--- description: The first two episodes of the new Ahsoka spinoff series set up a long-awaited Star Wars story title: Breaking Down Ahsoka's First Two Episodes image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt47361e3b29d140f0/698a3fbf457a521bf1d67e35/Ahsoka_online_trailer_uhd_r709f_stills_230329.088468.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Television](/tag/television/) ## Television Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How _Ahsoka_'s First Two Episodes Set Up a Long-Awaited _Star Wars_ Story  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Updated: Aug 23, 2023 6:55 PM CUTPublished: Aug 23, 2023 1:00 AM CUT  Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano in Ahsoka Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano in AhsokaLucasfilm Ltd.  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Updated: Aug 23, 2023 6:55 PM CUTPublished: Aug 23, 2023 1:00 AM CUT **_Warning: This post contains spoilers for the first two episodes of_** **Star Wars: Ahsoka** **_._** The new [_Star Wars_](https://time.com/6234534/andor-best-star-wars-show/ "undefined") spinoff series [_Ahsoka_](https://time.com/6306900/ahsoka-star-wars-what-to-know/ "undefined")dropped its first two episodes on Disney+ on Tuesday, laying the groundwork for a galaxy far, far away storyline that some fans have been waiting on for years. Written and co-directed by _Star Wars_ veteran Dave Filoni, the show brings Rosario Dawson back as Ahsoka Tano following the former Jedi Knight's live-action debut in [_The Mandalorian_](https://time.com/6272977/the-mandalorian-season-3-finale/ "undefined"). But the character's backstory stretches well beyond her interactions with Din Djarin and Grogu. First introduced in the 2008 animated movie _The_ _Clone Wars_ as the teenage padawan of [Anakin Skywalker](https://time.com/6177355/hayden-christensen-obi-wan-kenobi-star-wars-prequels/ "undefined") (voiced by Matt Lanter), Ahsoka (voiced by Ashley Eckstein) has a long and significant history within _Star Wars_ canon. In the subsequent animated series _The Clone Wars_ and _Rebels_, Ahsoka walks the path of the Jedi before ultimately rejecting the Order, survives the Jedi purge, aids the rebellion against the Empire, teams up with the infamous Ghost crew resistance fighters, and even battles Darth Vader (her former master turned to the Dark Side) in an epic lightsaber duel. _Ahsoka_ picks up where its titular heroine's storyline left off in the series finale of _Rebels_, which aired in March 2018 and left the fates of several fan-favorite Ghost crew members open-ended. ## How _Ahsoka_ takes up the _Rebels_ cause Set within the same timeframe as _The Mandalorian_, the events of _Ahsoka_ take place several years after the fall of the Galactic Empire in _The Return of the Jedi_. This is a period of time when the New Republic, the democratic government formed by the Rebel Alliance following their victory against the Empire, retains only precarious control over the galaxy.  (L-R): Ray Stevenson as Baylan Skoll and Ivanna Sakhno as Shin Hati in Ahsoka Nicola Goode—Lucasfilm Ltd. The premiere begins with Baylan Skoll (played by the late Ray Stevenson), a former Jedi who fell to the Dark Side, and his apprentice Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) deceptively boarding the New Republic ship where former Imperial Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) is being held prisoner. We last saw Morgan when she was being questioned by Ahsoka about the whereabouts of Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen, who also voiced the character in _Rebels_) in _The Mandalorian_. This cold open immediately sets the scene for where _Ahsoka_ appears to be headed. _Rebels_, which was set after _The Revenge of the Sith_ and before _A New Hope_, centered on a small rebel cell known as the Spectres, or Ghost crew, that primarily operated off of the Outer Rim planet Lothal and whose activities drew the attention of Thrawn, one of the Empire's top commanders. Members of the Ghost crew included Ahsoka, Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren (voiced by Tiya Sircar), pilot Hera Syndulla (Vanessa Marshall), Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prinze Jr.), and Kanan's padawan, Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray). Following Kanan's death, the finale of the animated series saw the remaining Spectres go up against Thrawn to save Lothal from the Empire. The battle ended with Ezra—who was wanted by Emperor Palpatine for his connection to the World Between Worlds, a mysterious plane of the Force that touches every point of time and space in the _Star Wars_ universe—sacrificing himself by boarding Thrawn's flagship and summoning a flock of the space whales known as [purrgils](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Purrgil "undefined") to capture Thrawn's fleet and vanish it through hyperspace with both Thrawn and Ezra onboard. ## What happens in the first two episodes of _Ashoka_  Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera Syndulla in Ahsoka Suzanne Tenner—Lucasfilm Ltd. When we're reunited with Ahsoka in the spinoff's premiere, she's searching for a map that holds the key to Thrawn's whereabouts—and also possibly Ezra's. After finding the map on Arcana, a former stronghold of the [Witches of Dathomir](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Witches%5Fof%5FDathomir "undefined"), she reconvenes with Hera (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), now a New Republic general, who suggests she seek out her estranged former apprentice Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) on Lothal to help unlock it. Unfortunately, Morgan anticipates this move and has Baylan send Shin to Lothal to find Sabine and retrieve the map. The second episode opens with Sabine recovering after being stabbed and defeated in a lightsaber duel against Shin, who has delivered the unlocked map back to her master. The map reveals the Pathway to Peridea, a passage between galaxies that supposedly leads to where Thrawn and Ezra disappeared to all those years ago.  (L-R): Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano and Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren in Ahsoka Suzanne Tenner—Lucasfilm Ltd. With Thrawn poised to become heir to the Empire if he returns—and the hope of finding Ezra reignited—Ahsoka, Sabine, and Hera once again join forces on a mission to prevent another war as the episode draws to a close. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6307162/ahsoka-star-wars-premiere/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6307162/ahsoka-star-wars-premiere/"},"headline":"How Ahsoka's First Two Episodes Set Up a Long-Awaited Star Wars Story","datePublished":"2023-08-23T01:00:00.000Z","dateModified":"2023-08-23T18:55:26.000Z","description":"How the first two episodes of the new spinoff series set up a long-awaited Star Wars story","url":"https://time.com/6307162/ahsoka-star-wars-premiere/","keywords":["Television","Explainer","culturepod"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt47361e3b29d140f0/698a3fbf457a521bf1d67e35/Ahsoka_online_trailer_uhd_r709f_stills_230329.088468.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt47361e3b29d140f0/698a3fbf457a521bf1d67e35/Ahsoka_online_trailer_uhd_r709f_stills_230329.088468.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"STAR WARS: AHSOKA","caption":"STAR WARS: AHSOKA","creditText":"Lucasfilm Ltd.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/television/","name":"Television"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6307162/ahsoka-star-wars-premiere/","name":"How Ahsoka's First Two Episodes Set Up a Long-Awaited Star Wars Story"}}]}] ```