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"Trials of the Darksaber" is the fifteenth episode of the third season of Star Wars Rebels. It is the fifty-second episode of the series overall. It was released on January 21, 2017 on Disney XD.

Premise[]

Sabine begins training with the ancient Darksaber -- but in doing so, she must also face her past.

Synopsis[]

Fenn Rau had been called by Kanan for a private discussion. He began by showing him the Darksaber that Sabine recovered on Dathomir. Fenn recognized it and brought up the legend of Tarre Vizsla, the first Mandalorian ever inducted into the Jedi Order. According to the story, when Tarre Vizsla passed away the Jedi kept the Darksaber in their Temple until it was liberated by members of House Vizsla. For generations they used it to unify the people and strike down those who would oppose them. Those who wielded the Darksaber ruled Mandalore. Fenn was somewhat overwhelmed to see this weapon and imagined Sabine was excited to recover it, since she was a descendant of House Vizsla. However, according to Kanan she gave it to him for safe keeping and had not mentioned it since. This made Fenn realized that she did not want the responsibility that came with the Darksaber. He then stood up and made a proposition to encourage Sabine to wield the Darksaber. If she was successful, she could unite the most powerful houses in all of Mandalore. Raise an army under her leadership to the Rebellion's cause. Apparently, Sabine did not want anything to do with the Darksaber or her family, despite what she could accomplish. According to Sabine, she had some issues with her family and believed she would never be accepted as the leader of her clan. Despite all her rejections and family history, everyone managed to convince her.

Trials of the Darksaber 09

Ezra teaching Sabine the forms.

Kanan, accompanied by Ezra, decided to train Sabine somewhere away from the base. They set up camp and started training with sticks called "Training Sabers". Before they started using the real swords, Kanan wished to see Sabine's technique. Sabine felt confident that she could handle fighting with a stick, but soon as they started to fight, Kanan easily bested her and she was beaten. Sabine was ready to go again, but Kanan tasked Ezra to teach her the forms before she could try again. Days past, and although it had been tough Sabine was slowly making progress, but Kanan remained concerned about her. To hear from Hera, it was like he was not so sure about training Sabine. Soon, Ezra and Sabine started doing some basic combat training. Sabine managed to keep up, but Ezra eventually beat her just as Fenn showed up with their supplies. While everyone took a break, Fenn presented Sabine with a gift: Mandalorian Vambraces, featuring a grappling line, paralyzing darts, and repulsers. The things she needed to combat the abilities of a Jedi. With this extra gear, Sabine challenged Ezra to another duel and this time she beated him. However, Kanan was not impressed. Sabine tried to take him down with her new tools, but ended up getting beaten once again. With his blade against her neck, Kanan lectured her how training and discipline achieved victory and survival, not the usage of tricks. Sabine had had enough and stormed off in frustration.

Ezra followed Sabine and tried to talk to her. Sabine admitted that she did want to wield the Darksaber but did not want to have everything that came with it, such as her family. Sabine told him that her family saw her as a disgrace to them and a traitor. She did not see how she could go back to face them or lead her people. Ezra apologized for bringing it up after Sabine said she did not want to talk about it anymore. Before he walked away, he brought up the fact that she still had her parents to go back to, unlike him. Back at the camp, Kanan was speaking with Hera about what happened. He admitted that trying to teach Sabine was becoming more and more difficult. While she was a capable warrior, Kanan believed she could not find balance within herself, which was making him reluctant to let her fight with the Darksaber. He did not want to risk her getting hurt, which was why he was having her fight with sticks. From Hera, what Kanan was failing to see himself is that Sabine had already been hurt by her family and she was trying to hide it from him. She also believed that keeping her away from the Darksaber was only making her lose her confidence. Hera pleaded with Kanan to allow Sabine to have the Darksaber and help her face her demons. Despite his concerns, he agreed to do it.

Star Wars Rebels Season Three 35

Sabine ignites the Darksaber.

Later, night had fallen and Sabine had not yet returned to the camp. This left Ezra worried but Fenn was certain she would return. Eventual, she did and walked up to Kanan. The two of them apologized to one another, and then Kanan presented her with the Darksaber. Then, they began training, and this time they used real swords. They started off with blocking and she did well. Next, they tried fencing, using the forms that Ezra taught Sabine. They started off with a slow attack, until then it moved up to being fast. Sabine struggled but kept going. She managed well, and every time she got beaten she tried again. Pretty soon, she started to get aggressive as Kanan started to mock her about her sufferings and running away from both the Empire and her family. She tried to deny it, but eventually confessed. The true reason she ran away was so she could save her family and people. When she was a cadet she helped build weapons that were used against her people, and feels very guilty about it. She helped the Empire enslave her people. All this made Sabine even more and more aggressive and even more depressed until she finally beated Kanan and had him at her mercy. Sabine did try to end what she had done, but her family neglected her and chose the Empire. They deserted her.

With the truth finally out, Sabine spared Kanan and burst into tears. Sabine's people became prisoners to the Empire by weapons of their own making, and from Kanan it was up to her to save them. However, she remained uncertain that she could do it, but her friends gave her the assurance that they and the Rebellion would stand by her side no no matter what course she would eventually choose.

Credits[]

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Appearances[]

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Wiki
The Star Wars Rebels Wiki has a collection of images and media related to Trials of the Darksaber.

Trivia[]

  • This is the sixth episode where the Empire doesn't appear.
  • This is the third episode in which Steven Blum does not have a voice role.
  • The working title for this episode was "The Blade Trials".
  • In the earliest springboard stage, this story was originally coupled with the "Warhead" story to be within one episode, but was expanded to a point both needed to be their own episodes.
  • This episode has a rare example of 2D animation being used within a 3D animated show, with the opening prologue illustrating the ancient history of Tarre Vizsla and the Darksaber.
vedStar Wars Rebels Episodes
Shorts
"The Machine in the Ghost" | "Art Attack" | "Entanglement" | "Property of Ezra Bridger"
Season 1
"Spark of Rebellion" | "Droids in Distress" | "Fighter Flight" | "Rise of the Old Masters" | "Breaking Ranks" | "Out of Darkness" | "Empire Day" | "Gathering Forces" | "Path of the Jedi" | "Idiot's Array" | "Vision of Hope" | "Call to Action" | "Rebel Resolve" | "Fire Across the Galaxy"
Season 2
"The Siege of Lothal" | "The Lost Commanders" | "Relics of the Old Republic" | "Always Two There Are" | "Brothers of the Broken Horn" | "Wings of the Master" | "Blood Sisters" | "Stealth Strike" | "The Future of the Force" | "Legacy" | "A Princess on Lothal" | "The Protector of Concord Dawn" | "Legends of the Lasat" | "The Call" | "Homecoming" | "The Honorable Ones" | "Shroud of Darkness" | "The Forgotten Droid" | "The Mystery of Chopper Base" | "Twilight of the Apprentice"
Season 3
"Steps Into Shadow" | "The Holocrons of Fate" | "The Antilles Extraction" | "Hera's Heroes" | "The Last Battle" | "Imperial Super Commandos" | "Iron Squadron" | "The Wynkahthu Job" | "An Inside Man" | "Visions and Voices" | "Ghosts of Geonosis" | "Warhead" | "Trials of the Darksaber" | "Legacy of Mandalore" | "Through Imperial Eyes" | "Secret Cargo" | "Double Agent Droid" | "Twin Suns" | "Zero Hour"
Season 4
"Heroes of Mandalore" | "In the Name of the Rebellion" | "The Occupation" | "Flight of the Defender" | "Kindred" | "Crawler Commandeers" | "Rebel Assault" | "Jedi Night" | "DUME" | "Wolves and a Door" | "A World Between Worlds" | "A Fool's Hope" | "Family Reunion - and Farewell"
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