Underrated Characters of Star Wars Rebels

Here at The Geeky Waffle, we’re big fans of Star Wars Rebels. In honor of Rebels Remembered Day, which falls on March 5th to celebrate the series finale, I wanted to look back on some of my favorite Rebels characters that I don’t think get enough love but are very important to the story.

Aresko and Grint

While they seem like lackeys on the surface, Aresko and Grint represent a very important part of the story in Star Wars Rebels. In the galaxy, Lothal is a planet that’s about as backwater as it can get. The Empire doesn’t want to waste a ton of resources in the middle of nowhere.

Enter Aresko and Grint who are essentially two bullies with a ton of power. They don’t have to be smart. They don’t even have to be good at their jobs. They simply have to be warm bodies that push people around. We especially see this in the episode “Breaking Ranks” where Aresko and Grint are teaching the next generation of Imperials how to be cruel and target the weak.

They’re also why Ghost crew are able to get some early victories on Lothal. Aresko and Grint are the first step in a line of villains. They are the lowest rung on the Imperial ladder, but a very important one. Their failures catch the eye of Agent Kallus, someone who is actually skilled at his job. From there, a series of events lead to the reveal of Kanan, the arrival of the Grand Inquisitor, and suddenly Lothal becomes a very important place to the Empire. Aresko and Grint, while not the best at their jobs, are the start of this process and they get the plot moving. They also represent exactly the kind of bullying mentality that the Empire wants to keep power over the oppressed.

Minister Tua

I should start off by saying I’m super biased because Tua is one of my favorite characters of Star Wars Rebels. Honestly, I could write this entire article about her and why we don’t talk about her enough. I love my baby girl, and boy did she deserve better treatment. But no, she’s in a Dave Filoni show, therefore she has to die in the name of man pain and plot.

Maketh Tua is a cautionary tale of what propaganda can do to a person. Raised under the Empire and finding success, she didn’t question what happened around her. She saw the Empire helping the people of her planet, as she was able to use Imperial funds to give affordable housing to the poor of Lothal. In Thrawn, Tua argues with Governor Pryce over jobs. She celebrates that young people are in school instead of working in the mines. Granted, it’s Imperial school so take it with a grain of salt. She loved her planet and truly believed she was helping her people through the Empire.

Yes, she did deal in some shady business too. She wouldn’t be an Imperial if she didn’t have some darker parts to her character.

But Tua also represents what happens when propaganda meets the truth. There is this middle management section of the Empire that’s a litmus test of how far a character is willing to go in the name of evil. She hits that wall very fast with the execution of Aresko and Grint. Kallus smiles while Tua looks on in horror. She even stands in the face of Darth Vader and objects to brutal tactics used against the people of Lothal to find the Ghost crew.

It's here that Tua sees the truth. This propaganda baby was lied to by her benevolent Empire. This is when she decided to defect. Sure, she feared for her own life, but she could have been a massive game-changer early in the series. This woman knew the importance of the Lothal Temple and possibly knew about the World Between Worlds. Instead, she was killed off before she got the chance to be someone like Kallus who got to go on a redemption arc.

Tua truly showcases the dangers of propaganda and following it blindly.  

I also want to shout out an honorable mention to Alton Kastle. This broadcast journalist can be heard a lot through the first season essentially weaving fake propaganda into Lothal’s daily lives. His HoloNet News tie-ins to Rebels are a fun fast listen, though they’re hard to find now since they’re only available in archived links online.

Klik-Klak

Klik-Klak is an interesting character allowing viewers to see an entire species from a different point of view. The Geonosians have always been portrayed as villains. They’re grotesque and helped create the battle droids who killed millions in the Clone Wars. Historically in canon, the heroes face off against the Geonosians as enemies.

Klik-Klak is different though. After surviving the genocide against his people, he is reticent of outsiders and defends himself against Saw Gerrera’s men thinking of them as intruders. That’s because he has the last egg his people who can become a queen and save his entire species. He bonds with Ezra, who is trying to protect him from Saw. Klik-Klak is clearly smart, knowing how to make traps and weapons despite not being the most battle savvy himself.

Through Klik-Klak, we see more of the grey areas of the Rebellion. Saw is supposed to be a hero, an ally of the Ghost crew, and friends with Rex. The worst in Saw comes out as he demonizes poor Kilk-Klak based on the atrocities of his people. Saw even threatens to kill Klik-Klak, thus finishing the genocide that the Empire started. Thankfully, Ezra, Kanan, and Rex don’t let that happen, but it makes for a very tense episode.

Klik-Klak shows the importance of viewing people as individuals and not as their group.

Cikatro Vizago

First of all, we do NOT talk enough about Vizago’s arms. He has some of the best arms in the entire franchise. They’re glorious and beefy and amazing and we need to have so many more conversations about those biceps. Because my goodness, that’s the stuff.

Vizago is the very definition of a grey character. I think he gets really overshadowed by Hondo in the story because they’re similar character types. Don’t get me wrong either: I love Hondo. But as a new character, Vizago is the original scum and villainy guy of the show. He leaves the Ghost Crew to die in the second episode with no cares in the world. Every time he shows up, you don’t know if he’s there to help or screw over the team.

What I like most about Vizago is he isn’t really redeemed. He chooses to fight with the Rebels because it’s what’s best for business. He doesn’t care about some grand cause about stopping the Empire. Vizago wants to make money and move on with his life. While he does owe the Ghost crew for busting him out of jail, he knows he can leave at any time. They’re the good guys. They’re not going to hold him to some life debt. He fights the Empire because it is what is best for him.

Vizago is such a fun character. He can be as dangerous as he is charming. You never know which Vizago you’re going to get.

And his arms, you guys. HIS ARMS.

Minister Veris Hydan

The reason I wanted to mention Minister Hydan is mostly that he’s a very mysterious character with a ton of potential. He’s only in the two World Between World episodes of Star Wars Rebels, but when you poke around on him, there is so much possible story.

He’s from the planet Ossus, which is full of deep Jedi history, temples, archives, and more. It housed one of the largest repositories of Jedi knowledge. At first, it seems strange that a character that serves Darth Sidious would be from a big Jedi place. That is until I read the planet is home to the Ysanna people, who are very high in Force sensitivity. They make up the majority of the population. Hydan is part of the non-Force sensitive humans that make up the minority. Was he persecuted in this minority? Did this give him a hatred of the Jedi? Is that why he serves the Dark Side? There is a ton of possibility to explore.

What we do have in Rebels is quite interesting. Hyden clearly knows his Force history and art, matching wits with Sabine Wren. I also have to wonder if Hydan was a Sith Acolyte. Henry Gilroy intended for him to have a bigger presence with an archaeological background, finding Jedi Temples to extract their secrets before completely erasing them from existence.

There were scrapped plans for Hydan as revealed at Dragon Con 2018. He was supposed to be the big mystical bad guy as early as season three. Also, in early versions of the script, Hyden was intended to be Vaneé, Darth Vader’s attendant from Rogue One and the Tales from Vader’s Castle comic series. This gives us some ideas of possible stories he could have had.

I want to know more about Veris Hydan in general. With only two episodes in canon, I feel like there is so much more to learn about this man.

Who are some of your favorite Star Wars Rebels characters that don’t get enough love? Let us know in the comments!