It didn’t take long into the first pair of episodes for viewers to realize something about Ahsoka, the newest live-action Star Wars show on Disney+: it is extremely apparent that this is very much a sequel to Rebels.
And if you’re a fan of the Star Wars cartoons created by Ahsoka showrunner Dave Filoni, then that’s good news. If you’re not a fan or haven’t seen them then, well, that’s on you.
If Andor was the Star Wars series that required no homework as it threw casual fans and diehards into a world with mostly unknown characters, Ahsoka is quite the opposite. It’s best to enter this with some working knowledge of the cartoons.
It seems that Filoni made a choice here to not hold the hand of anyone who hasn’t seen Rebels or The Clone Wars. It wasn’t explained to viewers who the Nightsisters were, or how a key scene with Sabine was a callback to one with Kanan, or why Clancy Brown’s Ryder Azadi is an important character. We didn’t get a download on Ezra and the significance of Lothal wasn’t spelled out.
Devoted fans of the cartoons likely appreciated this. Spare us the preambles and explanations and let’s go on an adventure with Ahsoka, Sabine and Hera.
But if you haven’t seen the cartoons, it might be easy to feel lost, disconnected or uninvested. Or, it’ll make you want to watch Rebels and The Clone Wars and learn more about these characters. The folks at Lucasfilm are more than likely rooting for the latter. Still, they’ve empowered Filoni here to continue to tell his stories about Ahsoka and the Ghost Crew on his terms.
#Ahsoka just recreated a famous scene from Star Wars Rebels, so let's compare them side-by-side! pic.twitter.com/xKoNYOrvGP
— GameSpot (@GameSpot) August 23, 2023
In the first two episodes of Ahsoka, Filoni’s influences are also evident. When we first see our titular character, she is patiently and carefully searching for a map in an old ancient temple. It’s something that could have fit seamlessly into an Indiana Jones movie, if only Ahsoka was wearing a safari hat instead of montrals, and armed with a whip instead of two bright, white lightsabers. And the transitions used in Ahsoka – the swiping from scene to scene – can easily remind viewers of George Lucas’ touches on the original trilogy. There are also some scenes here that feel akin to westerns and samurai flicks.
The first two episodes provide a great showcase for Rosario Dawson to display just what kind of badass warrior she can be in the Star Wars’ universe. Viewers also meet Baylan Skoll, played by the late Ray Stevenson, who carries a commanding presence and seems to pull the camera’s focus his way whenever he appears. We also meet Sabine’s scene-stealing pet, a furry loth-cat.
Here’s what we learned from the first two episodes of Ahsoka.
SPOILERS FOR ALL STAR WARS CONTENT AHEAD.
Morgan Elsbeth is a Nightsister
Folks who have watched the live-action Star Wars TV shows closely first met Morgan Elsbeth – played by Diana Lee Inosanto – in Season 2 of The Mandalorian (Chapter 13: The Jedi) in the same episode that Dawson first appeared as Ahsoka. In that episode, Ahsoka is led to the planet Corvus during her hunt for Grand Admiral Thrawn. There, Elsbeth became magistrate of the city of Calodan, where she tortured civilians and plundered the planet for its natural resources. Ahsoka tells Din Djarin that Elsbeth’s “people were massacred. She survived and let her anger fuel an industry which helped build the Imperial Starfleet.” After disarming Elsbeth of her beskar spear, Ahsoka defeated Elsbeth in combat and turned her over to the New Republic.
After an altered version of the iconic Star Wars crawl – this one in red font instead of yellow – Ahsoka begins with two hooded, lightsaber-wielding, Force-users infiltrating and wreaking havoc on a New Republic ship to free Elsbeth from being a prisoner. It felt like an inversion of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan showing up on the Trade Federation ship at the beginning of The Phantom Menace.
We soon learn that the duo is Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati. Like Elsbeth, they too have a desire to see Thrawn return to power.
Viewers soon learn though that Elsbeth is much more than an Imperial loyalist. She reveals that she is a witch, and her ancestors are the Nightsisters of Dathomir.
As fans of The Clone Wars know, Dathomir is the home planet of Darth Maul. His mother, Talzin, was the Clan Mother of the Nightsisters, a group of Force-sensitive witches. She once worked closely with Darth Sidious – and even provided Count Dooku with an apprentice, Asajj Ventress – but later felt betrayed by Sidious and tried to work against him and Dooku. General Grievous was sent to Dathomir during the Clone Wards to destroy the Nightsisters, a task he mostly had success with. Later, it is Talzin’s sacrifice that restores Maul’s mind and body.
Ahsoka finds the map that leads to Thrawn in ruins on the world of Arcana. Elsbeth tells Shin Hati that the ruins were once a temple built by her ancestors, the Nightsisters.
While she seemed like a one-off side character in The Mandalorian, it’s clear that Elsbeth will play a significant role in this show.
Very much here for Morgan Elsbeth and crew’s witchy weirdness, more of this plz #Ahsoka pic.twitter.com/PZrrXnYUL3
— Nolan O’Brien (@nolanmobie) August 23, 2023
Sabine Wren was once Ahsoka’s apprentice
At some point between the end of Rebels and the events of Ahsoka – which takes place between 9 and 11 ABY (that is: After The Battle of Yavin, or rather, the destruction of the first Death Star) – Sabine Wren was once Ahsoka’s Jedi Padawan Learner. And things didn’t apparently end well between the two of them. Sabine sarcastically calls Ahsoka “master” and says that she didn’t make things easy on her. When Hera pushes Ahsoka to take Sabine back on as her apprentice, Ahsoka quickly dismisses the notion, saying, “I think we’re both past that. She’s not ready.”
After healing from her wound and getting a stern talking-to from Huyang – voiced by the brilliant David Tennant – Sabine cuts her hair, dons her colorful customized Mandalorian armor and rejoins Ahsoka on the hunt for Thrawn with the hope of bringing Ezra home. While both Ahsoka and Sabine give each other some tough love throughout the first two episodes, they end up side-by-side at the end.
Fans of The Clone Wars may recall Ahsoka and Anakin’s relationship being similar to this – a lack of patience from the master and an un-coachable attitude displayed by the padawan. But in the end, they have each other’s backs.
It's like poetry, it rhymes.
"Perhaps it is time to begin again".#StarWarsRebels #KananJarrus #Ahsoka #SabineWren pic.twitter.com/PVgIcn4bF6
— Late to the Party (@OfficiallyLTTP) August 23, 2023
Baylan Skoll was once a Jedi
Before he became Ahsoka’s pilot, researcher and sidekick, the droid Huyang trained Jedi for centuries. Specifically, he helped them build lightsabers. Huyang is able to identify Baylan Skoll’s lightsaber and notes that his is the only one he’s ever seen like it. Huyang then tells us that Skoll – like many other Jedi – disappeared at the end of the Clone Wars.
It appears that Skoll has turned to the dark side and has at least one apprentice – and an Inquisitor – working under him. He also still seems to have some admiration for the Jedi, telling Elsbeth that killing Ahsoka “will be a shame. There are so few Jedi left.”
"For our friend, Ray' #Ahsoka
May the Force be with you, Ray Stevenson ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ZTCRvJ5nmo
— Star Wars Stuff (@starwarstufff) August 23, 2023
Question we still have: Where’s Anakin?
Will we see Hayden Christensen appear as Anakin Skywalker at some point, either in a flashback or as a Force Ghost?
In one of the trailers for Ahsoka, we hear Christensen’s voice as he tells Ahsoka, “In this war you will face more than just droids. As your master, it’s my responsibility to prepare you. I won’t always be there to look out for you. Don’t be afraid. Trust your instincts. I know you can do this, Ahsoka.”
We haven’t seen or heard Anakin yet, but it seems like we will at some point. The Hollywood Reporter reported in 2021 that Christensen would be reprising the role for this series.
