Hera Syndulla Was Never Kanan Jarrus’ Wife & Here’s Why

We know that Hera Syndulla and Kanan Jarrus were in love as their relationship bore fruit when Jacen Syndulla was born. In that regard, there was no doubt that Hera and Kanan were together during the events of ‘Star Wars: Rebels.’ But the important thing to note here is that there was hardly any time for them to try to grow their relationship and take it to the next level, as they were never married. So, why didn’t Kanan Jarrus marry Hera Syndulla?

Hera Syndulla and Kanan Jarrus were never married because there was hardly any opportunity for them to actually get married. Either they were always on the run or constantly going on missions that were made to weaken the Empire. And Kanan died before he could spend his entire life with Hera.

It was always known that the Jedi were forbidden from having personal relationships as this could steer them toward the path of the dark side. But while that may be true to some extent, it was a different case for Kanan because Hera and the Spectres made him much better. As such, while he never got to marry Hera, he left a lasting impression on her and the other Spectres. Now, let’s look at this topic in greater detail.

How long were Kanan and Hera together?

Kanan Jarrus was once a Jedi Padawan named Caleb Dume. He was a survivor of Order 66 after his master, Depa Billaba, sacrificed her life for the sake of his. Thanks to the Bad Batch’s efforts, Kanan escaped the other clones during the height of Order 66.

He spent his life hiding from the Empire, who were actively hunting Jedi through the Inquisitors. As a result, he had to keep his Force powers a secret from everyone as he needed to keep his profile in the lowest possible setting. And to ensure no one would ever recognize him, he changed his name from Caleb Dume to Kanan Jarrus.

Along the way, Kanan and Hera met one another. Hera was the daughter of Cham Syndulla, who was the greatest freedom fighter that the Twi’leks of Ryloth had. Cham was once allied with the Republic before he turned on the Empire when he saw that the people of Ryloth would never be free. However, after Cham lost his wife, he became obsessed with taking the Empire down as he had to sacrifice his personal relationship with Hera.

To that end, Hera ran away from home and went on to live her life away from her father for years. That was when she and Kanan crossed paths right around six years before the events of ‘Rebels.’ That would mean that Kanan and Hera met somewhere around 11 BBY because the events of ‘Rebels’ started on 5 BBY.

Shortly after Kanan and Hera met, they started a relationship. They also started a small group of rebels called the Spectres, and they steadily recruited members to the group, starting with Zeb Orrelios. Soon after, Sabine Wren and Ezra joined the small family. Shortly after their first meeting, Kanan and Hera started a romantic relationship.

Why Kana and Hera never married?

Of course, during the events of ‘Rebels,’ there were clear indications that Kanan and Hera were very much in love with one another. They were like the parents of the Spectres as they were the most mature in terms of their mindset and ages. In that regard, it was like they were taking care of a small family of misfits while going on missions that were meant to steadily weaken the Empire and help people all over the galaxy.

In that regard, much of their lives were spent going from one planet to another to gather small victories against the Empire. Of course, they also tried to rally more people to fight against the Empire as the ‘Spectres’ were important in sparking the early flames of the Rebellion. But at the same time, they also spent a lot of time running away from their enemies.

A good part of the lives of Kanan, Hera, and the other Spectres were also spent finding a way to escape the Inquisitors and the other Imperial forces that the Empire sent. Of course, Grand Admiral Thrawn also proved to be an enemy who was tough to elude due to his innate intelligence. As such, there weren’t a lot of instances wherein Kanan and Hera could talk about their relationship.

The difficult circumstances they were under throughout the events of ‘Rebels’ made it difficult for Kanan and Hera to take their relationship to the next level. Of course, after Kanan had an epiphany thanks to the Loth-Wolf named Dume, he wanted to find the right time to have a moment with Hera to tell her just how much he loved her. But Hera had been captured by Governor Pryce on Lothal.

Kanan, Sabine, and Ezra went on a mission to rescue Hera. While they were leaving the Imperial compound, Kanan could tell Hera just how much he loved her. Before escaping, they shared a passionate kiss.

But just after that, Pryce ordered one of her men to shoot down the fuel depot close to the ‘Spectres’ so that the explosion would take them down. Kanan used the Force to keep the explosion at bay. He also used his power to push Hera and the other Spectres away to safety as the explosion killed him.

As such, while it was clear that they were in love and in a relationship, Kanan and Hera were never married, as there was no time for them to get married. Of course, Kanan’s death prevented them from growing old together.

The Jedi were forbidden from having relationships because it was a pathway to the dark side, as the obsession of keeping a loved one from getting harmed would have easily pulled any Jedi down the path of darkness. That was the case for Anakin, whose love for Padmé turned him to the dark side.

But Kanan’s love for Hera and the Spectres showed the other side of what it means for a Jedi to understand what it truly means to love. This was the ideal selfless kind of love that the Jedi were supposed to have for other people, as this was the best kind of love for anyone to experience. And this kind of love strengthened the Jedi, as seen by how Kanan was at his strongest when he sacrificed his life to save his loved ones.

Did Kanan know Hera was pregnant?

Even though Kanan and Hera were never married, we discovered during the epilogue of ‘Rebels’ that Hera was already pregnant before Kanan’s death. That’s because the epilogue, which takes place years after the ending of ‘Rebels,’ allowed us to meet Jacen Syndulla, who is the hybrid son of Kanan and Hera.

Of course, there is a good chance that Kanan and Hera were often intimate with one another while they were traveling the galaxy together. But the thing is that we aren’t sure whether or not Kanan was aware that Hera was pregnant because there was never a hint that he knew that she was carrying his child.

The only thing that we know is that Jacen inherited Kanan’s sensitivity to the Force. In many ways, Jacen was also the final gift that Kanan left behind before his death. As such, the boy carried his legacy.

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