Star Wars: Here’s How & When Kanan Jarrus Went Blind

The storyline of ‘Star Wars Rebels’ would never be complete without drama and tragedy, which was why Kanan Jarrus, one of the main characters of the series, faced his fair share of drama and tragedy. One of the first things he had to endure was the loss of his sight, as he ended up spending the second half of the series blind and unable to see his loved ones. So, when and how did Kanan Jarrus go blind?

Kanan Jarrus lost his sight in episodes 21 and 22 of Season 2 or the Season 2 finale of ‘Star Wars: Rebels.’ He was blinded when Darth Maul betrayed Kanan and Ahsoka after thinking he had already succeeded in pulling Ezra to the dark side. Maul attacked Kanan’s eyes using his lightsaber, causing the Jedi to lose sight.

The fact that Kanan went blind was one of the biggest tragedies in the entire ‘Rebels’ storyline. But it also allowed Kanan to become a better Jedi because he learned to trust in the will of the Force more than ever after losing his sight. In that regard, let’s look at when and how Kanan Jarrus went blind.

Kanan lost his sight in the ‘Rebels’ Season 2 finale

Introduced during the early part of ‘Star Wars: Rebels,’ Kanan Jarrus quickly showcased his status as one of the leaders of the entire Spectres team. Of course, he was responsible for recruiting Ezra into the squad because he gave the young man a choice as to whether or not he wanted to be a Jedi Padawan. In that regard, Kanan went on to take on the role of a mentor even though he wasn’t even a true Jedi Knight at that time.

But as the storyline of Kanan progressed, he became stronger in the Force because he grew alongside Ezra. He eventually got knighted by the spirit of the Grand Inquisitor in a Force vision that he had. And Ezra’s own Force vision made him, Kanan, and Ahsoka go to the ancient Sith planet of Malachor V because Yoda told him to go there.

It was on Malachor that Ezra ended up getting separated from Kanan and Ahsoka, who were fighting three Inquisitors at the same time. Ezra met Darth Maul, who was on that planet, because he was looking to use an ancient Sith weapon as the instrument of his revenge against his old master, Emperor Palpatine.

Maul sweet-talked Ezra into using the dark side of the Force to help him acquire the Sith Holocron, which was important to operate the Sith superweapon in the Sith Temple on Malachor.

After that, Ezra and Maul met with Kanan and Ahsoka, who were both surprised by what they saw. Maul joined forces with the two Jedi to fight the three Inquisitors. Of course, they all ended up winning the fight, with Maul killing two of the Inquisitors. Ezra, meanwhile, headed up the temple to operate the superweapon there.

That was when Maul’s next actions ultimately caused Kanan Jarrus to go blind. This all happened in the finale episode of season 2 of ‘Rebels.’ Entitled ‘Twilight of the Apprentice,’ this two-part episode (episodes 21 and 22) concludes the entire season and changes Kanan Jarrus’ fate forever.

Maul betrayed and blinded Kanan

As mentioned, Darth Maul tricked Kanan and Ahsoka into trusting him when they had to work together to fight the Inquisitors on Malachor. Because Ezra had something more important to do, he headed up the Sith Temple to try to operate the Sith superweapon there.

The problem, however, was that Maul had already started Ezra down the path of the dark side when he encouraged him to give in to his negative side.

Maul was now treating Ezra as his next “project,” as he had already decided to try to pull him over to the dark side as his apprentice. So, after Ezra left the trio of Kanan, Ahsoka, and Maul, the former Sith Lord showed his true colors by telling Kanan that Ezra was now his apprentice. And he didn’t waste time trying to attack Kanan.

A surprised Kanan, still wondering why Maul called Ezra his apprentice, didn’t see the attack coming. Maul quickly swung his lightsaber at Kanan’s eyes, causing him to scream in pain as he could now not help himself while Ahsoka fought the former Sith Lord. Ahsoka, however, understood that Kanan had regained his composure after he found his lightsaber and started wearing the Jedi Temple Guard mask of the Grand Inquisitor.

Ahsoka left Maul to Kanan because she knew she could trust him even though he could no longer see. Kanan trusted in the Force in that fight and was now more reliant on his training than ever before. He defeated Maul by forcing him down the ledge of the Sith Temple. Nevertheless, while Kanan did indeed beat Maul, he was never the same again because he could no longer see.

Kanan’s time with Bendu on the planet Atollon allowed him to trust the Force even more. So, while Kanan couldn’t see in the conventional sense, he could still see and predict things using the power of the Force. As such, he was still a formidable fighter who could go up against any other character in ‘Rebels’ because he could predict their movements and strike accordingly. The only problem, however, was that he couldn’t see his loved ones.

Did Kanan Jarrus get his sight back?

In season 4, Kanan met the Loth-Wolf named Dume, who was said to be a manifestation of Kanan’s will through the Force. Dume allowed Kanan to accept his fate as he understood his time was coming. But before that, he had to rescue Hera from Governor Pryce on Lothal.

After rescuing his beloved Hera from the Imperials on Lothal, he and the rest of the Spectres used a transport on top of a fuel depot to escape. But before they could escape, Pryce ordered her men to blow the fuel depot up so that the explosion would kill the Spectres. Kanan sensed the danger that was about to come.

He used the Force to keep the explosion at bay. With his other hand, he Force-pushed his family away to safety so the explosion would not get to them. In his final moment, the Force gave Kanan his eyesight back to see his loved ones one last time before the explosion engulfed and killed him.

Kanan’s sacrifice was one of the most heroic moments in the history of Star Wars because he knew what his fate was, but he still accepted that he needed to die so that his loved ones would live. He understood what it meant to be a Jedi, which was why he was one of the greatest Jedi Knights ever despite not having his eyesight for half of the entire series.

Kanan’s final moment also proved that not all attachments were bad for the Jedi. Kanan was deeply attached to Hera and the other Spectres because he loved them like they were his true family. This love and attachment to his family allowed him to find the strength to prevent an explosion from engulfing them. And he also became even stronger in the Force in his final moment as the Force rewarded him with his eyesight one last time.

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