TFN Rebels Review: "Hera's Heroes"

Season Three of Star Wars Rebels has been fantastic so far, and the fifth episode was no exception.

Hera's Heroes heavily featured the Syndulla's and takes place on Ryloth.

The episode starts with Cham Syndulla and Numa riding blurrgs (how awesome is that name), and it is clear that The Empire has a big presence on Ryloth.

Hera and the crew are there to help, and the episode delivers a great set of action sequences, emotional moments, and a heavy dose of a certain imperial tactician.

Thrawn and The Empire have taken hold of Cham and Hera's home. The imperial hold is led by Captain Slavin, and we learn quickly that he is not on the same level as Thrawn.

Hera, Chopper, and Ezra make their way into the home after a series of guerilla warfare tactics by the entire crew, including Cham and Numa.

Hera runs right into Thrawn and Slavin, and then interrogation begins. While Hera tries to come off as a beggar and a servant, Thrawn doesn't buy it, and it is clear that he knows exactly who she is. After his slow, methodical monologue, Hera cracks and goes at Thrawn verbally. Ezra tries to make a move while he is still undercover, but Thrawn stuns him and is clearly not fooled.

In order for them to be released, Thrawn proposes a prisoner exchange for Cham Syndulla Cham agrees, but Hera has other plans. She sets the place to blow up with the help of Chopper, and once they are outside of the home, she blows the place to pieces. In the immediate chaos, Cham joins the crew and Numa, and escapes. It was a tough and emotional moment, but Hera chose duty over memoires when she made the call to destroy her childhood home.

NOTEBOOK:

• It was great to see Ryloth. The planet had some pretty major arcs take place there during The Clone Wars, and that continuity makes it feel like one big story.

• Numa, who is voiced by Cat Taber, also appeared as a small child in The Clone Wars.

• Chopper sees a crashed Y-Wing outside of the home, and he clearly has some form of PTSD from his time fighting in The Clone Wars. That moment brought human elements to this droid.

• Thrawn allows them to escape Ryloth. It is clear he is playing a different game than the other imperials.

GRADE: 8/10

Vanessa Marshall delivered a phenomenal performance as Hera in this episode. It was filled with great action, and had enough emotion to make you care about what happened. Thrawn had his biggest role in the series so far, and his character seems perfectly executed.

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