Previously on Star Wars Rebels...
When we last left the crew of the Ghost, they had rescued an Imperial defector and helped him into hiding. Kanan and Ezra aided in their escape by diverting the Empire's attention to an abandoned Clone base on an asteroid, where a large batch of feral creatures could take on the Stormtroopers. This worked pretty well until the Inquisitor showed up, fighting his way through the creatures and taking on Kanan. Ezra managed to save him, angrily using the Force to control one of the larger creatures and sic him on the Inquisitor, which would seem to indicate prowess in the Dark Side. This has significantly spooked both Kanan and Ezra...
Concerned after what happened on the asteroid, Kanan decides to give Ezra a test to determine not only what kind of Jedi he'll be, but also if he can be a Jedi at all. There's an abandoned temple already on Lothal, which Kanan has Ezra locate using the Force. (The autopilot was already on its way there.) The entrance is sealed and can only be opened with a Force lift, something Ezra and Kanan do together. Once their inside, Ezra's spooked by the remains of two dead Jedi, and the exit closes behind them. While Kanan stays behind in the main room to meditate, Ezra continues through the temple on his own. However, Kanan seems to catch up with him later, and both encounter the Inquisitor. Kanan is seemingly killed and dropped off a cliff. Ezra attempts to use Kanan's lightsaber against the Inquisitor and it fails. With no other options, Ezra jumps off the cliff himself.
Ezra suddenly finds himself back aboard the Ghost, overhearing the crew talk rather unfavorably about him. It occurs to him that something isn't right, further elaborated when the Inquisitor shows up again and seems to kill everyone out of sight of the viewer. Ezra runs and finds himself back at the temple, and is able to figure out for himself that this is all an illusion, and yet the Inquisitor remains. He overcomes his own fear, and the Inquisitor's lightsaber passes through him.
And now for the most noteworthy aspect of this episode: Yoda. Rather than whoever portrayed him in The Clone Wars, he is once again voiced by Frank Oz. He doesn't appear, but his voice echoes throughout the temple. He's likely projecting himself from his home on Degobah. He talks to Kanan, who talks about his own insecurities over whether he's training Ezra correctly or if he's even capable of doing so. He guides Ezra through the temple, who explains how despite wanting revenge against the Empire for everything they've done to him and his parents, he wants to become a Jedi out of a genuine desire to help people. He's spent his whole life looking out for himself and only himself, but meeting the other Rebels and seeing how they help others selflessly rubbed off on him and made him want to do the same. Yoda seems to approve and Ezra is given a Khyber Crystal.
The episode ends back on the Ghost, the crew has given Ezra as many spare parts as they could, allowing him to construct his own lightsaber. It's a traditional blue crystal, but the handle is unique with an extra feature on the hilt that might allow it to be used as a blaster, although this remains to be seen.
The music is a nice step up too, with familiar New Hope cues perfectly complementing the mysterious and spiritual atmosphere of the Jedi Temple, and the uplifting moment when Ezra first ignites his own brand new lightsaber. Put all of this with some good character development for our protagonist and his Jedi Master, and this definitely an episode worth watching.
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