"Rise of the Old Masters" Episode Guide | Star Wars Rebels - S1 E5

Not much is known about the Empire’s Grand Inquisitor. The Pau’an is the leader of an elite cadre of Force-sensitive interrogators and hunters tasked with tracking down Jedi survivors who escaped Order 66. He reports directly to Darth Vader. Like his superior, the Inquisitor is an intimidating figure, dressed in black and wielding a red, double-bladed lightsaber.

Not every Jedi perished in Order 66. Once known by the name Caleb Dume, Kanan Jarrus survived the Emperor’s purge, going underground for years and hiding the truth about who he really was. To keep his past a secret, Kanan carried a blaster -- an uncommon practice for a Jedi -- and used a lightsaber that had to be assembled. In the years leading up to the galactic civil war, he was a leader among the Ghost crew, a small group of rebels looking to strike back against the Empire, and with the emergence of the Force-sensitive Ezra, once again embraced his identity as a Jedi Knight.

One of the few to be trained as a Jedi after the fall of the Republic, Ezra Bridger grew up an orphan on the streets of Lothal during the age of the Empire. Although he had learned to be wary of strangers, his introduction to the Ghost crew, a small band of rebels fighting back against the Imperial regime, changed his outlook and his future. Training in the ways of the Force under the mentorship of Kanan Jarrus, Ezra became a Jedi Padawan and a part of the emerging rebellion. He also grew close to Hera Syndulla, Zeb, Chopper, and Sabine Wren, who was like a sister in his new found family. After several years together, Bridger vanished during the Battle of Lothal, disappearing into parts unknown in a hyperspace jump that pulled Ezra and Grand Admiral Thrawn into deep space.

Near impenetrable, the Spire is one of the galaxy's most notorious prisons. Sith Lord Darth Sidious used the Spire to hold his former apprentice, Darth Maul, during the Clone Wars; later, the Spire became an Imperial jail, and was blast-proof, ray-shielded, and protected by anti-ship weapons, TIE fighters, and scanners.

A green-skinned Mirialan, Luminara Unduli served the Jedi Order during the final years of the Galactic Republic, and trained the capable Padawan Barriss Offee. A no-nonsense Jedi Master, Luminara fought in Clone Wars battles such as Geonosis and Kashyyyk, and was thought to have perished during Order 66. In reality, she’d been taken into Imperial custody and executed, with holographic transmissions of her captivity used as bait to capture fugitive Jedi.

HoloNet News was the official state-sanctioned news agency of the Empire, with anchor Alton Kastle delivering broadcasts on key issues and occurrences of the day. Briefs were sent via hyperspace transmission that allowed instantaneous connection throughout the galaxy. The HoloNet News was taken over by the Republic during the Clone Wars to ensure that information was not compromised by enemy forces, and became the mouthpiece of the Empire. The Ministry of Information's Pollux Hax oversaw the agency, ensuring that stories were consistent with government messaging.