Ezra Bridger Used the Dark Side & Here Is Who Taught Him How to Use It

One of the things that we know about the Jedi is that they are almost always in conflict between the light and the dark sides of the Force because they also have natural urges that they need to keep in check. That was one of the things that Ezra Bridger went through during his younger years in ‘Star Wars Rebels’ as he had to encounter a brief brush with the dark side. So, does Ezra use the dark side of the Force?

Ezra Bridger used the dark side of the Force a while before learning about its dangers and its effects. After that, Ezra rejected the dark side and repaired his relationship with Kanan Jarrus. Ezra no longer used the dark side of the Force during the latter portions of ‘Star Wars: Rebels.’

The important thing to note here is that Ezra’s brush with the dark side of the Force was important for his growth because one needs to see the effects of the dark side before understanding how dangerous it is. In Ezra’s case, he was in the middle of a massive character growth when he almost went to the dark side. So, with that said, let’s look at Ezra Bridger’s brief brush with the dark side.

Darth Maul introduced the dark side to Ezra

We all know that the characters of ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ had a lot of different adventures throughout the galaxy. Of course, throughout their adventures, the Spectres had several encounters with the troublesome Inquisitors, who were working under Darth Vader as they were looking to kill the Jedi duo of Kanan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger. And that was when the Jedi duo needed to find a way to try to defeat the Inquisitors.

After seeing a vision inside the Jedi Temple on Lothal, Ezra learned from Master Yoda that they needed to go to Malachor V as he thought that the old Jedi Master was telling them that going to this planet could help them find a way to defeat the Sith and the Inquisitors. That was why the Ezra, Kanan, and Ahsoka trio went to Malachor V, where they encountered problems with the Inquisitors.

While Kanan and Ahsoka were dealing with three Inquisitors, Ezra got separated from them and managed to meet a mysterious hooded figure who had been on that planet for a while already. This hooded figure befriended Ezra in the hopes that the young boy would help him in his quest to find out more about the hidden secrets of the Sith Temple on Malachor.

This hooded figure turned out to be Darth Maul, who was asking Ezra for help because the different contraptions in that temple needed two Force wielders who could use the dark side of the Force. That was when they obtained an ancient Sith Holocron, which contained the voice of a mysterious Sith called the Presence.

The Sith Holocron was important to activate the powerful weapon on Malachor V. Maul tried to convince Ezra that the only way for him to defeat the Sith was to listen to the Sith Holocron and use its power against Darth Vader and the Inquisitors. In that regard, Maul was responsible for tempting Ezra over to the dark side.

Ezra struggled with his dark side

While Maul was the one who led Ezra to the dark side during the events of ‘Rebels,’ the young teenager was already in the middle of one of the toughest moments of his life. Ezra had just learned that his parents were killed by the Empire. Moreover, he was looking to find a way to defeat the Sith because he was already tired of running away from them whenever he and the other Spectres were on missions. As such, Ezra was an easy target for Maul to try to pull over the dark side, as he had already called him his “apprentice.”

Maul allowed Kanan and Ahsoka to believe he was on their side in their battle with the Inquisitors. The former Sith Lord even tried to convince Ezra to execute the Seventh Sister in cold blood, only for the young boy to hesitate. This hesitation forced Maul to kill the Seventh Sister before the young Jedi as he told Ezra he needed to be more ruthless.

After that, Maul convinced Ezra to go to the Sith Temple while he and the others were fighting the remaining Inquisitors. After Ezra had left the premises, Maul betrayed Kanan by attacking and blinding him.

The Sith Holocron spoke to Ezra and tried to convince him that he needed to operate the Sith superweapon on top of the Sith Temple. He realized how dangerous this weapon was as he and Kanan successfully pulled the Sith Holocron away to prevent the superweapon from activating. Ezra and Kanan successfully escaped Malachor V, as Ahsoka had to stay behind to keep Darth Vader at bay.

Those incidents on Malachor V pulled Ezra toward the dark side of the Force. His relationship with Kanan was strained because it was the fact that he trusted Maul that got his master blinded by the former Sith Lord. Moreover, Ezra lost a friend and mentor in Ahsoka Tano, who he believed was killed by Vader on Malachor.

As such, after the incidents on Malachor, Ezra drowned his sorrows on the Sith Holocron that he could salvage from their encounter with Maul. The fact that Ezra was able to open the Sith Holocron was proof of the fact that he was using the dark side of the Force and that he had fallen into despair due to the different tragedies that he experienced in his life.

There were moments when Ezra was willing to dive deeper into the dark side. In a mission involving Hondo Ohnaka, he was more willing to trust the pirate instead of the Spectres. There was even a moment wherein he used the Force to mind control the driver of an AT-DP to attack his fellow Stormtroopers. Ezra’s actions alarmed Kanan and Sabine, who believed he wasn’t acting like himself.

Kanan discovered that Ezra had been using the Sith Holocron and was actually listening to the voice talking to him. He scolded the young Jedi, only for Ezra to answer back. Kanan brought the Holocron with him while he meditated, and that was when he met the powerful Force being called Bendu, who was residing on the planet of Atollon. Bendu examined the Holocron and told Kanan that an object, no matter how evil, can be used for good or evil by the persons themselves.

After that, Kanan and Ezra went on a journey together as they could fix their relationship, regardless of whether or not Ezra was relying on the Sith Holocron for guidance. But Maul appeared and held the crew of the Ghost hostage because he needed Ezra to merge the powers of the Sith Holocron and the Jedi Holocron that Kanan owned because he believed that doing so would allow him to see that there was hope for him.

Ezra and Maul used both Holocrons to perform a ritual that ultimately allowed the former Sith Lord to see that Obi-Wan Kenobi was still alive.

The ritual destroyed both Holocrons. Ezra’s brief brush with the dark side was over after he had repaired his relationship with Kanan. Moreover, the Sith Holocron that tempted him to the dark side was no more as well. And while Maul was still out there, he was eventually killed by Obi-Wan on Tatooine.

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