Kanan says "Ezra, turn away before it's too late." What happens? It explodes and the last thing we hear is Ezra saying, "The key to destroying the Sith". My apologies if this has been really confusing.

Now, let me sum up what I wanna see out of season 3 myself and be done with this article. I'd like to see Ahsoka turn out to be alive and well somewhere after the halfways point of the season. I want to see a scenario where Ahsoka and Maul are forced to team up and survive together or die separately. By the end of the season, I want to see Ezra turn to the Dark Side as Maul's apprentice, perhaps believing learning the ways of the Dark Side is the only way to ensure the safety of his friends. Also, enough with the Inquisitorus already, it's just not working. What'd be pretty cool, though, is seeing Maul killing Grand Admiral Thrawn, since the EU had all changed. Let's not even get into the fact that Thrawn wasn't declared a Grand Admiral until 2 ABY, because Disney clearly doesn't care at all about that. Wookiepedia, looks like you have to change everything you thought you knew. Not only is the Expanded Universe no longer relevant, but now it's being changed when introduced into canon. I'm done with my rant now, later...