Star Wars is a cinematic icon, but it is much more than its movies. Blaine and Josh dive deep into the universe of Star Wars Rebels, the fantastic animated show on Disney XD, with reviews of the third season of this exciting series. As a show aimed at kids, but also clearly for the kid in every adult Star Wars fan, they’ll also have a discussion section to talk about the themes covered in each episode. 

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While this season of Rebels has been especially tense, “The Wynkathu Job” is here to slow things down a bit before things ramp back up prior to the dreaded mid-season break. Hondo Ohnaka is back, bringing along with him Azmorigan and the usual heavy doses of fast-talking charm and  mischief.

The episode opens with Ezra explaining that he’s found a quick job for the group. “Try to keep an open mind,” he says as he introduces Hondo and Azmorigan as potential business partners. The Ghost crew is understandably hesitant, recalling that it didn’t work out so well the last time they encountered these two. Nevertheless, they reluctantly agree to work together to salvage much-needed proton bombs (and, of course, treasure for Hondo and Azmorigan) from an abandoned Imperial cargo vessel sitting above the planet Wynkathu, where deadly storms threaten to swallow the freighter and the crew. Hera puts Zeb in charge—a move that irks Ezra to no end—and sends a team down to score their treasure. Zeb, Ezra, Azmorigan, Hondo, and Chopper are able to locate the sought-after cargo fairly quickly, and all seems to be going well. There’s just one problem: All of the noise has alerted a dormant Imperial Sentry droid, which captures Azmorigan and Zeb. Ezra sets out to rescue his captive comrades—and doesn’t miss the opportunity to tease Zeb about being captured—and get them off the cargo ship before it’s devoured by Wynkathu’s deadly storm. Ultimately, everyone survives. The crew gets their bombs, and while Hondo doesn’t get his treasure—it’s a long story—he does earn a (very) little respect from the Ghost crew.

While this episode doesn’t have the emotional gravitas that has characterized most of this season, “The Wynkathu Job” is loads and loads of fun. Hondo always brings an entirely different level of energy and dynamism to the show. We’re always waiting to see how he’ll lie, cheat, or con his way out of a situation; his quick wit and fast-talking ways make for especially hilarious and suspenseful narratives. And the real genius of “The Wynkathu Job” is that it throws our favorite Weequay pirate into a hybrid heist/treasure-hunting narrative that lets all of his “best” attributes shine at full strength. There’s a moment in the episode where the group locates the storeroom on the stranded vessel. A long shot lets us survey the room as our treasure hunters begin to explore. It’s like something straight out of Indiana Jones or the Oceans trilogy, and in this moment—perhaps for the first time—I realized how wonderful the Han Solo spinoff project could be if it leans into these roots.

But this episode isn’t all fun and games. There’s also some very interesting character development happening with Ezra. Of the entire Ghost crew, Ezra is always the most accepting, the one most willing to give scoundrels like Hondo and Azmorigan a chance. While it’s easy to dismiss this tendency as simple naivety (and I do think there’s a bit of that going on), it is important to see how it gives Ezra strength. Ezra’s steadfast willingness to listen to those most would consider his enemies makes him uniquely poised to reach out to them. There’s a reason that Zare Leonis reached out to him way back in the first season, and there’s a reason that he was more receptive to the ways of the Bendu than Kanan. Does Ezra have room to grow in his wisdom? Absolutely. But his open-mindedness is a commendable and rare quality. And perhaps Ezra is ready to give Hondo and Azmorigan another chance not just because he is gullible, but because he sees himself in them, for he too was once a thief and scoundrel. He knows as well as anyone else that there is always hope for even the most scruffy-looking.

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REBELS DEBRIEF

Star Wars Rebels is a family show. Parents love watching as much as their kids. Infusing the spiritual with the fantastic and adventurous, Rebels continues the spirit of what makes Star Wars great. In order to foster the young minds and hearts of your Reel World Theologians, each week there are questions you can use during or after the show to talk about with your kids. Enjoy the show and then enjoy conversation, but always remember that story is powerful and Star Wars Rebels is not mindless.

• How are Ezra and Hondo similar?
• How are they different?
• Do you think Hondo will ever change his thieving ways?

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REBELS TRIVIA

• The sentry droid blasters are modified E-11s (standard-issue Stormtrooper blasters).
• The Twi’lek Ark, which was featured in The Clone Wars, can be spotted on the Imperial vessel.