Summary
- Kanan Jarrus regaining his eyesight in Star Wars Rebels signifies his personal growth and deeper connections with other characters.
- Kanan's sacrifice and reunion with Hera before his death highlight his journey and fulfillment of his promise to her.
- Kanan's ability to see again is a result of his surrender to the Force and his freedom from physical limitations.
Kanan Jarrus' eyesight returning in one of the biggest moments of Star Wars Rebels brings even deeper connections to the rest of the story and its characters. The former Ezra Bridger lost his sight in a duel with Darth Maul on Malachor, resulting in him having to deepen his bond with the Force to make sense of the galaxy around him once again. Kanan went through a tough trial, but ultimately strengthened himself through the experience as he ed on all that knowledge and wisdom to Ezra before tragedy struck.
The moment when Kanan sacrifices himself to save the rest of the Ghost crew from an explosion on Lothal is no doubt one of the series' biggest and most unexpected moments. Just minutes after his and Hera's tender reunion, the death of Kanan is a hard blow for the characters and viewers alike, though it also signifies how far Kanan has come along in his own personal journey. The restoration of his eyesight has always seemed to symbolize this arc of him seeing life through a new lens, but there are more reasons as to why Kanan was able to see once again as a part of his Star Wars Rebels ending.
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Kanan Surrendered Himself To The Force Just Before His Death
When the severity of the situation at hand became apparent, Kanan knew he had to become one with the Cosmic Force in order to wield the power required to keep the flames away from the Ghost crew. This kept Kanan from being limited by anything physical, as he could instead depend on the Force to make up for what he may have lacked. Kanan was then already resigned to his death well before it actually happened, just as Obi-Wan Kenobi was in his duel with Darth Vader. Dave Filoni spoke about this moment during an episode of Star Wars' Rebels Recon (via Nerdist) and even added more as to why Kanan was able to see once again.
In that moment he’s not bound as this material thing that the physicality of sight would be a limitation to him. He tells Hera at one point before they go to Malachor, ‘We’ll see each other again.’ I felt that this was a follow through. And it happened because when I was drawing the storyboards for that scene at my desk–a lot of those scenes I’ll sit there and personally pick all the shots and how I want it–I was drawing Kanan and I had drawn his eyes in. I was looking at it and thought, ‘Yeah, he should look at her.’ It happened that way. You have to seize the moment when you’re telling stories, and it was just a fluid thing.
Filoni Came Up With The Idea During Storyboards
Ultimately, the decision for Kanan's eyesight to return was fluid and natural for Filoni as he put the story together. It connects everything back to that moment between Kanan and Hera just before the former left for Malachor, and rounds out Kanan's arc of who he's become since those life-altering events. His promise to her is something he always took seriously, and while it's a beautiful sentiment of their love, it's also sad to think about how hard it must have been for Kanan to not have been able to fulfill that promise until that moment. It makes his ability to follow through in such a way even more powerful.
Kanan promised Hera before he left for Malachor that he would "see [her] again," hence why he does whatever he can to follow through on his promise just before his death.
Kanan's sacrifice in Rebels' biggest moment is tragic, but also completes the hard journey he had been taking ever since he first lost his sight. He truly became one with the Force to protect those he loves, and it caused him to be free of the physical limitations he once thought he would be held back by. Kanan succeeded in keeping the Star Wars Rebels crew safe, and while his loss was hard for all of them to process, it also inspired them to rely on the Force and those around them to advance what they knew as the greater good.
