Ezra and Kanan sought critical Imperial secrets, while one of the Rebels’ secrets slipped free on Star Wars Rebels 3×09.
‘Star Wars Rebels’ 3×09 recap
In “The Inside Man,” Star Wars Rebels steps back from its recent pattern of episodes centered around external concerns. This week, the focus is on infiltration — and the surprising truths that can be hidden in unexpected places.
Kanan and Ezra return to Lothal and meet up with Ryder Azadi and Morad Sumar. Their goal is to infiltrate an Imperial weapons plant where Sumar works, covertly sabotaging Imperial speeders and the like (destroying the Empire from the inside, as it were).
But once inside, Kanan and Ezra find that Grand Admiral Thrawn has come to the facility as well. Accompanied by Governor Pryce, and an increasingly wary Agent Kallus, Thrawn seeks out the saboteurs. He kills Sumar by forcing him to power up a faulty speeder, and quickly divines that the facility has been infiltrated by rebels.
So Jedi and padawan pull the classic “Steal stormtrooper armor and escape” plan, though first they make a stop at a restricted area of the plant. Sending a disguised Chopper inside, they manage to steal top-secret plans for a new Imperial weapon.
Spoiler alert: It’s not the Death Star.
Finding various escape routes closed to them, Ezra and Kanan run straight into Kallus, who reveals his own secret. He tells them that he is now the rebel operative Fulcrum, and will help them contact Ryder and escape.
The rebels are flabbergasted, but observant viewers won’t find much surprise in this revelation. Still, it is powerfully satisfying to see Kallus’ story definitively arc toward the light. Even if Kanan and Ezra remain, shall we say, vividly skeptical.
After a narrow escape in a pair of walkers, Ezra and Kanan share their information with Hera. The plans turn out to be the blueprints for a shielded TIE fighter — a TIE Defender. The rebels realize that such a powerful tool could be devastating for the Rebellion, already painfully low on pilots.
But the real danger comes from another source. Back at the plant, Thrawn muses calmly about the infiltration and escape, and reveals that he knows that a rebel spy lurks in Imperial ranks. Pryce is apoplectic, and Kallus acts surprised… though perhaps he thought his hidden truth was better concealed as it is.
Thrawn, however, takes no direct action just yet.
“Acting out of emotion will not serve us here,” he says soothingly. “We must wait and watch. And when we find our spy, and we will find them, we will turn them from an obstacle to an asset.”
“Wouldn’t you agree, Agent Kallus?” he adds, suggesting that he most likely already knows the identity of the spy.
“Your strategy is without flaw, Grand Admiral,” says Kallus, clearly digging inside himself for assets that may no longer exist. “As always.”
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