Imperial Super Commandos

"Imperial Super Commandos" is the seventh episode of the animated television series Star Wars Rebels' third season. It is the forty-fourth episode of the series overall. It aired on November 5, 2016 on Disney XD.

Official description
''When the rebels lose contact with Concord Dawn, Sabine, Ezra, Chopper, and Mandalorian prisoner Fenn Rau investigate. They find an unexpected, deadly new threat waiting.''

Playing a game
The episode opens with a rebel CR90 corvette traveling above the planet Atollon. Sabine Wren is playing a game of Cubikahd with Fenn Rau, the leader of the Mandalorian Protectors; with the astromech droid Chopper projecting the game. Rau is a prisoner of the rebellion, and is held in a cell that is guarded by two rebel troopers. Rau thinks that Sabine is playing with too much bravado, but she retorts that maybe she is trying to lull him into a false sense of security. However, Rau discovers a weakness in Sabine's strategy and wins the game.

Sabine tells Chopper to reset the board, and then tries to persuade Rau and his Protectors to join the rebellion. However, Rau is reluctant and thinks that giving the rebels safe passage through the Concord Dawn system is more than enough. He argues that he only made deals with the Empire and the rebellion to survive, and stresses that his true loyalty is to Mandalore. Sabine vows to keep trying, and Rau expresses an admiration for his nominal opponent if not for her "traitorous" past. Rau, in return, tries to talk Sabine into joining forces with him to fight for Mandalore. At that point, Garazeb Orrelios interrupts the conversation to summon Rau and Sabine for a briefing in the war room with Hera Syndulla.

The war room briefing
In the war room, Hera informs the Spectres and Commander Jun Sato that they have lost contact with the Protectors' base on the third moon of Concord Dawn. Commander Sato thinks the Protectors are setting a trap. Rau replies that this is impossible, because his men are thoroughly loyal to him. He suspects that something bad has happened, and offers to travel to the Concord Dawn system to reason with his men. When Zeb asks whether Rau is their prisoner, Kanan clarifies that he is a "cranky guest".

Hera allows Fenn Rau to go with Sabine, but orders that he be kept in magnetic binders. She also sends Ezra Bridger and Chopper to accompany Sabine and Rau on a recon of the base. She tells them that their orders are not to land or engage with any hostiles. Finally, she warns them not to wreck the Phantom II.

Trouble on Concord Dawn
Sabine flies the Phantom II to the Concord Dawn system. Ezra watches Rau, but then walks over to the windscreen when he sees the shattered southern hemisphere of Concord Dawn. When Ezra asks what happened to the planet, Rau explains that the Mandalorians have endured war since before the formation of the Galactic Republic. Sabine remarks that it was too bad her people didn't learn how to resolve their differences. When Ezra tells Sabine he doesn't get the whole Mandalorian "thing", Sabine then warns Ezra to watch out for Rau. However, they are too late, and Rau stuns them both with a blaster.

Later, Chopper pinches Ezra's nose and slaps him awake while giggling at him. Ezra tells Chopper to knock it off, and soon finds that he is handcuffed to Sabine and their weapons are missing. Chopper uses his spark projectors to break their restraints. The rebels soon discover that they have landed on the third moon of Concord Dawn, and exit the Phantom II in search of Rau. They find him outside the ship on top of a precipice. Ezra uses the Force to snatch his blaster from Rau's hand, and orders him to turn around slowly. Sabine and Ezra approach Rau, and discover that the Protectors' camp has been attacked and its inhabitants killed. When Sabine suggests that the Empire did this, Rau replies that it was the work of other Mandalorians.

The four then explore the Protectors' camp. There, Rau discovers a bloodstained Mandalorian helmet, and deduces that another clan was responsible for the attack. When Ezra asks Sabine why other Mandalorians would fight each other, she simply says that it is complicated. Rau angrily chastises Sabine and the rebellion for keeping him prisoner, thus preventing him from protecting his fellow Protectors. Sabine replies that she is not the enemy and that this does not make sense. Chopper then alerts Ezra that he detects something.

Imperial entanglements
Ezra, Sabine and Rau are then attacked by an Imperial probe droid. Ezra struggles to hold it with the Force, and Sabine shoots it down with her blaster. Sabine warns them that Imperial reinforcements, are coming but Rau refuses to leave, proposing that he will hand over the location of the rebel base with the Empire to survive. Sabine refuses to let that happen, and tells Chopper to ready the Phantom II. Just then, Ezra witnesses a column of "flying stormtroopers" approaching them. Rau corrects Ezra by identifying the strangers as Mandalorians who serve the Empire. Sabine tells her friends to run.

The Imperial Mandalorians land and their leader, a red-armored warrior, orders his men to spread out. One Mandalorian soldier boards the Phantom II and takes Chopper into custody without trouble. Ezra exposes himself by trying to shoot the Mandalorian leader before he could spot Sabine and Rau. Sabine wants to help Ezra, but Rau tells her that Ezra's "sacrifice" will save them. Meanwhile, Ezra is cornered by the Mandalorian leader and two of his warriors and gives up.

Hiding at the corner of a building, Sabine wants to help Ezra, but Rau tells her that their only advantage is that the Imperial Mandalorians don't know where they are. When Sabine points out that Fenn has Ezra's lightsaber, he replies that not having it might actually save him. He then leads Sabine to a safe place outside the camp where they can watch the movements of the Imperial Mandalorians.

Captives of Gar Saxon
Meanwhile, the Imperial Mandalorian leader orders his men to search the area for the others. When Ezra asks who he is, the commander takes off his helmet and identifies himself as Gar Saxon, the Imperial Viceroy of Mandalore. One of Saxon's men lands the Phantom II in the center of the destroyed camp and escorts Chopper off the shuttle. Inside a hut, Saxon interrogates Ezra, demanding to know how many companions he has. Ezra claims that he is a scavenger, and alone, as Chopper is escorted inside. Ezra then claims that his droid doesn't really count, to Chopper's irritation.

Another Mandalorian warrior reports that there is no sign of other rebels at the base. Saxon believes that his rebel prisoner is lying. Ezra denies being a rebel, claiming that he is part of Hondo Ohnaka's crew. Saxon replies that the Empire is aware that the rebels are using Concord Dawn as a thorough-way to avoid Imperial sector patrols. When Ezra feigns ignorance of the rebellion, Saxon reminds the boy that he is dealing with a seasoned Mandalorian warrior, not a fresh-faced Imperial Academy recruit. Ezra claims that he didn't know that Mandalore was part of the Empire. Saxon orders his men to search the Phantom II, and threatens to use Chopper as target practice to force the boy's cooperation.

Forging a truce
Meanwhile, Sabine and Rau survey the building where Ezra is being held. Rau suggests sacrificing the "pawn", but Sabine retorts that Ezra is not a pawn and points out that he can take care of himself. She points out that they must not let the Empire get their hands on the Phantom II because it carries the coordinates to the rebel base on Atollon. Rau is reluctant to help the rebels, but recognizes Saxon as a member of the "traitorous" House Vizsla, the same house as Sabine. Rau regards Saxon as a traitor and collaborator with the Empire. Rau blames the rebels for his problems. Sabine convinces Rau to help her get back their ship and rescue the others. Rau only wants revenge against Saxon. Sabine stresses that she is not after revenge, but only wants to protect her friends.

Back at the hut, Saxon and his men fire blaster bolts around Chopper, startling the droid. To save Chopper, Ezra identifies himself as Lando Calrissian. Saxon senses the boy is lying, and tells him that every lie he tells conceals a shred of truth. Saxon adds that the rebel has given him what he wants to know. Sabine and Rau eavesdrop on the interrogation from outside. Fenn tells Sabine to set the frequency to 337. When Saxon orders his subordinate to blast the droid and dig out its memory circuits, Ezra tells Saxon that he was sent by the Protector, Fenn Rau.

Saxon asks Ezra where Rau is, but the boy says he doesn't know. Saxon admits that he attacked the Protectors' camp in order to kill Rau, and allowed the rebels to travel through the Concord Dawn system in order to lure Rau back. Saxon then grabs Ezra by the neck and lifts the boy up, demanding that Ezra take him to Rau. Sabine and Rau overhear everything and take off their helmets. Rau realizes that Saxon was going to kill him anyway, and that the rebels saved his life. He then proposes a truce with Sabine. He will secure the ship while Sabine frees Ezra and Chopper.

Confronting Gar Saxon
Putting their plan into action, Sabine and Rau ambush and knock out one of Saxon's Super Commandos. Sabine steals a jetpack from the unconscious guard, and Rau takes his blaster rifle. Rau then sneaks aboard the shuttle and engages in a fistfight with the guard, winning. Back in the hut, Saxon throws Ezra around, but he maintains that he doesn't know where Rau is. Frustrated, Saxon attempts to shoot Chopper with his blaster. However, Ezra uses the Force to deflect Saxon's blaster bolts twice. At that point, Saxon realizes that Ezra is a Jedi.

Sabine then tosses in a smoke grenade, and leads Ezra and Chopper out of the building. When Ezra asks what took her so long, she replies that she was using strategy. Saxon puts on his helmet while the Spectres rush back to the Phantom II, only to witness Rau stealing it. When Ezra sarcastically asks how her strategy is working out, Sabine admits that it is "not so great." The three rebels are then surrounded by Gar Saxon and his Imperial Mandalorians. Rau flies away with the Phantom II and heads into space.

Ezra ignites his lightsaber. Saxon recognizes Sabine, and tells her that he knows about how she joined Phoenix Squadron. Saxon's men aim their blasters at the three rebels. Saxon claims that Sabine's mother came round after her daughter ran away from the Imperial Academy on Mandalore and shamed her family name. He remarks that she could be wearing the same armor as his warriors had she stayed on the right track. Sabine responds that she likes her colorful armor better than the Imperial Mandalorians' stark white armor.

Saxon says that he will not kill her out of respect for her mother, and claims that the Empire will make Mandalore greater than ever before. Sabine retorts that Saxon is the only Mandalorian who's gotten stronger under the Empire. In return for sparing her life, Saxon demands that Sabine get him Fenn Rau and yield. Sabine pretends to yield, and takes off her helmet despite Ezra's protests. Sabine passes the helmet to Chopper and quietly tells him to send feedback to frequency 337 on her mark. Sabine kneels while Ezra deactivates his lightsaber. When Saxon approaches Sabine and demands her fealty, she tells him that he is a fool and tells Chopper to send feedback to the Mandalorians' helmets. This has the effect of disorientating the Mandalorians and leaving them writhing in pain. Sabine picks up her blasters and puts on her helmet, which Chopper tosses to her.

Jetpack pursuit
Sabine grabs Ezra and tells him to hold on as she flies away on her stolen jetpack. As the Imperial Mandalorians come to, Chopper ignites his rocket and follows. Saxon tells his men that he wants the rebels alive. Meanwhile, in space, Rau is about to jump to hyperspace in the Phantom II, but hesitates. Back on the third moon of Concord Dawn, Ezra asks Sabine about her plan while in mid-flight. Sabine says that the Imperial Mandalorians must have landed a starship nearby, and tells Chopper to locate it. Ezra tells Sabine to hurry up because her "evil cousins" are catching up with them.

The Imperial Mandalorians pursue the rebels with their jetpacks. The rebels flee into a canyon, with Ezra struggling to hold on to Sabine. At Sabine's request, Ezra uses his lightsaber to deflect the Mandalorians' blaster bolts. Ezra narrowly avoids hitting a rock after having his feet dragged through a pool of water, and tells Sabine she is flying too low. One of the Mandalorians closes in on Sabine and Ezra. Sabine drops Ezra on the top of a pinnacle and he jumps onto the pursuing Mandalorian. He uses his lightsaber to damage the Mandalorian's jetpack, causing the man to fall. Ezra and Sabine then leap from opposite ends of the canyon and grab each other.

Saxon orders one of his three remaining men to circle around and cut the rebels off. The rebels fly into a narrower part of the canyon, and Sabine throws a grenade at a nearby pinnacle, taking out one of their pursuers. Saxon and another Imperial Mandalorian zoom in on Sabine and Ezra. They open fire, causing Ezra to lose is grip. He lands on Chopper, who beeps in annoyance. Ezra quickly apologizes to Chopper. Sabine then shoots down another Mandalorian warrior with a blaster, causing his jetpack to explode.

Fenn Rau to the rescue
The rebels, with Ezra on top of Chopper, race Saxon to his ship. Chopper tells them the ship is up ahead on a plateau. Before they can steal the ship, the Mandalorian Saxon sent around to cut them off shows up and shoots at them, causing Sabine to drop her blaster knocking Ezra out of the way. The three rebels crash land on the plateau. Saxon and the remaining Mandalorian warrior then prepare to execute the rebels; with Saxon ordering the warrior to kill Ezra while he finishes off Sabine. Before they can kill the rebels, Rau arrives in the Phantom II, announcing to Saxon that the rebels are under his protection. When Saxon disagrees, Rau blasts him with the ship's frontal cannons.

The Spectres flee aboard the shuttle's rear ramp. Ezra manages to board the shuttle, while Chopper lands himself into the ship's astromech socket. However, Saxon grabs Sabine and the two struggle. Meanwhile, Rau shoots the remaining Mandalorian warrior and blows up Saxon's ship with the Phantom II laser cannons. Sabine manages to damage Saxon's jetpack and flies toward the Phantom II. Despite Saxon shooting her jetpack, Sabine barely manages to board the ship with Ezra's help.

Saxon can only stand and watch as his ship burns in the background. When Sabine confronts Rau about his change of heart, Rau tells her that he realized that she was willing to die for her friends even though they were not Mandalorians. He praises Sabine for not forgetting the "old ways", telling her that she has earned his respect. Ezra tells them not to take it the wrong way, but remarks that the Mandalorians are "crazy". Rau laughs, and responds that he is crazy enough to join the rebellion. Sabine welcomes him to the "family" as the Phantom II flies away from the Concord Dawn system.