Star Wars: Who Are Ezra Bridger’s Parents & What Happened to Them?

The storyline of ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ focuses a lot on Ezra Bridger’s life and the things that led him to hate the Empire. In that regard, everything stems from growing up an orphan throughout most of his formative years while on Lothal. The Empire was the reason why he did not have his parents while he was growing up. So, who are Ezra Bridger’s parents, and what happened to them?

Ezra’s parents are Ephraim and Mira Bridger, who were vocal about their hatred for the Empire after the Imperials started occupying Lothal. Because of their activities against the Empire, the Bridgers were captured and imprisoned by the Empire. They were eventually killed in an attempt to escape prison.

Throughout most of his life, Ezra was motivated by the possibility that his parents could still be alive and would eventually return to Lothal. But he had to embrace the fact that his parents were dead. Still, the important part was that he inherited his parents’ strength and will to fight the tyranny of the Empire. And that’s why his parents were an important part of his growth as a character.

Meet Ezra’s parents, Ephraim and Mira Bridger

Ezra Bridger’s journey and development as a character was one of the most interesting parts of ‘Star Wars: Rebels.’ He started out as a street rat and an orphan who made trouble for the people of Lothal and the Imperials occupying that planet. But after he got entangled with the Spectres and was revealed to be sensitive to the Force, he started training as a Jedi.

Nevertheless, throughout the early part of his journey as a Jedi Padawan, Ezra was still quite concerned about his parents because every little detail that he discovered about his missing father and mother was news to him. And his hatred for the Empire goes back to his parents.

Ezra Bridger was born to Ephraim and Mira Bridger on Empire Day on 19 BBY. That means he was born on the same day the Galactic Republic turned into the Galactic Empire. Eventually, the Empire took control of the planet of Lothal, and that was when things turned sour for the people of that planet.

Realizing that the Empire was oppressive, Ephraim and Mira started a small revolution. They sent out underground broadcasts that spoke against the tyranny of the Empire. They were supported by Ryder Azadi, who was still the governor of Lothal at that time.

In fact, Ephraim and Mira helped people out whenever they were in trouble due to their activities against the Empire. They were not only outspoken revolutionaries but were also willing to help other people whom the Empire oppressed. Because of that, they got on the bad end of the Empire’s radar as Imperial officers started to crack down on people who were speaking badly against them.

As such, the Empire eventually sent out Stormtroopers to arrest Ephraim and Mira on the charge of treason. They were imprisoned together with Ryder Azadi, who was discovered to be a supporter of the Bridgers. Ephraim and Mira left the responsibility of taking care of Ezra to Tseebo, a good friend of the Bridger family. 

However, because Tseebo was too afraid of the Empire, he couldn’t care for Ezra. As a result, the young Ezra Bridger was left to live alone for several years. And it was the fact that the Empire took his parents away from him led him to develop a deep hatred for the Imperials on Lothal.

What happened to Ezra’s parents?

During the time that he was on Lothal and even while he was working with the Spectres, Ezra tried his best to learn more about the whereabouts of his parents. But it came to a point wherein he no longer wanted to learn more about them because he thought that not knowing what happened to his parents could increase the chances of them returning.

Of course, Ezra became an outspoken rebel as he sent out a broadcast against the Empire. This broadcast made its way to the other Outer Rim territories and was even able to reach Ephraim and Mira, who were still in prison at that time. That was when Ezra’s parents learned that he had become a rebel and was fighting hard against the tyranny of the Empire. They were proud that their son was now fighting for a cause greater than himself.

As such, the inspired prisoners decided to organize a prison break. They could all escape the prison, as Ryder Azadi himself was one of the prisoners who escaped the Imperial prison. However, the Bridgers prioritized others over themselves, so they didn’t try to escape until everyone else left. It was already too late for them because the Empire got to them and killed them before they could escape prison.

On Lothal, Ryder Azadi met Ezra Bridger, whom he was thankful for. That’s because Ezra was why the prisoners decided to try their luck at escaping. But he was even more grateful for Ezra’s parents, who were heroes because of what they did when they were in prison. That was when Ryder told Ezra the truth about what happened to his parents, as he was there when the Bridgers died.

Of course, Ezra was saddened after learning about what happened to his parents. But learning the truth also allowed Ezra to finally rest because he now understood what happened to his parents after all the years he waited for them to come home.

Ezra eventually saw his parents in a Force vision, wherein both Ephraim and Mira told him they were proud of the person he had become. They also urged him to continue to remain strong even without them. And that was why Ezra became even more motivated to continue to fight the Empire.

After that, Ezra asked Jarrus how he could see his parents even after their death. That was when Kanan told him that the Jedi believed that life doesn’t end at death because people merely become a part of the Force after dying. In that regard, Ezra could see his parents after they died because they became a part of the Force. And because Ezra was strong in the Force, he understood that his parents would always be with him through the Force.

During the events of the Liberation of Lothal, Grand Admiral Thrawn allowed Ezra to board his ship, the Chimaera. He also allowed Ezra to have a moment with the transmission of Emperor Palpatine, who tried to convince Ezra to join him over at the dark side because he could allow Ezra to see his parents again. 

However, Ezra didn’t give in to the dark side of the Force after realizing that the emperor was lying. He knew that his parents were already dead because he sensed their death. As such, he turned down Palpatine’s offer and decided to continue his efforts to get rid of the Imperials on Lothal. Ezra succeeded in doing so after sacrificing himself as his parents did, proving that he was the son of Ephraim and Mira Bridger.

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