Like master. Like Padawan. The second trailer for the long-awaited and much-anticipated Star Wars series, Ahsoka, has dropped after a week’s delay, but it was totally worth it. We got several indicators of what the show will be about. Since the show was announced a few years back, we had no idea what it would entail. However, what I did not expect is to get hints at tensions with Sabine, the voice of the missing Ezra and three references to Anakin. It’s a good day to be a Star Wars fan, literally.
So, let’s get into the trailer breakdown. Please bear in mind that this post may contain spoilers. Everything we say is an educated guess until the Ahsoka series drops, with two episodes on August 23rd. Also, some of the footage in the trailer is reused from the teaser, so we won’t include those frames.
Baylan And Shin
The late Ray Stevenson is the first person to speak in this trailer.
War is envitable.
Stevenson’s character, Baylan, gives total Thanos vibes. He kills a New Republic soldier, proclaiming:
We are no Jedi.
What’s really cool about this first scene in the trailer is the backfiring blaster bolts. It looks like Shin is using the Force to send them back at their shooters. Though, it might be Baylan doing it.
The Temple Engraving
The next scene shows Ahsoka in the temple we saw in the teaser. Only this time, we’ve seen an ancient engraving. We’ve seen other YouTubers speculate two different things. One person said the image looked like a Togruta, the species Ahsoka herself is. ScreenCrush said it might be the Daughter, the Mortis being Tano is linked with, as seen in the Mortis arc from The Clone Wars.
We also get a repeat of Ahsoka’s line from the teaser:
I’ve heard whispers of Thrawn’s return as heir to the Empire.
There is also the shot from the trailer of the back of Thrawn’s head, which has a more significant meaning a little later.
Could Morgan Elsbeth Be A Nightsister?
The next series of shots comes from a scene involving Shin, Baylan and Morgan Elsbeth, who we met during Ahsoka’s live-action debut in The Mandalorian Season 2. However, it’s Elsbeth we’re talking about here.
She appears to have some magic as she activates the force field sphere we saw in the teaser. Some have suggested she could be a Nightsister from Dathomir. It makes sense, given that we’ve had a book set between the video games Jedi Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor, which gives the reader a ton of backstory on Merrin, a Dathomirian Nightsister.
Morgan probably isn’t a Nightsister, but she could be something close to it. It’s unclear if she’s Force-sensitive.
Hera Is Tired Of Fighting In Wars And Is Trying To Stop A New One
We get the duplicate footage of Hera and Chopper from the teaser, but we get a new voiceover from Hera saying to a new shot of Mon Mothma and Kaz’s dad (from Star Wars Resistance) where she says:
I’ve spent most of my life fighting a war. That’s why I’m trying to convince you help me to stop another one.
For clarification, the teaser’s original wide image of the group of senators is partially used.
Hera Meets With Ahsoka, Implies The Rift With Sabine And The First Two Anakin References
Next, we have Hera meeting with Ahsoka, and they talk about Sabine. Ahsoka says the young Mandalorian is stubborn. That’s when Hera indirectly references Anakin. Ahsoka explains Anakin (referencing her master directly) never got to complete her training. Hera says if there’s one person who can help Ahsoka, it’s Sabine. Then, the drop happens; Ahsoka walked away from teaching Sabine the way she did Anakin.
In a way, this is a full circle for Ahsoka’s walking away arc. She walked away from Anakin and the Jedi, yet she walked away from teaching Sabine. This may even explain part of the reason why she refused to teach Grogu. Though, stepping away from the Jedi also saved her life in the long run.
Just for the record, the Anakin reference by Ahsoka was made to a holographic Hera in the next shot. Though, this might be clever editing to make it appear that is how the reference will be made.
Also, this is the first time since her live-action debut that Ahsoka has referenced Anakin by name. She indirectly mentions his fall to the dark side during the Mandalorian episode, The Jedi and tells Luke he reminds her of his father during the Book of Boba Fett.
Ahsoka And Sabine Reunite
We get reuse of the shots of Sabine and Ahsoka on the loading dock from the teaser. We also get a shot of Sabine and Ahsoka on the Ghost at the game table, where Wren says:
You never made it easy for me.
What’s interesting about this is that Ahsoka and Sabine had almost no interaction in Star Wars Rebels. One notable example is when Sabine mentions in the episode, The Lost Commander, that Ahsoka sent messages to Rex, and he never answered her as Wolffe had hidden them. Though want makes it even more intriguing is when Sabine calls Ahsoka “Master.” Whether she’s mocking her, we don’t know yet, but it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise if it were.
Though Ahsoka and Sabine did team up to find Ezra, it might have fallen through due to them clashing.
We also see Sabine several times speeding down the highway on Lothal.
Ezra’s Message And Sabine Cuts Her Hair
We get to hear Ezra’s voice for the first time in this trailer, and it’s the message that he gave Sabine before he disappeared. However, it’s not word for word from Rebels. It doesn’t need to be, as long as it provides the same implication as the original.
Then we get Sabine cutting her hair, which gives more context to the scene at the end of Rebels. It also provides more stability to where the original Rebels epilogue happens in the timeline. Sabine’s long hair, which we’ve seen a lot in recent promo material, is before the epilogue. Also, it sets up the first two episodes as before the Rebels finale.
The First Public Look At Thrawn
At least we have the first public look at Thrawn. Star Wars at Star Wars Celebration were given an early look at the character, with Lars Mikkelsen being bought out on stage. The actor also voiced the character in Rebels.
Is Sabine Suddenly Force-Sensitive?
In the trailer’s closing moments, we see short-haired Sabine fighting Shin with Ezra’s lightsaber. This has been seen before in another promo, but she had long hair, which was a totally different scene. In the trailer, we see her holding her hand as she sprawls on the ground.
We don’t believe she is Force-sensitive, but anything’s possible. Finn in the Sequel Trilogy was a let bloomer to the Force. If she is Force-sensitive, Sabine could be the next Mandalorian Jedi. You don’t have to be a Jedi or Sith to wield a lightsaber. Padmé used Anakin’s lightsaber to free him during the Senate Hostage Crisis, and Han used Luke’s lightsaber to free them from the Ewok’s net trap in Return of the Jedi.
Since Sabine’s first lightsaber teacher was Kanan, a Jedi, he would’ve sensed if she was Force Sensitive. However, she might be on the low Force sensitivity spectrum like Leia. This is likely what happened with Finn too.
Baylan Makes The Third Anakin Reference
We may also have some context into the Baylan/Ahsoka fight. The dialogue we get in the trailer is as follows:
Anakin spoke highly of you.
Given this, we can assume that Baylan was once a Jedi who survived Order 66 and knew Anakin well enough to bring it up with Ahsoka. However, this is his first and only appearance on screen, given Ray Stevenson’s passing.
Ahsoka Will Have To Relive Her Past To Confront Her Present
Finally, Ahsoka references some that there’s she not there to discuss her past. However, that is what she will have to do. She abandoned Sabine and walked away from Anakin because she felt the Jedi had turned its back on her. This also harkens back to her vision of Anakin in Rebels Season 2 when he tells her she abandoned him. At the time, it was more of a guilty conscience because she was still reeling from discovering he was now Vader. However, it might be something else, such as fear that the past will repeat itself with Sabine.
