On Empire Day, Ezra found himself unable to maintain a connection with the Force. When a frustrated Kanan noted his lack of focus, Ezra apologized and explained that the anniversary of the Empire’s establishment was an especially bitter day for him -- because it was also his birthday.

Guided by the Force, Ezra visited his abandoned family home in Capital City, where he found Tseebo -- a Rodian wanted by the Empire – in a hideaway used by his parents while opposing the Empire. The rebels discovered that Tseebo’s implant contained the Empire’s five-year plan for Lothal and other worlds. But Tseebo had something of more personal interest to tell Ezra: He knew what happened to his parents. That angered Ezra, who accused Tseebo of having sold his parents out.

After the Inquisitor attached a tracker to the Phantom, Ezra and Kanan took the little craft to Fort Anaxes to throw off the Imperial agent. While there, Ezra managed to make a Force connection with the asteroid’s fearsome fyrnocks – an impressive display of both Force ability and maturity.

But Ezra immediately faced a greater test. The Inquisitor followed them, defeating Kanan in a lightsaber duel and threatening Ezra – who drove the Imperial agent back by summoning a massive fyrnock.

That was another impressive display of Ezra’s gifts, but also a dangerous one. The stress of the powerful Force connection knocked Ezra unconscious, and when he woke up Kanan explained to him that if his will wasn’t strong enough when he opened himself to the Force, he could be left vulnerable to the dark side. Ezra still had a lot to learn.

Hoping to advance Ezra’s training, Kanan brought him to a Jedi temple hidden on Lothal, There, both master and Padawan would be tested by the Force. Ezra endured visions of the Inquisitor killing his friends, and then communed with a mysterious guide about why he wished to become a Jedi.

Fear and anger had been Ezra’s constant companions since the death of his parents, but in the temple he rejected those dangerous emotions, speaking instead of his friends’ selflessness and kindness. He was rewarded with a kyber crystal, which he used to construct a lightsaber.

By building his own lightsaber, Ezra had reached an important milestone on the path to Jedi Knighthood. But the Jedi weapon he’d built was as unconventional as its wielder: Ezra’s lightsaber doubled as a blaster.

The Ghost’s crew prepared for a secret meeting with exiled Senator Gall Trayvis at Lothal’s Old Senate Building, but Ezra was haunted by grim visions – and hints that Trayvis was connected with his parents. Ezra visited Zare Leonis, who said Kallus was gathering troops for a massive operation at the Senate building, Ezra knew he had to warn the others.

The rebels launched a rescue mission, confronting Kallus and spiriting Trayvis away through Lothal’s sewers. But the former senator was actually a double agent seeking to uncover and destroy dissidents. Trayvis had indeed known Ezra’s parents, and dismissed them as brave but misguided people who’d thrown away their lives. Ezra was disgusted by these revelations about a man he admired.

Trayvis resurfaced in an Imperial broadcast, spreading lies about the rebels and offering a reward for their capture. To counter this message, the rebels seized Lothal’s Imperial communications tower and broadcast a message of their own – a heartfelt plea from Ezra to his fellow Lothalites to resist the Empire.

The raid on the communications tower turned disastrous when the Empire captured Kanan. Hera told Ezra that they couldn’t risk their entire mission just to save Kanan, and asked him to honor his master’s sacrifice. But Ezra couldn’t accept that, and cooked up a plan of his own in defiance of Hera’s orders.

A desperate Ezra demonstrated his Force powers for the crime boss Cikatro Vizago, reluctantly agreeing to help Vizago in any way he wished in exchange for information about Kanan. Vizago gave the rebels the idea of having Chopper pose as an Imperial courier droid to gain access to the Empire’s databanks.

The rebels discovered Kanan was being held aboard Governor Tarkin’s Star Destroyer in the Mustafar system, and infiltrated the ship to rescue him. Ezra crawled through ventilation shafts and helped his weakened master escape an interrogation chamber. Kanan wasn’t pleased that his Padawan had ignored his wishes, but was awfully glad to see him anyway.

In a three-way duel with the Inquisitor, Ezra was wounded and fell from a platform, narrowly escaping death. The attack on his Padawan left Kanan thinking he had nothing left to fear, and he attacked the Inquisitor with newfound confidence in the Force. The Inquisitor fell to his death and Kanan and Ezra escaped, their bond as master and Padawan strengthened by the trials they’d endured.