Greetings, Rebelscum fans! This week on the site we’re headed to the planet Ryloth. Twi’lek characters have been fan-favorites since 1983, but we finally got to see their homeworld in The Clone Wars. Ryloth continued to play a major role in both Rebels and The Bad Batch. Stay tuned throughout the week for more articles, insights, videos, and merchandising updates about Ryloth, Twi’leks, and much more!


Ryloth is the home planet of the Twi’lek species, a beautiful alien race that first appeared in Return of the Jedi. Jabba’s dancer, Oola, meets her grizzly fate at the hands of the Rancor after she tries to kill her en-slaver. While Return of the Jedi made it seem like the majority of the galaxy’s Twi’leks were dancers and bounty hunters, it was clear from the Expanded Universe that they are among the most important alien species in the Star Wars universe. Twi’leks have a tragic history; their home planet, Ryloth, has been fraught with conflict for generations.


The Clone Wars didn’t really “mature” until its later seasons, but the first season gave fans a taste of the darker side of the series with the “Ryloth” trilogy of episodes. The three installments showed different points of view on the invasion of the planet, and explored the ethical, political, and emotional consequences of the attack. In “Storm Over Ryloth,” Ahsoka learns a tough truth about the war when she nearly loses her entire fleet in a battle above the planet’s surface.


The second episode, “Innocents of Ryloth,” explored the consequences of the war on Ryloth’s natives. As Obi-Wan and Commander Cody lead the 212th battalion to siege a Seperatist outpost, the clone troopers Waxer and Boil encounter a young girl named Numa. It’s only through spending time with the girl that the clones realize what they are actually fighting for. It’s one of the more sensitive depictions of war and veterans that The Clone Wars ever aired. The inspirational episode ends with a great moment where the Twi’lek people come to save Numa and Obi-Wan from the droids.


The trilogy’s epic conclusion, “Liberty on Ryloth,” gave Mace Windu a starring role. In order to capture Wat Tambor, Mace must bridge a gap between the rebel freedom fighter Cham Syndulla and the Republic Senator Orn Free Ta. Syndulla is cagey about aligning himself with the senator, who he sees as just another wartime presence. Cham reappears in the spinoff novel Lords of the Sith; his daughter, Hera, became one of the most important characters on Rebels.


Hera returns to her home planet within Rebels, where it has once again fallen under oppressive control. The origins of the Empire’s siege of Ryloth were explored in The Bad Batch. The Empire stages an assassination attempt on Orn Free Taa in order to sow political tensions on the planet.

What do you think, Rebelscum fans? Do you have a favorite Ryloth storyline? What did this poor planet do to deserve all of its problems? Let us know in the forums, and as always, may the Force be with you!

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