Credit: LucasfilmWarning! Spoilers ahead for Ahsoka “Part Seven: Dreams and Madness.”
The penultimate episode of Ahsoka is finally starting to integrate elements of its fellow Disney+ Star Wars series, The Mandalorian, into the greater story as Dave Filoni’s upcoming “Mando-Verse” crossover movie lingers on the not-so-distant horizon.
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What Is ‘Ahsoka’ About?
As George Lucas’ galaxy far, far away continues to grow under Disney’s guiding hand, there’s been plenty of trial and error. Thankfully, the latest Star Wars spinoff to hit Disney+, Dave Filoni’s Ahsoka, only seems to be getting better with each episode, bringing an end to a long string of less-than-impressive TV entries, including The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Starring Rosario Dawson as the titular ex-Jedi, the show picks up roughly around the same time as The Mandalorian Season 3, AKA nearly ten years after the fall of the Galactic Empire. Still haunted by her past, Ahsoka Tano sets out on a dangerous new mission — this time, to find the whereabouts of a familiar adversary: former Imperial warlord Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen).
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Along the way, Ahsoka seeks out help from old friends like Star Wars Rebels’ Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), now a New Republic General, and Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), who she has a bit of a complicated history with after taking her on as her Jedi Padawan, only to abandon her before she could complete her training.
There are also plenty of obstacles in the way of Ahsoka getting to Thrawn, including Nightsister Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) and her Force-using henchmen, Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) and Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson).
When Ahsoka finally does obtain the map to Thrawn’s location, it’s stolen by Baylan and Shin. When she gets the chance to reclaim it, she’s defeated by the mysterious master-apprentice duo, falling into the World Between Worlds until she’s rescued by Hera and her son, Jacen Syndulla (Evan Whitten).
Sabine’s unrelenting desire to find her lost friend, Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi), who disappeared into the Unknown Regions following his confrontation with Thrawn in the Rebels finale, forces her to make what is, perhaps, an ill-advised decision. She follows her captors onto Morgan Elsbeth’s ship, blasting off in hopes of finding this second Star Wars universe, where Thrawn and his army are eagerly awaiting.
‘Ahsoka’ Episode 7 Recap: Hera Syndulla Heads to Trial
This leads us to Ahsoka Episode 7, which opens with a particularly interesting scene depicting Hera’s New Republic trial. She faces a court martial from the ever-argumentative Senator Xiono (Nelson Lee) after she used the Ghost (now, technically, property of the government) to go on an unsanctioned mission to save Ahsoka on the planet Seatos.
While Chancellor Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) and Captain Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) have Hera’s back throughout the ordeal, the council agrees that Hera’s behavior and “personal agenda” is unbecoming of a New Republic General, as it’s not the Rebellion anymore, after all.
Thankfully, Senator Leia Organa comes to Hera’s rescue at the last minute, sending a hologram via her trusty droid, C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), in her place. But before she narrowly avoids being court-martialed, Senator Xiono namedrops a familiar group known as the Imperial Remanent.
When lecturing Hera on Thrawn’s supposed reemergence in a far-off, distant galaxy, Xiono says that her report reads like “a child’s fairy tale,” citing “Jedi, false Jedi, star whales, distant galaxies” in his attack.
When Hera defends her report, trying her best to assure the council that Morgan Elsbeth is, indeed, organizing the Imperial Remnant, Xiono cuts her off, saying, “There is no proof of any coordinated between the scattered and dwindling number of Imperial forces.”
‘Ahsoka’ Namedrops Fan-Favorite ‘Mandalorian’ Villain, Moff Gideon
It’s here that Carson Teva rises from his seat in the audience, stating loudly, “What about the conflict on Mandalore?” Xiono responds, “Exactly my point. Gideon was a warlord acting on his own. There is no proof of a greater conspiracy and, thus, no immediate threat to this Republic.”
The Imperial Remanent is exactly as advertised — what remains of the Galactic Empire in the years after its collapse. This elusive group hides in the shadofws and is spread across the galaxy into different Imperial Factions. And as fans of The Mandalorian know, one of its canon leaders, Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), plays a pivotal role in the organization, wreaking havoc across the galaxy as they attempt to restore the Empire to its former glory.
In the latest season, Gideon, who’s had an obsession with cloning Force-sensitive versions of himself since Season 1, finally meets his demise at the hands of Grogu, Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), and Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal). But that doesn’t mean the Imperial Remnant is giving up on their nefarious plans.
Dave Filoni’s Upcoming “Mando-Verse” Movie: Will Thrawn Be the “Big Bad?”
While it may be an otherwise insignificant line in the grand scheme of things for the seventh Ahsoka episode, Xiono and Carson Teva namedropping Gideon does suggest that Dave Filoni’s “Mando-Verse” — referring to the world and characters seen in Ahsoka, The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Skeleton Crew — is moving along quicker than anticipated.
The crossover event was announced during April’s Star Wars Celebration Europe and will supposedly act as the culmination of these Disney+ series. Based on what’s being set up in Ahsoka Season 1, it looks like Thrawn is gearing up to take center stage as the movie’s primary villain, becoming “Heir to the Empire” and therefore taking control of the scattered Imperial Remnant.
While it hasn’t been confirmed whether or not this is the direction Filoni has in mind for his “Mando-Verse” film, it seems inevitable that Thrawn will act as the main antagonist, perhaps alongside the “Shadow Council” introduced in Season 3 of The Mandalorian. With Gideon out of his way, there’s certainly an opening for power in the Imperial Remnant — a group that already knows Thrawn and his abilities.
Either way, trouble is undoubtedly ahead for the already-fragile New Republic, and as Thrawn makes his way back to the known Star Wars galaxy, Ahsoka and Co. will have to convince the government to act — and soon.
For now, Filoni’s highly-anticipated “Mando-Verse” crossover movie has yet to receive an official release date from Disney or Lucasfilm, but many expect it to arrive in theaters in 2026 or 2027.
What did you think of the latest Ahsoka episode? Are you excited to see where the story goes next? Share your thoughts in the comments below.