The finale of the animated Disney XD television series "Star Wars Rebels" aired on March 5, ending the show's four-season run. Despite its place in the storyline of the "Star Wars" franchise, the series ended on a relatively positive note, with the survival of key characters and the potential for new stories to tell.

"Star Wars Rebels" is set fourteen years after the events of the film "Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith," and five years before the events of "Star Wars IV: A New Hope." The story is told through the eyes of a character named Ezra Bridger, voiced by actor Taylor Gray. Ezra is a member of the Jedi Order as well as the crew of the freighter called the Ghost.

The Ghost is also used as the base of rebels from the planet Lothal fighting against the Galactic Empire.

In the 90-minute series finale, Ezra was able to save Lothal, his home planet, through an act of sacrifice. However, he was also carried away by space whales called the Purrgil to unknown parts of the galaxy.

Sabine Wren (Tiya Sircar), a fellow rebel, realized that it was her mission to find Ezra with the help of Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), Anakin Skywalker's padawan (or apprentice), who was also a character in the Cartoon Network animated series "Star Wars: The Clone Wars."

While the series has ended, it seems that the stories of its characters have not. The surviving rebels live on, presumably through the events of the original films. However, the audience is simply not aware of what has happened to these characters, since the storyline shifts to the story of Luke Skywalker.

This seems to explain why "Star Wars Rebels" did not have as bleak of an ending as it could have had. According to the show's executive producer Dave Filoni, the appearance of Luke Skywalker pulled the Empire's attention away from Lothal, thus sparing the planet and its denizens from further harm.

Filoni also stated that Ezra is indeed still alive, which, coupled with Sabine Wren's intentions to find him, can be the foundation of a new story.