re: Ezra/Sabine and romance storytelling 1/ https://twitter.com/clipper782/status/1281569952906895360

First off, Ezra definitely has a crush at first sight on Sabine when they meet in the the show's pilot ep, and throughout s1 he continues to occasionally make vague, awkward attempts at flirtation. S1-2 Sabine definitely doesn't view him that way, but it's compicated. 2/

A big part of Sabine's earlier friction with Ezra is that having him around reminds her that she's still not an adult, which frightens her bc of all she's been through. She calls him "kid" even tho they're only 2 years apart & he's been on his own probably longer than she has. 3/

Sabine hasn't told ANY of the crew much about herself, and Ezra pokes at that more than the rest do. They establish a playful "annoyed/annoying siblings" dynamic in s1-2, punctuated with more emotional moments like her restoring his family portrait for his 15th birthday. 4/

S1-S2 Sabine doesn't really let Ezra close enough to understand her, but SHE understands HIM the most when it comes to his family issues. And even after he stops attempting to flirt (roughly S2), i don't think his attraction to her disappears. 5/

I said sabezra reminds me of k/ataang bc
- boy insta-crushes on girl 2 years older than him, brings out her protective side + reminds her she's still a kid too.
- unrelated boy & girl become part of a found family centered around pursuing world justice. 6/

However, sabezra has a stronger set-up than Kataang bc
- 14 & 16 vs 12 & 14 makes a BIG difference
- the narrative never specifically ties Ezra fully realizing his spiritual powers to him "letting go" of romantic feelings and then saying "oops nevermind, you don't have to." 7/

In s2 sabezra's significant peer-relationship interactions don't happen with each other, but rather with ketsu & leia. I don't need to repeat how ketsu/sabine & ezra/leia have been argued to contain romantic subtext, but bc they're minor charas, they have "interim ship" vibes. 8/

Anyway, S3 is when I actively started shipping them, and when the "tropes" involving them that i referenced upthread from the quoted tweet really begin flying fast and furious, lol. 9/

Starting at the beginning of S3, Ezra is taller, has different hair, & is struggling with the dark side--that is to say: hotter, which is important. S3 is also when we finally learn details about Sabine's backstory, & when sabezra begin to go on missions that are just them. 10/

In S3-4 Ezra is protective of Sabine without being possessive & awe-struck by her without treating her as untouchable. Sabine no longer views Ezra as less mature or less capable than her, and trusts him as a battle partner & friend.

Also they Gaze and Touch alot. A LOT. 11/

Just gonna begin listing shit:
- their captive knocks them out and escapes, because they spent a little too long silently smiling at each other
- S flusters E by putting her hands on his waist, pulling him close, & taking off on her jetpack to help them escape. 12/

- They fight their pursuers with blaster & saber, while flying through the air clinging to each other, sabine holding ezra
- E tosses S his lightsaber, and she wields it during a pivotal moment in her arc.
- too many instances of hand-grabbing to type. 13/

- When Ezra meets Sabine's brother & later father, he behaves the similarly to when Kanan met Hera's father
- Silent fond prolonged eye contact right after S gives Bo Katan the darksaber, another pivotal S moment
- E rides a giant wolf while holding an unconscious S. 14/

- Sabine understands Ezra having to go to Thrawn in the finale when everyone else objects & covers for him to get away, and he conversation they have about it is completely conveyed via eye contact. This is the last time they see each other.
- S wields Ezra's saber AGAIN. 15/

- Sabine is the keeper of Ezra's lightsaber after his departure.
- Shot-for-shot parallel sequence in the finale of her in Ezra's old tower to him in it during the pilot.
- She ends the series by touching his portrait's face before leaving to search for him. 16/

Now I want to talk about two specific scenes. The first is in s3 when Sabine is resisting the idea of taking up the darksaber to ask her people for help, bc of her complex history with her family (which at this point she has NOT revealed to any of the rest of the Ghost crew). 17/

Sabine goes off alone to brood, Ezra follows her, they have a tense conversation, & Ezra leaves after quietly telling S "At least you HAVE a family to go back to." Alot of fans got really angry at E over this, saying he was guilt-tripping Sabine with his own trauma, 18/

& citing it as yet another example of how, if sabezra ever became a thing, it would be a toxic example of a "nice guy" wearing down a woman until she finally gave in to his crush 19/

But it's important to notice that this scene where Ezra challenges Sabine to face her family history & consider forgiving them is a parallel to the s1 scene where SHE challenges HIM to face his family history, via Tseebo, and consider forgiveness. 20/

It's perhaps not the best wording on his part, but it's an example of how equal the give-and-take in their relationship has become. 21/

The 2nd specific scene is the S4 one where Ezra first meets Sabine's father Alrich Wren, in the moving prison transport the team is attempting to rescue him from. 22/

Ezra slices the transport's roof & leaps down, whereupon the following exchange happens

ALRICH: Are you with Sabine?

EZRA: YEAH I'm with her! *pause* I mean! I'm not WITH her with her! I'm just...FRIENDS with her!

23/

Y'all...this is not a writing to choice you should make if, as the Rebels cast & crew have contended multiple times, you're writing a relationship that is intended to be fully platonic and "sibling-like." 24/

You shouldn't have a chara frantically declare, without prompting, that they're "just friends" with another chara--AT HIS FIRST MEETING WITH HER FATHER no less--if that's actually true! That's just not how the trope works! 25/

Finally, there are many sabezra scenes that parallel kanera scenes: the canon romance of the series. I'm not annoyed if people don't ship them, but I am annoyed being told, by other fans but especially by tptb, that there's no basis for seeing their romantic possibility. 26/26