50 Most Memorable Moments from Star Wars Rebels

Photo property of: Lucasfilm

19. Kanan defeats the Grand Inquisitor

Episode: Season 1 Episode 15: Fire Across the Galaxy

The Moment:  After evading capture aboard the Sovereign, the flagship for Grand Moff Tarkin, Kanan( along with Ezra) encounter The Grand Inquisitor. The three begin to duel, when Ezra is knocked off the ledge. Kanan then assumes his young student has perished. For the first time as Ezra’s teacher, Kanan lets go of his attachments and relies truly on the Force. With that as his ally, he is able to disarm the Inquisitor by cutting the double-bladed lightsaber in two.

With an explosion started by the power cell of the destroyed saber, the Grand Inquisitor is hanging on for dear life, with Kanan standing over him with two lightsabers pointed at the defeated foe. Kanan decides not to kill his enemy, but the Inquisitor intentionally falls to his death, admitting that survival will provide a far worse fate than death.

Why It’s Memorable: Kanan takes his game to the next level in this moment. With a handful of duels against the Grand Inquisitor before, Kanan had been over-matched each time, barely escaping. Yoda once said that the Force is a powerful ally and Kanan has an “ah-ha” moment in that lesson. When he believes Ezra to be dead, he lets go of his fears and decides to embrace the role of a true Jedi.

The Inquisitor had been Kanan’s master, so to speak, with no Jedi around to instruct the free-spirited former Padawan. At this point, Kanan had become the better of the two, which is a huge step for what comes next for Kanan in his duel with Maul.

When the Inquisitor mentions a fate far worse than death, he means severe punishment from his master Darth Vader. That’s enough to give me nightmares for weeks. Especially knowing that Vader often resides on the volcanic planet of Mustafar. I may have fallen to my death if the same fate befell me!