10 easter eggs and references in Shadow of the Sith

Warning: This article includes spoilers from Shadow of the Sith. 

Shadow of the Sith by Adam Christopher is an excellent read, a character-driven story with high stakes that provides a strong bridge between the original and sequel trilogy eras. In addition to being a riveting and important story, it is also a rewarding read for Star Wars fans as it is filled with many Easter eggs and references to other Star Wars stories.

This article will focus on some of the smaller and more subtle connections in the book as opposed to major connections such as Exegol from The Rise of Skywalker or Kiza from the Aftermath books playing an important role.

These are some of the most fun, and in some cases, unexpected Easter eggs and references in Shadow of the Sith.

Ochi worked for Qi’ra

Ochi of Bestoon thinks back on how he has served various masters over the years, including Lady Qi’ra and Crimson Dawn. This is a reference to the Crimson Reign comics by Charles Soule that recently concluded.

Crimson Reign showed Ochi working for Qi’ra and Crimson Dawn to bring down Emperor Palpatine, Darth Vader, and the Empire. As part of the scheme to bring them down, Ochi lethally poisoned members of the Emperor’s Royal Guard.

Shadow of the Sith does not explain why or how Ochi stopped working Qi’ra and Crimson Dawn. This is not surprising as the story is not over and will continue in The Hidden Empire comics later this year. It is interesting to note that Ochi is working against the Sith in these Qi’ra comics, but he works for the Sith in Shadow of the Sith.

The lightsaber of Darth Noctyss

While under the control of Viceroy Exim Panshard’s mask, Kiza wields the lightsaber of Darth Noctyss. Both Darth Noctyss and her lightsaber were introduced in Dark Legends by George Mann. Since the stories in that book are legends and essentially dark fairy tales within the Star Wars universe, the stories and the elements in them are not all strictly canon.

Shadow of the Sith has now made Darth Noctyss and her lightsaber canon. Even before the lightsaber is introduced, Noctyss is also among the names that the Sith Eternal chant on Exegol.

The seeing stone on Tython

When Luke Skywalker needs more clarity on his visions of Exegol, he goes to meditate on the seeing stone on the planet Tython. This is the same planet that Din Djarin and Grogu travel to at Ahsoka Tano’s suggestion in season 2 of The Mandalorian.

It is also the same seeing stone that Grogu uses to reach out to Luke Skywalker. It is neat to see Luke now being the one to use the seeing stone, although there is no mention of Grogu or Luke’s history with him in the novel.

TIE Defender

Kiza flies a TIE Defender in the novel. Unlike the standard TIE Fighter, the TIE Defender has a hyperdrive, deflector shields, and additional wings, all of which made it more difficult to destroy.

After originating in Star Wars Legends, the TIE Defender was brought into canon through Star Wars Rebels. The TIE Defender initiative was spearheaded by Grand Admiral Thrawn. He believed having a fleet of these ships would help counter the growing threat of rebellion.

The project was ultimately abandoned and production did not continue, but prototypes still existed, such as the one Kiza flies in Shadow of the Sith. This is also the furthest point in the canon timeline that a TIE Defender has appeared.

Prequel-era Jedi

While fans expected many original and sequel trilogy era connections, fans didn’t expect much connectivity to the prequel era. One of the most surprising and exciting connections is Ochi remembering when he hunted Jedi from the prequel era.

He remembers when his job was to hunt and kill Depa Billaba. He thought it would be an easy job as Depa Billaba was a Padawan. Ochi quickly realized he was in over his head when his hunt was foiled by Depa Billaba’s master–Mace Windu.

Readers don’t get to see exactly how that story ended as the novel cuts back to the present just as Mace Windu lifts his purple lightsaber and prepares to strike, but obviously Ochi and Mace Windu both survived, as did Depa Billaba as she went on to train the Padawan who would become Kanan Jarrus.

Star Wars comics taking place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi already incorporated Ochi into the original trilogy era and now this novel has connected Ochi to the prequel trilogy era as well.

Darth Momin’s mask

Lando understands more about Sith artifacts than the average individual because of his experiences with Darth Momin’s mask, which he mentions a couple of times in the novel.

This is a reference to the Lando comic series written by Charles Soule and helps Lando better understand what is happening with Viceroy Exim Panshard’s mask in Shadow of the Sith.

Targons

When Lando is on the planet Polaar, he notices a giant cat with four eyes. Komat tells Lando that the creature is a targon named Sekhmet, whose presence Komat finds meditative, and who is able to survive on Polaar because targons are immune to distrionic radiation.

Targons were introduced in the High Republic and debuted in the novel Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule. Republic Chancellor Lina Soh has two pet targons named Matari and Voru who are beside her wherever she goes. It is nice to know that at least this targon is still thriving in the galaxy hundreds of years after the events of the High Republic.

Red Dwarfs

A drink called a Red Dwarf is mentioned when Lando is at Sennifer’s Beam and Balance on Boxer Point Station. When speaking with the YouTube channel Star Wars Explained, author Adam Christopher shared that this is a reference to a drink from a 1979 comic strip called Tatooine Sojourn.

Battlefront II connections

Fans of 2017’s Star Wars Battlefront II story campaign will enjoy a couple of connections in the book. The most prominent connection is Shriv–a Duros character introduced in the game’s story campaign–who now serves as a useful New Republic contact for Lando. He helps Lando on multiple occasions in this book, which makes sense given their shared history and friendship from Battlefront II.

A more minor connection is that Luke thinks about how he and Lor San Tekka mapped out a network of Jedi temples using the star compass he found on the planet Pilio. Luke finding the Jedi star compass on Pilio is also part of the story campaign in Battlefront II.

An important planet named is revealed

Fans have seen Luke’s Jedi temple and academy in the sequel trilogy films, in comics such as The Rise of Kylo Ren, and in The Book of Boba Fett. While it is an important location, fans did not know the name of the planet until it was stated in Shadow of the Sith.

The name of the planet is Ossus. While this is the first mention of Ossus in canon, the planet was first introduced in Star Wars Legends and has an extensive history in those stories. The next time fans see Luke’s Jedi temple and academy in canon, they now know what planet it is located on.

What other Easter eggs and references did you catch in Shadow of the Sith? Let us know in the comments!