What just happened? You were supposed to exit with Zeb. You’re lucky every stormtrooper in the prison doesn’t know we’re here.
Seeing the first gif a little slower, it’s interesting that Ezra reacts in surprise to Kanan’s annoyance, then almost immediately reacts as if he’s expecting to be hit. It’s only when he winces and raises his arm that Kanan backs off a bit.
I mean, this shouldn’t be that surprising. The streets can be a nasty place (imperially occupied ones even more so), and Ezra is just a kid, only recently taken off them. Still, the fact that the animators included this reaction makes it uncomfortably canon…
If you notice, Ezra doesn’t lower his arm until Kanan crosses his.
Ugh…. both of you are so right. @lessattitudemorealtitude @fireynovacat
At this point of the show, Ezra has so many walls up. No one in the crew really knows anything about his past, he continues to think that they will abandon him, and he’s ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
Ezra hasn’t yet become ‘un-numb’ and out of survival mode. He doesn’t “feel alive” yet, as he puts it later. At this point, he’s still trying to go through the motions to survive.
I feel it’s after this episode that the walls start to come down. (Though not all at once. Healing takes time.) It’s because Kanan finally decides he needs to take his job as Master seriously and he and Ezra begin to really connect. Up until then, I think Ezra still felt he was still on his own and all his recent good fortune could just disapear. When Kanan starts really being his Jedi Master/teacher/caregiver, Ezra can finally begin letting his guard down.
He also flinches in the pilot when Kallus reaches for him and earlier in “Rise of the Old Masters” atop the Ghost with Kanan! It seems like it’s an ingrained and involuntary flight response to perceived attacks.
It’s amazing to go back and rewatch the beginning of the series and spot all these little nuances in expressions and body language. You notice how nervous and guarded Ezra is.
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