Ahsoka Episode 2: Star Wars Easter Eggs You Might Have Missed

Contains spoilers for "Ahsoka" Episode 2 — "Toil and Trouble"

As a continuation of "Star Wars Rebels," "Ahsoka" on Disney+ is inherently deeply entrenched in the lore of a galaxy far, far away. It centers on the former Padawan of Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), namely Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson). She's come a long way from the Clone Wars and continues fighting for justice in the aftermath of the Empire's fall. In the new show, she's hunting down Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) and, by extension, locating Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) following the events of "Star Wars Rebels."

But it's one step forward and two steps back, as indicated by the first episode of the new series. Ahsoka finds a map that could lead her to Thrawn, but when she brings it to Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), it ends up in the enemy's hands. Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) wounds Sabine and runs off with the map, but luckily, Sabine survives the encounter. There's still more work to be done, and it's a race against the clock so that the old rebel crew can save Ezra and defeat Thrawn once and for all before he comes back into power in the galaxy.

Fortunately, Sabine recovers in a medical bay at the start of Episode 2, but there's plenty of other good news for long-time "Star Wars" fans. Numerous Easter eggs and references to past "Star Wars" properties populate the story, showcasing how developer and writer Dave Filoni was given free rein to further flesh out the franchise. 

After making sure Sabine is all right, Ahsoka visits her home to get more information about her encounter with Shin Hati and the droids. She hears the drawing of lightsabers and the two women speaking to each other. This power goes by many names in "Star Wars," but most probably know it as a Force Echo.

It also goes by Sense Echo, psychometry, and retrocognition in various forms of media. This is a Force ability that allows the user to obtain information about events or people through a location or object. In this instance, it allows Ahsoka to hear what happened even though she wasn't even there. And Sabine mentioning she only took out one of the two droids enables her to be prepared for the other one waiting for her inside. 

The Force Echo has a history in "Star Wars" Legends, which Disney uncanonized when it pursued new stories for film and television. However, aspects of Legends have made their way into new stories. It was officially established in "Star Wars" lore within the "Hunt for Ziro" episode of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." Many will likely know about the Force Echo from the "Jedi: Fallen Order" and "Jedi: Survivor" video games, where Cal Kestis (Cameron Monaghan) uses the ability to learn about past events throughout his adventure. Rey (Daisy Ridley) also possesses this power, as she experienced psychometry when she touched Luke's lightsaber in "The Force Awakens." It's a potent ability and a good demonstration of just how far Ahsoka has come in her training since she was a Padawan. 

After Ahsoka defeats the remaining droid, she brings it to Sabine, who determines it's from Corellia. It's a New Republic shipyard, and its name should be familiar to anyone who saw "Solo: A Star Wars Story." It's the home planet of the one and only Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) and isn't exactly held in high regard in the galaxy. One scene in "Solo" has Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany) tell Han, "Well, I admire anyone who can crawl their way out of the sewer. Especially a sewer as putrid as Corellia."

Of course, that film was set prior to the events of "A New Hope." "Ahsoka" takes place after "Return of the Jedi," and these days, it looks like the New Republic uses Corellia to dismantle former Imperial technology for its own uses. The planet has produced many starfighters and Star Destroyers over the years. But Corellia is a shady world, even in the best of times. Politics are often affiliated with bloodshed, and "Ahsoka" confirms that's still the case during this particular period. 

As Ahsoka and Hera are shown around the shipyard, they make idle talk about how former Imperials now work for the New Republic. This catches the two off-guard due to being worried that someone could still hold allegiance to the old Empire. Those fears are proven correct when they're eventually attacked, with one employee even shouting, "For the Empire," before shooting at them. Ahsoka's attention may be on Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto), but it's clear there are plenty of other dangers lurking.

"Ahsoka," like "The Mandalorian," takes place after the fall of the Empire in "Return of the Jedi." Unfortunately, peace is not permanent in any galaxy, and fans know all too well that the First Order will rise to power and cause problems during the sequel trilogy. "Ahsoka" shows how many still favor the Empire and will go to great lengths to bring the Sith back to power. Despite assurances that former Imperials are loyal to whoever pays them, Ahsoka and Hera learn the hard way that many people want to bring the Empire back, and they will eventually succeed. 

This storyline is continued from "The Mandalorian," specifically "Chapter 19: The Convert." That episode steers away from the journey of Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) to focus on former Imperials pardoned by the New Republic through the Amnesty Program. Dr. Pershing (Omid Abtahi) wants to resume his cloning research, which is strictly forbidden by the Republic. Elia Kane (Katy M. O'Brian), another Imperial who worked under Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito), assists him, but she quickly betrays him. 

Both of these shows lay the groundwork so that audiences can better understand how the First Order came to be a relatively short time after the Empire. Perhaps the New Republic was too trusting, but there are greater dangers coming down the road. But for now, Ahsoka's focus is on the map and finding Thrawn.

Sabine Wren may be a rebel, but she's also a Mandalorian. That group is more prominent now more than ever thanks to "The Mandalorian," with Season 3 depicting them reclaiming Mandalore. It makes sense fans would expect Sabine to factor into the other "Star Wars" show at this point, but "Ahsoka" Episode 2 still has a moment where Sabine pays tribute to her heritage. 

After realizing how much she needs Ahsoka, Sabine heads back home, takes out her Mandalorian armor, and places it on the ground. "Star Wars Rebels" establishes this armor is over 500 years old, but Sabine naturally puts her own spin on it. As an artist, Sabine colored various plates with bright, vibrant colors, making them uniquely her own. One pauldron bears the Rebel Alliance Starbird logo, signifying her allegiance to take down the Empire. The other pauldron should be a delight to see for anyone who watched "Rebels."

Throughout the animated series, Sabine painted various animals on her left pauldron, including an anooba, fyrnock, and convor. However, the final battle with Thrawn features purrgil, essentially space whales that can leap through hyperspace, taking Thrawn's Star Destroyer away to unknown regions with Ezra onboard. The final moments of "Rebels" reveals how Sabine has painted a purrgil on that plate, and it seems like she hasn't changed it in the years since, potentially demonstrating how Sabine turned her back on the Mandalorian way for a long time. But to head into a dangerous future, she must don the armor once more, and at that point, she's ready to join forces with Ahsoka once again.

Prior to "Ahsoka" coming out, writer Dave Filoni mentioned how viewers wouldn't need to watch "Star Wars Rebels" to understand what's going on. And it seems he was true to his word, as "Ahsoka" pretty much recreates the final scenes of "Rebels," appropriate given how they're off to do what they had planned originally.

After the final battle of "Rebels," Sabine looks upon a mural created on Lothal of her old crew, including Ezra. She's wearing her Mandalorian armor and becomes aware that she's not alone. She looks behind her, and Ahsoka is standing there with a hood. It's clear the two are teaming up to look for Ezra, which is also precisely what happens in "Ahsoka" Episode 2. Ahsoka saying, "Nice haircut," could even be seen as a reference to Sabine's shorter locks in "Rebels."

But while "Rebels" ends ambiguously, they know what their mission entails next in "Ahsoka." Huyang (David Tennant) informs them of where the Corellian ship went, so they have a new lead on how to track down Ezra and Thrawn. It's a fun parallel for "Rebels" fans and shows how the characters pick up where we last left them. The two are joining forces as master and apprentice to find their friend, truly making this a continuation of "Rebels" and hopefully bringing some much-needed closure to these characters' stories.