Page 34 - Star Wars Insider (Special Edition 2019)

REBEL ROMANCE

01 When alone, there is a smile on Kanan’s face that shows he’s
Kanan and particularly happy to see Hera when the Spectres
Hera share
moments of come back to rescue him—especially during the
intimacy. hug they share. It’s a moment Kanera “shippers”
(Right)
(fan proponents of the relationship) point to as
02 Kanan and proof that there’s more going on here than just
Hera: ”Space a simple friendship.
Married”.
(Right) Moving into the second season of Rebels,
we watched as Kanan and Hera’s relationship
03 Kanan, became a foundation for deeper
blinded by
Darth Maul emotional moments. When Hera is
on Malachor, wounded while trying to orchestrate “Hera can
is comforted an alliance with Fenn Rau in “The
by Hera.
(Right) Protector of Concord Dawn,” Kanan’s empathize with
concern runs deeper than friendship.
We also see Kanan lose his proverbial Kanan while also
cool when meeting Hera’s father,
Cham Syndulla. Cham may be a hero
of the Rebellion, but Kanan’s nerves challenging him.”
aren’t those of a soldier meeting a
soldier, but of a boyfriend meeting his
beloved’s father for the first time. Tongue-tied “Trials of the Darksaber,” we can see that the pair

Kanan is a favorite among Kanera fans. are close. Hera can empathize with Kanan while
The two most notable moments in Season also challenging him. She can see his frustration
Two for the couple come in the two-part fi nale, as he tries to train Sabine, but also tells him to get
“Twilight of the Apprentice.” Sabine gently hits his head out of his afterburners and stop trying to
Kanan upside the head when he seems to be protect the young woman, reminding him of her
unaware of Hera’s apparent concern about his own battles with her father. It’s a rare individual
mission to Malachor. While neither voices their who can tell Kanan that, “This is not about you,”
feelings for one another, Kanan promises Hera and have him actually take it to heart.
they’ll see each other again and the two share Not every Kanera interaction in Season Three
a long, comforting hug. It’s a goodbye neither is so serious, either. Kanan’s crack that he “gets
wants to say, but they know it needs to happen. the feeling Thrawn’s really trying” to kill them
Kanan does, indeed, return from Malachor, ellicits a chuckled threat from Hera before she
but is blind when he does so. He can no longer urges him to, “Come home, love.” Both of
see Hera, but her love still shines in her face as them are all too aware of the stakes, yet they
she cradles his face in her hands. Whatever they always try to lighten the mood. On more than

fight, they fight it together. one occasion, it is clear that Hera’s amused rage
at Kanan’s often cavalier attitude is mutually
Back to Business reassuring. Kanan blows off steam in times of
After these emotional moments at the end of the crisis by making wisecracks and Hera understands
second season, many fans were keen for things this. It allows them to remain focused while
to heat up between Kanan and Hera in Season knowing they do have each other’s backs. In
Three. But the appearance of Grand Admiral other words, they just get each other, in a
Thrawn put any romance on the backburner. wonderful way.
After all, would you take time out for canoodling Yet while Season Three kept Kanan and Hera’s
if there was a military genius on your tail? feelings under wraps, Season Four has put it all
That said, the moments we do get in the third on the table. Less than halfway through the
season are treasures. As they talk about Sabine in opening episode, “Heroes of Mandalore, Part
1,” the pair have a conversation via hologram
which reveals that Kanan’s priorities are in a very
different place when it comes to his relationship
with Hera. She is still all business, focusing on
the needs of the Rebellion, but he tries to turn
the conversation around to how she feels about
them being apart. It’s very reminiscent of Han
and Leia’s “We need? What about you need?”
conversation in the Rebel base on Hoth in The
Empire Strikes Back.

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