Biggest Takeaways From the ‘Star Wars Rebels’ Series Finale

The series finale of Star Wars Rebels was packed with many somber moments, but there was also a lot to celebrate for fans of the animated series.

Dave Filoni and Co. delivered some major payoffs fans have been waiting to see for a long time, and included a lot of teases for the future of the Star Wars galaxy. Here are some of the things you need to know.

Warning: Spoilers for the series finale of Star Wars Rebels below.

One of the most important developments in the finale was the return of Ahsoka Tano in the PRESENT timeline. Fans got to see her survive the duel against Darth Vader when Ezra Bridger was in the “world between worlds,” and plucked her from the timestream. She later returned to the exact place where she left and explored the Sith temple on Malachor, feeding into the events seen in the Season 2 finale.

But in the closing moments, she picks up Sabine Wren on Lothal after the Battle of Endor and the events of Return of the Jedi. Sabine is recounting the words that Ezra said to her before he left to face Thrawn, saying “I’m counting on you.”

Those words coupled with what Ezra told Ahsoka before she returned to Malachor (“Find me.”) could significantly set up the next animated Star Wars series.

But Ezra’s disappearance is also closely tied to the fate of the fan-favorite villain Grand Admiral Thrawn, as both characters were on the Star Destroyer that charted to an unknown area at light speed thanks to the intervention of the Purrgil. Thrawn and Ezra’s disappearance explain why two prominent figures — an Imperial genius and a young Jedi — were absent during the events of the Galactic Civil War and the original trilogy.

And though the Rebels suffered a major tragedy with the death of Caleb Dume AKA Kanan Jarrus, his legacy lives on in the form of his son. It’s revealed that Hera and Kanan had a child whom she named Jacen Syndullah, a green haired humanoid. More importantly this makes cross-species breeding canon in the Star Wars galaxy.

Hera and Rex both fought in the Battle of Endor, making the retcon of Return of the Jedi a part of the Star Wars galaxy.

Another touching moment comes when Zeb Orrelios takes Kallus to the secret location of the surviving Lasat population, absolving his friend of his guilt. Kallus previously thought he played a role in driving Zeb’s people to extinction, but they were shown to be thriving on their new homeworld.

The finale of Rebels had some tear-jerking moments, but it set up the former members of the Ghost crew to have many more adventures in the future of the Star Wars galaxy.

The series finale of Star Wars Rebels is now available to stream on Disney XD.

What did you think of Star Wars Rebels‘ series finale? Let us know in the comments!