"Shroud of Darkness" is the eighteenth episode of the second season of Star Wars Rebels. It is the thirty-third episode of the series overall. It was released on March 2, 2016 on Disney XD.
Premise[]
Kanan, Ezra, and Ahsoka return to the Jedi Temple on Lothal, seeking to learn how the Inquisitors continually track them. Each has a different experience, and nothing will ever be the same.
Synopsis[]
During a search for a base for the Rebellion, Ezra and Kanan barely escaped from another encounter with the Empire’s Inquisitors. Both master and padawan agreed it was becoming a problem that could endanger the Rebellion. Unless they found a way to defeat them, it would be impossible to find a suitable base for the rebels.
Understanding they needed some advice, Kanan and Ezra met up with the Ghost away from the Rebel fleet. Also on board was Ahsoka, and Ezra found her in a cabin watching a Holocron recording of her former master, Anakin Skywalker, teaching Form IV Lightsaber tactics. Ezra joined her, and admitted his admiration for her former master. To both Ezra and Ahsoka, Anakin was the greatest warrior the Jedi had in the Clone Wars and very powerful. He cared deeply about his friends, and always looked out for them. Apparently, Ahsoka never knew what happened to him after the war.
Kanan entered and expressed his concerns for their encounters with the Inquisitors and how it was endangering the Rebellion. Ahsoka agreed it was a problem, and remembered when there was a crisis Anakin and herself would consult Obi-Wan or Master Yoda. Ahsoka’s mention of Yoda gave Kanan an idea where they could ask him for help. The three of them took the Phantom and set a course back to Lothal.
Upon arriving, they landed outside the Jedi Temple that Kanan and Ezra visited a while back. Using the force both master and padawan opened the secret passage, but instead of the entrance they originally went through they opened another. Kanan, Ezra, and Ahsoka entered the temple while Chopper stood guard beside the Phantom. The new passage led them to a new chamber. After the door behind them sealed, Kanan, Ezra, and Ahsoka gathered around in the center of the chamber, got on their knees and began to meditate, hoping that Yoda would contact them. Before long, Kanan spotted a doorway of light and entered it.
Kanan found himself in the presence of a Jedi Temple Guard who was expecting him. He requested guidance in combating Vader and his Inquisitors. The guard stated that fighting was futile, and he would fall along with the Rebellion. For his apprentice, however, the guard told Kanan that he would fall to the Dark Side. The guard ignited his lightsaber and planned to eliminate Ezra, but Kanan stood in his way and a duel began.
Meanwhile Chopper detected two ships approaching their position, and took the Phantom into hiding. Two TIE Fighters flown by the Inquisitors arrived outside the hidden Jedi Temple. Upon landing, the Fifth Brother already believed the Jedi had fled, but the Seventh Sister felt they were still present in the area. She deployed one of her Seeker Droids to take a closer look. From the droid they discovered where the Jedi were and the temple. Back inside the temple, Ezra and Ahsoka began talking about Master Yoda. In her youth, Ahsoka remembered him being a very wise, kind, and happy. But as the clone wars dragged on he carried a great burden and deep sorrow.
Suddenly, Ezra found himself in the place where he received his Kyber Crystal. Then, to his surprise, he met Master Yoda face to face. Kanan meanwhile continued to fight against the Temple Guard, as two more Guards entered the duel. Now alone, Ahsoka began to hear the voice of her former master. In this moment, she heard Anakin expressing his disapproval for her leaving him. As tears of grief drew down her face, Anakin’s voice continued to torment her for being selfish and leaving him to suffer a fate far worse than death.
With Master Yoda, Ezra began asking how to defeat Vader and his Inquisitors. Yoda expressed regret for the Jedi arrogantly taking part in the Clone Wars so quickly: fear and anger eventually consumed the Jedi, leading to their defeat against the Dark Side. Suddenly, the temple began to quake as the Inquisitors attempted to enter. Kanan continued to battle the three Temple Guards until he was overpowered. At their mercy, Kanan admitted defeat. He expressed his best efforts to train Ezra and protect him, but knew that he would not always be able to protect him forever, not even from himself.
Instead of striking him down, however, the Temple Guard knighted him and congratulated him on his strength. He then revealed himself to be The Grand Inquisitor, as he was before his fall. He urged Kanan to flee while he and his fellow Temple Guards held the Inquisitors off. Meanwhile, Ezra begged Yoda for guidance in their struggle. Yoda simply told him to find Malachor and disappeared.
The Inquisitors gained access to the second passage and entered, only to be confronted by the Temple Guards, led by their late leader. Elsewhere, Kanan, Ezra, and Ahsoka were reunited and escaped from the Temple. Chopper brought the Phantom around and picked them up. As they fled, Ezra shared his encounter with Yoda to Kanan and Ahsoka, including the instruction to find Malachor, which Ahsoka revealed was a place
Meanwhile, Darth Vader arrived at the Jedi Temple. Though the Inquisitors sensed the Jedi were growing strong in their power, Vader knew that his master would be most pleased by this discovery.
Credits[]
Cast[]
- Taylor Gray as Ezra Bridger
- Freddie Prinze, Jr. as Kanan Jarrus
- Vanessa Marshall as Hera Syndulla
- Tiya Sircar as Sabine Wren
- Steven Blum as Garazeb Orrelios
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as the Seventh Sister
- Philip Anthony-Rodriguez as the Fifth Brother
- Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano
- Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker
- Frank Oz as Yoda
- Jason Isaacs as Sentinel
- James Earl Jones as Darth Vader
Appearances[]
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Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Master Yoda makes his first visual appearance in this episode (still as a Force vision, not "in person").
- Matt Lanter, who provided the voice of Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, briefly reprises his role in this episode.
- Rex does not appear in this episode.
- This episode, like "Fire Across the Galaxy", aired on the same date as when the Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 5 finale, "The Wrong Jedi" aired.
- In the Rebels Recon featurette for this episode, the writers stressed that the Force vision experienced by Kanan was not explicitly literal, rather it was sent by Yoda himself to address Kanan's concerns.
- Ezra's mistaken assumption that "Malachor" is a person, only to be corrected by Ahsoka that it is a planet, seems to mirror the exchange in The Empire Strikes Back when Han mentions going to "Lando", Leia is confused that she never heard of a "Lando system", and Han explains that "Lando's not a system, he's a man".
- The design of the Jedi dojo was used in Star Wars: Kanan.
- When Yoda shows Ezra a vision of the Clone Wars, footage from the end of Attack of the Clones was used.
- As of this episode, Kanan is now an official Jedi Knight.