Homecoming

"Homecoming" is the fourteenth episode of the second season of the animated television series Star Wars Rebels. 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.

In the episode, the rebellion enlists the help of General Cham Syndulla and his Twi'lek freedom fighters in order to steal an Imperial carrier ship over Ryloth. Syndulla, a hero of the Clone Wars and the father of Captain Hera Syndulla, claims to go along with the plan, but he has his own agenda: the destruction of the carrier ship, to inspire the people of Ryloth to fight back against the Empire.

Official description
''The Ghost crew joins forces with Cham Syndulla, father of Hera and Clone Wars legend. But will his thirst for revenge&mdash;and fractured relationship with his daughter&mdash;cost the rebels a victory?''

A Tenuous Reunion
During a routine mission, Hera Syndulla and the Lothal rebels were moving cargo from one ship onto the Ghost while being pursued by an Imperial Star Destroyer and several TIE fighters. While fleeing, the starfighter pilot Phoenix Two is killed when her A-wing starfighter is destroyed. Despite their losses, the crew of the Ghost and Phoenix Squadron managed to escape into hyperspace.

Following the mission, Hera 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. Hera asserts that they need a safe place to land. Sato informs Hera and Kanan 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 Twi'lek Resistance. Hera knows the leader of the Twi'lek Resistance cell, her father Cham Syndulla, with whom she has an estranged relationship with. In private, Hera contacted Cham, who remarked that he was not expecting to see her.

Later, Cham and two other Twi'lek rebels Numa and Gobi Glie travel on a Nu-class attack shuttle to meet the Ghost in space. Inside the Ghost, Kanan 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 entere the ship, Kanan introduces all of the crew except Chopper, who grunts in annoyance. Cham is impressed by the rebels, whom he calls a "fine group of fighters." Sabine 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 Gobi to the Lothal rebels.

Using a hologram projection pod, Hera briefed the crew of the Ghost and the Twi'leks about her plan to infiltrate the Imperial carrier above Ryloth with a stolen TIE bomber. Disagreeing with his daughter's plans, Cham instead proposes destroying the carrier to show Ryloth the Resistance's strength. In response, Hera replied that Cham and his band would have destroyed the ship by now if they had the means to do it. Since they lacked the means, she suggested compromising and working with her rebel band. She stressed that the rebellion needed the carrier. Kanan then backed her up by telling Cham and his band that they should work together in order to achieve a win-win situation.

In private, Ezra asked Hera about her relationship with her father. While Hera was repairing Chopper, Hera revealed that she and Cham had not spoken for years due to their differences about her joining the rebellion rather than fighting for Ryloth's freedom. She explained 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 was interrupted by the arrival of Cham, who informed the rebels that they should be getting ready for their mission. Ezra exits the room but not before muttering that family is always more important.

Entering the room, Cham quickly recognized Chopper as the old astromech droid that Hera had found during the Clone Wars. Hera replied that the droid's name was Chopper while Chopped beeped in affirmation. Cham then remarked that if Hera had showed him half the devotion that she had shown Chopper (whom he termed a "second rate junkpile"),they would have won back Ryloth by now. Chopper grunted in protest while Cham proceeded to scold his daughter for devoting her life to the rebellion, which he termed a wrong cause. Speaking in a Twi'lek accent, Hera defended her devotion to the rebel cause by arguing that the rebels were fighting to free everyone including Ryloth. Cham responded that outsiders could not be trusted and that he was only fighting for Ryloth. Unable to resolve their differences, Cham stormed out of the room; leaving Hera alone with Chopper.

Stealing the Imperial fighter carrier
For their mission, the Lothal and Twi'lek rebels departed on Cham's Nu-class attack shuttle into hyperspace. During their journey, Kanan talked about how the Jedi Master Mace Windu had spoken highly about Cham's tactics during the Battle of Lessu. Cham elaborated about his exploits during the battle including seizing the plasma bridge and how the attack went down in history as the Hammer of Lessu. Cham's companions Numa and Gobi also befriend the rebels and Kanan seems to be taken in by Cham and attributes 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 Gobi to prepare for their landing. The rebels plan to seize the carrier while its TIE bombers are on a bombing run on 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 to their mission, Sabine realizes that the Twi'lek rebels have 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 wakes up to find herself chained and kicks Chopper awake. Chopper frees his master from her restraints while informing her that Cham has betrayed them. After Ezra and Sabine inform Hera that the Twi'leks have bags of detonators, Hera realizes that Cham is heading to the ship's munition racks and resolve to stop the Twi'lek rebels in their tracks. Cham intends to make the explosion visible for all Ryloth to watch.