The show responsible for reviving the Star Wars franchise on television is back with its third season. The Mandalorian Season 3 premiere was highly watched by audiences everywhere, and I’m happy to say the episode did not disappoint. Continuing the story from those two random Boba Fett book chapters where the Mandalorian took over, Season 3 starts off with a bang! But the show isn’t just the first of many amazing Star Wars shows, it’s the start of the interconnected Star Wars universe within Disney+. Not to mention connecting the pre-existing Star Wars stories within the narrative and its world building. One of those huge tie-ins comes in the first half of The Mandalorian Season 3 premiere, as it connects the animated Star Wars: Rebels to the upcoming live-action Ahsoka series! Read on to find out how and what that really means for Ahsoka.
Please note that the following sections will contain massive spoilers for both seasons of The Mandalorian, as well as the season 3 premiere.
The Mandalorian brought much of the Clone Wars to live action
While The Mandalorian originally started as a new stand-alone origin story set in Star Wars, there were still many connections to the larger universe. The connections intensified in season 2 with the mention of Jadis, and the live-action debut of characters from the Clone Wars animated series, such as Bo-Katan (Kate Sakoff) and Asuka Tano (Rosario Dawson). Not to mention the concepts of Mandalore from that series. Season 2 ended with a massive reveal when it appeared that after Return of the Jedi Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) began Grogo’s Jedi training.
Most interestingly, the show spawned two new series with the upcoming Boba Fett and Ashoka book. While Boba Fett didn’t exactly make fans scream for his stories – say ‘what’ – the anticipation for Ahsoka couldn’t be higher. Her appearance in Season 2 ties into what could be her series plot; Her search for Ezra Bridger. But, first some context so it makes sense.
How does Ahsoka’s debut relate to Star Wars: Rebels?
In season 2, we learned that Ahsoka was looking for someone. That someone was revealed to be Grand Admiral Thrawn. While casual viewers of The Mandalorian Season 3 premiere might not know who he is, fans of Star Wars: Rebels and Romans certainly do. Thrawn was the main baddie of Rebels, and the series ended with the protagonist, Ezra Bridger and Thrawn, being sucked into hyperspace and eventually lost in space.
Star Wars: Rebels Ends with Ahsoka and Sabine Ren (Natasha Liu Bondizzo in the Ahsoka series) going to look for and find Ezra. Many think this is going to be the main storyline of the Ahsoka series. The search for Ezra Bridger. And considering that Ezra and Theron were last seen together, Ahsoka looking for Theron in The Mandalorian lends even more credence to this theory. While no one has actually confirmed what the Ahsoka series will be about, we just got a huge potential confirmation The Mandalorian Season 3 premiere!
The Mandalorian season 3 premiere features a dino and whale battle
Season 3 of “The Mandalorian” begins with a ceremony that apparently introduces a new young Mandalorian to “the way”. When a pre-teen receives his first helmet and swears his oath, a water creature appears out of nowhere and attacks the group. Eventually, Dean (Pedro Pascal) and Gorgo show up to save the day. After Dean has a conversation with the Armor (Emily Swallow), he flies off to redeem himself for taking off his helmet in Season 2 and becoming a Mandalorian again.
In hyperspace time, we see Grogo and Dean dozing off as the ship seemingly autopilots them to their destination. Grogo wakes up and looks around. And to his astonishment, and perhaps fear as well, he sees with a faint voice a creature traveling beside them, between the looks. As the shot changes, we clearly see a massive whale-like creature shadowed alongside their ship. In hyperspace! Another shot then reveals even more of them, flying through space, alongside Dean and Grogo!
How the Mandalorian season 3 premiere connects directly to the rebels and Ahsoka
Obviously they are Purgill! Purgill are creatures that have only ever been introduced and appeared in Star Wars: Rebels. They are basically space whales, with tentacles. They are mild and non-invasive unless attacked. And they fly in space and can go into hyperspace as well. In a previous episode of the series, Ezra Bridger protects them from an attack and helps them survive. He develops a relationship with them through the force.
In the last episode of the Rebel series, it is precisely these creatures that he calls for help. The Porgil help Ezra and our heroes turn the tide against the Empire, and with these creatures Ezra and Theron fly into hyperspace and become lost in the distance of space.
Their appearance in the Season 3 premiere of The Mandalorian in such a throwaway and brief way can only mean they’ll play a bigger role down the road. If not in The Mandalorian, but most likely in Ahsoka. It feels like a way to ease casual viewers, but also Star Wars superfans, into the idea of the space-walking creatures. Especially if Ahsoka is going to introduce them, at least in the context of how they were responsible for Ezra and Theron’s disappearance. It was definitely a point and scream TV moment when they appeared, which I think was intentional.
The Mandalorian season 3 premiere is now streaming on Disney+
Did you catch the Purgill’s first live action performance? Are you excited about what this means for Ahsoka? Let me know in the comments below, or on Twitter at @theshahshahid.
Image displayed via Disney+.
