Things are escalating quickly now as we close in on the end of the third season. Through Imperial Eyes was written by Nicole Dubuc and Henry Gilroy and had an original airdate of 25 February, 2017.

Ezra (Taylor Gray), posing as a bounty hunter from Lothal, allows himself to be captured as part of a plan to deliver ISB agent Kallus (David Oyelowo) aka rebel informant Fulcrum, to safety. It seems his past transmissions have been tracked by the Empire, and they are now aware that a spy is in their midst.

Ezra arrives with a plan to get him off the cruiser and away from the Empire, but the arrival of Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) throws a wrench in the plan as he begins the hunt not only for the spy, but the location of the rebel base.

He is assisted by Yularen (Tom Kane) last seen serving with the Republic in the Clone Wars. It’s a nice demonstration of how effective the blossoming Empire was at painting the Jedi with a villainous brush.

There’s also some nice nods to the no longer canon tale Heir to the Empire which introduced Thrawn to the post-Return of the Jedi timeline, including his passcode and a bas relief sculpture behind his desk.

Kallus implements a new plan on the wing, and he thinks he’s delivered an Imperial officer as the spy, but both Thrawn and Yularen realise it’s him, and is going to give him a little more rope to hang himself with.

Secret Cargo written by Matt Michnovetz, and originally airing on 4 March, 2017 upped the stakes again. The Ghost crew are involved in ferrying a senator who speaks out against the Emperor and the Empire, to a secret location, Dantooine, where they will call for the rebel cells across the galaxy to form one Alliance.

That senator, Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly), and her interactions with the Ghost crew earn their support, even as they square off against a newly deployed TIE Defender in a treacherous nebula.

There are some tightly crafted sequences, as well as a realisation for Ezra and the others, that their rebel cell isn’t the only one out there, and that Mothma can give them common purpose and action against the Empire.

You can tell the series is ramping up for a gangbuster of a season finale, and laying groundwork to finish the tie in between the series and the films of The Original Trilogy.

But what dangers and threats still lay ahead for the now united rebellion?

Double Agent Droid is the final entry for the week, and while a solid tale, coming on the heels of the two previous episodes makes this one feel a little weaker.

Written by Brent V. Friedman, this story first aired on 11 March, 2017. Things don’t go so well when the droids Chopper (Dave Filoni), AP-5 (Stephen Stanton) are joined by Wedge (Nathan Kress) on an infiltration mission on an Imperial ship.

During the course of events, Imperial techs are able to hack Chopper, and take over some of his command routines, which they plan to use to slip into the rebel database and learn the location of the rebel base.

Trapped on the Ghost, Chopper is determined to get the information while trapping, or getting rid of anyone who stands in his way. This angers Hera (Vanessa Marshall) to the extreme, Chopper is her droid after all.

Ezra and the rest have to find a way to stop the information from getting transmitted back to the Imps, and hopefully restore Chopper to his usual cranky self.

Of joyous note, this is the first time in any Star Wars series or film we see a refresher (aka a bathroom and toilet) and AP-5 is beginning to sound a lot like Marvin the Robot from The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Season three comes to its conclusion next week in that galaxy far, fary away. Until then, may the Force be with you…