Hera came face to face with her past — and Grand Admiral Thrawn — on Star Wars Rebels 3×05.
In “Hera’s Heroes,” the Ghost crew returns to Ryloth, where the Empire has mysteriously begun to exhibit a terrifying competence. When Cham Syndulla tells Hera that he has lost their home and ancestral Kalikori heirloom to the occupation, the crew is determined to help Hera save her mother’s memory.
It’s basically a long-overdue Mother’s Day gift.
Hera and Ezra (in a stolen speeder uniform) sneak into her home, which has become a main base for the Imperials. Stealing the Kalikori is initially easy, even without Chopper’s help — the disguised droid is preoccupied by the crashed Y-wing from which Hera saved him during the Clone Wars. (Aww.) But on their way out, Hera is apprehended by Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Thrawn immediately goes into… well, Thrawn mode, and rapidly deduces both Hera and Ezra’s identities. His behavior is obsequiecely polite even as he threatens her life and takes back the Kalikori for his “art collection.” It’s a rare fellow who can genuinely thank a lady for her hospitality while simultaneously threatening her life, but hey, that’s Thrawn.
Thrawn leaves Ryloth in the hands of the idiotic and vengeful Captain Slavin, claiming that he has an “experiment” to attend to. Slavin orders Cham to turn himself in to the Empire, in exchange for Hera and Ezra’s lives; Cham is touchingly swift to sacrifice his life for his daughter.
But luckily, Chopper has shaken off the doldrums (which I really hope extends beyond Star Wars Rebels 3×05 — who was flying that Y-wing?) Hera, Ezra, and Chopper hatch an escape plan. As the prisoner exchange occurs, Chopper places explosives throughout her home and detonates them, giving the rebels and Cham their opening to escape.
Hera has realized that her home is not a building, ruined or intact. Nor is her mother’s memory preserved in an heirloom. She is at home with the crew of the Ghost, and through them and her father, her mother’s memory lives on.
But while that’s all very nice and affirming, and it’s great to see the crew of the Ghost rally around their unfailing captain, the day may not have been won as thoroughly as it seems.
Watching from his Star Destroyer, Thrawn allows the rebels to escape a second time; it seems that Hera’s actions were the experiment he was so eager to observe.
“Not to worry, Captain,” he tells the distraught Slavin. “I’ve found this whole experience very enlightening.”
For once, “light” in Star Wars is not looking like a good thing.