SPECULATION Rebels, TFA, and Beyond

I think it's safe to say season 1 of Star Wars Rebels was a pleasant surprise, we got to see how a small ragtag team of freedom fighters mature into something greater. We got new characters and some familiar ones as well, but why/how are they significant to the Sequel Trilogy? who does the show relate to TFA? Some (including myself) believe that a few characters will make it to the big screen on the 18th of December and as much as I'd love to see this happen, it's quite a stretch. So, what then? What is the significance of the show? The devil is in the details.

I think we are focused on the wrong things. It's not the characters themselves that will appear in the ST, but their archetypes. I think that we will see more examples of this in the ST. The idea of the Cowboy Jedi, the "blast first, saber later" mentality of Kanan will be further explored more so than Kanan appearing himself. We won't see Ahsoka, but we will see the force user(s) who isn't Jedi nor Sith, but fight the good fight. A Mandalorian who is allied with a Jedi (or something close) because they have a common enemy in the Empire. The young generation of heroes will be a representation of this on the big screen.



As for the Empire, we get a canonical representation of how the Empire operates without the Emperor and Vader's direct influence (Inquisitors, Agents, Grand Moffs, etc.). As @Bluestreaking stated in his Article:

"The Emperor was nothing more than a figurehead, the only troubling aspect of his death for the Empire is the fact he probably never designated a successor, since Palpatine planned on living forever. What this means is that after his death there is a succession crisis, which actually has caused the downfall of Empires (and why kings HAD to have a son). So there would be instability in the Empire following his death, but power is drawn to those with power and influential Moffs would begin to consolidate power. The Empire also knows it is in the middle of a Civil War and can’t afford petty infighting, uniting the powerful Moffs together to save the Empire isn’t that difficult of a task. “If we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately.”"



With that being said, some key things to look for in season 2:

1. How widespread is the Rebellion. Has it touched the entire galaxy? Or just the Outer Rim.
2. The true size and might of the Empire, we need to see the Empire flex it's muscle.
3. How important is the Outer Rim is to the Empire. Are they prepared to lose it in the worst case scenario.
4. What is the biggest threat to the Empire? The Rebellion or the children of the force.
5. Who/What outside of The Emperor, Vader, and Tarkin is strong enough to lead the Empire?
6. How many of it's citizens believe in the Empire and genuinely fear the Rebellion.

These things will scale the Rebellion as the series transitions us into the OT. If done correctly it will help us understand why the fight goes on long after ROTJ and also gives us an idea of the types of characters we'll see more of in TFA and beyond.

 

Yes I agree, this is the first time the galaxy isn't split between 2 governing bodies so they really need to show us the bigger picture and how the Empire has been able to maintain control of an entire Galaxy.