In “The Mandalorian” recap, Mando arrives on a planet called Corvus as he seeks out a Jedi in order to find out about Baby Yoda’s origins and how to help him…
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
It’s hard to imagine any “Star Wars” fan who isn’t losing their mind right now after watching the latest episode of “The Mandalorian.”
The introduction of Bo-Katan was a huge moment for longtime followers of the “Star Wars” animated series but in the closing moments of that episode she utters a name to Mando as he seeks out a Jedi in order to return Baby Yoda to his own people.
She tells him to travel to the planet Corvus and there he will find a Jedi named Ahsoka Tano.
A collective shriek was heard across the galaxy as “Star Wars” fans were elated to know that Ahsoka Tano would crossover from the animated universe to live action for the first time ever. Of course rumors had swirled for months that actress Rosario Dawson would portray the legendary character and it turns out that was true.
Because during this week’s episode Ahsoka Tano makes her first appearance in grand fashion but the episode didn’t end without another major name being dropped that will once again have “Star Wars” fanatics losing their minds. First things first, for those not as deeply attached to the animated “Star Wars” universe here’s a quick guide to Ahsoka Tano and why she’s so important to this shared universe.
Ahsoka Tano comes from a race of aliens known as Togruta and she was first introduced to the Jedi when she was just 14 years old. It was discovered that she possessed Force sensitivities and Ahsoka Tano was brought to the Jedi Temple for training.
It was there Master Yoda assigned her to serve as Anakin Skywalker’s padawan.
Even though Anakin was himself still learning and growing as a Jedi, his headstrong nature and inner turmoil constantly made him vulnerable. Yoda hoped that having a padawan would help Anakin as much as he would be helping Ahsoka Tano. The two became almost inseparable as teacher and student as Ahsoka Tano quickly rose up the ranks as a masterful Jedi knight.
Sadly, she was wrongfully accused of a crime and expelled from the Jedi Order and only her master Anakin believed in her innocence. Eventually, Ahsoka Tano was cleared of any wrongdoing and invited to return to the Jedi Order but she refused after seeing the politics at work that led to her dismissal in the first place. Ahsoka Tano ended up as a solitary person, which likely protected her when the Emperor ordered all of the Jedi killed when the Empire came to power.
Ahsoka Tano then became a rebel spy under the code name Fulcrum and that’s where she became close friends with another Jedi padawan named Ezra Bridger.
While working as a rebel spy, Ahsoka Tano finally came face to face with Darth Vader, who had been sent to a planet in order to stamp out enemies residing there. It was then that Ahsoka Tano finally realized that Darth Vader was in fact her former master, Anakin Skywalker.
The two engaged in battle but before the fight was finished, Ahsoka Tano was rescued by Ezra Bridger, who managed to save her after crossing over into a place called the World Between Worlds where he was actually traveling through time. After she was rescued, Ahsoka Tano was returned to her own timeline where she vowed to find and save Ezra Bridger in return.
That search is still apparently underway when we meet Ahsoka Tano in the latest episode of “The Mandalorian” but more on that later along with another huge revelations.
Also one more note on Ahsoka Tano — unlike most Jedi, she actually carries two separate lightsabers as her weapons. She crafted both herself — one the typical length of a Jedi lightsaber and the second, a shorter, craftier blade used in close combat. Over the years, Ahsoka Tano carried numerous different colored lightsabers but in the end she made a pair out of clear, pure crystals, which is why her blades are both white.
With that said, let’s get to our recap for the latest episode of “The Mandalorian” titled “Chapter 13: The Jedi”…
A New Hope
Rather than wait for a big reveal, “The Mandalorian” opens with the introduction of Ahsoka Tano as she battles her way through a group of soldiers before making it to the outskirts of a small village. There she’s confronted by the Magistrate and her hired gun named Lang (played by sci-fi legend Michael Biehn).
It seems Ahsoka Tano is seeking information from this Magistrate and after tearing through her soldiers with her dual lightsabers, it doesn’t seem like anybody else will be a match for her. So Ahsoka Tano tells the Magistrate she has one day to comply or the former Jedi will return to collect this information by any means necessary.
It’s the next morning when Mando arrives on Corvus as he seeks out Ahsoka Tano for answers about Baby Yoda.
When he eventually makes it to the village, Mando is invited inside where he’s granted an immediate audience with the Magistrate. She understands that he’s not only a Mandalorian but a bounty hunter wearing beskar armor — one of the few substances that can withstand a strike from a Jedi’s lightsaber.
The Magistrate offers Mando a hefty bounty if he’ll find and kill Ahsoka Tano for her.
That’s when the Magistrate produces a staff made out of pure beskar. She promises that will belong to Mando if he can deliver a dead Jedi to her front doorstep.
Mando agrees to the deal in order to gain information about where Ahsoka Tano is hiding and he’s sent on his way outside the city walls.
The search doesn’t take long before Mando is attacked by Ahsoka Tano, who is just as fast and deadly as she’s ever been. Just when it looks like the two of them are really ready for battle, Mando stops and tells her that Bo-Katan sent him to find her.
In that moment, Ahsoka Tano looks over and spots Baby Yoda sitting on a rock and she hopes this long journey to find her on Corvus was all about him.
She then sits and probes the child’s mind while searching for answers about his true origins and his obvious connection to The Force. That’s when we learn that Baby Yoda actually has a name!
His name is Grogu.
It turns out Grogu was raised in the Jedi temple on Coruscant — the home planet for the Republic both before and after the war with the Empire. It seems Grogu was being trained by some of the greatest masters in the Jedi order but prior to the Emperor issuing Order 66 — where all the Jedis were slaughtered — the child was whisked away and put into hiding.
Since that time, Grogu’s memories have been clouded and unclear so Ahsoka Tano can’t quite explain who helped him escape or where he has been hidden since that time. She also mentions that she’s only ever seen one other being like him and that was a great Jedi master named Yoda.
After learning that Grogu has still exhibited powers from using the Force, Ahsoka Tano agrees to test the child in the morning to see what he can do. Sadly, Grogu struggles to replicate Ahsoka Tano’s ability to levitate objects until Mando steps into play with the child.
Ahsoka Tano realizes that Grogu has formed an emotional attachment to Mando and those feelings run deep inside him. She then refuses to train the child because she’s seen firsthand what happens when a Jedi is overwrought with emotion — after all she witnessed her own master Anakin Skywalker succumb to emotion as he transformed into Darth Vader after being seduced by the dark side.
Disappointed with that news, Mando offers to help Ahsoka Tano take down the Magistrate in order to help her complete whatever mission she’s on currently. It seems this Magistrate’s name is Morgan Elsbeth and she was a major orchestrator behind the building of the Galactic Empire’s starfleet that helped them conquer the galaxy.
Ahsoka Tano agrees to the Mandalorian’s deal as they head towards the village to seek out the Magistrate.
At the start of the attack, Ahsoka Tano shreds the Magistrate’s defenses as she takes down guards and kills the troopers sent to stop her. She eventually makes her way behind a gated door where Ahsoka Tano comes face-to-face with Morgan Elsbeth, who is now holding onto the beskar staff as a weapon ready to do battle.
As Ahsoka Tano fights with the Magistrate, Mando takes out the remaining guards while freeing the townspeople being held prisoner. He’s eventually confronted by Lang, the hired gun sent to protect the Magistrate, but despite his best efforts to talk his way out of the situation, he eventually pulls a weapon and Mando puts him down.
Following a fierce battle, Ahsoka Tano finally disarms the Magistrate and puts a lightsaber to her throat while demanding to know the location of her master — Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Once again, ”The Mandalorian” drops a name from “Star Wars canon that will have fans frothing at the mouth because Grand Admiral Thrawn is another iconic character from animated series as well as books but he’s never come to life on screen before in a live action feature.
Without getting too deep into his origins, Thrawn is a Chiss, which means he has pale blue skin matched against his dark black hair, and he’s a master strategist and military mind. Thrawn developed a relationship with Anakin Skywalker while he was still a Jedi knight and he eventually showed his loyalty towards the Empire when he joined their forces with Emperor Palpatine’s blessing.
In his last known appearance, Thrawn was engaged in a battle with Ezra Bridger — the former Jedi padawan and friend to Ahsoka Tano — and the Grand Admiral’s ship ‘The Chimaera’ disappeared into the vast beyond. He was never seen again.
Until now.
It appears Grand Admiral Thrawn is still alive and manipulating those closest to him as witnessed by the Magistrate’s loyalty to him. This would also explain Ahsoka Tano’s interest because Thrawn was last seen with her friend Ezra Bridger and she’s been searching for him ever since.
Is it possible that Grand Admiral Thrawn is the mastermind behind the cloning project that Moff Gideon has been running? Could his return explain how Moff Gideon managed to take the darksaber away from Bo-Katan?
These are all questions that still need answered but it obviously adds another layer to the underlying story behind Moff Gideon’s true purpose in the galaxy after the Empire has been toppled.
As for Ahsoka Tano, she doesn’t end up taking Grogu into her custody but instead tells Mando where he can go to seek additional help. She sends him to a planet called Tython and there he will find a Jedi temple in ruins but there is a seeing stone where he should place Grogu and he will choose his own destiny.
If the child still exhibits a strong connection to the Force, he will send out signal that will alert other Jedis to his presence and they will come for him. Sadly most of the Jedi have been eradicated and there aren’t many left in the galaxy. She also hands over the staff of pure beskar because Ahsoka Tano knows it should remain with a true Mandalorian.
As “The Mandalorian” moves into the second half of the season, this would appear to put Mando and Grogu on a collision course with Moff Gideon and perhaps even Grand Admiral Thrawn. As for the Jedi who could appear to lend Mando and Grogu a hand — is it even possible that Luke Skywalker could make an appearance?
We will have to wait and see what happens when “The Mandalorian” returns with a brand new episode next Friday on Disney+.
