Alien cats and space witches? Here are the characters and events to know in ‘Star Wars: Ahsoka’
“Ahsoka” has everything audiences have come to expect from a “Star Wars” show: action, cute creatures and references to lore that you may or may not be familiar with.
Created by Dave Filoni, the Disney+ original follows former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) on her quest to find Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn before the Imperial Remnants do. The newly won peace in the galaxy far, far away is still quite fragile, and defeating Thrawn once and for all could be key to making it last.
The unexpected star of the first two episodes is an adorable Loth-cat. Native to the Outer Rim planet Lothal, Loth-cats were usually found in the grasslands where they could hunt Loth-rats and other small prey. They’ve previously appeared in “Star Wars Rebels” as well as in an episode of “The Mandalorian.” Although Loth-cats usually live in the wild, Ahsoka’s wayward apprentice Sabine Wren appears to have domesticated at least one of them.
With Sabine joining Ahsoka on her mission to another galaxy, the fate of her Loth-cat remains uncertain. While we’ll keep our fingers crossed that Sabine somehow smuggled her pet onto their ship, here is a cheat sheet for everything else you need to know from the first two episodes of “Ahsoka” to prepare for Episode 3.
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Who is Ahsoka Tano?
Introduced in “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” Ahsoka was a padawan learner assigned to train under Anakin Skywalker. Much like her master, Ahsoka was brash, stubborn, impulsive and didn’t always follow the rules. She is a Togruta from a small village on Shili who showed affinity for the Force from a very young age.
Certain events led her to walk away from the Jedi Order before she completed her training some time before the end of the Clone Wars. After surviving Order 66 — Emperor Palpatine’s plan to exterminate all Jedi — she went into hiding.
She eventually joined the fight against the Empire as a top secret agent known as Fulcrum and worked with other rebels, including members of the Ghost crew such as Hera Syndulla, Sabine Wren and Ezra Bridger.
Who is Hera Syndulla?
Hera first appeared in “Star Wars Rebels” as the ace pilot of the Ghost and one of the leaders of its close-knit crew called the Spectres. The Spectres were resistance fighters who refused to bow to the Galactic Empire and eventually joined a larger rebel cell. There, Hera worked her way up the ranks of what eventually became the Rebel Alliance. She is a Twi’lek from the planet Ryloth and has a son named Jacen Syndulla.
Who is Sabine Wren?
A Mandalorian warrior, artist and explosives expert, Sabine was also introduced in “Star Wars Rebels” as a member of the Ghost crew. A former cadet at the Imperial Academy, she helped create weapons that the Empire eventually used against Mandalore to subjugate her people. Devastated, she left the academy and Mandalore and was branded a traitor by the Empire and her fellow Mandalorians.
Sabine acquired the Darksaber — a legendary Mandalorian weapon and a sort of family heirloom — after an encounter with Maul. Despite some hesitation, she learned to wield it before facing her past and her family, with hopes to find a leader who would be able to unify the Mandalorians against the Empire. She eventually passes the Darksaber on to Bo-Katan Kryze.
Can Mandalorians be Jedi?
Yes! Mandalorians and Jedi have been sworn enemies; they’ve been at war with each other, and a lot of Mandalorian armor and weapons were developed to specifically counter the advantages Jedi have in combat because of the Force. But the Force is in everybody. The Darksaber was created by the first Mandalorian Jedi, Tarre Vizsla. Sabine’s clan Wren is actually part of House Vizsla.
Who is Ezra Bridger?
An orphan who grew up on the streets of Lothal, Ezra joined the Ghost crew at the start of “Star Wars Rebels.” The Force-sensitive teenager became an apprentice to Kanan Jarrus, the leader of the Spectres and a Jedi who survived Order 66 as a young padawan himself.
Ezra had the ability to connect and communicate with other Force-sensitive creatures. In order to defeat Grand Admiral Thrawn during the battle to liberate Lothal from Imperial occupation, Ezra had a herd of purrgil (tentacled space whales that have appeared in “Rebels” and “The Mandalorian”) take the ship he and Thrawn were on into hyperspace. Neither Ezra nor Thrawn have been seen since.
Who is Grand Admiral Thrawn?
A high-ranking Imperial officer, Thrawn was introduced in “Rebels” as the primary villain of its latter seasons. (Thrawn’s first appearance was in a series of “Star Wars” books that are considered outside of canon.) Cruel, calculating and conniving, Thrawn studied his adversaries carefully to ensure he could come out on top.
He tangled more than a few times with the Ghost crew, but was ultimately defeated when he was whisked into hyperspace with Ezra by the whale-like purgill. The Imperial Remnants await his return.
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What does “Nightsisters of Dathomir” mean?
The Nightsisters were a coven of witches that lived on the remote Outer Rim planet of Dathomir. They wielded dark magic that was connected to their home planet and the Force. The Nightsisters’ first onscreen appearance was in “The Clone Wars,” and they’ve also been featured in video games including “Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.”
Dathomir was also home to the Nightbrothers, who were subservient to the more powerful Nightsisters. Darth Maul was a Nightbrother plucked from his home by the Sith for his potential.
The Nightsisters (and Nightbrothers) were wiped out by the Separatists. But much like with the Jedi, there appear to have been some survivors.
What about those droids?
The sassy astromech is Hera’s droid C1-10P, also known as Chopper. Some time during the Clone Wars, a young Hera found Chopper in a crashed Y-wing, fixed him up and they’ve been together ever since. Chopper is opinionated, argumentative and surprisingly lethal.
The ancient droid accompanying Ahsoka is Huyang. Long affiliated with the Jedi Order, Huyang was a professor who taught Jedi younglings how to make lightsabers.
Are there any other Easter eggs?
There are plenty. Lothal’s Governor Ryder Azadi and Senator Jai Kell are characters from “Rebels.” Corellia, where Ahsoka and Hera go to investigate the shipyards, is Han Solo’s home planet. Even Sabine’s ritualistic cutting of her hair is a callback to a similar scene involving Kanan in “Rebels.”
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