This article contains spoilers for Ahsoka Episode 1: “Master and Apprentice.”
To the joy of Star Wars fans everywhere, Ahsoka is finally here! The first episode of the new show was packed with references to the larger universe, especially from The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels television shows. Here are some of the best Easter Eggs!
1. “We are no Jedi”
When Baylon Skoll and Shin Hati attack the ship transporting Morgan Elsbeth, Baylon tells the crew, “We are no Jedi.” This moment, exciting on its own, calls back to the Rebels season 2 finale, “Twilight of the Apprentice,” when Ahsoka confronts Darth Vader. In this exchange, Ahsoka tells Vader that she will avenge the death of her master, Anakin, by fighting him. He replies that revenge is against the code of the Jedi, prompting Ahsoka to tell him she is not a Jedi anymore. Baylon and Ahsoka mirror each other through this statement.
2. Baylon Skoll’s Hallway Fight
As Baylon continues fighting the prisoner transport vessel, he walks down a hallway, fighting the crew using both the Force and his lightsaber. His fighting style in this scene is reminiscent of a scene at the end of Rogue One. Darth Vader and Baylon move similarly, aggressively, using a Force choke to push an enemy out of the way. This callback highlights the danger Baylon represents.
3. Ahsoka’s Lightsaber Trick
When Ahsoka begins exploring the ancient temple, she uses the Force to spin her lightsaber blades into the ground, cutting a hole for her to reach the room below her. This is a trick she uses during the finale arc of The Clone Wars. In this scene, Ahsoka was running for her life as the clones, under the influence of Order 66, tried to kill her. She uses this circular cut to evade them. Evidently, she has continued using this technique ever since.
4. Fulcrum
Ahsoka and Huyang are hailed by a ship that contacts them using the callsign Fulcrum. During the Rebellion, Ahsoka adopted the term Fulcrum as a codename to protect the identities of informants like herself, who passed sensitive information about the Empire to the rebel movements across the galaxy. As the original Fulcrum agent, she certainly earned the right to use that name as her ship’s callsign, even after the end of the war.
5. Ryder Azadi and Jai Kell
At the ceremony on Lothal, fans saw two characters from Rebels in live action for the first time. Ryder Azadi was the governor of Lothal during the Empire’s reign and was later instrumental in the Battle of Lothal. Jai Kell was a friend of Ezra Bridger who, after deserting from the Imperial academy, joined the rebellion movement on Lothal. In the time since the Rebels finale, Ryder has become governor again, and Jai has risen to the role of senator.
6. Sabine’s Mural
The ceremony was celebrated in front of an important mural that has been brought into live action from the final moments of Rebels. Although she neglected to attend the event, Sabine was the artist who portrayed the entire Ghost crew, reminding Lothal of the heroes who freed their planet.
7. The Communication’s Tower
The tower that Sabine now calls home is the same one that Ezra Bridger once lived in before he joined the Ghost crew. A collection of stormtrooper helmets is visible in the background of the room, which Ezra used to collect. Although they are no longer prominently displayed, Sabine has preserved many of his old possessions, like the helmets but has also made the space her own by adding her distinctive doodles to the walls.
8. Ezra’s Goodbye Message
Sabine finds an old holograph recording of Ezra during the episode. While fans have never heard the contents of this message before, the scene recalls a similar one at the end of Rebels, after Ezra sacrificed himself to save his planet. The original message gave personalized comments to each member of the Ghost crew. To Sabine, he tells her he is counting on her. This second message could be viewed as a continuation of that first recording. Sabine seems to believe that Ezra is asking her to find him, and the new message may also encourage her to become a Jedi like him on that journey.
9. Nightsisters of Dathomir
Although it was a popular fan theory, Morgan Elsbeth was not confirmed as a Nightsister until this episode. The Nightsisters were Force users who wielded it like magic and were from the planet Dathomir who were featured in The Clone Wars. However, during the war, the majority of their members were killed. The planet and its magic returned in Rebels, so Ahsoka and Sabine are not strangers to their outlandish ways. Now we know that Morgan is one of the only surviving Nightsisters remaining.
10. Ezra’s Lightsaber
At the end of the episode, Sabine confronts Shin in a lightsaber battle. When Sabine grabs her lightsaber, it is clearly Ezra’s former saber which he gave her before his disappearance. Sabine immediately gets into the ready stance before the fight, a position that Ezra once taught her. Many years ago, she trained to use the Darksaber alongside both Ezra and his master, Kanan Jarrus. While Sabine is clearly a little rusty and less skilled than Shin, much of what she knows of lightsaber combat comes from Ezra, whose lightsaber she has made her own.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, Ahsoka wouldn’t exist.