This article contains spoilers for Ahsoka episode 1, "Master and Apprentice".
Ahsoka has landed on Disney Plus (after launching with a new, earlier release date), and the first part of its two-episode premiere saw us joining former Jedi Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) on the hunt for a star map.
The map in question is thought to reveal the location of Grand Admiral Thrawn, a formidable Imperial officer who disappeared (along with her friend, Ezra Bridger) in the climax of Star Wars Rebels. Whilst the map could lead her back to her former ally, she's not the only one who seeks it out, as some Imperial sympathizers want to get their hands on it, too. Here's what happened in Ahsoka episode 1.
Ahsoka episode 1 recap: Jail break
In customary Star Wars fashion, Ahsoka begins with an opening credits crawl. They explain that, whilst the New Republic has been established, there are 'sinister agents' who are working to undermine peace throughout the galaxy. They're searching for the lost Grand Admiral Thrawn, hoping that bringing him back will galvanize Imperial remnants.
If you cast your mind back to The Mandalorian season 2, you'll remember that Morgan Elsbeth (the evil magistrate of Calodan) demanded Din Djarin to kill Ahsoka Tano, though he refused, and Ahsoka instead bested the ruler in a duel and took her into custody. The credits note that Elsbeth is now in the hands of the New Republic, whilst Ahsoka tracks down a map that contains the location of Thrawn.
When the show begins, the New Republic ship transporting Morgan Elsbeth picks up an old Jedi signal from another spaceship. The Captain believes this is a ruse from some Imperials, but he orders that they're allowed to step aboard and goes to meet them in the hangar along with a security detail.
Two mysterious figures depart from the ship (we know them to be Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati, though they aren't named just yet). Captain Hale challenges them, explaining that he doesn't buy their disguise. When he removes to arrest them, Baylan and Shin reveal their nature — "We are no Jedi — and start making their way through the ship, killing anyone they come across. Eventually, Baylan finds Morgan's cell and uses the Force to set her free.
Retrieving the map
We join Ahsoka Tano as she explores a forgotten temple on the trail of her map. She uses her lightsabers to cut a path into an underground chamber, where she retrieves the map after solving a puzzle involving three pillars in the room.
Ahsoka returns to the surface after failing to establish a decent connection to Huyang (voiced by David Tennant). There, she's confronted by a droid who demands the map. She refuses, and a battle ensues between the former Jedi, the droid and its other robotic allies. Ahsoka easily beats them, but the leader initiates a self-destruct protocol to stop her, priming the other robots to explode.
Huyang brings Ahsoka's ship around for extraction, and she orders him to keep flying and drop the ramp as she escapes the blast zone. She runs towards the flying ship and leaps aboard, map in hand, just in the nick of time. Whilst they're leaving, they receive a transmission about the incident from the start of the episode.
The duo lands, where they meet General Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Hera briefs Ahsoka and Huyang on what happened and the mysterious attackers, whose identities are still unknown. In turn, Ahsoka tells her about the map and how it points to the location of Grand Admiral Thrawn, who was thought to be dead. Since it points to the lost Imperial officer, it could also direct them to Commander Ezra Bridger, who disappeared along with Thrawn at the end of Star Wars: Rebels.
Unfortunately, the map is locked, and they aren't sure how to open it. Hera suggests Ahsoka seeks out someone she thinks has the best chance of opening it. The only problem? That person is Ahsoka's former Apprentice, Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo).
We then jump to the planet Lothal, which is marking the anniversary of the battle that led to Thrawn and Ezra's disappearance with a new monument to the Rebels who fought to free them from the Empire. Commander Sabine is due to make a speech, though she's nowhere to be found at this crucial moment. Security officers are sent to retrieve her, but she flees the city limits on a speeder bike to an old tower, where she replays a transmission from Ezra (Eman Esfandi) talking about defeating Thrawn.
An awkward reunion
Back at the temple, Morgan Elsbeth, Shin Hati, Baylan Skoll and Inquisitor Marrok reunite. Morgan explains that this was a temple built by her ancestors, the Night Sisters of Dathomir. Baylan has been searching the area, but the map is obviously nowhere to be seen. Morgan susses out that Ahsoka must have the map and instructs Baylan to send his apprentice to Lothal, after Sabine Wren.
Meanwhile, Ahsoka and Huyang land on Lothal to discuss the map with Sabine. Whilst she doesn't seem overly thrilled to see her former Master again, Ahsoka explains that the map could well be a way to find their lost friend, Ezra.
There's clearly some tension between the pair as the conversation moves from the map to where Ahsoka has been since they parted ways. Sabine soon asks if she can take the map away to somewhere she can think better, but Ahsoka refuses to let her leave with it.
Huyang interrupts the discussion with an update: he's been running an analysis on the lightsabers wielded by the two people who attacked the New Republic ship. He'd taught Jedi how to build lightsabers for hundreds of years, and, whilst he doesn't recognize one of the weapons, he knows the other one must belong to Baylan Skoll, a Jedi who disappeared at the end of the Clone Wars. Whilst they're discussing the sabers, Sabine leaves with the map; unbeknownst to her, she's being tracked by Shin Hati.
Crossing lightsabers
Ahsoka and Hera discuss the meeting. Ahsoka isn't convinced meeting with Sabine was a good idea, but Hera knows Sabine is the best person to unlock the map's secrets. They also briefly discuss how mentoring is never easy, and Ahsoka explains that she never got to finish her own training as she left the Jedi Order before the end of the Clone Wars.
Sabine sets to work trying to solve the puzzle of the map and eventually cracks the code. Unfortunately, she doesn't get much time to celebrate, as two more droids arrive on the scene. They restrain her, destroy her equipment and steal the star map to hand it back to Shin.
Sabine calls Huyang to request backup and searches for Ezra's green lightsaber. Ahsoka and Huyang head to her rescue whilst Shin and Sabine do battle. Baylan has clearly trained his apprentice well, though, as she's definitely the more capable duelist. The episode closes with Ahsoka arriving on the scene just after Shin runs Sabine through with her lightsaber, presumably leaving her for dead.
Ahsoka is now streaming on Disney Plus.
