11 episodes to watch to get primed for Ahsoka

The first season of the 2022 animated anthology series Tales Of The Jedi has just six episodes, half of which are focused on Ahsoka Tano. Each shows us a new facet of the character—we even see her as a newborn and a toddler already attuned to the Force—but for the most illustrative peek into her backstory we recommend the fifth installment, “Practice Makes Perfect.” After Anakin watches his Jedi Padawan easily take down a swarm of training remotes, he sets out to design a more difficult test for her against less predictable human foes. The nearest sparring partners happen to be clone troopers, so he instructs them to shoot at her with their blasters while she tries, and mostly fails, to fend them off. The exercise turns out to be vital to her survival in the future when Order 66 is issued and she has to fight against the clone troopers for real. In the final Ahsoka trailer, you can actually hear Hayden Christensen as Anakin recreating some bits of the dialogue from this episode (“In this war, you will face more than just droids; as your Master, it’s my responsibility to prepare you”)—so we think it could be important.

By the end of the second season of The Clone Wars, Ahsoka had seen and learned a lot. Far from the brash, overconfident 14-year-old introduced in the series as Anakin’s new Padawan, she grows into a patient and thoughtful leader with a promising future as a Jedi Knight. That’s all undone, however, in this episode. It begins with her in custody, falsely accused of the bombing of a Jedi temple a few episodes prior. Ahsoka pleads her innocence before the Jedi Council, but they expel her from the order and hand her over to the Republic for tribunal anyway. She’s nearly convicted, but Anakin shows up just in time with Barriss Offee, Ahsoka’s former friend and fellow Padawan, who confesses that she’s the one responsible. In light of this revelation, the Jedi Council welcomes Ahsoka back into the fold, but she’s had enough and turns them down, leaving Anakin behind. This rejection of the Jedi way becomes a defining moment in her life.

This episode is the culmination of the excellent final story arc of The Clone Wars, known collectively as The Siege of Mandalore, beginning with episode nine, “Old Friends Not Forgotten.” It occurs simultaneously with the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge Of The Sith. After surviving Order 66 and deactivating the inhibitor chip that caused her closest clone trooper ally Commander Rex to attempt to kill her, Ahsoka still has to deal with a defiant Darth Maul, a legion of murderous clones, and a disabled Star Destroyer plummeting into the surface of a moon. It ends in spectacular fashion, with Ahsoka standing among the graves of the clone army who once served her. The series wraps up with a gorgeous epilogue, featuring a sequence of the same wreckage covered in snow, as Anakin surveys the scene, now in full Darth Vader mode.

The new series may be titled Ahsoka, but we know that it will be populated with many of the characters from Star Wars Rebels and might even resolve that show’s cliffhanger ending. This is the episode where Ahsoka meets the crew of the Ghost in person for the first time and reveals herself to be the rebel spy known as Fulcrum. (Many fans had already guessed Fulcrum’s identity by this point, but it was still a cool reveal.) Ahsoka’s appearance in this episode is brief and happens near the end, but it’s a good introduction to Ezra Bridger, Kanan Jarrus, Hera Syndulla, Zeb Orrelios, Sabine Wren, and their droid Chopper before we see them again in live action in Ahsoka.

For a complete understanding of the state of the Jedi Order during the period when Rebels and Ahsoka take place, this is a must-see episode. It begins with a battle between Ezra, Kanan, and the Inquisitors, who have been tasked by Darth Vader to hunt down the remaining Jedi and any force-sensitive individuals throughout the galaxy. (They also played a big part in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.) Ezra demonstrates his aptitude for connecting with animals through the Force by summoning a giant flying creature called a tibidee to aid in their escape, a talent that will become important later on. He also has a talk with Ahsoka and learns about her history with Anakin. Together with Kanan, they visit the Jedi Temple on Lothal where Ezra meets Yoda face-to-face (technically, face-to-Force projection) for the first time, Ahsoka sees a vision warning her of Anakin’s transformation into Darth Vader, and Kanan confronts a temple guard who warns him that Ezra is in danger of being corrupted by the dark side of the Force.

We’re sneaking in a two-parter here, because you really need to watch both episodes to get the full story. (And together they only total 48 minutes in runtime, so it’s not a big commitment.) These take place on the planet Malachor, home to a Sith Temple that was once forbidden to Jedi. It’s here where Ezra faces temptation by Darth Maul to give in to the dark side and Ahsoka finally confronts her fallen master in his Darth Vader incarnation. The epic and emotional lightsaber battle between the two former best friends and allies is one for the ages.

There may be some important clues in this episode that may connect directly back to the mystery that Ahsoka will set out to solve. It introduces the concept of a realm that exists outside of time and space, where Ezra has been lured by Force-adept creatures called Loth wolves. He hears the voices of Jedis from the past and present (including all the films and series up to that point) and witnesses Ahsoka, who hasn’t been seen since “Twilight Of The Apprentice,” dueling with Darth Vader. Ezra saves her by pulling her through a portal, just in time to avoid Vader’s killing blow. He also sees the moment that Kanan sacrificed his life to save Hera and disrupt Grand Admiral Thrawn’s plans in the episode “Jedi Night.” He’s tempted to rewrite history by saving him, too, but Ahsoka convinces him not to interfere. He eventually escapes through a portal to the Jedi Temple on his homeworld of Lothal and watches the structure collapse.

In the series finale of Star Wars Rebels, the crew of the Ghost (now known as the Spectres) set out to liberate Lothal from the Empire once and for all. Grand Admiral Thrawn (who will also be making an appearance in Ahsoka) threatens to destroy the planet’s Capital City unless Ezra surrenders to him. Left with no choice, Ezra flies to Thrawn’s ship and turns himself in. Aboard the Chimaera, Thrawn leaves Ezra alone with a holographic transmission from Emperor Palpatine, who tempts him with an offer to change the past so that his parents never died. Ezra resists and uses the Force to destroy the last remnants of the Jedi Temple serving as the Emperor’s gateway. He also reaches out to call a pod of purrgil—flying, tentacled creatures with the ability to travel through hyperspace. (You may remember Grogu spotting some in the season three premiere of The Mandalorian.) The purrgil grab hold of the ship and disappear into hyperspace, taking both Ezra and Thrawn with them and leaving Rebels fans on a cliffhanger with no hope of resolution. Until now.

Rosario Dawson made her live-action debut as Ahsoka in this season-two episode of The Mandalorian. After Bo-Katan instructs Mando to seek out Ahsoka to help with his quest to find the Jedi and possibly a permanent home for The Child (this is the last episode that he’ll go by that name, which no one ever used anyway), he tracks her to the planet Calodan, where she’s engaged in an ongoing fight against Imperial Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth in an effort to learn the whereabouts of Thrawn. Mando helps Ahsoka defeat Elsbeth and in exchange, she reveals Grogu’s name, points him in the direction of a ruined Jedi Temple, and lets him keep Elsbeth’s beskar spear. Not a bad trade. Diana Lee Inosanto is confirmed to return as Elsbeth in Ahsoka, but we don’t know in what capacity.

The final episode on our list comes from The Book Of Boba Fett, during the stretch when it focused on the continuing story of Din Djarin rather than its titular character (and became way more interesting in the process). When Mando goes to pay a visit to Grogu at the new Jedi Temple where Luke Skywalker is training him, he’s intercepted by Ahsoka. She convinces him that his presence could disrupt Grogu’s training and he leaves without seeing him, but gives her a gift to pass on to his foster son: a beskar shirt made from the same spear she once gave him. And that’s the last time we see her until the start of her upcoming series.