Star Wars Rebels: Hera's Heroes

October 16, 2016 12:45 PM - Season 3, Episode 5

The crew of the Ghost returns to Ryloth, Hera Syndulla's homeworld, to take on a mission of extremely personal value to our twi'lek captain. Unsurprisingly, things go awry once a certain blue-skinned grand admiral makes an appearance.

Trivia will be posted tomorrow when StarWars.com updates the episode's guide.

posted by Atreides (9 comments total)

lars mikkelsen is killing it with trawn's voice.

kinda wish Kanan's blindness was in any way limiting.
posted by French Fry at 2:24 PM on October 16, 2016

yes and yes
posted by bq at 3:33 PM on October 16, 2016

also, the plans they make are totally shit plans. Like seriously my role-playing buddies and I come up with better plans.
posted by bq at 3:34 PM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

Still waiting for the trivia gallery to make its appearance, but I generally enjoyed the episode. It was a great introduction to Thrawn, which had been lacking since the season premiere, and it also doubled down on the great characterization for Hera that began with "Homecoming," in terms of her relationship to her father and Ryloth.

Something that struck me yesterday, tho', was for as much as the episode seemed to be that the kalikori was important because her mother thought it was important, very little time was actually spent concerning her mother. We see her portrait, but there is absolutely nothing we learn about Hera's relationship with her mother other than it was strong enough to motivate her to get the family heirloom. It was a missed opportunity in that regard.

I don't know if I'm simply imagining it or not, but it does seem Kanan blocks fewer blaster bolts than he would have in the past. I could be wrong. I'd hope that his blindness will lead to some problems going into the future.
posted by Atreides at 8:01 AM on October 17, 2016

Trivia!

• The lizards the Twi'leks ride are blurggs, previously seen in The Clone Wars, they originated from Ewoks: The Battle of Endor tv movie in 1985.
• This was the first episode of Rebels to feature the Scout Trooper, also known as the biker scout.
• Hera's dismissive use of "gutkurrs" to describe the Imperials is a reference to the creatures who appeared in The Clone Wars in the first season episodes set on Ryloth, who have hard-shells resistant to blaster fire.
• As designed in the concept art, the Syndulla estate has a central channel of water in the main floor - a sign of prosperity in a desert environment.
• The Wilhem Scream was used during the sequence when the Syndulla home explodes.

posted by Atreides at 2:10 PM on October 17, 2016

Question for those who know Thrawn better: So his connoisseurship is not a ploy of some sort? From the season previews, which quoted his little speech from this episode, I got the impression that he delved into the art, literature, philosophy, etc. of different peoples to better understand them as enemies. But this episode clearly showed that he enjoys – and collects! – art from different cultures for their own sake. That's a depth to him that I didn't expect; I assumed he was simply a super-intelligent foe who sought to get an all-around understanding of his enemies. Is this one of the reasons he's proved such a popular villain?
posted by The Nutmeg of Consolation at 5:49 PM on October 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

Another bit of trivia! The term "kalikori" first appeared in Star Wars: The Old Republic (the MMO) as the name of a Twi'lek village on the Jedi starting planet of Tython. The term means "beginning" in the Twi'lek language. No, it doesn't make SWTOR and the KOTORs canon, but clearly someone in the SW:R team is a fan.
posted by The Nutmeg of Consolation at 6:21 PM on October 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

It's been more than 20 years since I last read the Thrawn Trilogy, but I think he was always something of a connoisseur. Please, if anyone has read them more recently, spill the beans! His character traits are definitely one reason he's so popular, but he also enjoyed the benefit of being the arch nemesis of our heroes in the first major return to the Star Wars universe, and was something different from Vader and Palpatine, though Palpatine has proven himself a pretty incredible strategist.
posted by Atreides at 8:15 AM on October 18, 2016

Thrawn was compelling for a number of reasons but primarily because he was less back and white than most star wars villains. The most Eeevil thing he did was be very good at his job. His job happened to be (in legends) killing rebels and the new republic. The empire in fact doesn't give him the authority his greatness should have earned him because of their human supremacist ways. Saving grace of the empire being unable to get out of their own way.

But it all helps make him more interesting than any other imperial commander. He's a nerd basically. As a character he's as fascinated with the star wars universe as we (the readers) are. In some ways he's written like a protagonist, providing a portal for us to see and understand the universe through. So while his collection of art and philosophy and history is a method/ploy to be better at his job, it's also his genuine passion.
#careergoals
posted by French Fry at 7:51 AM on October 19, 2016 [4 favorites]