Star Wars: Rebels has been inching ever closer to the events of the cinematic universe throughout the course of season 3. In a post-Rogue One world fans of the series know that the Ghost will make an appearance and likely meet its end at the Battle of Scarif, which could herald an end for the beloved cast of characters as well. With Sabine breaking away from the crew of the Ghost in the most recent episode it is becoming increasingly difficult to predict where everyone is going to end up.
The promo for Star Wars: Rebels' next episode, titled 'Through Imperial Eyes', gives the audience a look inside of what the Empire has been up to over the course of the past few episodes. There has been a heavy focus on the titular crew of rebels and this shift back to the evil forces seems to indicate the direction the end of this season is going to take things to a dark place.
Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelson), joined the cast this season, cementing his legacy in the updated Star Wars canon and in this clip he is seen combat training, giving fans a glimpse of what he gets up to outside of planning the downfall of the Jedi and the Rebellion. The promo also introduces Colonel Yularen -- as in, Wulf Yularen -- whom fans will know from both the original Star Wars trilogy of movies and the animated Clone Wars television show.
The focus of Thrawn this time around is taking down Fulcrum, who has been supplying the Rebellion with vital information to gain an advantage in its fight against the Empire. In the earliest seasons of Rebels, Fulcrum was the codename used by Ahsoka Tano, but now Imperial Security Bureau agent Kallus has taken the mantle. In a few episodes this season, Kallus has explicitly worked with members of the Ghost crew, most recently informing Zeb how to dispose of an infiltrator droid that was investigating Chopper base. The above clip promises a tense and suspenseful subplot in this week's episode, in which Thrawn will try to deduct Fulcrum's true identity. If he discovers the truth, that will obviously bode quite poorly for Kallus.
Star Wars: Rebels continues to get more and more exciting -- and also dark -- as the seasons move along. While the show succeeds at folding in fan favorite characters from across the Star Wars pantheon, it really excels the closer it can run to the events of a major motion picture. Kallus' aiding of the Rebels has been one of the more intriguing aspects of this season, and it will be interesting to see how this storyline comes to a head. Rebels has never been afraid to embrace its more dramatic elements, and this seems like the perfect place for those sensibilities.
Framing the trailer from the point of view of the Empire does leave the question dangling about who the focal character of "Through Imperial Eyes" will be. Combined with the trailer, one can predict that the next episode of Star Wars: Rebels may be told entirely from Kallus' point of view. This was something that happened more over the course of the Clone Wars, with Anakin Skywalker being one of the show's leads, and could make for interesting viewing on Rebels. It could also make for a weak episode, as the Imperials tend to lack in definition and characterization, but maybe this is a move to combat that.
Next: Star Wars Rebels: Mandalorian History & Politics Explained
Star Wars Rebels continues with 'Through Imperial Eyes' on Saturday, February 25, 2017 on Disney XD.
Source: Disney XD