Empire Day

"Empire Day" is the sixth episode of the Disney XD series Star Wars Rebels, which aired on November 17, 2014. This episode is the first installment of a two-part storyline, following "Gathering Forces".

Plot
While Jedi training with Kanan, Ezra is not feeling up to it, nor is he in a very good mood because it is Empire Day, celebrating the fifteenth anniversary of when the Galactic Empire came to power. Just then they spot three TIE Fighters flying over and land at a nearby spaceport. The Pilots enter a nearby bar and investigate the customers, especially those who are Rodians. The Rebels are present with the Pilots but they do not recognise them and leave. The Rebels learn from the bartender that the Empire has blockaded Lothal, sending TIE Pilots on search patrol, locking down all ports and putting Destroyers in orbited. They guess that the Empire is looking for a certain Rodian. However this gives them little concern as they have special plans for Empire day. Ezra however chooses to opt-out on this mission as he is still feeling depressed and wishes to be left alone.

He returns to his tower sad and with wonder. Earlier he spotted one of the TIE Pilots holding a photo of a Rodian and recognized him to be someone known as Tseebo. Through the force, he suddenly hears the voices of his parents and comes to know where Tseebo is.

In Capital City, the citizens and Imperials are celebrating Empire Day with Minister Tua, Commandant Aresk and Baron Rudor hosting the celebration. Meanwhile Agent Kallus is still on duty searching for Tseebo while the Rebels are preparing something special for Empire Day. During the celebration, Minister Tua presents to the citizens their new and latest imperial TIE fighter, the TIE Advanced v1. Sabine and Zeb distract the Imperials and citizens with a display of fireworks while Kanan plants some detonators on the new TIE Fighter. Kanan nearly gets caught by a Stormtrooper until Ezra shows up and drags him away pretending he is his father. The planted detonator goes off destroying the TIE Fighter. The Rebels make a quick getaway as Minister Tua furiously orders the Stormtroopers to hunt down the ones responsible for the destruction. They not only spot Agent Kallus on the seen but also The Inquisitor. The Rebels make their way to the rendezvous point but Hera informs them to abort because the streets are blocked. Ezra leads the group to a place where they can hide while Zeb finds his own way back to the Ghost.

Sabine and Kanan follow Ezra to an abandoned house which happens to be Ezra’s old home before living on the streets. While inside Ezra finds Tseebo in the basement, the Rodian the Imperials are looking for. He is known to be a worker for the Imperial Information Office and is implanted with cybernetic circuits. He begins to randomly speak out details on Imperial Intel, which explains why the Empire is looking for him. While Sabine tries to access Tseebo’s cybernetic circuits, Ezra goes down to the basement and while he is gone, Kanan and Sabine learn from Tseebo that Empire day is also Ezra’s birthday, which explains why he has been feeling depressed all day.

Down in the basement, Ezra finds lots of old stuff that his parents used to do underground broadcast, speaking out against the Empire. Sabine finally manages to access Tseebo’s circuitry which reveals five year plans and information that could threaten the Empire. After seeing all this Intel, the Rebels decide to smuggle Tseebo off Lothal but they know with the Empire having the planet on lock down, it will be tricky.

After taking out a couple of Troopers, they hijack an Imperial Troop Transport and make a run for it out of the city, with Agent Kallus in pursuit. Hera, Chopper and Zeb arrive with the Ghost and come in low to pick up, Ezra, Sabine, Kanan and Tseebo. Even though they escape Agent Kallus, Five TIE Fighters show up and attack with The Inquisitor leading the squadron. As everyone mans the weapons, Tseebo regains his senses and reveals knowledge of what happened to Ezra’s parents...

Cast

 * Taylor Gray as Ezra Bridger
 * Freddie Prinze, Jr. as Kanan Jarrus
 * Steven Blum as Garazeb Orrelios / Alton Kastle / Stormtrooper Commander
 * Tiya Sircar as Sabine Wren
 * Vanessa Marshall as Hera Syndulla
 * David Shaughnessy as Cumberlayne Aresko / Myles Grint / Stormtrooper
 * Kath Soucie as Maketh Tua / Mira Bridger
 * Jason Isaacs as The Inquisitor
 * David Oyelowo as Agent Kallus
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Ephraim Bridger / Jho
 * Brent Spiner as Gall Trayvis
 * Peter MacNicol as Tseebo
 * David Acord as Lead TIE Pilot / Pilot #2

Trivia

 * By the time of this episode, Ezra turns fifteen.
 * This episode reveals what happened to Ezra's parents.
 * In this episode it is revealed that Ezra had been living on the streets since he was seven years old.
 * Tseebo wears a Borg Construct Aj^6, a device that was worn by Lobot in The Empire Strikes Back.
 * Palpatine makes a brief appearance in this episode.
 * A Clone Trooper's helmet can be seen in the bar at the further opening of the episode as well as the front of a Republic Gunship.
 * Dee Bradley Baker who provided the voices of the Clone Troopers in Star Wars: The Clone Wars provides the voice of Ephraim Bridger and Jho.
 * When Sabine accesses the information implanted in Tseebo, schematics for the AT-AT Walker, TIE Bomber and Imperial Landing Craft from the original trilogy appear on display.
 * At the near end of the episode, Zeb quotes "They came from behind!" which is the same line quoted by a Y-Wing pilot in Star Wars IV: A New Hope.