Homecoming

"Homecoming" is the sixteenth episode of the second season of the animated television series Star Wars Rebels. It is the thirty-first episode of the series overall. It was directed by Bosco Ng and written by Steven Melching. Corey Burton, Robin Atkin Downes, Keone Young, and Catherine Taber guest star. The episode premiered on February 17, 2016 on Disney XD.
==Official description==
The Ghost crew joins forces with Cham Syndulla, father of Hera and Clone Wars legend. But will his thirst for revenge—and fractured relationship with his daughter—cost the rebels a victory?
==Plot summary==
===A tenuous reunion===
On one mission, Hera Syndulla and Garazeb Orrelios are transferring cargo from the Ghost into a Sphyrna-class Hammerhead corvette while being pursued by an Imperial-class Star Destroyer and its TIE fighter escorts. After Zeb loads the shipment, the other rebels are able to jump into hyperspace. However, the Phoenix Squadron pilot Phoenix Two's A-wing starfighter sustains damage to its hyperdrive. Phoenix Two attempts to dock with the Ghost but is hit by enemy fire. With little choice, Syndulla is forced to take the Ghost into hyperspace with the rest of the fleet.
Following the mission, Syndulla and Kanan Jarrus contact Commander Jun Sato via hologram and inform him that the rebels are losing more pilots and starfighters than they can replenish. Syndulla asserts that they need a safe place to land. Sato informs Syndulla and Jarrus that he has received intelligence that an Imperial Quasar Fire-class cruiser-carrier has been spotted above Ryloth. Sato suggests stealing the ship and tells them to make contact with the Ryloth rebels. Hera knows the leader of the Ryloth rebels, her father Cham Syndulla, with whom she has an estranged relationship. In private, Hera contacts Cham, who remarks that he was not expecting to see her.
Later, Cham and two other Twi'lek rebels, Numa and Gobi Glie, travel on a former Republic Nu-class attack/transport shuttle to meet the Ghost in space. Inside the Ghost, Jarrus is visibly nervous about meeting Hera's father due to his relationship with Hera and takes it out on his Jedi apprentice, Ezra Bridger. After Cham and his fellow Twi'lek rebels enter the ship, Jarrus introduces the crew, mixing up Bridger, Sabine Wren, and Garazeb Orrelios, and leaving out Chopper entirely, who grunts in annoyance. Cham is impressed by the rebels, whom he calls a "fine group of fighters." Wren greets Cham and tells him that she learned about his tactics during the Clone Wars at the Imperial Academy on Mandalore. Cham then introduces Numa and Glie to the Spectres.
Using a hologram projection pod, Hera briefs the crew and the Twi'leks about her plan to infiltrate the Imperial carrier above Ryloth with a stolen TIE/sa bomber. Disagreeing with his daughter's plans, Cham instead proposes destroying the carrier to show Ryloth the Resistance's strength. In response, Hera replies that Cham and his band would have destroyed the ship by now if they had the means to do it. Because they lacked the means, she suggests compromising and working with her rebel band, stressing that the rebellion needs the carrier. Jarrus backs her up by telling Cham that they should work together in order to achieve a win-win situation.
In private, Bridger asks Hera about her relationship with her father. While Hera is repairing Chopper, she reveals that she and Cham have not spoken in years due to their differences in opinion about her joining the Rebellion rather than fighting for Ryloth's freedom. She explains that Cham had spent his whole life fighting both the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the Galactic Empire. After her mother died, Cham devoted his whole life to freeing Ryloth from Imperial rule and neglected his own daughter. Their conversation is interrupted by Cham's arrival, who informs the rebels that they should be getting ready for their mission. Bridger exits the room, but not before muttering that family is always more important.
Entering the room, Cham quickly recognizes Chopper as the old astromech droid that Hera had found during the Clone Wars. Hera replies that the droid's name is Chopper, while Chopper beeps in affirmation. Cham remarks that if Hera had shown him half the devotion that she had shown Chopper (whom he terms a "second rate junkpile"), they would have won back Ryloth by now. Chopper grunts in protest as Cham proceeds to scold his daughter for devoting her life to the rebellion, which he believes to be a wrong cause. Slipping back into a Twi'lek accent, Hera defends her devotion to the rebel cause by arguing that the rebels are fighting to free everyone, including Ryloth. Cham responds that outsiders cannot be trusted and that he is only fighting for Ryloth. Unable to resolve their differences, Cham storms out of the room, leaving Hera alone with Chopper.
===Stealing the Imperial fighter carrier===
For their mission, the Lothal and Twi'lek rebels depart on Cham's Nu-class attack shuttle into hyperspace. During their journey, Jarrus talks about how the Jedi Master Mace Windu had spoken highly about Cham's tactics during the Battle of Lessu. Cham elaborates about his exploits during the battle, including seizing the plasma bridge and how the attack was remembered in history as "The Hammer of Ryloth." Cham's companions also befriend the rebels, and Jarrus seems to be taken in by Cham, attributing Hera's leadership qualities to him. However, Hera does not fully trust her father.
As they exit hyperspace, the rebel shuttle approaches the carrier and everyone boards the stolen TIE bomber. Cham instructs Glie to prepare for their landing. The rebels plan to seize the carrier while its TIE bombers are on a bombing run to Ryloth. Hera then signals for A-wing starfighters to pursue their stolen bomber. Heading to the carrier, they request permission to land and are directed to Bay Two. The two rebel A-wings then disappear into hyperspace. Upon landing, Hera crashes the TIE bomber into the hangar bay to make it look damaged.
Before they can proceed on their mission, Wren realizes that the Twi'lek rebels brought explosives aboard. Cham and his companions then stun the rebel crew and proceed on their original mission to blow up the fighter carrier. After exiting the ship, the three Twi'leks overpower an Imperial containment party. Back on the bomber, Hera awakes to find herself chained, and she kicks Chopper awake. Chopper frees her from her restraints while informing her that Cham has betrayed them. After Bridger and Wren inform Hera that the Twi'leks have bags of detonators, Hera realizes that Cham is heading to the ship's munition racks, and she resolves to stop the Twi'lek rebels in their tracks. Cham intends to make the explosion visible for all Ryloth to watch.
On the bridge of the Imperial carrier, the commander sends reinforcements to check the adjacent hangar bay after losing contact with the containment squad. Meanwhile, Wren and Orrelios attempt to sneak up on the Twi'lek rebels only to get involved in a blaster battle with both them and arriving stormtroopers. Meanwhile, Cham proceeds alone to sabotage the ship's hyperdrive. In the ship's corridors, Bridger and Jarrus fight stormtroopers while dodging blast doors, using their lightsabers to cut open the doors. The two Jedi are followed by Hera and Chopper. The four rebels eventually make their way onto the command bridge, where Bridger uses a Jedi mind trick to force the Imperial commander to order an evacuation of the ship. All the Imperials abandon ship and flee on escape pods.
Elsewhere, Wren and Orrelios use a rigged mouse droid to trip up the Twi'leks, knocking them out. Back on the bridge, Cham runs into the crew of the Ghost and reveals that he has disabled the ship's hyperdrive. He tries to contact Glie and Numa only to learn that they have been captured. With both sides deadlocked, Hera tries to reason with her father again. She tells him that if they destroy the carrier, the Empire will only send another one to Ryloth. However, if they steal the carrier, they can use it to fight the Empire. Cham responds that his daughter has not seen what the Empire has done to Ryloth, namely the plundering of the planet's resources and the enslavement of the Twi'leks. He wants to use the carrier's destruction to demonstrate what the Twi'lek rebels can accomplish.
Hera responds that she wants Ryloth to be free but reiterates that the battle cannot be won on Ryloth alone. As they argue, Imperial fighters and a shuttle approach the carrier to retake it. In the munitions racket, Wren plays the recording of Hera and Cham's conversation to Numa and Glie. Hera tells Cham how he inspired her and her motives for joining the rebellion. After Bridger adds that they have to buy Hera enough time to take the ship, Cham and the others agree to help. While Cham instructs Chopper how to repair the hyperdrive, the other rebels use the ship's cannons to fight off the Imperial reinforcements. The carrier's TIE bombers return and begin firing torpedoes at the carrier, damaging the ship's stabilizers. Hera manages to take evasive action and to stabilize the ship with her father's help.
Meanwhile, Wren, Orrelios, Glie, and Numa manage to shoot down the TIE bombers. After working together to regain control of the ship, Hera and Cham realize that they are stronger together. However, their problems appear to double as an Arquitens-class command cruiser arrives. After telling Chopper that he has shut down the hyperdrive's couplings on the third and fourth generators, Cham and Bridger meet up with Wren in the hangar bay. Using their stolen TIE bomber, Ezra casts the bomber adrift. Cham fires on the bomber, causing it to explode and engulf the Imperial light cruiser. With its magazine compartments aflame, the burning cruiser plummets down to Ryloth. After Chopper completes repairs to the fighter carrier's hyperdrive, the stolen ship jumps into hyperspace.
===Reconciliation===
Following the battle, Cham informs Hera that the theft of the Imperial carrier has rallied the Ryloth rebels like never before, encouraging more people to join its ranks. Cham also reconciles with his daughter, who he remarks shares her mother's idealism. Hera responds that she learned her leadership from Cham. The crew of the Ghost watch as Cham and his Twi'lek comrades depart on their shuttle into space.
==Behind the scenes==
This episode marks the first time that Hera speaks with a Twi'lek (French) accent, slipping back into one during the scene where she argues with her father. Actress Vanessa Marshall auditioned with her own accent before being asked if she could do it with a French accent. Marshall, who is fluent in French, responded that she would, but the issue did not come up again. Dave Filoni later emailed her, asking if she ever thought Hera would use a Twi'lek accent if she returned to her homeworld; Marshall replied "Only if she was angry." She later likened it to "someone from Tennessee or Texas, or something like that, when they get into an argument with their father, all of a sudden, they're a Southern belle. It demonstrates a kind of vulnerability that goes straight to the core of who she is. Even in that moment, she can't undo that accent. But I think that's how much she loves him and yearns to connect with him, that she even lets that guard down to speak in their shared accent."Star Wars Rebels 2×16: Vanessa Marshall previews Hera's "Homecoming" – plus exclusive clip! by Schick, Michal on Hypable (February 17, 2016) (archived from the original on May 28, 2017)
 
==Credits==
==Appearances==
==Sources==
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==Notes and references==
==External links==
*Homecoming on Disney XD's official schedule
*Star Wars Rebels 2×16: Vanessa Marshall previews Hera's "Homecoming" – plus exclusive clip! 
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