This article contains spoilers for Ahsoka episodes 1 & 2.
Ahsoka has confirmed where Grand Admiral Thrawn and Ezra Bridger have been for the last nine years – and it changes the entire Star Wars franchise. The Star Wars Rebels finale saw Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger sacrifice himself to defeat Thrawn, greatest of the Imperial Grand Admirals. The Force had warned Ezra that Thrawn would intervene during the Rebel Alliance’s attempt to liberate Lothal, and he’d launched a desperate plan to defeat him.
Ezra used his connection with the purrgil, Star Wars‘ hyperspace whales, and they dragged Grand Admiral Thrawn’s flagship into hyperspace – with both Thrawn and Ezra aboard. The flagship has been missing for roughly nine regions, meaning Thrawn was absent during the entire Galactic Civil War. Even Palpatine believed Thrawn would have changed the entire course of the conflict, because his tactical brilliance would have meant the Empire’s forces would have been marshaled much more skillfully. But where has Thrawn been all this time?
The Purrgil Have Taken Thrawn & Ezra Bridger To Another Galaxy
The purrgil are Star Wars‘ hyperspace whales, capable of creating micro-tunnels through hyperspace that allow them to travel across the galaxy. According to legend, these creatures inspired the discovery of hyperspace itself, with ancient scientists observing their abilities and figuring out how to simulate them. But it seems their abilities are even more vast than had previously been believed the case; they are capable of traveling between the galaxies.
Lady Morgan has retrieved an ancient starmap charting the pathway to Peridea, a distant galaxy. This pathway appears to align with an intergalactic migration route for the purrgil, traveling from a specific location in the Star Wars galaxy to a location on the rim of another. According to Lady Morgan, this route was once used by visitors from another galaxy – visitors who apparently had some connection to the Nightsisters of Dathomir, explaining why she knows about them. She believes the purrgil have taken Thrawn and Ezra across this migration path, across the void between the galaxies and to Peridea.
Related: Ahsoka: Release Date, Trailer, Story & Everything We Know
Star Wars Has Never Traveled Beyond The Galaxy Before
This is the first time Star Wars has ever traveled beyond the galaxy. Since the franchise began in 1977, these adventures were always told “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away” – a single galaxy. Even the old Star Wars Expanded Universe only ever toyed with the idea of other galaxies on a handful of occasions, most notably with a race of invaders called the Yuuzhan Vong who were initially believed to have traveled from another galaxy. They were eventually revealed to be outcasts from the Star Wars galaxy, however.
Now, though, Star Wars isn’t just discussing intergalactic forces – it’s preparing to travel to another galaxy. Lady Morgan has prepared the Eye of Sion, a vessel that will allow her to make the journey to Peridea. Given Peridea is somehow tied to the Nightsisters of Dathomir, it’s entirely possible this is the origin of their strange Force powers – which would mean it is a place where the Force itself operates by different rules. If that’s the case, then the leap to another galaxy is about to transform viewers’ understanding of the Force itself, making Ahsoka one of the most exciting stories in the history of Star Wars.
Ahsoka releases new episodes Tuesdays at 6pm PT / 9pm ET on Disney+.
