‘Ahsoka’ Episode 6 Recap: Grand Admiral Thrawn Makes His Debut

In this week’s episode of Ahsoka, we’re only with Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) for a few brief moments before she’s left on a purrgil ride to her possible impending doom. Now, it’s all about Sabine Wren’s (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) quest to find Ezra.

But first, Ahsoka has a bit of a breakdown over failing her mentee. Using the force, Ahsoka was able to watch the moment Sabine left with Shin (Ivanna Sakhno) and Baylan (Ray Stevenson)—she now knows that Sabine followed them willingly. Ahsoka blames herself for not having the time to train Sabine to make the right choice. Huyang (David Tennant), however, believes that saving Ezra (Eman Esfandi) was always going to be the decision Sabine made.

Enough gossiping about Sabine. Where is the poor girl? Stranded in the prison cell of Morgan Elsbeth’s (Diana Lee Inosanto) ship, that’s where. Though Baylan promised Sabine the opportunity to find Ezra, he now retracts the offer. But when the team lands on Peridea and meets the witchlike Child of Dathomir, all bets are off. Sabine “reeks of Jedi,” and because she is so dangerous, she’s shuttled off into an isolation cell where the leader of these creatures will decide her fate.

Before we can meet that leader—if you’ve watched a single episode of Ahsoka, you should be able to guess who it is —Baylan rambles about his take on the galaxy’s many changes. Everything, Baylan tells his apprentice Shin, repeats over and over again. Power is a cycle: Right now, the New Republic is in control. Shouldn’t it be the Empire’s turn then? Baylan tells Shin it’s actually time to put an end to that pattern. One leader should take charge forever.

Enter Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), the evil big bad that Ahsoka has been teasing for weeks. Here he is! Thrawn is menacing with his promises to destroy all the good guys, sure. But I can’t take him seriously because he looks like a member of the Blue Man Group. The beady red eyes add to the villainous appearance, but in comparison to the caped Baylan, the devilish Shin, and Morgan Elsbeth, a witch who wants to destroy all Jedi, Thrawn feels a little tame. But we haven’t seen him in action—except in Rebels, but then, he was animated—so I’ll wait to fully cast judgment until that point.

Thrawn is thrilled to have Sabine in captivity. He’s just elated! What a perfect way to bait Ahsoka to this deserted galaxy and strand a slew of Jedi on an unmapped planet. With his plan, Ahsoka, Ezra, and Sabine will end up lost in space. Thrawn frees Sabine onto Peridea, giving her the opportunity to find Ezra, wherever he may be. After she leaves on Tota, a smart howler creature who is as good as a motorcycle or a horse, Thrawn instructs Shin and Baylan to stalk Sabine until she finds Ezra.

This will fulfill their deal to Sabine—that she gets to see Ezra again—while also taking out the enemy. If Shin and Baylan can’t kill Sabine and Ezra, no biggie. They’re trapped on a planet with no way to find their way back home. Plus, there are gaggles of red bandit warriors scattered around Peridea, so if the isolation doesn’t kill Sabine, they will.

But unbeknownst to Thrawn and his army, Ezra has befriended the bandits, who are actually called Noti. The Noti are adorable—almost like Ewoks if they were made of rock instead of fur. The Noti want to fight Sabine until it recognizes the Rebel Alliance symbol on Sabine’s jacket. It has one too, embedded on its tiny jacket. Where could the creature have discovered such a specific logo?

Ezra, of course. The band of Noti lead Sabine back to their camp full of similar rock critters. Sabine feels defeated when Ezra isn’t there. Of course, it’s a fake out—he’s waiting behind her. Finally, the duo are reunited. Ezra thanks Sabine and confesses that, while he’s had an interesting time befriending the Noti, he can’t wait to go home. Sabine neglects to tell him that’ll be a struggle, considering she sacrificed her ride to find him.

While Shin and Baylan hunt for Sabine and Ezra, Baylan imparts more knowledge on his apprentice. Ezra was a much younger Bokker Jedi, Baylan informs Shin. Shin thinks that she, too, is a Bokken Jedi. She’s wrong. “He was trained as a Jedi,” Baylan says. “You, I trained to be something more.” Sorry, but Thrawn has nothing on the creepy partnership between Baylan and Shin. These two just know how to be mysterious villains.

Alas, we’re back to Thrawn’s empire at the end of the episode, when the witches alert their master to an incoming Jedi. They can sense Ahsoka coming from lightyears away. Morgan decries their predictions—Ahsoka is long dead! But Thrawn insists that she may be alive, and that any approaching purrgil needs to be destroyed. Everyone should study up on Ahsoka, learn her fighting techniques. Ahsoka, especially paired with Sabine and Ezra, is a force to be reckoned with.

At the very end of the episode, Thrawn turns to the Dathomir witches and requests their assistance in the field of dark magick. Oh, Ahsoka—be careful heading into this battle. There are too many demons to fight, and not enough Jedi to defend the New Republic.

Keep obsessing! Sign up for the Daily Beast’s Obsessed newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.