Or Max von Sydow is Kanan. Bitter over the loss of his student, Ezra, and hiding away.

The galaxy is a big place, so it's quite possible that Kanan, Ezra, and the rest of the Ghost's crew are off doing their own thing to fight the Empire during the time of the movies.

Part of why Luke's such a big deal to the Empire in the films is because he's the son of Chosen One Anakin/Vader, and from all signs has inherited his father's incredibly potential in the Force, which in turn makes him a major threat to the Sith, particularly if he can bring about the prophecy and restore balance to the Force; i.e. wipe out the Sith and their corrupting influence on the Force and the galaxy.

Kanan's capable, but doesn't seem to be all that powerful, where Ezra seems to have a decent amount of raw talent, but time will tell just how powerful the Lothal street rat will become in terms of being a Force user.

The thing is every survivor of Order 66 or their disciples would be a huge asset to the Alliance and diminish Luke's worth.

Sure, he might be the one who could personally stop Vader and/or the Emperor, but the Alliance made a big deal about him being the only Jedi.

Something has to happen to explain why Kanan and Erza are not getting the same treatment and/or recognition.

[T]ime will tell just how powerful the Lothal street rat will become in terms of being a Force user.

You mean lothstreet lothrat

I'm confused. Where in the movies did the Alliance make a big deal about Luke being the last Jedi? I mean I don't know the script by heart, but I don't even recall Yoda being that overt about it. And even if he said that Luke was going to be the last Jedi, he was possibly lying, considering the "another Skywalker" thing.

Something has to happen to explain why Kanan and Erza are not getting the same treatment and/or recognition.

No it doesn't. When the movies came out there was nothing more to the galaxy except the movies. Now there is so much more. Retconning characters is a thing. That's not to say it always good, just that happens. Just because the OT movies insinuated that Luke was the last Jedi doesn't mean new stories are beholden to that idea.

I'm confused. Where in the movies did the Alliance make a big deal about Luke being the last Jedi? I mean I don't know the script by heart, but I don't even recall Yoda being that overt about it. And even if he said that Luke was going to be the last Jedi, he was possibly lying, considering the "another Skywalker" thing.

They don't. It's only been in the EU/Legends that Luke being "last of the Jedi" was made into a big deal, particularly in the early days of the EU when the stories were set after Return of the Jedi.

It's really the Empire, specifically Vader and the Emperor, that make a big deal about Luke, though Vader's obsession is understandable in light of the reveal about Vader being Luke's father. Leia simply brushed it off as "a power she could never understand" and Obi-Wan had earmarked the boy as "their last hope." The rest of the Alliance (what we saw of them in the films at least) really didn't make a big deal out of it.

It also didn't take long in the EU before we had former Jedi and other Force-sensitive potentials crawling out of the shadows in fairly large numbers.

I feel that this is one of those things that "fans" will call a plot hole if it's not addressed. I agree that not stating where these characters go shouldn't be a big deal, because it's a big galaxy and they are probably fighting somewhere else. Personally, I'd be happy with just a single throw away line saying that they are being assigned somewhere else. Or perhaps a listing of those characters in a database in Ep7. (Like how the x-men movies list known mutants in government database but we never see the characters on screen to prove that they do exist.)

The problem is that "our only hope" and "last Jedi" does not equal "last force user" but a lot of people took it to mean this. It could just be a statement of hyperbole to show how important Luke is. Here is the line from ESB from IMSDB.com.

BEN: That boy is our last hope.
YODA: No. There is another.

Another what? Another Skywalker? Another force user? Another hope? Another plan?

How about from RotJ?

YODA: No more training do you require. Already know you that which you need.
LUKE: Then I am a Jedi?
YODA: Ohhh. Not yet. One thing remains: Vader. You must confront Vader. Then, only then, a Jedi will you be. And confront him you will.

Then a few moments later.

YODA: Luke...Luke...Do not...Do not underestimate the powers of the Emperor, or suffer your father's fate, you will. Luke, when gone am I (cough), the last of the Jedi will you be. Luke, the Force runs strong in your family. Pass on what you have learned, Luke... (with great effort) There is...another...Sky...Sky...walker.

Which is it Yoda? Is Luke a Jedi or not? Is he the last of the Jedi or was this once again hyperbole to drive Luke on at this moment and kill his father? Yoda knows that Luke wont want to kill his father, but that is what he is asking for and needs to use as much motivation as possible.

Note that even if Yoda's statement of "last Jedi" was true, that could just mean last trained Jedi. All Padawans are not Jedi. If their master was killed in Order 66, then they will not finish up the training and receive the title of Jedi. All that Yoda is doing is setting up the conditions for Luke to finish a test to receive his title of Jedi in an official capacity.

The Jedi aren't all that truthful. Look at how long it took Yoda and Ben to tell Luke about Vader being his father. They limit the information you have to manipulate your reactions. Everything they say can be twisted. As Ben said, "So what I have told you was true... from a certain point of view."

OK, maybe that was poorly stated. I sort of mean from the audience's perspective.

I'll just be curious to see if, near the end of the run, Rebels offers any explanation as to where Ezra and Kanan were during the events of the OT.

They don't have to be anywhere near the events of the OT. There were numerous rebel cells, and it could be that Hera and Kanan were too careful to trust even the "Rebel Alliance", having been already burned by that "Senator in exile". And as much as E6 shows the fall of the entire Empire just like that ( *snaps fingers* ), the first question practically everybody asks is "how long did it really take?" So the Empire lives on after Endor, and people like Hera and Kanan would have plenty to do in the same vein, without ever necessarily knowing some guy named Skywalker other than maybe the name.

There are any number of legitimate ways it could be spun, I just hope they pick one that makes a good story.

I watched the latest episode of Rebels. They do show a holo of a shrouded figure when Hera was talking to Fulcrum. The hood definitely did not have a Togruta shape to it. If it is Ahsoka, then she is using a stand-in image for her communications. It was pretty obvious that the masked voice was female, and her speech patterns are very similar to Ashley Eckstein's.

It's amazing what you can fit under a hood in a cartoon.

With this last episode I think it's pretty clear this is Ahsoka. The voice sounds like Ashley Eckstein's voice pitched up, plus she has the same delivery and emphasis on words. Pretty happy with this. I was actually hoping that at some point Ezra might lose Kanan and Ahsoka would reluctantly pick up his training. We shall see.

Yancy

People seem almost eager to get rid of Kanan... Kinda creepy, guys...

No, I just don't think he's long for this world. Thematically they are driving the story that way. I suspect he will be rescued in the season finale, then later in Season 2 something happens.

If he get's rescued.

I don't hink that the crew will stop trying, but Kanan has painted too big a target over himself to simply get away.

So unless the creators decide to make the second season solely/more about running away from the Imperials something has to change. And that leads us again to Kanan and his continued existance.

And then there is the increasing capability the Imps are showing (although some stupid things still make me cringe).

Tarkin has already demonstrated what happens if you continue to fail, the Inquisitors master will not be any kinder. They will up their game so the Rebels either get some help themselves or switch (Over)Sectors.

Edit: Is it true that Greg Weisman left the show? Not exactly good things follow when he leaves.

OK, maybe that was poorly stated. I sort of mean from the audience's perspective.

I'll just be curious to see if, near the end of the run, Rebels offers any explanation as to where Ezra and Kanan were during the events of the OT.

They don't have to be anywhere near the events of the OT. There were numerous rebel cells, and it could be that Hera and Kanan were too careful to trust even the "Rebel Alliance", having been already burned by that "Senator in exile". And as much as E6 shows the fall of the entire Empire just like that ( *snaps fingers* ), the first question practically everybody asks is "how long did it really take?" So the Empire lives on after Endor, and people like Hera and Kanan would have plenty to do in the same vein, without ever necessarily knowing some guy named Skywalker other than maybe the name.

There are any number of legitimate ways it could be spun, I just hope they pick one that makes a good story.

I don't know. The whole point of Rebels is that it is supposed to be building towards the Rebel Alliance. I'm not sure how I would feel if the main rebels of the series didn't join the Alliance when it came into being.

As far as Ezra (and Kanan if he survives the show's run*) having any interaction or not with Luke, that can quite easily be handled with a novel set after the Battle of Yavin, with Luke still being a relative novice in terms of the whole Jedi thing meeting and working with Ezra on some major Alliance mission. Circumstances would naturally require them to part ways, though not without Ezra passing along some of what he's learned from Kanan while perhaps also remarking that it's a lot harder when the teacher/student roles are reversed than Kanan made it look.

Could also be handled with the final episode being a time skip, with the surviving members of the Ghost's crew getting contacted towards the episode's end by Princess Leia or Mon Mothma about needing them for a mission that's either critical to the future of the Alliance or would strike an important blow against the Empire. It not only establishes that the cast are indeed part of the Alliance proper, but gives a "the adventure continues" feel to the show's ending, and thus leaving it open for either future novels detailing their further escapades.

*yeah, it's a tad blood-thirsty about how many folks seem to think that Kanan's days are numbered, but as was mentioned he's not only painted a fairly big target on his back but he's also playing the role of the Obi-Wan in a franchise that named if not codified the trope.

I'm still hoping it will either end with the victory mentioned in the A New Hope opening text. I would love if it continued past that and ended with what the surviving members of the Ghost crew, assuming they suffer any causalities, do at the Battle of Endor but I think the odds on that happening are basically zero.

People seem almost eager to get rid of Kanan... Kinda creepy, guys...

Seeing as Kanan firmly grabbed the idiot ball with both hands, it's less creepy and more prophetic.

I know it won't happen, but I really hope they invert the trope and have Ezra killed off to further motivate Kanan.

I know it won't happen, but I really hope they invert the trope and have Ezra killed off to further motivate Kanan.

As interesting as that would be, I don't think Disney is bold enough to try it. Ezra is the character that is most relatable to their target audience.

I know it won't happen, but I really hope they invert the trope and have Ezra killed off to further motivate Kanan.

As interesting as that would be, I don't think Disney is bold enough to try it. Ezra is the character that is most relatable to their target audience.

Of course, members of their target audience are now witness to deadly violence in their schools and the senseless loss of their peers, so one can hope for a bold move, but I agree that it won't happen.