Ahsoka Finally Made The Storm Troopers Scary - It Just Took One Thing

Contains spoilers for "Ahsoka" Season 1, Episode 8 – "The Jedi, The Witch, and the Warlord" 

Leave it to Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), one of the brightest strategic minds in the galaxy, to find a way to shift the narrative on the biggest meme in all of "Star Wars," making stormtroopers not only useful but more frightening than ever. 

In the "Ahsoka" finale, Thrawn finally enacts his plan to escape Peridea, using the magick of the Great Mothers to transform his stormtroopers from the aiming-challenged grunts of "Star Wars" legend to an endless horde of undying zombies. The one catch? They need to die first, which Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson), Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), and Ezra (Eman Esfandi) more than took care of. Unbeknownst to the Jedi, Thrawn's plan utilizes what stormtroopers are best at – dying – and turns one of their biggest weakness into a strength. Although the process doesn't improve their aim, it makes them unkillable, a never-ending wave of canon fodder whose sheer number is enough to overpower even a Jedi quickly. 

While "Ahsoka" isn't the first time "Star Wars" unearthed zombies, it is the first to do it in live-action, proving that, with the right resources at one's disposal – including soldiers willing to sacrifice their lives – stormtroopers can become a terrifying, unstoppable wave of endless canon fodder, so who's laughing now?

Although "Ahsoka" primarily focuses on the return of many "Star Wars Rebels" characters, including the titular Jedi, Sabine, Ezra, and Thrawn, the Disney+ series quietly showcases what stormtroopers are capable of, with Dave Filoni proving there's more to the soldiers than simply missing every blaster shot.

From their introduction, "Ahsoka" immediately sets its stormtroopers apart from the Empire's legions shown throughout "Star Wars," with Thrawn's Night Troopers donning unique broken armor enlaced with gold and accented with red strips of fabric. Led by Thrawn and Captain Enoch (Wes Chatham) – whose armor is even cooler than the rest – the stormtroopers prove their capabilities many times, including helping Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) corner Sabine and Ezra and even inflict serious damage onto Ahsoka's T-6 spaceship.

As if they hadn't already proved their worth, sacrificing themselves to the Great Mothers' Chant of Resurrection further sets Thrawn's Night Troopers apart compared to other stormtrooper legions. Surprisingly, the spell not only reanimates them into mindless zombies but brings out their full potential, proving that all this time, stormtroopers just needed to be immortal, even for a short time, to become a terrifying force in the galaxy. While it may be over, "Star Wars" fans may never see as qualified stormtroopers as are present on "Ahsoka."