Vision of Hope

"Your parents were very brave... and very foolish."

- Senator Gall Trayvis, to Ezra Bridger

"Vision of Hope" is the twelfth episode of the first season of the animated television series Star Wars Rebels. It is the twelfth episode of the series overall.

The episode, written by Henry Gilroy and directed by Steven G. Lee, was released on WatchDisneyXD.com and the WatchDisneyXD app on January 26, 2015, and premiered on Disney XD on February 2, 2015.

The episode revolves around the rebels attempting to rescue exiled Senator Gall Trayvis, a rebel sympathizer, from the Galactic Empire after Ezra Bridger has a vision showing that the senator is in danger. In reality, Trayvis is an agent of the Empire&mdash;and he is leading the rebels into a trap.

Official description
After experiencing a vision of the future, Ezra leads the Ghost crew into a meeting with a potential ally.

Ezra's vision
Ezra Bridger is being trained by Kanan Jarrus in Form V, deflecting blaster stun shots from Sabine Wren, Garazeb Orrelios, and Chopper. Jarrus states that he mostly has the blocking down, but still needs to purposely defect them and has yet to hit his assigned target: a stormtrooper helmet set on a rock. Bridger feels that he will hit it eventually, but Jarrus notices that he cannot focus and pauses the training to ask what's wrong. Bridger explains that he is worried about missing the latest transmission from dissident Senator Gall Trayvis. Jarrus reprimands Bridger for his distraction and impatience, and tells his Padawan to keep his concentration in the present. As Bridger continues to train, he hears voices in his head of the Senator-in-exile and others, and he sees a vision of the rebels being chased by stormtroopers, the rebels saving Senator Trayvis from the Imperials, and the Senator telling Bridger that his parents&mdash;Ephraim and Mira Bridger&mdash;were very brave. When he awakens lying on the ground, he assumes he was stunned, but Jarrus points out that he unknowingly defected all the shots at the helmet. Bridger tells the others about what he saw, and assumes that the Senator must have known his parents to say such a thing. The rest of the crew disregards the vision.

Hera Syndulla calls everyone back to the Ghost for the Senator's transmission over HoloNet News; though they missed it, Syndulla recorded the message and replays it. Syndulla points out that Trayvis hid a message in the transmission and that he will meet "local rebels" on Lothal. The messages Trayvis hides are obvious to the locals, but the Empire does not understand them. The rebels figure out that the meeting will take place in the Old Republic Senate Building on Lothal, an abandoned site. However, Jarrus suspects that the Empire may be more clever than they give them credit for. Bridger then finds out from a friend, Zare Leonis at the Imperial Academy, that there is an operation to capture the Senator. Leonis also promises to provide more intel, but Leonis will be going to Officer Academy off-world. Bridger than tries to tell Leonis his real name, only to be interrupted by a squad of stormtroopers, forcing him to run.

After learning of the plot, the rebels stake out the Senate Building, where a dignitary shuttle has docked. The crew discovers that the building is surrounded by Imperial troops and, as a result, they sense that they are walking into a trap. Bridger, however, is optimistic and suggests sneaking into the building through the sewers. Chopper guards the sewer entrance the rebels used. The rebels split up, with Orrelios and Wren going one way and Bridger, Syndulla, and Jarrus going another.

Kallus' trap
The latter group meets the Senator, and the rebels are ambushed by Imperials. The rebels escape with Trayvis into the sewers, and a chase ensues as the Imperial forces pursue them. Imperial forces scurry to secure sewer entrances and a stormtrooper patrol mistakes Chopper for an older model Imperial droid. The stormtrooper patrol leaves Chopper to guard the entrance and instructs him to notify them if he sees the rebels. The rebels splits up in the sewers to confuse the pursuing forces, with Syndulla and Bridger taking the Senator. While in the sewers, they come to a slight drop and they all jump down to the floor, where the Senator falls down. Bridger and Syndulla help Trayvis to his feet, and a look of disgust passes over his face after being touched by the rebels. He brushes off his clothes, the areas where the rebels touched him, when Bridger and Syndulla are not looking.

The rebels face another obstacle as they encounter a fan in the sewers. Syndulla gives Trayvis a blaster pistol to watch their backs as the two rebels work to disable the fan. However, the Senator turns the blaster on the two rebels and reveals himself as an Imperial agent, one who tricks Rebels into coming out of hiding so they can be identified by the Imperialists. These unfortunate Rebels are then watched or killed by the Imperial Government after meeting with Trayvis. Bridger tries to deny it, claiming that Trayvis is a voice of freedom just like his parents. Trayvis remarks that no one spoke out against the Empire ever since the Bridger transmissions. Senator Trayvis realizes that Ezra is the Bridgers' son. He tells the young Bridger that his parents were fools for opposing. Trayvis explains he joined the Empire to survive and that Ezra's parents should have too if they valued their lives. Trayvis then says that their rebellious nature has them dead and gone. Though his words hurt Ezra, Syndulla defiantly states that as long as they carry on the fight, the Bridgers are not truly gone. Trayvis tries to shoot Syndulla as she approaches him, but the blaster was not charged and Syndulla knocks him unconscious. Syndulla reveals to Bridger that she had her suspicions about Trayvis when he tried encouraging them to surrender to Kallus and when he feigned exhaustion in the tunnel.

The remaining rebels arrive, followed by the Imperial forces. Jarrus uses the Force to stop the fan, and the rebels escape from the Imperials as Trayvis regains consciousness. Ezra gives Trayvis a face of disgust and anger. The rebels return to the Ghost, where Bridger laments at how wrong he was. He notes to Jarrus that he always tells the padawan to trust the Force, and Bridger believed that's what he was doing. Jarrus explains that Bridger misinterpreted his vision by allowing his emotions to cloud it and that the vision was actually a warning about Trayvis's trap. Even so, Force visions are difficult and nearly impossible to interpret, and it takes training and discipline to see things clearly. Syndulla, likewise, says that she also wanted to believe in Trayvis, but&mdash;despite his true allegiance&mdash;there is still hope in the galaxy.

Development
The episode was originally to be named "Lure". The mural seen in the Senate Building was based off WPA art seen in America in the early 20th century.

Continuity
Ezra Bridger's meeting with Zare Leonis is also featured in Jason Fry's novel Servants of the Empire: Imperial Justice.