Despite being a Disney show, Star Wars Rebels lived up to its predecessor’s reputation by exploring several dark and serious themes. In other words, Star Wars Rebels can be just as brutal a show as Star Wars: The Clone Wars is. Like The Clone Wars, Rebels slowly gets more and more serious as the series progresses. Most of Rebels season 1 features light comedy because the series needed to introduce its cast of characters. After establishing them, the latter seasons largely deal with their tragic backstories, along with the injustices they endured—and are still enduring—during the Empire’s reign.
As a Disney show, much of the violence in Rebels tends to happen off-screen. Nevertheless, its kid-friendly visuals don’t detract from the gravity of the situations it presents. Even though some deaths in Rebels are implied rather than shown, they still impact the audience just as hard. The darker episodes in The Clone Wars tend to feature actual violence or horror, like the Geonosian brain worms or the Zombie Nightsisters. But the darker aspects of Rebels tend to deal with psychological problems that plague the characters, forcing the audience to empathize with their fear and sorrow.
Related
The Darkest Star Wars Rebels Story Was Never Told
While Star Wars Rebels did delve into mature narratives, the darkest story set up by The Mandalorian was never shown for the animated heroes.
10 Ghosts Of Geonosis: Part 2
Season 3, episode 13
While “Ghosts of Geonosis” only deals with the aftermath of what the Empire did to the Geonosians, it reveals one of the largest Imperial genocides ever committed. In the episode, the Ghost Crew attempts to help Klik-Klak, the last Geonosian alive, save his species from extinction by protecting his egg. In spite of the Geonosians’ hard work designing the Death Star, the Empire ended up wiping out their population of 100 billion after their usefulness came to an end. While none of the actual carnage is seen in Rebels, the empty caverns on Geonosis hauntingly remind the audience just how awful the Empire could be to alien lifeforms.
9 Twilight Of The Apprentice: Part 1
Season 2, episode 17
The penultimate episode of Rebels season 2 does not disappoint, as it provides one of the best looks at a Canon Sith Temple in the Star Wars universe. However, before arriving at the steps of the Temple, Ezra Bridger, Ahsoka Tano, and Kanan Jarrus wander among hundreds of Jedi and Sith corpses. According to Kanan, Jedi had long been forbidden from going to the Sith Temple on Malachor. Many millennia before the Ghost Crew arrived, a Sith army chose to wipe themselves out in order to take the Jedi Order with them. And as if the corpses weren’t ominous enough, Ezra Bridger is also tempted by the dark side after befriending a marooned Maul.
8 Visions And Voices
Season 3, episode 11
“Visions and Voices” shows Ezra’s increasing paranoia over being haunted by visions of Maul. In order to clear his mind, Ezra joins Maul on a journey to Dathomir, where they perform an ancient ritual to connect their minds. In the process, several Nightsister spirits awake and end up possessing Kanan and Sabine, causing their eyes to glow green. Ezra is forced to fight and flee from his friends while coming up with a creative way to free them from the Nightsister possession.
7 Heroes Of Mandalore: Part 2
Season 4, episode 2
“Heroes of Mandalore” explores Sabine Wren’s past at the Imperial Academy. In the episode, her engineering insights end up coming back to haunt her as Tiber Saxon—the current governor of Mandalore—completes an Arc Pulse Generator Sabine designed long ago. This fearsome weapon is shown in action at the beginning of the episode in a demonstration for Grand Admiral Thrawn. The Arc Generator is specifically designed to target beskar alloy, and ends up superheating it. In other words, the weapon literally cooks Mandalorians alive in their own armor. Sabine ends up destroying the weapon, but if it ever returns to Star Wars, anyone from The Mandalorian is at grave risk.
Related
Every Season of Star Wars Rebels, Ranked Worst to Best
Star Wars Rebels was one of the first Star Wars titles Disney put out, and some seasons of the animated show are certainly better than others.
6 Twilight Of The Apprentice: Part 2
Season 2, episode 18
As if part 1 were not dark enough, “Twilight of the Apprentice: Part 2” features numerous unexpected twists. Early on in the episode, Maul attempts to goad Ezra into killing the Seventh Sister. After Ezra refuses, Maul kills her without mercy. Later, Maul betrays the group by blinding Kanan, showing just how unforgiving the series can be with its protagonists. Not only is Kanan blinded, but Ahsoka also has her fated reunion with Darth Vader. In the final moments of the episode, the Ghost Crew is forced to leave Ahsoka to duel Vader alone, ultimately resulting in Ahsoka’s descent into the Sith Temple.
5 Rise Of The Old Masters
Season 1, episode 5
While much of Rebels season 1 has a light-hearted and comical tone compared to the latter seasons, “Rise of the Old Masters” stands out for showing the brutal fate of Jedi Master Luminara Unduli. Much like the distress signal at the Jedi Temple at the end of Revenge of the Sith that was meant to lure lost Jedi to their doom, the Grand Inquisitor used Luminara’s shriveled remains as a beacon in the Force. Her mummified head calls out to Bokken Jedi looking for other hidden Jedi like them, and her presence in the Force ends up causing Kanan and Ezra to fall right into the Grand Inquisitor’s trap.
4 Jedi Night
Season 4, episode 10
When most people think of tragedy in Rebels they think of Kanan Jarrus’ heroic sacrifice in “Jedi Night.” The episode begins with Governor Pryce torturing Hera for information on the other Rebels, but it also shows Kanan coming to terms with his fate long before embarking on his mission to rescue Hera. But just as Kanan and Hera confess their love to each other, Pryce flippantly destroys the fuel pod they stand on out of spite. Kanan holds the blast at bay with the Force in order to save his friends, losing his life in the process.
3 Dume
Season 4, episode 11
Kanan’s death in “Jedi Night” is a dark point in the series, but the Ghost Crew’s grief over his loss in “Dume” is even more difficult to watch. War is unforgiving, and even though the Crew needs to grieve, they must ultimately return to fighting the Empire for the Rebellion’s sake. Sabine and Zeb decide to hit the Empire back in retaliation, while Ezra deals with Kana’s loss by speaking to a giant loth-wolf. Meanwhile, Hera decides to add a piece to her Kalikori to represent Kanan as a part of her family.
Related
Star Wars Rebels Ending Explained (& What Happened To The Ghost Crew)
Star Wars Rebels’ epic ending saw Lothal freed from the Empire, and set up the future of the Ghost crew and Grand Admiral Thrawn in Ahsoka.
2 Family Reunion – And Farewell
Season 4, episode 15
The Rebels season 4 finale features several dark moments. At the beginning of the episode, Thrawn threatens to bombard all of Lothal, and fires several warning shots to encourage the Rebels to surrender. Later, Ezra meets with Emperor Palpatine and is tempted with the opportunity to reunite with his parents. Gregor heroically dies alongside Rex, calling back to their sacrifices in The Clone Wars. Sabine also kills thousands of Imperials, including Governor Pryce, by blowing up the Lothal Complex as it rises into the sky.
1 Stealth Strike
Season 2, episode 9
While Sabine racked up an impressive kill count after blowing up the Lothal Complex, she doesn’t hold a candle to Chopper’s kill count. In “Stealth Strike,” the Rebels encounter an experimental Imperial Interdictor that can pull ships out of hyperspace using a gravity well. After sneaking on board, Chopper sabotages the ship, causing it to pull in two other Imperial light cruisers nearby. While the episode brushes over the final destruction, the truth of the matter is that Chopper killed over four thousand Imperials—possibly more—in the span of a few moments, making it one of the deadliest acts of war in Star Wars Rebels.
