1 Jedi Parallels Luke Skywalker"s Journey More Than Any Other

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Star Wars Rebels’ Ezra Bridger and the legendary Luke Skywalker have a lot more in common than most might think. Luke’s journey from humble moisture farmer to becoming one of the most vital Jedi the galaxy has ever known serves as the foundation of the entire Star Wars franchise. The trials and tribulations he went through while fighting the lure of the dark side and finding the goodness in Darth Vader saved the galaxy, and proved beyond a doubt the Star Wars ethos of compassion and hope prevail against evil every time. While Luke Skywalker undoubtedly stands out amongst the Jedi, there is one other character who went on a very similar journey.
Ezra Bridger was in introduced in Rebels, a young orphan living on the planet Lothal. He was discovered by one of the few remaining survivors of Order 66, Kanan Jarrus, and the two embarked on a Master and Padawan journey together during one of the most dangerous and turbulent times in Star Wars history. Both Ezra and Luke have had many similar experiences on the path to becoming full-fledged Jedi; their respective choices, relationships, and struggles contributed massively to their character growth. Soon, Ezra Bridger will debut in live-action, and there is a distinct possibility that his path will cross with Luke’s, making a study of their character arcs all the more poignant.
Both Ezra & Luke Became Jedi Outside Of The Jedi Order

Before discovering their affinity for the Force, neither Luke nor Ezra had any true idea of what it was. They were born nearly on the same day – the Empire was all they had ever known. Stories of the Jedi Order had practically passed into legend by this time, along with its traditions, rules, and practices. It’s now widely understood that the Jedi’s hubris and inability to change led to their eventual downfall, making Luke and Ezra perfect to lead the next generation of guardians of peace and justice. Despite being trained by those familiar and even intrinsic to the Jedi Order, they grew up and became Jedi outside of it.
By the time they learned about the Force, Ezra and Luke had experienced love; they knew what it was like to have a family, to grieve, to dream, and to wish for something seemingly unobtainable. The Jedi considered these kinds of feelings and attachments temptations of the dark side, and they were right to a certain extent, as both Luke and Ezra did struggle with their emotions. But their experiences gave them insights as Jedi that those who grew up inside the Order never could have understood, allowing the to grow beyond their predecessors.
Where Luke and Ezra’s paths diverge on this matter is their respective destinies. Both grew up outside of the Jedi Order, but Luke had the weight of the entire galaxy resting on his shoulders. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda impressed upon him how important he was, that he was the last of the Jedi. As a result, Luke turned to the traditions of old, those which he hadn’t experienced himself but hoped would show him the way to be a Jedi and find the strength to face Palpatine and Vader. While at first he succeeded, Star Wars: The Last Jedi showed that this also ultimately led to failure.
Ezra, on the other hand, was taught the ways of the Force by Kanan Jarrus, only a Jedi Padawan himself when he went into hiding. Kanan had changed his name and lifestyle entirely after Order 66, coasting through existence until he met Hera Syndulla, fell in love, and decided to join a small group of Rebel operatives trying to make a difference in the galaxy. Under Kanan’s tutelage, Ezra had more freedom to make his own choices and to feel his own emotions without the knowledge that the entire galaxy was depending on him. This led to Ezra making decisions and sacrifices that would ultimately be vitally important to the Empire’s downfall, as well.
Ezra & Luke Both Went From Blue To Green Lightsabers

Luke set out on his Jedi journey armed with Anakin Skywalker’s old lightsaber, the blade of which was famously blue. This made his duel with Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back all the more symbolic, and marked the beginning of Anakin’s two sides warring with one another – the side that wanted to know and be with his son, and the other that was tied to Palpatine’s manipulation and darkness. However, as Luke lost that lightsaber during his confrontation with Vader, he came back in Return of the Jedi with one of his own, sporting a bright green blade, forging a path for himself as an individual Jedi, not as the son of Anakin Skywalker.
Similarly, Ezra also lost his first lightsaber during a battle with Vader in Star Wars Rebels season 2, episode 19 “Twilight of the Apprentice.” Ezra’s first lightsaber was quite a unique design, with a hilt that was also capable of shooting low-voltage blasts. His original lightsaber was blue, but his second one, with a much more traditional design, had a green blade. Ezra’s second lightsaber represented the journey he had taken, one where he’d accepted his new fate as a Jedi and that his parents were really gone, with the green color symbolizing his inherent goodwill and helpfulness.
Ezra & Luke Were Both Targeted By Palpatine

Luke, of course, was targeted by Palpatine for both being the son of Anakin Skywalker and representing the last hope of the Jedi. When Palpatine tried to get Luke to tap into his anger in Return of the Jedi, it is with the intention of turning him to the dark side and ending the threat of the Jedi once and for all. For Luke, there was no escaping this fate. Once his true heritage was discovered and he took the burden of the Jedi legacy upon himself, Palpatine was always bound to come after him.
Though Ezra doesn’t tie into the Skywalker saga in any prominent way, Kanan’s tutelage and his own moral compass did become a threat to the Empire, and even Palpatine himself. In Star Wars Rebels season 4, episode 13 “A World Between Worlds,” Ezra accesses a mystical plane within the Force that connects all of space and time. Not only does he manage to save Ahsoka Tano’s life, but he also prevents Palpatine from accessing the World Between Worlds. After exiting, Ezra made sure to destroy the entrance, despite it offering him the power to save his Master, because he knew what would happen if Palpatine laid claim to it. The Emperor would have been virtually unstoppable.
After this, Palpatine saw Ezra’s courage and selflessness as a direct threat to his power. So, he tried to offer Ezra the chance to be reunited with his parents again, who had been killed years prior in a prison riot after being taken captive by the Empire. Ezra was tempted, as anyone might have been, but again, his inherent goodness won out. He defied Palpatine, and these events led directly to one of the Empire’s most devastating defeats when Ezra and his friends liberated Lothal from its oppressive grasp.
Ezra & Luke Were Both Instrumental In The Empire's Downfall

Without Luke, the Empire never would have fallen, not truly. As long as Palpatine and Vader remained, their darkness would have continued to spread, and the Empire could have easily been reborn – as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker eventually proved. By redeeming Vader, who in turn seemingly killed Palpatine, the destruction of the second Death Star and liberation of the galaxy could be upheld. Without Luke, the galaxy would have never been freed, and the New Republic could not have been created. Whatever its faults, this did, for a few decades, bring peace and prosperity to the galaxy.
And yet, dismantling the Empire was a bigger job than just what happened at the Battle of Endor and Palpatine’s death. It was about showing ordinary people that there was a better way, that they didn’t have to live under fascistic Imperial rule. The liberation of Lothal proved this beyond a shadow of a doubt, and that victory could not have happened without Ezra Bridger. Once again, he sacrificed his future and life with his newfound family to free his homeworld and bring peace to his people. Defeating Grand Admiral Thrawn in the Rebels finale was an instrumental step in taking down the Empire, as was the destruction of their factories on Lothal.

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