Zeb Orrelios has made his grand live-action entrance in this week’s The Mandalorian. But who is he, and what is his role in the larger world of Star Wars? That is what we’re here to investigate. In our last post, we discussed how Zeb’s appearance is a step closer to the Ahsoka series. In this post, we will explore the character a little deeper while also doing our best to explain how the character fits into the Ahsoka show.
So, who is Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios?
Zeb: A Star Wars Lone Survivor
Zeb was born and raised on Lasan. He became a member of the honour guard—a group of solider who protected the royal family. Unfortunately, the planet was razed, and Alexsandr Kallus was one of the people involved in the act. While Zeb survived, he eventually came into contact with Hera Syndulla, the daughter of Twi’lek resistance leader Cham Syndulla, her astromech droid, C1-10P (better known as Chopper) and Jedi-in-Hiding, Kanan Jarrus (formerly Caleb Dume).
Eventually, the group would be joined by young Mandalorian Sabine Wren and Force-Sensitive boy Ezra Bridger. Zeb often clashed with Chopper and later Ezra, often with humorous results. Finally, when the tension between Zeb and Ezra got too much for Hera to handle, she sent them on a mission where they had to work together. Ultimately, they ended up stealing a TIE Fighter to get away from the stormtroopers.
It wouldn’t be a Star Wars story without a good chase scene. After the situation with the TIE, Zeb and Ezra became close friends, sharing a joint irritation; Chopper, as the droid, was constantly harassing them.
From Rival To Friend
Over his time with the Ghost crew, Zeb would have a small rivalry with Captain Rex, Gregor and Wolffe. Though this wouldn’t last long as he would come to see them as equals, particularly Rex who, being a friend to Ahsoka, would join the fight against the Empire.
Another big rivalry for Zeb was one he had with Alexsandr Kallus, who slaughtered a lot of his people. After the pair become stranded on a moon above Geonosis, they set aside their differences as they have to help the other survive.
The friendship makes Kallus question his loyalty to the Empire and he ends up becoming a Fulcrum agent for the rebellion. Eventually, he cuts ties with the Empire and becomes an important of the rebellion. By the time the Empire starts its fall, Zeb takes Kallus back to the newly found Lasat world of Lira San to show him that the Lasat people were not wiped out like they thought.
This is the last time we see Zeb before he appears in The Mandalorian.
