Full Series Rebels 3.05 - Hera's Heroes - Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

The best episode of S3 yet. Thrawn is going to have to do SOMETHING soon before his ''allowing'' them to escape gets a bit tedious - I know he's got a long game but he's still not actually achieved anything yet, in real terms. I also like how his old-canon appreciation of art has been tweaked slightly so that it's nearer a mania - old Thrawn probably wouldn't have grabbed hold of Pellaeon for dissing some artwork but it works for nuThrawn. Chopper actually got something like a proper character moment as well, which is nice.

On the negative side, the other Imperial commander dude was borderline ridiculously stupid/ignorant. How on earth this moron was put in charge of hunting Cham Syndulla (a high priority target) I have absolutely no idea. And Imperials not being able to aim for **** is still irritating.

Overall though, hands down the season's best episode.

 

I hope they stop doing the 'make the other person in the room stupid to make Thrawn look good' trick. To avoid that, have Hera be in disguise or have that painting be gone/her mom has a different headdress.

 

Chopper always gives me a laugh every episode. Enjoyed the part where he was smirking after giving the order to rig the house with explosives.

I never read the old EU about Thrawn, but after seeing this episode, he is a compelling and interesting character. Can't wait to see what he has in store for the Ghost crew.

 

Overall, I enjoyed the episode.
+ Hera grows as a character.
+ Thrawn's motivations are interesting if not entirely clear.
+ great action sequences
- the McGuffin plot device is kinda flimsy given that Hera eventually decides to blow up the family mansion - after trying to rescue family heirloom.
- Imperials continue to look like idiots.
I would have found the episode to be much stronger if the reason for Hera to infiltrate the Imperial-held mansion was for something vital (or greatly advantageous) to the Rebel cause. A family heirloom just doesn't seem that important (regardless of how priceless it may be to the character in-universe).

 

I miss Lothal.

 

I really don't think this was a case of "make the other person in the room stupid." How in the world do you expect somebody to see a picture of a child and recognize them? Especially a very stylized picture? And especially when said person is xenophobic and doesn't even care enough to distinguish between adults of said race.

Thrawn didn't recognize Hera because of the picture, he recognized her because he knew what she looked like in the first place.

 

And he knew what the object that she went to such trouble to try and steal was and what it meant in her culture. So it's a case of taking all of the pieces, and putting them together.

 

Fantastic set-up episode setting the stage for the main antagonist of the season vs. the Rebels. I liked the Kalicori element (however that's meant to be spelled) as more than just a MaGuffin, because not only does it add a new (to me at least) layer to Twi'lek culture, it also plays into Thrawn's strengths and background as a character. No cringey moments for me this episode either, so 9/10 for both normal and Rebels ratings scales. It's a solid setup whose quality will be shaped by the overall season rather than on its own... and I feel like this one's moments had time to breathe, rather than the story feeling rushed to fit the 22 min. mark.

 

Good episode. Looks like the Syndullas are 'upper class' Twi'leks. I wonder if that has anything to do with Hera having such a nice ship? I'm going to guess that the Kalicori is going to show up again sometime later.

But Thrawn likes to play with his food too much. That is the time-honored undoing of many a villain. But Thrawn is exactly the type of person who would rise in Darth Sidious's empire.

 

Ok, how the heck did Chopper get to the Imperial base/Hera's home?!?

He was not on the speeder Hera and Esra used. Was this explained and did I miss it?

Suddenly he was just standing next to the Y-wing.

 

For an episode focused on Hera, the twi’lek was unfortunately out of character. In season 1, she wouldn’t even risk it to go after Kanan, but she’ll take the risk to go after a little piece of wood? Even more contradictory is the fact that she goes to all the effort to save her inheritance, only to decide without hesitation that she is going to destroy the entire house. Which, by the way, wasn’t even technically her house; it was Cham’s. I think her “Things are better destroyed than in the hands of the Empire” is a rather unfortunate philosophy for Hera to have; it makes her less likeable.

I had never thought as the Syndulla family as wealthy before. Kind of interesting to think of Hera as someone who was rich.

Thrawn was better than I had expected, but he was still about what I’d expect for average bad guy intelligence – it just happens that all the Rebels bad guys have been below average intelligence. I liked Slaven; some of his expressions were hilarious.

The art piece of Hera and her family was cool. I thought that Hera’s mother was pretty, and Hera was cute.

The scout trooper who jumped on the Ghost was awesome. That guy should be given a medal.

 

Don't question it. Just like you don't question how Ezra knew Obi-Wan was on Tatooine in Twin Suns. Or where Ezra got his new lightsaber. Or how Maul got a piece of the Sith Holocron. Or how Kallus knew Fulcrum's secret code phrase. Chopper's just there and that's all there is to to it.

But seriously, I've stopped trying to make sense of Rebels and their plot holes and missing scenes. Now I just watch it more casually for pure amusement. The writers clearly don't care about their series making real sense, so it makes no sense to try and apply logic to these episodes.