Warning: This article contains spoilers for Ahsoka episode 7.
The end is swiftly approaching, guys, as Ahsoka episode 7 — the show’s penultimate installment — suitably ups the stakes ahead of the incoming finale. Following the reunion of Sabine Wren and Ezra Bridger last week, not to mention the introduction of Grand Admiral Thrawn, episode 7 — titled “Dreams and Madness” — sees Ahsoka Tano travel to the new galaxy to find them as Hera deals with getting in trouble with the New Republic. Meanwhile, Thrawn is just kinda there, vibing evilly.
While episode 7 might not be as enriched with Easter eggs as episode 6’s cavalcade of callbacks, it nevertheless squeezes a lot of fan-pleasing moments into its runtime, including even a couple of cameos we weren’t necessarily expecting and some neat crossovers with certain other Disney Plus Star Wars shows. No doubt a few of them you will have picked up on yourself, but here’s a full guide to every Easter egg in Ahsoka‘s second-to-last episode.
See Threepio
Ahsoka episode 7 wastes no time in hitting us in the nostalgia by bringing on one of the most legendary Star Wars characters within its first few minutes. Not to mention namechecking another icon. None other than C-3PO crashes General Hera’s hearing in order to pass on a message from Senator Leia Organa, in which Leia pulls rank on the odious Senator Xiono to get Hera out of trouble. Threepio first met Hera and the Ghost crew way back in Rebels season 1 and it appears he’s old pals with Captain Teva too.
Conflict on Mandalore
On that topic, Teva helpfully reminds us of Ahsoka‘s place in the timeline by dropping a reference to the events of The Mandalorian season 3 into conversation. When Xiono won’t take Hera’s claims seriously that not only is Thrawn returning but that an organized Imperial remnant even exists, Teva asks “what about the conflict on Mandalore?,” referring to Grand Moff Tarkin’s re-emergence on Din Djarin and Sabine Wren’s homeworld in the latest season of Ahsoka‘s parent series.
Anakin Again
Now that Hayden Christensen’s back as Anakin Skywalker, we just can’t get rid of him! After cameoing at the end of episode 5 and having a starring role last week, he’s back once again in episode 7 in the form of a hologram. While training on the ship, Ahsoka plays what she tells us is the last of 20 training holovids Anakin recorded for her back when she was still his apprentice. If this is his final recording, presumably this is Anakin not too long before he became Darth Vader.
Grievous, Ventress, and Dooku, oh my!
In his holovid, Anakin treats viewers to a triple-whammy of name-drops of great Star Wars villains, two of whom Christensen fought on screen in the prequel trilogy and another who only faced the animated Anakin, so this is the first time we’ve heard Christensen’s version speak the name aloud. The three villains in question are General Grievous, Count Dooku (no introduction required for those two), and Asajj Ventress, the Nightsister-Jedi acolyte of Dooku from The Clone Wars.
Battle of Endor
This obvious callback to one of the most famous skirmishes in Star Wars lore isn’t exactly going to go over anyone’s head, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t give it a mention. When Sabine is catching Ezra up on everything he’s missed during his absence, he’s amazed that the Empire was defeated, with Sabine reminding us that the Imperial rule ended with the Battle of Endor, as depicted in Return of the Jedi. I wish we’d got to see Ezra’s reaction to being told how the Empire lost to a bunch of Ewoks.
The Emperor is dead?
Emperor Palpatine’s resurrection in Rise of Skywalker was such a massive twist to established canon that Star Wars has been desperately trying to retcon his death in stories set prior to the sequel trilogy ever since. Case in point, when Ezra questions whether the Emperor is really dead, Sabine replies, “That’s what people say.” This is possibly just Sabine’s own skepticism leading her to resist taking this as fact or else it alludes to her hearing rumors that Palpatine somehow survived.
Zeb’s job
Where is Zeb? That’s what’s been keeping Rebels fans up at night ever since Ahsoka brought back basically everyone else it could from the Ghost crew apart from Garrizeb Orrelios. Despite the Lasat even already making his live-action debut in The Mandalorian season 3. Finally, episode 7 provides us with an explanation, as Sabine tells Ezra that Zeb is off training recruits. That’s a touching change of vocation for the character who once resented having to help train up Ezra himself in the early days of Rebels.
Sabine’s early Force training
Speaking of which, when Sabine tells Ezra that Ahsoka has taken her on as a Padawan, he is initially shocked, before he tries to save face by explaining that it does make some sense considering Sabine received some Force-training back when he was still learning the ropes. She did indeed. When Sabine briefly wielded the Darksaber during Rebels season 3, Ezra’s own master, Kanan Jarrus, offered her some guidance, although even then she struggled with the patience required to become a Jedi.
Force-search
Upon arriving in the other galaxy, Ahsoka reaches out through the Force to find Sabine Wren. Even Huyang, a thousand-year-old droid who’s seen it all, is surprised at Ahsoka’s skill, confirming that this is a rare Jedi power. This isn’t the first time Ahsoka has shown off her aptitude for this trick, however, as she previously found missing Jedi master Plo Koon the same way back in The Clone Wars. Interestingly, the Grand Mothers are able to achieve a similar Force-sense through the use of their dark magick orbs.
Repelling a lightsaber
Unlike Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi, Ezra has only become more attuned with the Force over the course of his exile, even forgoing the use of his old lightsaber in battle and trusting in his Force powers alone to see him through. Sure enough, he’s even able to repel a lightsaber strike from Shin Hati with his hands. We’ve only ever seen this move performed on screen twice before, first by Rey against Kylo in Rise of Skywalker and then by Darth Vader himself during his duel with Reva in Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 5.