Summary

• Ezra Bridger's defeat of Thrawn impacted the Empire's downfall
• Thrawn's exile played a role in the resurrection of the Empire, Palpatine, and the rise of the First Order
• Ahsoka was able to become who she was always meant to be because of the Star Wars Rebels finale

Six years ago, the Star Wars Rebels finale, “Family Reunion – and Farewell,” had massive implications for the future of the franchise. Star Wars Rebels focused on the Ghost crew, a small, tight-knit group of Rebels making waves against the Empire from a planet in the Outer Rim known as Lothal. With two Jedi, a Mandalorian, an ace Twi’lek pilot, a skilled warrior, and a gleefully violent droid, the Ghost crew managed to deal the Empire some much-needed damage – in the end, they were arguably instrumental in its downfall.

Now that Star Wars has expanded its television offerings with Disney+, Star Wars Rebels has become more important to the franchise than ever. Ahsoka, especially, can be viewed as a direct Rebels sequel. And, given Ahsoka’s importance to the so-called “Mandoverse’s” story as a whole, especially the return of Star Wars Rebels’ finale not only impacted Ahsoka Tano’s character but the entire galaxy, as well.

6 Ezra Bridger's Actions Set Up The Empire's Original Trilogy Downfall

Grand iral Thrawn's defeat changed everything

In the Star Wars Rebels finale, the young Jedi Ezra Bridger – having only discovered his connection to the Force long after the Empire assumed control of the galaxy – ended up being one of the Empire’s, and even Emperor Palpatine’s, greatest adversaries. Ezra Bridger learned the ways of the Force with the help of Kanan Jarrus, an Order 66 survivor who ran with the Ghost crew. Together, they fought against Darth Vader’s Inquisitors, Darth Vader himself, Maul, and countless other terrifying enemies. None, however, were as terrifyingly effective as Grand iral Thrawn.

During Rebels, Thrawn was one of the Empire’s most skilled and feared tacticians. He was always a few steps ahead, calculating every move, terrorizing the Rebel Alliance and Ezra’s homeworld of Lothal. The one thing Thrawn never saw coming, however, was Ezra’s ultimate sacrifice. In the Star Wars Rebels series finale, Ezra calls upon his old friends, the purrgil, Star Wars’ hyperspace-traversing space whales, to whisk both him and Grand iral Thrawn away to places unknown. By defeating Thrawn, Lothal was liberated, and part of the Empire’s leadership structure crumbled.

The Star Wars Rebels finale – except for the epilogue – takes place before the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which famously leads right into A New Hope. As such, Ezra’s defeat of Grand iral Thrawn was the first of several big blows suffered by the Empire, and it paved the way for more earth-shattering losses in the years to come. Unfortunately, however, that victory ultimately wouldn’t last.

5 Thrawn's Exile Is Caught Up In The Rise Of The Imperial Remnant And The First Order

The Imperial Shadow Council wants Thrawn to lead them

By exiling Thrawn – and himself – Ezra made the Empire just that little bit weaker. However, what he never realized, and what the rest of the Rebel Alliance likely never realized, either, is that Thrawn’s disappearance would later spur on the scattered remains of the Empire, otherwise known as the Imperial Remnant. They continued working from the shadows, scrambling to complete Palpatine’s extensive wish list and bring Thrawn back to lead them. As established by The Mandalorian season 3 and Ahsoka, the Imperial Remnant has been counting on Thrawn to return and assume command of the remains of Palpatine’s Empire.

However, though the exact circumstances have yet to be established, the Imperial Remnant directly led to the rise of the First Order and Palpatine’s eventual resurrection. As such, though Ezra’s actions in the Rebels finale made the galaxy safer at the time, it wasn’t effective enough. As a Jedi, Ezra would never have thought of killing Grand iral Thrawn, but it might have made the galaxy a little safer forever. The story set up by Ezra’s purrgil strategy will affect Star Wars’ story for years to come in The Mandalorian & Grogu, Ahsoka season 2, and the other as-yet-untitled Mandalorian culmination movie.

4 Thrawn's Disappearance Opened Up The Star Wars Universe

There's more than one galaxy in the Star Wars universe

Thrawn and Ezra’s disappearance in the Star Wars Rebels series finale led to a major revelation in Star Wars lore. This galaxy, far, far away, isn’t the only galaxy in the Star Wars universe. Though logically speaking, this shouldn’t be a surprise, Ahsoka’s confirmation that no one had been able to find Ezra and Thrawn for so many years because they were in a different galaxy altogether, on a planet called Peridea, opened up the entire Star Wars universe and changed the audience’s understanding of the franchise forever.

The confirmation that the Force plays a major role in this secondary galaxy changed everything. The purrgil are now, without a doubt, Star Wars’ most pivotal creatures, as they are the only ones who can travel naturally between the two galaxies without needing any additional navigation. The mysteries of the Nightsisters’ origins and their unusual use of the Force are now much clearer, and the avatars of the Force, otherwise known as the Mortis gods, had much more influence than was originally revealed in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Because of Ezra’s sacrifice in the Rebels finale, anything can now happen in Star Wars.

3 Ezra Saved Ahsoka Tano's Life In The World Between Worlds

Ezra saving Ahsoka changed her future forever

In Star Wars Rebels season 4, episode 13, “A World Between Worlds,” Ezra discovers an entrance to the World Between Worlds for the very first time. The World Between Worlds is a parallel dimension that links all of space and time, and it is here where Ezra changes everything. Though Ahsoka was presumed dead after her confrontation with Darth Vader in Star Wars Rebels season 2, Ezra saved Ahsoka’s life in the World Between Worlds and subsequently altered the course of the future forever.

Though Ezra didn’t technically rescue Ahsoka in the Rebels finale, she did later show up in the Star Wars Rebels epilogue, foreshadowing key plot points that would later come to fruition in Ahsoka – the search for Ezra Bridger, and perhaps more importantly, her budding partnership with the Mandalorian Sabine Wren. That partnership would later turn into a master and apprentice relationship, forever changing what it means to be a Jedi and the audience’s understanding of how a Force-sensitive individual unlocks their connection to the Force.

2 Ahsoka's Gandalf Transformation Was Set Up In Star Wars Rebels' Finale

Ahsoka became "Ahsoka the White"

Alongside Ahsoka and Sabine’s relationship and the search for Ezra, the Star Wars Rebels finale also set up Ahsoka’s Gandalf-like transformation. When she meets Sabine on Lothal in the epilogue, Ahsoka is sporting a brand-new costume – a white hooded cloak and an elegant white staff. Though the Ahsoka show technically retconned this exact scene – in the live-action recreation, Ahsoka is in her usual gray garb – Ahsoka did, eventually, become “Ahsoka the White.”

After Ahsoka’s near-death experience and reunion with Anakin Skywalker in Ahsoka episode 5, “Part Five: Shadow Warrior,” Ahsoka becomes a more enlightened version of herself, just as Gandalf did in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings after fighting the Balrog in Moria. Both Gandalf and Ahsoka come out of the experience wearing a new, white set of robes, each transformation symbolizing their new enlightened state. In Ahsoka’s case, her white outfit sets her apart from other Jedi – she is now something else, something more.

1 The Rebels Finale Introduced A New Future Jedi

Jacen Syndulla could be a student in Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy

Last but not least, the Rebels finale introduced a potential future Jedi: Jacen Syndulla. As revealed by the Star Wars Rebels epilogue, the Jedi Kanan Jarrus and the Ghost crew’s pilot, Hera Syndulla, conceived a child just before Kanan’s sacrificial death in Star Wars Rebels season 4, episode 10, “Jedi Night.” The epilogue implies that Jacen is Force-sensitive, just like his father, setting him up as a potential student for Luke Skywalker or even Ezra Bridger. Jacen Syndulla made his live-action debut in Ahsoka, where he once again displayed signs of Force-sensitivity.

Though the creators may not have known it at the time, Star Wars Rebels has become a cornerstone of Star Wars’ storytelling. Not only is it a pivotal animated show, on par with Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: The Bad Batch, but it has directly influenced some of Star Wars’ biggest current and future projects. Without Star Wars Rebels, there would be no Ahsoka, that’s for certain – and Grand iral Thrawn might never have made the leap from the pages of Legends to Star Wars canon.

All episodes of Star Wars Rebels are available now on Disney+.