50 Most Memorable Moments from Star Wars Rebels

39. Gold Leader and Ezra team up

Episode: Season 3 Episode 18 Secret Cargo

The Moment: After smuggling precious cargo, Senator Mon Mothma herself, Ezra and Jon Vander (Gold leader of the Rebel Alliance) venture into the Archeon Nebula to protect their rebel leader. In a daring effort to evade an Imperial fleet, Ezra and Vander are able to successfully protect their Senator at all costs, even risking their own lives.

The remaining Y-wings from the battle, including the ones flown by Ezra and Vander, are then taken to the secret rebel base, at the time, Dantooine.

Why It’s Memorable: Gold leader standing by! That’s what echoed through my head when Jon Vander was introduced in Rebels. This was a defining moment for Rebels since it is starting to shape its identity closer to that of A New Hope. 

At this point, Rebels is about 2 years away from the events of Rogue One, so the Rebel Alliance is officially taking form.  Connecting character from Rebels to those of the film gives the animated show a ton more credibility.

This moment featured Ezra as a pilot and man is he a good one. We’ve seen his skills before, but nothing like this. His performance assisting Gold Squadron earned the praise of their crew, which is very hard to come by. It was also a very nice touch with Ezra donning a Rebel Alliance helmet that you later see in the Original Trilogy. Ezra, welcome to the elite territory as a Star Wars legend!