28 Essential Episodes to Watch Before ‘Ahsoka’ Series
The upcoming ‘Ahsoka’ series, which is often called season 5 of ‘Star Wars: Rebels,’ is going to be one of the most memorable Star Wars storylines in recent memory because of how it seeks to expand more on Ahsoka Tano’s story, which is one that started way back when she was introduced in ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ in 2008. In that regard, she has been in many different Star Wars episodes, as she appeared in ‘Rebels,’ ‘The Mandalorian,’ and ‘The Book of Boba Fett.’
With that said, some might not be familiar with Ahsoka’s story but are willing to know more about it. Some of you might have even forgotten what happened to her in ‘Clone Wars’ and ‘Rebels.’ Because of that, it might be difficult to understand the upcoming ‘Ahsoka’ series. So, with that said, let’s look at all of the essential episodes to watch before watching ‘Ahsoka.’
1. ‘Tales of the Jedi’ – ‘Life and Death’ (Season 1, Episode 1)
The first episode of ‘Tales of the Jedi,’ a mini-series telling the stories of the Jedi that we’ve met in Star Wars, follows Ahsoka Tano’s history. This episode allows us to see her getting born into a tribe of Togrutas on her home planet of Shili. The episode also shows how her tribe realized she was strong in the Force as early as infancy.
2. ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ Movie
The 2008 ‘The Clone Wars’ movie officially introduces Ahsoka Tano into the Star Wars canon. Of course, the storyline focuses on the early relationship between Ahsoka and her new master, Anakin Skywalker, who was surprised to know that Yoda had assigned a Padawan to him. This movie set the entire events of the series version of ‘The Clone Wars,’ wherein we saw more of Ahsoka.
3. ‘The Clone Wars’ – ‘Cloak of Darkness’ (Season 1, Episode 9)
One of the things that we learned about Ahsoka during the earlier part of her story was that she was cheeky and less confident. Nevertheless, she was headstrong and was very much a reckless Padawan. That’s why ‘Cloak of Darkness’ is an important episode in her growth because it allowed her to become more patient in terms of controlling her anger and rage. This happened when she teamed up with Jedi Master Luminara Unduli in fighting off Asajj Ventress, as Ahsoka learned to trust Master Luminara’s words and experience.
4. ‘The Clone Wars’ – ‘Storm Over Ryloth’ (Season 1, Episode 19)
Throughout the storyline of ‘The Clone Wars,’ one of the themes often talked about was how the Jedi were supposed to be peacekeepers. However, during the Clone Wars, they ended up becoming soldiers for the Republic instead of peacekeepers of the galaxy, and that was when Ahsoka learned the value of leadership when she was commanding her squadron on a mission. She lost a lot of soldiers during this time, and that was when she learned that the Clone Wars weren’t all about adventures.
5. ‘The Clone Wars’ – ‘Weapons Factory’ (Season 2, Episode 6)
In this episode, Ahsoka works with Luminara Unduli again as she and Anakin meet the young Padawan named Barriss Offee, who quickly befriended Ahsoka. Unlike Ahsoka and Anakin, Luminara and Barriss seemingly shared the same brain cells because they agree on everything and were very quick to decide on things without disagreeing. On the other hand, it was clear that Ashoka and Anakin always disagreed on many things. Nevertheless, the episode is important because this is where Ahsoka befriended Barriss, who became an important part of her character arc.
6. ‘The Clone Wars’ – ‘Assassin’ (Season 3, Episode 7)
In ‘Assassin,’ Ahsoka was given a chance to fight one of the strongest mercenaries in the galaxy when she faced Aurra Sing, who became one of Boba Fett’s first teachers. This was when Ahsoka was assigned to play the role of Padmé Amidala’s bodyguard after Ahsoka ended up having dreams of her death. This is an important episode because it places Ahsoka in the spotlight of an episode that focuses entirely on her and her visions.
7. ‘The Clone Wars’ – ‘Altar of Mortis’ (Season 3, Episode 16)
One of the most important episodes in the storyline of Star Wars was an episode from the short Mortis arc, where we saw Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka getting lost on a mysterious planet called Mortis, which was the home of three transcendent Force beings named the Father, the Daughter, and the Son.
The Son, however, was a being that represented the dark side of the Force, and that was when he used Ahsoka to get to Anakin. Ahsoka turned on her master after getting corrupted by the power of the Son, who eventually killed her before the Daughter sacrificed her life to save Ahsoka.
8. ‘The Clone Wars’ – ‘Padawan Lost’ (Season 3, Episode 21)
This episode is seemingly like Predator because Ahsoka was captured by some bounty hunters and taken to a distant planet, where she met other Padawans living on that planet longer.
The bounty hunters were looking to prove themselves by hunting down the Padawans on that planet. That was when Ahsoka was able to showcase her leadership when she was able to help lead the Padawans out of danger. And as a bonus, she also met Chewbacca, the bounty hunters also captured.
9. ‘The Clone Wars’ – ‘A Friend in Need’ (Season 4, Episode 14)
Ahsoka becomes more mature in ‘A Friend in Need’ when she reunites with Lux Bonteri, whom she had met earlier in the series. In this episode, Lux joined Pre Vizsla’s Death Watch to get his revenge on Count Dooku. He and Ahsoka traveled to a Death Watch planet, where they met Bo-Katan Kryze. Of course, Lux kissed Ahsoka to fool Pre, and it was made clear that he had feelings for her. Ahsoka and Lux shared a parting kiss at the end of the episode, as it was clear that their feelings were involved.
10. ‘Tales of the Jedi’ – ‘Practice Makes Perfect’ (Season 1, Episode 5)
‘Practice Makes Perfect’ is a ‘Tales of the Jedi Episode’ that takes place during the middle of the Clone Wars and after Ahsoka had taken up Jar’Kai. Anakin, however, was seen training her in a pretty brutal manner as he ordered the clones of the 501st Legion to fire stun bolts at Ahsoka so that she would learn how to deflect blaster bolts coming from trained marksmen that had surrounded her.
Ahsoka had to repeat the training repeatedly until she mastered it. And it wasn’t until the events of Order 66 that it became clear why this training session was important.
11. ‘The Clone Wars’ – ‘The Wrong Jedi’ (Season 5, Episode 20)
This is probably the most important episode in Ahsoka’s life during the Clone Wars. ‘The Wrong Jedi’ is part of a short saga that started with the bombing of the Jedi Temple a few episodes before. But this is the conclusion of the saga, and we can see how Ahsoka had become disillusioned by the Jedi Order when she felt betrayed by the Jedi Council when they ousted her instead of listening to her. As such, Ahsoka left the Jedi Order on her own accord after this episode.
12. ‘The Clone Wars’ – ‘Shattered’ (Season 7, Episode 11)
After Ahsoka assisted in the Siege of Mandalore and the defeat of Darth Maul, she and the rest of the 501st Legion now head back to Coruscant to surrender the captured Sith. However, unknown to her, Palpatine had already initiated Order 66, and that was when the Clones started attacking Ahsoka, who survived due to her earlier training with Anakin in ‘Tales of the Jedi.’
In this episode, Ahsoka used Maul as a distraction while learning more about the inhibitor chips in the clones’ heads. She used this knowledge and her trust in the Force to take Captain Rex’s inhibitor chip, thus ensuring that she and her loyal friend survived Order 66.
13. ‘The Clone Wars’ – ‘Victory and Death’ (Season 7, Episode 12)
In ‘Victory and Death,’ Ahsoka and Rex work together to try to escape the clutches of the Empire while the clones, who were still affected by Order 66, were coming after them. They ended up escaping the ship, which had become too damaged. As a result, the ship crashed on a nearby planet, killing all the clones inside. Ahsoka and Rex went to the crash site, where Ahsoka deposited her lightsabers to fake her death.
14. ‘Tales of the Jedi’ – ‘Resolve’ (Season 1, Episode 6)
‘Resolve’ is basically an adaptation of the ‘Ahsoka’ novel that tells Ahsoka’s story after the events of Order 66. In this episode, she secretly attended Padmé Amidala’s funeral on Naboo and met up with Bail Organa, who tried to talk her into helping him to resist the Empire.
However, Ahsoka decided to retreat to a faraway rural planet, where an Inquisitor found her after one year. She defeated the Inquisitor, who harmed many people on that planet, as Ahsoka realized that she needed to return to action and aid Bail Organa in their fight against the Empire.
15. ‘Rebels’ – ‘Fire Across the Galaxy’ (Season 1, Episode 15)
One of the things that we learned in ‘Rebels’ was that the crew of the Ghost were operating on the intel they were receiving from someone codenamed “Fulcrum.” The entirety of season 1 allowed us to learn more about the Specters and how they operated throughout the galaxy as Rebels that traveled in the Ghost.
But the final episode, which allowed us to see other Rebel factions saving the Spectres, revealed that Fulcrum was an adult Ahsoka Tano, who had been operating secretly as a Rebel since she survived Order 66.
16. ‘Rebels’ – ‘Siege of Lothal’ (Season 2, Episodes 1 and 2)
This is one of the many two-parter episodes on this list, as both episodes were released simultaneously. In this episode, Darth Vader finally revealed himself to Ezra and Kanan, as they learned about the existence of an enemy far stronger than the Grand Inquisitor they already struggled to defeat.
Vader ultimately chased after the Rebels in his TIE Advanced, as that was when he sensed the presence of Ahsoka, who also sensed her old master but couldn’t accept the possibility that he was still alive and had become Darth Vader.
17. ‘Rebels’ – ‘Shroud of Darkness’ (Season 2, Episode 18)
In ‘Shroud of Darkness,’ Ahsoka, Ezra, and Kanan trio went to a secret Jedi Temple found on Lothal, where they all received individual visions. Ahsoka’s vision was a manifestation of Anakin Skywalker, her old master, as she ended up seeing the manifestation of Anakin transforming into Vader.
This means that Ahsoka already knew what happened to her master but was only in denial because she previously said that Anakin was the kindest and greatest Jedi anyone could ever meet. And the events that followed this episode ultimately allowed Ahsoka to accept the truth about Anakin.
18. ‘Rebels’ – ‘Twilight of the Apprentice’ (Season 2, Episodes 21 and 22)
Arguably the most emotional out of all of the episodes of ‘Rebels,’ this is a two-part finale that concluded season 2 as well as the relationship between Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker. Ahsoka, Ezra, and Kanan all went to Malachor because that was what Yoda told Ezra in his vision of him back in Lothal. They met the Inquisitors, who were all killed with the help of an unlikely ally, Darth Maul. It turned out that Maul wanted to use a secret Sith weapon on Malachor to destroy Darth Vader.
At the Sith Temple’s peak, Ezra fought Darth Vader, who quickly overwhelmed the young Padawan. But that was when Ahsoka arrived to sub Ezra out as she proved to be a match to the Sith Lord, who she still couldn’t believe was Anakin. After Ahsoka told Ezra and Kanan to escape before the temple doors shut close, she realized that Vader was Anakin as she saw his eye through the broken part of his mask. The episode ended with Ezra and Kanan believing that Vader had killed Ahsoka.
19. ‘Rebels’ – ‘Steps Into Shadow’ (Season 3, Episodes 1 and 2)
After the unfortunate events of the season 2 finale, season 3 started in another two-parter episode wherein Grand Admiral Thrawn was officially introduced into the Star Wars canon. As such, while season 3 didn’t include Ahsoka, it explored Thrawn, who is set to become one of the most important characters in the upcoming ‘Ahsoka’ series. As such, this episode also serves as one of the ways for fans to meet Thrawn and understand why he is so special as an Imperial military commander.
22. ‘Rebels’ – ‘Hera’s Heroes’ (Season 3, Episode 5)
In episode 5 of season 3 of ‘Rebels,’ the Spectres finally meet Thrawn on Ryloth when Hera and the others go there to help Hera’s father.
Thrawn had successfully taken over Ryloth using his strategic approach, consistently defeating the freedom fighters that none of the other Imperial commanders could defeat. During this episode, Hera met with Thrawn, who showcased his appreciation for art and culture by taking the Syndulla family’s Kalikori, which held an important place in the history of Hera’s family.
23. ‘Rebels’ – ‘Through Imperial Eyes’ (Season 3, Episode 17)
‘Through Imperial Eyes’ was one of the episodes that allowed us to see just how smart and cunning Thrawn is as he was able to learn that the new Fulcrum turned out to be ISB Agent Kallus, who had secretly defected from the Empire and had been feeding information to the Spectres.
In that regard, Thrawn didn’t arrest Kallus immediately as he allowed him to continue working for the Empire without him suspecting that Thrawn already knew who he was. And Thrawn did that because he could use Kallus to learn more about the secret base of the Rebels.
24. ‘Rebels’ – ‘Heroes of Mandalore’ (Season 4, Episodes 1 and 2)
After the Rebels lost Chopper Base back in the season 3 finale, they were indebted to the Mandalorians because they helped them escape Thrawn and the Empire. In that regard, this is a two-part episode that allows us to see the events that eventually lead to the Night of a Thousand Tears, which is an important event that led to the events of ‘The Mandalorian.’
This episode also allowed us to see more of Sabine’s character while she was wielding the Darksaber. And we all know that Sabine is set to play a big role in ‘Ahsoka.’
25. ‘Rebels’ – ‘A World Between Worlds’ (Season 4, Episode 13)
This is the episode where Ahsoka finally returns to the ‘Rebels’ storyline after she was last seen in the finale of season 2. Ezra found a door to the World Between Worlds in the Jedi Temple in Lothal, leading him to a dimension that had doorways to different points in time. That was when Ezra found a portal that led to the time when Ahsoka and Vader were dueling, as he pulled her from that point in time to save her from certain death. Ezra and Ahsoka were separated, as Ahsoka found herself back on Malachor, where she found another doorway that led to the World Between Worlds.
26. ‘Rebels’ – ‘Family Reunion and Farewell’ (Season 4, Episodes 15 and 16)
The ending of season 4 of ‘Rebels’ directly sets up the events of the ‘Ahsoka’ series. As we all know that Ezra and Thrawn disappeared into the Unknown Regions of Space when Ezra used the power of the Purrgil to save his friends. The final scenes of this episode happened right after the defeat of Emperor Palpatine, as Ahsoka was seen going to Lothal after her spiritual journey in the World Between Worlds.
She had recruited Sabine to accompany her in their quest to find Ezra Bridger so they could bring him back home. And this sets up the events of the upcoming ‘Ahsoka’ series.
27. ‘The Mandalorian’ – ‘The Jedi’ (Season 2, Episode 5)
Ahsoka Tano made her live-action debut in season 2 of ‘The Mandalorian’ when Bo-Katan Kryze allowed Din Djarin to learn the location of a Jedi on the planet called Calodan, which was ruled by an Imperial remnant named Morgan Elsbeth. Din met Ahsoka in the woods of the planet, as she connected with the Child using the Force to learn that he was named Grogu.
But she didn’t want to train Grogu because she sensed his attachment to Din. Ahsoka and Din eventually worked together to defeat Morgan Elsbeth, who was revealed to be a lackey of Thrawn because Ahsoka tried to pry her for information regarding the missing Grand Admiral.
28. ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ – ‘From the Desert Comes a Stranger’ (Season 1, Episode 6)
The most recent appearance of Ahsoka was in episode 6 of ‘The Book of Boba Fett,’ as Din Djarin went to Luke Skywalker’s planet to visit Grogu. Instead, Ahsoka greeted him because she was also there to visit Luke.
Ahsoka had a long talk with Din regarding Grogu’s attachment to him, as she urged him not to meet him because it would only cloud the young boy’s mind. During this episode, we also saw a moment between Ahsoka and Luke as they both talked about Anakin Skywalker.
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