‘Star Wars: Ahsoka’ Episodes 1 & 2 Breakdown: Masters, Apprentices, and Witches
The first two episodes of Ahsoka are full of lore and background, without too much hand-holding for fans unfamiliar with Rebels.
The first two episodes of Ahsoka premiered last night, and the season is pretty effortlessly mixing much-needed context and background with an entirely new storyline. Picking up a few years after the events of Star Wars: Rebels, this new series has quite a few previously left loose ends to tie up. And to do that we’re going to way way deep space to find Grand Admiral Thrawn. And Ezra too, I guess. Here’s what we noticed in these episodes, where we think it’s all going, and what we’re excited about in the coming weeks.
In order to break down these episodes I will have to spoil large portions of what happens. If you haven’t seen episodes 1 & 2 of Ahsoka yet, proceed and read at your own risk.
Master & Apprentice
The first episode is named “Master & Apprentice” and it turns out this has multiple meanings. The first master and apprentice pair we meet are former Jedi and Order 66 survivor, Baylan Skoll (played by Ray Stevenon who tragically passed away recently) and his apprentice, Shin Hati (played by Ivanna Sakhno). We don’t know a ton about these characters yet, but Baylan seems to have some lingering nostalgia for the Jedi order of old and Shin seems nervous for their place in the world after Thrawn’s return.
The other big master and apprentice pair is Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo). Apparently, Ahsoka had been training Sabine in the ways of the force and at some point prior to this show quit being her teacher. This is reminiscent of how Ahsoka quit the Jedi Order halfway through her own training and has caused a fair amount of animosity between the two. I don’t remember Sabine showing any hints of being force sensitive, so I’m very interested to see what her abilities are and what this training looks like as the series progresses.
Lady Morgan Elsbeth’s History & Night Sister Ruins
via Lucasfilm
You may remember Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) from The Mandalorian as that lady with the Bescar staff that Ahsoka fought for Thrawn information. She is back, and it seems will have a much more prominent part in this show.
We also learn that she is a Night Sister. The Night Sisters are residents of Dathomir and are famous for using the Force as “witches.” Sometimes this is pretty normal force-use, but at others, their powers can get pretty classically spooky. Encountering the undead on Dathomir isn’t an uncommon occurrence in Star Wars cannon. This is likely also where the title for the second episode, Toil and Trouble comes from. Of course, referencing the witches or weird sisters from Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
We learn about her past after Ahsoka finds and explores an old Night Sister temple on Arcana. Here Ahsoka finds a spherical map that reminded me very much of the star map from Treasure Planet, as well as statues of the three Mortis Gods.
We actually meet the Mortis Gods in Rebels, but they are effective representations of the Dark Side, Light Side, and Balance of the Force.
Fulcrum, Hera, Sabine, Ezra, and Chopper
via Lucasfilm
These aren’t necessarily Easter Eggs as much as the entire point, but if you were a fan of Rebels, the first appearances of these main characters will be pretty exciting. Ahsoka momentarily goes by her rebel spy codename, Fulcrum. Sabine is living in an old communications tower on Lothal with her unnamed pet lothcat. We see an old transition from Ezra that Sabine seems to reply to from time to time. And of course, Hera Syndulla is still a general with the now-New-Republic. She’s been a general for a long, long time, and I have a feeling she’s turned down a bunch of promotions because they would prevent her from flying.
Along with Hera, we see the Phantom II, her ship’s (The Ghost) small, short-mission shuttle as well as astromech, Chopper.
It is also worth noting that the beginning of the episode features Governor Ryder Azadi and a painting of Rogue Squadron. The art style in the painting is strikingly similar to the art style used in Rebels. Azadi was a Governor in Rebels who openly supported the rebel activity against the Empire.
Ezra’s Lightsaber
Though Sabine has apparently gone through some Jedi training, she hasn’t built her own lightsaber, and when we see her wielding one, it is the saber that previously belonged to Ezra Bridger. This was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it detail in episode 1, but by the second the characters openly talk about Ezra and his lightsaber.
Sabine’s Mando Armor
We spend quite some time in Sabine’s tower apartment in these episodes. It’s small and dark, which is surprising considering what a colorful and vibrant person she is. But Sabine seems to be going through some things and is acting a bit more withdrawn and a bit more rebellious than we’d expect from her post-Rebels character growth.
In the first episode, we see that her iconic painted Mandalorian helmet is stored thoughtlessly under a random table. Her hair is also way too long to allow for the helmet to seal properly, implying that she hasn’t donned her armor in quite some time.
At the end of the second episode though, we see Sabine back in full armor, with a fresh haircut more similar to what we’ve seen in Rebels and ready to take backup not only her former adventures but her training with Ahsoka.
Okay, But Where’s Thrawn?
The infamous admiral is talked about white a bit in these opening episodes, but we don’t see even a hint of him yet. Still, it looks like the rest of the season will quickly take us out to the far galaxy he’s been exiled to with Ezra. Morgan is working on a ship called the Eye of Sion, which I’m guessing is designed to make this journey. But it’s a journey that Padawans only knew of in ghost-story-style legends throughout the temple, according to Baylan.
Have you watched the first two episodes of Ahsoka yet? What did you think of the show’s start? And where do you think it’s going from here? Let us know in the comments!
May the Force be with you, adventurers!
