Spoilers: but really, didn’t we all see it coming?
Ahsoka lives! Since reports came in early March that Rosario Dawson would join the cast of “The Mandalorian,” fans of the “Star Wars” animated shows have been eagerly anticipating the live-action debut of the beloved “Star Wars: Clone Wars” and “Star Wars Rebels” animated character Ahsoka Tano. Well, they finally had their wish come true in this week’s episode, titled “The Jedi,” as we finally see Ahsoka Tano come to life in live-action and meet Mando and The Child, who officially has a name we’ll never use.
If you thought the episode was going to save the Ahsoka reveal for a last-minute cameo — ala the Boba Fett tease in episode one — you’d be pleased to see episode writer-director Dave Filoni waste no time in bringing his biggest creation front and center. For those not up on their “Star Wars” lore, nor watched the animated series, Ahsoka Tano is a key character and beloved fan favorite from the animated cartoons — Anakin Skywalker’s padawan learner who fought alongside him and Obi-Wan in the Clone Wars. She was essentially there during the events of “Attack Of The Clones,” right up through “Revenge Of The Sith,” but never seen onscreen in live-action. A key element to her story: she rejected the Jedi Order and left it after she was framed in a terrorist plot that led the Jedi to believe she had gone rogue. Acquitted, Ahsoka’s heart was still broken by all the accusations and mistrust, leaving the Jedis to find her own path.
Our introduction to Ahsoka is pretty much pitch-perfect, with her stealthy slaughtering of a squad of soldiers sharing some parallels with Darth Vader’s hallway scene in “Rogue One,” and serving as a reminder that the former Jedi Togrutan has been through quite a lot during the Clone Wars. As for Dawson, not only does she look perfect as Ahsoka, but the way she moves and even talks about the past makes for an impactful first impression for Anakin’s former pupil.
Season 2 of “The Mandalorian” has followed a more straightforward path than the first season, with Pedro Pascal‘s Din Djarin looking for a Jedi that could train The Child/The Asset/Baby Yoda. As many predicted, that concluded the moment Ahsoka laid eyes on the baby and instantly recognized him, not only as a member of Yoda’s species but also by name.
READ MORE: Rosario Dawson Will Play Ahsoka Tano In Season Two Of ‘The Mandalorian’
That’s right; we finally learned the baby’s name: Grogu, which is a name no one is ever going to use. He’s destined to be called Baby Yoda, just like Din Djarin will forever be known as Mandalorian (or Mando), just like everyone referred to Daenerys Targaryen as “Khaleesi.” Even more important than Grogu’s name is confirmation that he isn’t a sick Force experiment, or a clone or Yoda, but simply a child raised in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. This means we finally meet one youngling who wasn’t slaughtered by Anakin in “Revenge of the Sith,” but it also means Anakin once tried to murder Baby Yoda!
Of course, because we still have some episodes left in the season, Ahsoka does not simply take Grogu with her, but her reasoning may have repercussions down the line. Though she seems to bond with Grogu as another kid raised in Coruscant, she recognizes that the child is simply too attached to Din Djarin, and adding all the pain he’s witnessed over the years reminds her of her own master — Anakin Skywalker. She’s afraid that breaking that bond would send Grogu down the path of the Dark Side, and she’s not wrong to think that. Season 1 already showed what Grogu could do when he’s angry, and it’s not turning greener, but using the Force to choke someone when he thought he was protecting Din Djarin. Do not be surprised in the inevitable separation (however brief) between the child and Mando results in some other dark powers being used for evil.
The last, and certainly not least, reveal of the episode comes towards the end (and we should shout-out the nice inclusion of Michael Biehn in a guest appearance). Ahsoka’s entire reason to be in the town where she and Din Djarin meet seems to be that she’s chasing someone named “Grand Admiral Thrawn.” Though not nearly as big a character in the animated part of the franchise as Ahsoka, Thrawn has a decades-long history essential to the larger “Star Wars” franchise. Introduced in the 1991 novel “Heir to the Empire” by Timothy Zahn, Thrawn was a Chiss Admiral regarded by many as the best military strategist in the Empire. Following the conclusion of the original trilogy and the death (sadly, momentarily) of Emperor Palpatine, Thrawn quickly became the next big villain in the “Star Wars” universe, reviving fan interest in the franchise during a period without new movies, and setting the standard for the massive expanded universe.
Though Disney discarded all the Thrwan-era books from the main “Star Wars canon, Dave Filoni himself revived the character, plucking him out of oblivion and reinserting him into the third season of “Star Wars: Rebels,” in a major role, where he served as a foil to the then-new Rebel Alliance. Thrawn was last seen defeated by a young ‘Rebels’ Jedi named Ezra Bridger, but then both were inadvertently transported to an unknown corner of the galaxy. ‘Rebels’ ended with Ahsoka and another character from the series off to search for him in an untold storyline fans have dubbed “The Search For Ezra.”
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It seems this episode of the ‘Mandalorian’ is something of a backdoor pilot to tell that story with Ahsoka and likely members from the ‘Rebels’ team. From the beginning, it’s been said Dave Filoni’s involvement in “The Mandalorian” could be about connecting the show to Filoni’s earlier animated work. This latest episode makes a strong case that this ‘Mandalorian’ has finally opened the door to tell this sequel to the “Rebels” story. It’s very much a possibility, maybe an inevitability that Ahsoka’s quest for Thrawn will also lead to a live-action “Search For Ezra”/Ahsoka Tano spin-off show, which would eventually debut Ezra onscreen (who could easily become Grogu’s teacher). Additionally, there has already been plenty of rumors and hints by “The Haunting of Bly Manor” actor Rahul Kohli that he may be playing Bridger.
Is all that necessarily bad? Depends on who you ask. “The Jedi” will seem to many like an entire episode of fan service on the surface, but it’s actually been the best episode of the season so far, moving and emotional like the best Filoni-led episodes of ‘Clone Wars’ & “Rebels.’ One thing is certain, this season of “The Mandalorian” has done more to bridge different corners of the “Star Wars” universe than any other project in the franchise, and we’re just getting started.