"Hera's Heroes" is the fifth episode of the third season of Star Wars Rebels. It is the forty-second episode of the series overall. It was released on October 15, 2016 on Disney XD.
Premise[]
When the Empire occupies Hera's home, she decides to personally recover a family heirloom. But a new Imperial commander named Grand Admiral Thrawn is waiting.
Synopsis[]
On the planet Ryloth, Cham Syndulla and Numa, riding two Blurrgs, were being perused by Imperial forces. The chase led to Tulara Ravine, and the two Twi’leks spotted the Ghost coming in to scoop them up after making a difficult supply run. Charging back towards their pursuers, the Ghost took out the armored transport and scooped up Cham and Numa along with the Blurggs and a Scout Trooper. As they flew away, Cham brought up some bad news for Hera; the Empire now occupied the Tann Province which was where Hera grew up. Cham and his followers fought hard to defend their home against the Imperials led by Captain Slavin. He described his previous attacks to be clumsy which gave Cham an advantage in keeping the Empire from taking their home. But he underestimated his recent attack, which was swift and precise. Cham lost Tann Province to the Empire which had now been turned into an Imperial headquarters for Captain Slavin. He and his followers escaped but left behind family treasures. One treasure specifically left behind was known as the Kalikori; a Twi'kel totem that was passed on from family generation to generation. Hera was next in line to inherit the Kalikori owned by the Syndulla family. Hera vowed to get it back for the sake of her mother. Her fellow Rebels volunteered to help her, despite not wanting to endanger them in a personal mission. But everyone was in an agreement to go ahead with it.
In order to get into the Tann Province, the Rebels created a diversion to lure Imperial forces away, allowing Hera and Ezra, disguised as a Scout Trooper, to sneak in unnoticed. To get pass Imperial security, Hera posed as a Rebel prisoner who was captured and brought back by Ezra. Once inside and sneaking pass security, Hera and Ezra made it to Cham’s office, which was now turned into Captain Slavin’s office. Hera began looking for the Kalikori while Ezra noticed a family portrait of Hera as a little girl beside her late mother and father. Hera soon found the Kalikori and now they had to escape. Along the way, they almost bumped into Captain Slavin and Grand Admiral Thrawn but they manage to slip away slightly unnoticed. Hera and Ezra headed for a secret exit in the lower floors, only to discover that it had been turned into an operations room. So they moved on to find another way out, and soon met up with Chopper disguised as an Imperial droid.
They made it to a hallway that was less guarded. Chopper distracted the two Stormtroopers on guard while Ezra and Hera sneaked past to reach the door. Hera quietly made a break for the door only for Admiral Thrawn and Captain Slavin to appear before her. Slavin, mistaking her for a servant, ordered her to leave and she almost did only to be stopped by Admiral Thrawn. Ezra in disguise brought Hera to Thrawn who asked to see the Kalikori. Then he ordered Hera to be taken in for questioning. Returning to Slavin’s office, Hera was put in a chair and Slavin was the first to interrogate her for stealing the Kalikori. Thrawn on the other hand saw more to this theft that met the eye. He recognized the Kalikori as a Twi’lek heirloom and brought up the question of why Hera went to great lengths to steal it. Thrawn was onto her and revealed to Captain Slavin that Hera Syndulla was a Rebel pilot and Cham Syndulla’s daughter. Knowing they had been compromised, Ezra tried to act but was quickly taken out by Thrawn. Hera and an unconscious Ezra were taken to a cell while Thrawn returned to his ship with the Kalikori.
Meanwhile, Cham, Kanan and the Rebels were still being pursued by Imperial forces. Once they found themselves cornered the Imperials seized fire as they had a message for Cham from Captain Slavin. The captain revealed to Cham that he had his daughter as his prisoner along with Ezra, and was willing to let them both go if Cham surrendered to him. Despite the plea of his followers, Cham was willing to surrender on Slavin’s terms. Back at the Tann Province, Hera felt ashamed of herself. She put her fellow Rebels in danger for a personal mission and should have known better. Just then, Chopper showed up to set them free and revealed to Hera that Cham was surrendering to the Imperials in exchange for their safety. Ezra was ready to go, but Hera recommended they go through with the exchange and had a plan that would turn the tables. She instructed Chopper to raid the Imperial armory and gather as many explosives as he could. She was planning to blow up her own home. Leaving Hera and Ezra in their cell, Chopper made his way to the armory and soon found the explosives.
With Thrawn watching from afar, The Ghost arrived at the Tann Province where Captain Slavin and his forces were waiting. Upon landing, Cham revealed himself and insisted they let Hera and Ezra go first before he turned himself in. Both sides decided to make a simultaneous exchange and both Hera, Ezra and Cham started walking towards one another. Chopper meanwhile had planted the explosives and arrived to re-join with his fellow Rebels. Then on Hera’s orders, Chopper triggered the explosives destroying her house. In the midst of the commotion, the Rebels made their escape. Thrawn even allowed them to flee, even though he had the chance to shoot them down.
Later on, the Rebels had landed somewhere safe for the time being. Kanan expressed his regret that Hera was unable to get the Kalikori, only for her to say that she never needed it. She thought she needed it to keep the memories of her mother alive, but now realizes that those memories will live on as long as she held onto her family, the Rebellion.
Cast[]
- Taylor Gray as Ezra Bridger
- Vanessa Marshall as Hera Syndulla
- Freddie Prinze, Jr. as Kanan Jarrus / Stormtrooper #2
- Tiya Sircar as Sabine Wren
- Steven Blum as Garazeb Orrelios / Imperial Officer
- André Sogliuzzo as Captain Slavin
- Robin Atkin Downes as Cham Syndulla / Stormtrooper #1
- Corey Burton as Gobi Glie
- Lars Mikkelsen as Thrawn
- Catherine Taber as Numa
- Dave Filoni as Scout Trooper / Stormtrooper #3
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Trivia[]
- Cham Syndulla, Numa and Gobi Glie make their second appearance in this episode, following "Homecoming".
- This is also the second appearance of Thrawn.
- The crashed Y-Wing mentioned by Chopper in "The Forgotten Droid" is seen as a memorial outside Hera's old home.
- The Scout Troopers from Return of the Jedi make their series debut in this episode.
- It's possible that this is how Thrawn recognized that Ezra was a rebel infiltrator that came to help Hera escape: Scout Troopers aren't normally deployed as garrison soldiers within an Imperial headquarters installation.
- In a few shots in this episode, the Phantom can be seen still attached to the Ghost. This is a continuity error, as the Phantom was destroyed in the season premiere.
- This is the first time Ezra disguises himself as a Scout Trooper.
- This is the fourth time Chopper is disguised as an Imperial droid, having been previously disguised in "Breaking Ranks", "Rebel Resolve" and "Stealth Strike".
- The title of the episode is similar to that of the 1965 World War II-based series Hogan's Heroes, which involved Allied troops conducting secret operations while imprisoned at a POW camp in Germany.