10 ‘Ahsoka’ episode 5 Easter eggs, cameos, and callbacks that you don’t want to miss

Warning: This article contains spoilers aplenty for Ahsoka episode five.

It’s not for nothing that Ahsoka “Part Five” was the episode Disney chose to specially screen in select theaters, as it’s easily the most important installment of the show so far. As teased by Hayden Christensen’s cameo at the end of last week’s chapter, this episode is a love letter to the long and complicated history between Ahsoka Tano and her former Jedi master, Anakin Skywalker and is dripping with references to Ahsoka’s past in animation.

On top of callbacks to The Clone Wars and Rebels, though, movie fans will also have much to entertain them, with nods to the Prequel Trilogy featuring in abundance, a tip of the hat to the Sequel Trilogy making its way in, and there’s even a reminder of Din Djarin’s adventures over in The Mandalorian. While many of the allusions to the wider lore are hard to miss, others can easily slip you by amid the assault of fan service going on, so let this be your guide through Ahsoka episode five’s excess of Easter eggs.

Senator Organa lends a hand

When Hera, Jacen, and Huyang are searching for Ahsoka and Sabine on Seatos, Captain Teva warns General Syndulla that he’s just spoken with Senator Organa and she can’t keep the other senators distracted for long. Yes, this is naturally a nod to the one and only Leia, who at this point in the timeline is part of the New Republic Senate and apparently is a good friend to Hera. This is unsurprising, considering they first became allies when Leia guest-starred in an episode of Star Wars Rebels season two.

The name-check we’ve been waiting for

For the past four episodes, we were wondering if Freddie Prinze Jr. refusing to return as his beloved Star Wars Rebels character meant Lucasfilm was deliberately snubbing his memory by not mentioning him outright. Finally, this has now been disproven as Kanan Jarrus gets a name-drop at long last in episode five. When Teva questions how Jacen is able to sense the sound of lightsabers, Huyang explains that Jacen “has abilities,” as inherited from his father, the late Jedi Kanan.

Return to the Clone Wars

Thanks to her trip into the World Between Worlds, Ahsoka is sent back through time and revisits her early days as a Jedi Padawan. As Young Ahsoka (as played by Avengers: Infinity War and Barbie star Arianna Greenblatt) only calls it one of her first missions, it’s difficult to say for certain which particular military skirmish this is, but the brief appearance of a Twi’lek could mean this is the Battle of Ryloth, aka the Ryloth campaign, as depicted in the third season of The Clone Wars.

The Siege of Mandalore

The next nostalgic time-trip sees Ahsoka transported further along her timeline, with this particular battle specifically called out as the Siege of Mandalore. Not that fans needed it to be spelled out to them, given the distinctive appearance of Darth Maul’s Mandalorian commandos. First teased in Star Wars Rebels, the Siege was eventually depicted in The Clone Wars‘ seventh and final season. All in all, these flashbacks give us our first taste of the Clone Wars in live-action since the conclusion of the Prequel Trilogy.

Captain Rex speaking

One of the most integral Clone Wars/Rebels characters yet to appear in live-action has finally made the leap, thanks to these time-jumps. Namely, Captain Rex, everyone’s favorite Clone Trooper. One of Ahsoka’s oldest friends, Rex was a major player in The Clone Wars, a recurring character in Rebels, and a lead character in the ongoing The Bad Batch. Although he is seen with his helmet on, so voice actor Dee Bradley Baker could theoretically have reprised his role, clone actor extraordinaire Temuera Morrison drops by to provide a quick vocal cameo.

Anakin’s eyes, Vader’s breath

The many allusions to Anakin’s turn to the Dark Side in Ahsoka episode five are tailor-made to send shivers up fans’ backs. They’re not particularly subtle, but a couple of moments may still need to be brought to your attention. First, during his climactic lightsaber battle with Ahsoka, Anakin’s form flashes between himself and that of Vader. For a moment, we hear the famous Vader wheeze. Even when in Anakin form, his eyes turn red, calling back to Anakin’s corrupted appearance at the end of Revenge of the Sith.

A lot of lightsabers

Lightsaber spotters, was this a great episode for you as both Anakin and Ahsoka switched it up with their laser swords thanks to all the flashbacks. First of all, during The Clone Wars callback, we see Anakin wield his classic blue lightsaber with Ahsoka armed with her original green one. By the Siege of Mandalore, though, she has switched to her dual white sabers. Meanwhile, Anakin then reverts to his red Vader lightsaber when battling Ahsoka.

Ahsoka’s white robes

Ahsoka’s white robes have been the source of much speculation ever since the Togrutan debuted her new togs in the epilogue scene of the Rebels series finale. In episode five, Ahsoka finally dons the robes after returning from the World Between Worlds. In this way, Dave Filoni’s much-touted Gandalf influences become abundantly clear, as Ahsoka undergoes her own zen-like transformation to mirror Gandalf the Grey’s rebirth as Gandalf the White.

More Mon Mothma

Genevieve O’Reilly’s Star Wars career sure has come a long way since having most of her scenes cut in Revenge of the Sith. After returning in Rogue One, O’Reilly really made her mark as Mon Mothma in 2022’s universally adored Andor. We didn’t expect her to return so soon, but that she did in last week’s fourth episode of Ahsoka. This time around, she features via hologram to warn Hera that the Senate is threatening to revoke her authority due to her rogue heroism. Something tells us we’ll see Mon Mothma again before long.

Adelphi Base

Carson Teva is of course a Mandalorian crossover character, so it’s only fitting that we get another nod to the show that kicked off Disney Plus’ Star Wars craze in the first place in this episode. When attempting to stop Captain Girard from interrupting Hera and Ahsoka’s mission, Teva is told that he’s a long way from Adelphi Base. Girard is referring to the New Republic outpost on Adelphi that became a new base of operations for Din Djarin in The Mandalorian season three — which takes place around the same time as Ahsoka, remember.