Ahsoka spoilers follow.
She might claim that she's "no Jedi", but that hasn't stopped Ahsoka Tano from making quite the mark on the war between the Sith and their robe-wearing enemies. Despite being created by Dave Filoni for 2008's Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie as the Padawan of a pre-Vader Anakin Skywalker, the talented Togruta soon stepped out of his shadow — and into her own Disney+ series.
Sadly, though, Ahsoka season one has ended after just eight episodes. Giving us everything from a live-action Rebels continuation to elements of Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy, Ahsoka wasted no time bringing together a Who's Who of Star Wars legends for this lucrative period set between George Lucas' original trilogy and Disney's sequels.
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Now the leading lady has put away her dual lightsabers, here's what went down in the Ahsoka finale.
Ahsoka's finale sets up the future of Star Wars
The crux of Ahsoka season one saw Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) determined to rescue Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfand) from the depths of unknown space following the cliffhanger ending of Rebels season four. This came alongside Sabine battling with her internal demons and whether she's destined to step up as the next Mandalorian Jedi.
In all the years of the galaxy far, far away, we've only visited one corner of the cosmos. Ahsoka sets up a much bigger story, with Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), his forces and Ezra marooned in a brand-new galaxy on the Dathomiri homeworld of Peridea. Things come to a head in this barren Purrgil graveyard, with Ahsoka and loyal droid Huyang (David Tennant) taking their fight to Thrawn while reuniting with Ezra and Sabine.
As for the blue-skinned baddie, Thrawn warns there will be "no negotiating with the apprentice of Anakin Skywalker", which is a wise move considering Ahsoka's skills.
Alongside Ezra and Sabine, Ahsoka launches an attack on his ship with their lightsabers humming. Although they make light work of Thrawn's Death Troopers, these enemy forces live up to their name when the finale goes full Game of Thrones and resurrects them like Wights — yes, zombie Stormtroopers are now canon.
Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) is rewarded by the Great Mother and given the Blade of Talzin that Mother Talzin used against Mace Windu in The Clone Wars. Unfortunately for Elsbeth, she's left behind to buy Thrawn some more time, making a sacrifice "for the Empire". The character proved she was a skilled fighter when she fought Ahsoka in The Mandalorian, but during this rematch, she's struck down by the Togruta in an epic duel.
Before Ahsoka and Sabine can best Thrawn, he hotfoots it back to our galaxy with Ezra aboard his ship. Ahsoka goes full Empire Strikes Back with the villain victorious, master and apprentice trapped on Peridea and a question mark over what's next for Ahsoka and Sabine.
We assume there will be an arc that parodies Yoda training Luke on Dagobah during Empire. Shout out to those who understood the imagery of Ahsoka seeing a white owl, which is likely the live-action debut of Rebels' Morai and leads into Ahsoka's mythological cliffhanger.
It was clear that external forces had brought Ray Stevenson's Baylan Skoll to Peridea. The Dark Jedi abandoned his apprentice Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) to search for a higher purpose, and his real mission was one of the biggest mysteries heading into the finale.
In the finale, the camera zoomed out to show Baylan atop a statue of the Father from The Clone Wars' complicated Mortis arc. Given Ahsoka's controversial Rebels resurrection involved the Daughter, it seems she's a modern reincarnation of the Mortis gods, while Anakin's "Chosen One" legacy is thought to represent the Father by bringing balance to the Force. It's time to start the wild theorising that we'll get a live-action Starkiller as the Son.
It looks like Star Wars will revive this mythology — and with Baylan vowing to stop the continuous cycle of good versus evil, this is a logical place to start.
Sadly, Stevenson passed before Ahsoka aired, meaning the future of arguably the show's best character remains unclear. Some are hoping for a recast, while others are happy to leave the morally complex Baylan Skoll here. Either way, Star Wars just got much more confusing for those who haven’t kept up with Ahsoka's animated adventures.
Let's also hear it for Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who has been left to battle the bureaucracy of the New Republic. Even though we're a way out from the rise of the First Order and the decimation of the New Republic in The Force Awakens, the cracks are already starting to show.
Similar to how The Mandalorian season three teased the Imperial Shadow Council, Thrawn isn't the only remnant of the Empire waiting to rise from the ashes. Thrawn is still out there, but at least Ezra is reunited with Hera and Chopper, now able to spur the New Republic into action.
Does Anakin Skywalker appear in the Ahsoka finale?
Much like Obi-Wan's praise for redeeming Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker from the lukewarm reception of the prequels, Ahsoka gave the star more time to shine.
After Anakin met Ahsoka in the astral plane of the World Between Worlds, we briefly saw him appear via a hologram in episode seven. In classic Star Wars style, we got to see Anakin's Force ghost before the credits rolled.
The lingering final shot shows Anakin's smiling Force ghost, suggesting that even while he evolved into Vader, the plucky Padawan was always there.
Given that Ahsoka episode five was praised as one of the greatest hours of Star Wars, it's a big win that Christensen is honoured again in the finale. Also, note that unlike in episode five, Force ghost Anakin is now sporting Jedi Master robes to represent his character's redemption.
Sabine refers to "shadows in the starlight", hinting that her newfound connection to the Force means she can also see Anakin. Vader has perished by this point in the timeline, and with Obi-Wan season two looking increasingly unlikely, Ahsoka could be one of the last times we see Christensen swing a saber. If not, could we see Anakin help train Sabine from beyond the grave in a potential Ahsoka season two?
Is there an Ahsoka season one post-credit scene?
Like the Marvel Cinematic Universe tease what comes next through post-credit scenes, the live-action Star Wars shows often do the same. While The Book of Boba Fett hinted at the return of Cobb Vanth (Timothy Olyphant) and Andor gave the tragic tease that Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) was helping build the Death Star, Ahsoka bows out without its own post-credit stinger.
There's a sense of justice that Ahsoka ends with a smirking Anakin, although others will likely lament the lack of ties to the wider galaxy (sorry, now galaxies). Notably, we expect #JusticeforZeb to start trending after Ahsoka stopped short of giving us a full-blown Rebels reunion to bring back Zeb (Steve Blum) from his fleeting appearance in The Mandalorian.
While critics are sure to call out Filoni's promises that you didn't need to be a Rebels superfan to understand Ahsoka, the eight-part epic has delivered more than just fan service for Anakin's tormented apprentice. Whether Ahsoka the White will get her time to shine again or be relegated to the background of The Mandalorian, rest assured that we're not done with Snips just yet.
Ahsoka is available to stream on Disney+.
Tom Chapman is a pop culture-loving writer and NCTJ-accredited Broadcast Journalist with over seven years of experience covering the small and silver screen.
Starting his career with a post at Movie Pilot in Berlin, Tom took on freelancing full-time with regular stints at Digital Spy, Screen Rant and Comic Book Resources.
These days, you can still find him covering all things Marvel and Star Wars at Digital Spy, while dipping his toe in bylines at Yahoo! and IGN.
Tom likes to think his spirit animal is a cross between Gale Weathers and Olenna Tyrell.
