Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Ahsoka Episode 7.
The Big Picture
- The penultimate episode of Ahsoka sets up a thrilling finale, with Ahsoka and her allies facing off against powerful foes on an extragalactic planet.
- General Hera Syndulla has to answer to the New Republic Council for her actions, and we see references to the different Star Wars species as well as a cameo from C-3P0.
- Episode 7 also references Asajj Ventress, Moff Gideon, and hints at the return of Palpatine.
We’ve made it to the penultimate episode of Ahsoka. With only one left to go, there are still a number of ways these arcs can tie together and, hopefully, stick the landing. When we left our leads, Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) and Huyang (David Tennant) hitched a ride with a pod of purrgil, in pursuit of a trio of foes — Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson), Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno), and Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto). Those foes have reached Peridea, an extragalactic planet new to us. Here, a very much alive Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) and Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) have been waiting, stranded, as Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) discovers. There’s not a lot of time for a happy reunion, with Baylan and his apprentice tracking the pair of old friends. Even if they can survive, they still have to secure a path home. As always, Ahsoka came to deliver, with all of its connections to the wider breadth of Star Wars lore. There are plenty of callbacks, references, and Easter eggs worth noting — here’s everything you might’ve missed!
The New Republic Council
As expected, General Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has to answer to her superiors at the New Republic for disobeying orders and bringing a fleet to Ahsoka’s aid. Among the council that Hera must face are Senator Xiono (Nelson Lee) and the ever-familiar Chancellor Mon Mothma (Genevive O’Reilly). With Captain Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) and Chopper present to support Hera, the chamber is filled with a mix of familiar Star Wars creatures. The species present include some Mon Calamari (of Admiral Ackbar fame), a Sullustan, an Ithorian, and an Ishi Tib.
Moff Gideon and the Conflict on Mandalore
During Hera’s interrogation before the New Republic council, Senator Xiono unsurprisingly casts doubt over Hera’s concern surrounding the possible uprising of Imperial remnants, which she professes to be the reason for her disobedience. To counter Senator Xiono’s hand-waving toward a potential Imperial threat, Captain Teva speaks up, reminding the council of the conflict on Mandalore brought forth by Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito). This, of course, references the climactic battle that closed out the third season of The Mandalorian, in which the united Mandalorian clans clashed with Gideon’s forces. By referencing this event, we’re getting more than a simple callback; we now explicitly know that Ahsoka chronologically takes place after The Mandalorian‘s most recent finale.
C-3PO and a Message From Leia Organa
Can really even call this an Easter egg? It’s more of a wondrous, scene-stealing moment in which C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) returns to Star Wars, effectively ending the proceedings against Hera by bringing a message from Senator Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher). Apparently, Leia is the leader of the New Republic Defense Council, and she’s not happy with Senator Xiono’s decision to hold a vote opposing Hera’s mission without her knowledge. C-3PO, in all his shiny glory, provides the council with a transcript dictating Leia’s approval of Hera’s mission.
General Grievous, Asajj Ventress, Count Dooku
Stowed away in the mouth of a star whale as they travel through intergalactic hyperspace, Ahsoka passes the time aboard her ship by practicing lightsaber sparring, accompanied by an old hologram of her late Jedi Master. While the recording of Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is dictating the training session, he recounts some notable threats of the Clone Wars era that she must be prepared to encounter — General Grievous, Asajj Ventress, and Count Dooku.
General Grievous (Matthew Wood), who premiered in Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith, was the general of the Separatist Droid Army who famously met his end at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). The fierce warrior-assassin Asajj Ventress (voiced by Nika Futterman) first in the 2008 animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which was also a Dave Filoni venture. Asajj Ventress, like Morgan Elsbeth and the Great Mothers, was of Dathomirian descent, and she was a staple of the subsequent animated series. Finally, you surely remember Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), the former Jedi Master who would become the Sith Lord known as Darth Tyranus. After making his debut in Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones, Dooku would later face a brutal execution carried out by Anakin himself.
The Inquisitorial Database & Knowledge of Anakin Skywalker
When Thrawn and his supporters receive confirmation that Ahsoka is, in fact, alive and has followed them to Peridea, Lady Morgan Elsbeth sets off to retrieve useful data on their Togruta opponent. She brings to Thrawn whatever information on Ahsoka that exists in the Inquisitorial database. The Inquisitors were a group of fierce Force-sensitive individuals operating under Darth Vader, bent on hunting down any Jedi that survived the purge of Order 66. Part of the knowledge Thrawn learns from this database is that Ahsoka was the apprentice of “General Anakin Skywalker,” a name he well remembers. You can see the weight of this knowledge reflected in Thrawn’s reaction. Thrawn was one of the few individuals who knew the true fate of Anakin and his transition into Darth Vader, so it’s no surprise that this revelation gives him pause.
The Battle of Endor and, Oh, Somehow, Palpatine Returned
Ahsoka has been putting in a great deal of leg work to justify and explain the return of Thrawn and Ezra Bridger — something that Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker could have learned from. When the ill-planned (or not planned at all) sequel trilogy decided to reintroduce Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) in the final entry, in an attempt to make it feel like someone noteworthy has been pulling the strings all along, the death of the Emperor was retconned with one infamous line. Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) simply says, “Somehow, Palpatine returned.”
Episode 7 makes light of this meme-making moment. When Ezra and Sabine are migrating across Peridea’s wasteland with the Noti, Ezra is eager to process all that he’s missed while stranded away from his home galaxy. The Empire was defeated, he’s learned, to which Sabine credits the Battle of Endor, referencing the Ewok-filled and (second) Death Star destroying climax of Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi. “The Emperor died?” Ezra asks, and Sabine simply retorts, “That’s what people say.” It’s a light-hearted nod to Palpatine’s (frustrating, at best) return, and since the canon of The Rise of Skywalker cannot be undone, a little playful recognition is nice, actually.
