Ahsoka Episode 3 Breakdown and Easter Eggs

Episode 3 of Ahsoka reveals more about the New Republic policies, the Master-Apprentice relationship between Ahsoka-Sabine, and for the first time in live-action we get to see the mighty Purrgils. This episode only lasts thirty minutes but it pushes the story forward.

Ahsoka Recap: the story so far

Ahsoka found a star map that could lead to both Ezra and Thrawn. She went to Lothal to ask for Sabine’s help, the Mandalorian girl took the map without Ahsoka’s permission and lost it after being stabbed by Shin Hati.

Ahsoka recovered the head of one of the HK droids that attacked Sabine, this led her and Hera to the industrial planet of Corellia. After investigating, they discovered that all employees were still loyal to the Empire.

A transport carrying a hyperspace core escaped after Ahsoka was distracted by Marrok, a former Inquisitor. Hera managed to plant a tracking device on the transport, with this, they could learn its destination and hopefully, its purpose.

After recovering from her wound, Sabine gears up in her Mandalorian armor and joins Ahsoka in her journey to find their missing friend, Ezra Bridger.

Sabine Wren, Jedi Padawan

It’s been a while since Sabine trained with Ahsoka, and it shows. While her movements are “ok”, her performance is just average to Professor Huyang. He has trained Jedi Padawans for more time than even Master Yoda, so he has one idea or two about how proficient someone should be at this type of training.

The fact that Sabine is a Mandalorian helps when it comes to fighting Stormtroopers, repairing ships, or slicing into enemy computers but it looks like it holds her back when training to become a Jedi.

Mandalorians are proud warriors who aren’t known for their patience or thinking twice before acting, this is the opposite of how Jedi are expected to behave. Asking for Sabine to become the opposite of how she’s been for a good part of her life is no small thing, but Ahsoka is no ordinary Jedi herself so I’m sure that they’ll manage to make things work out.

I think that it’s important to notice what kind of training she’s doing. This is as basic as it gets when it comes to lightsaber training, younglings at the Jedi temple practiced it and it was also one of the first things that Luke Skywalker tried after meeting Obi-Wan.

This is the first time that Sabine even learns about it so I’m wondering what Ahsoka even tried to teach her before. Probably just some super basic combat forms and from Sabine’s performance against Huyang it probably didn’t last too long.

Chancellor Mothma

It’s good to see that after Clone Wars, Revenge of the Sith, Rebels, and Andor, Mon Mothma became the Chancellor of the New Republic. She’s one of the few politicians who called out the Galactic Empire on their inhumane “policies”. The former Senator is certainly not perfect but Mothma actually cared about the people whom politicians represent.

This is why it’s disheartening to see that even as a Chancellor, she’s very limited in terms of what things she can do. At this point in time I doubt there’s any other politician who’s more aware of the meaning of Grand Admiral Thrawn’s return.

I mean, it’s understandable that after Palpatine the position of Chancellor should be handled with extreme caution. Whoever has that kind of authority should always be held accountable and important decisions can’t be made just by that person.

With that said; it’s very frustrating to see Senators who don’t know anything about being in an actual war influence the actions that are taken (or not) to prevent another catastrophic conflict.

Being so passive when something dark is being put in motion is one of the reasons why the Republic fell in the first place but that doesn’t seem to concern complacent politicians like Senator Xiono. I really get why Hera was so pissed about the entire situation.

If Mothma blindly accepts the counsel of colleagues who don’t understand the threat that Thrawn represents it’s going to be too late to do anything when he eventually returns.

That’s Not How It Works

The situation is dire and it’s clear that Sabine must progress if she hopes to survive this adventure. From what we’ve seen so far, she has little to zero capacity to wield the Force. This is obviously not ideal, the Force enhances the Jedi’s strength, reflexes, speed, agility, and many other abilities depending on the individual.

I don’t think that there’s a record of a Jedi who’s barely capable of using the Force. If Sabine is incapable of using it then she’s at a massive disadvantage if we compare her to Shin Hati. Sure, her Mandalorian skills can come in handy in certain situations but being a Jedi is more than just fighting with a lightsaber.

It’s funny how Sabine asks Ahsoka if there’s a way to “speed things up”. This shows how little she understands about the whole “becoming a Jedi” thing, even after spending a good amount of time with Kanan and Ezra. Learning the ways of the Force isn’t something that can be done with an intensive course.

Maybe it’s not Sabine’s destiny to become a Jedi, but it’s important that she goes through this process in order to find herself. Despite being a badass Mandalorian girl, Sabine is full of doubt and regret that I assume originated when Ezra disappeared.

In her mind, she failed Ezra because he had to sacrifice himself to defeat Thrawn. Having her butt kicked and Huyang’s comments certainly don’t help Sabine regain her confidence, but Ahsoka trusts her and that is more important. I really like that she doesn’t want Sabine to be a Jedi, but be the better version of herself.

Just Like In Clone Wars

Dogfights are super fun to watch and sadly the amount of times we’ve been able to experience them in the last few years can be counted with our fingers. The T-6 shuttle is one of my favorite ships from the Clone Wars era, so getting to see it in action is super cool even if it’s just for a few minutes.

This sequence reminded me of both Clone Wars and Rebels, it’s nothing too fancy but how they managed to survive while also being able to obtain information reminded me so much about Anakin and Ahsoka doing complex maneuvers to complete their mission.

Ahsoka giving Sabine full command of what to do and when to do it is a great deal because this proves that she trusts Sabine with her life. This is also a lesson of patience and serenity for the young Mandalorian.

She was starting to panic after missing the first shots but Ahsoka didn’t freak out and her words helped Sabine maintain her focus. Their teamwork is the only reason why they got away.

Ahsoka going out of the T-6 to buy some time is so badass, though it’s probably only possible due to the enemy starfighters’ fire not being that powerful. I can’t imagine that she pulls something like that with something that has heavier firepower. It’s strange that these fighters don’t appear to be that destructive.

Their size and speed make me think that they’re some type of Interceptor-class starfighter but the T-6 shuttle was able to withstand multiple rounds of fire without being seriously damaged.

It was only when the big turbo lasers started to fire that the situation got dangerous for everyone aboard. So, either the T-6 is built like a tank, or the small ships aren’t built for space battles like an A-Wing or Tie Interceptor.

The Path To Ezra and Thrawn

Watching the Purrgils for the first time in live-action is probably my personal highlight of this episode. They are mysterious and beautiful creatures that have made us wonder a lot about Ezra and Thrawn’s fate.

It might be just a small step, but it’s one in the right direction. Morgan Elsbeth hasn’t made a great effort to cover her tracks, it’s almost as if she doesn’t care about the New Republic knowing about her plan. I’m curious about her overconfidence, if Thrawn’s return is going to be so triumphant it’s probably not just because he’s such a high-ranking Imperial.

Thrawn is one of the best strategic minds Star Wars has ever seen, I’m sure that he’s been planning his return for quite some time. However, he wouldn’t return just for the sake of it without having a proper plan.

With the disbanding of the Galactic Empire and its few remnants scattered around the galaxy, Thrawn must have something in mind, a strategy to reinstate the Galactic Empire. To pull off something like that, it’s not only about doing the right play but also choosing the perfect moment to do so.

It’s both intriguing and terrifying to think about what’s going to be the Grand Admiral’s move. A weapon? Ancient knowledge? Maybe something that makes it back into canon like the Yuuzhan Vong?

As much as I love Thrawn, I can’t deny that I’m very worried about the fate of Sabine, Ahsoka, Hera, and Chopper. Star Wars Rebels fans know very well how it is to lose a loved character in mere seconds without any warning. It happened with Kanan and then it happened with Ezra, I’m wondering if we’ll go through the same pain with this series.

Easter Eggs And References

This episode’s easter eggs and references aren’t that meaningful if we compare them to the ones we found in the first two episodes but they are still worth noticing.

New Republic Colors

The New Republic has chosen blue and white as its official colors. This can be seen in things like this A-Wing squadron and the uniforms of the personnel aboard the New Republic cruisers.

Kendo

The equipment that Sabine uses when practicing her lightsaber forms reminds me of the equipment used in Kendo, a Japanese martial art whose purpose is to improve the mind and body of its practitioner.

Jacen Syndulla

During the Series finale of Star Wars Rebels, we met Jacen Syndulla. He’s the son of General Hera Syndulla and Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus. Episode three of the Ahsoka series introduces him for the first time in live-action (The green hair looks just as bad as I imagined it would). We’re yet to learn if he’s Force-sensitive.

WWII Aircraft

Shin Hati and Marrok are piloting two starfighters that look like they came straight out of WWII. The design is almost identical and even the rate of fire of these ships is the same. It’s always amusing to see that Filoni takes ideas from other places that aren’t Star Wars media.

Ahsoka Episodes Breakdown and Easter Eggs

This list contains our reviews and breakdowns of every episode of the TV Series Ahsoka. Discover and learn about all references and easter eggs Dave Filoni and his Sta Wars team put in the show's production.

What you should know before watching the Ahsoka Series (Prep Guide)

This guide will help you prepare for the upcoming Ahsoka Series on Disney Plus and fully enjoy it. What you should watch before Ahsoka or, if you prefer the short version, and just get the facts and events related to the show and skip catching up with old shows, we’ve got just what you want.