Nightmare Fuel / Ahsoka

Spoilers Off for prior Star Wars media. You've been warned!

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Season 1

Part One: Master and Apprentice

• The opening scene where the two Dark Jedi Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati go on a rampage through the Vesper, slaughtering New Republic troopers left and right, feels very much like Darth Vader making a Mook Horror Show out of rebel troopers in the final moments of Rogue One.
• The first namedrop of Thrawn in the series is followed by the return of the eerie chorus from his theme, "Thrawn's Web", as a potent omen of the mysterious, evil threat from beyond the native Star Wars galaxy being well on his way.
• The seemingly lopsided duel between Sabine and Shin Hati, is scary in that it gives the impression from start to finish that the odds are stacked against the former. The episode ending with her getting stabbed in the lung and Ahsoka rushing to her side will certainly send shivers down any Rebels fan's spine, leaving them worrying about losing such a pivotal character this early on.

Part Two: Toil and Trouble

• The realization that there are still Imperial sympathizers among the Corellian workers can come off as very shocking. Especially with that shout of "For the Empire!" that instantly kicks off a chaotic action scene, almost on par with the Yiga Clan from The Legend of Zelda series.

Part Three: Time to Fly

• Huyang risking his own life, along with that of Ahsoka and Sabine aboard their shuttle, to try and get a full scan of the Eye of Sion in the face of overwhelming turbolaser fire (and with minimal effort being made to evade it) can prove to be an intense moment.
• And just as he finishes scanning the Sion, just when the heroes though they were finished, the shuttle then takes a direct hit that briefly disables it, leaving them at the mercy of fast-moving enemy fighters. Ahsoka is then forced to get out of the shuttle in a space suit in a more dangerous effort to fend off the fighters before making the harrowing descent onto Seatos' surface.
• Huyang's report about the scan of the Sion can be quite intimidating.

Part Four: Fallen Jedi

• When the Eye of Sion jumps into hyperspace, it unleashes a devastating burst of energy that knocks out two of Hera's X-Wing escorts. Certainly, its power is not to be underestimated. The sense of dread that hangs in the air (or, in this case, in space) afterwards is punctuated by Jacen Syndulla's precognition that something terrible is about to happen.
• As the episode ends with Ahsoka meeting Anakin in the World Between Worlds, we hear Darth Vader's Imperial March theme as the screen cuts to black, hinting that their meeting may not be as friendly as it would appear to be...

Part Five: Shadow Warrior

• The flashbacks to the Clone Wars in live action helps emphasize that Ahsoka was just a kid dragged into a galactic war when she thought being a Jedi just meant keeping the peace.
• During Anakin and Ahsoka's duel, Anakin briefly turns into Vader. We are mostly spared the body horror since this is him in his pre-Mustafar, "Knightfall" state with pallid skin and Supernatural Gold Eyes — but Vader's iconic armored suit also flashes in and out as he menacingly approaches Ahsoka. And coldly states:
  Darth Vader: You lack conviction.
  • The fact that Anakin willingly shifts into his Vader persona can't be understated enough. Essentially, Skywalker resorts to using his Sith self in order to teach Ahsoka one final lesson.
    Anakin: Back to the beginning. I gave you a choice: live... (ignites a red lightsaber)
    Vader: ...or die.
    Ahsoka: No.
    Vader: Incorrect. (proceeds to attack her)
• Ahsoka dispatching enemy Mandalorians with impunity in one of the flashbacks appears to be brutal and terrifying, quite out of character with her kind demeanor.
• While not phoning it in, compared to his duel with Obi-Wan on Mustafar and later duels in his armor, Vader clearly isn't putting anything close to his full might into the duel and easily has Ahsoka on the backfoot - granting the audience the barest glimpse into what the Galaxy was spared from.
  • Knightfall Vader's presence doesn't solely rely on his facial transformation and the red lightsaber: the little dialogue Hayden Christensen intones as Vader ("Incorrect" and "You lack conviction", notably) is modulated with an Evil Sounds Deep approximation that evokes James Earl Jones' own laconic but imperious dialogue. Even the body language of the lightsaber swings are themselves evocative of Vader's more recent rampages as seen in Rogue One and Obi-Wan Kenobi, now backed up with the full range of motion of a healthy Anakin.
  • In Ahsoka's previous duel with Vader on Malachor, she had the advantage of being in her prime while Vader was trapped within his armor, hampered by his cybernetics. Here, we see Vader whole and without the armor and he is absolutely terrifying, with Ahsoka barely able to hold her own against his continual, unrelenting attacks.
• Ahsoka disarms Vader during their duels and holds his lightsaber to his throat. As she does so, her eyes turn golden as well, a sign that in that moment Ahsoka is teetering on the very edge of the Dark Side... Thankfully, she pulls herself out of it... and so does Vader - by closing his eyes for several seconds and then reverting back into Anakin while opening them.

Part Six: Far, Far Away

• Grand Admiral Thrawn is back, bringing with him that unnervingly steady gravitas and calculating confidence that defined him as a mortal threat back in Rebels. With a regiment of golden-plated stormtroopers, the Chimaera, and even the Nightsisters at his back, Thrawn is posed as a true threat once more.
  Thrawn: What was first just a dream has become a frightening reality for those who may oppose us.
• The Chimaera, while still up and running well enough, has had a lot of wear and tear in her time away from the known galaxy. The haggard nature of the gold plating almost calls to mind a Ghost Ship, adding to her imposing menace as she looms over the temple on Peridea.
  • A number of viewers have compared the appearance of the Chimaera to the Flying Dutchman.
• Thrawn's Night Troopers (as identified by the subtitles) look really unnerving, like an army of reanimated warriors brought back to life and held together only by their wish to serve their lord. Could the Nightsisters have done to them what was done with Marrok?
  • Their rough-hewn and much-battered armors, not to mention their inhuman voices (the only real understandable part of their chants is Thrawn's name—and their commander Enoch's voice sounding metallic) reminds one of another armor-clad set of imperialist warriors, only recently reemerging in popular culture: the Sardaukar of Dune (2021). That they survived the harsh conditions of Peridea for a decade and more suggests they have grown far more competent and dangerous than any Stormtrooper cohort.
  • Their mismatched and dirty uniforms also heavily imply that these troopers have been through some intense battles. Thrawn will be returning with an entire Star Destroyer’s regiment of troopers, all of them battle-hardened.
  • The troopers also come off like a cobbled-together hybridizing of Stormtroopers and Rogue One's Death Troopers.
• Thrawn sending Baylan and Shin after Sabine, with both him and Baylan noting that the deal was to let Sabine find Ezra. There was nothing about them letting both of them live in there. Not to mention, Thrawn's ultimate goal is to get himself and his forces back to their own galaxy at any cost, and Thrawn is perfectly willing to leave Baylan and Shin behind as well should they fail in their task and be unable to get back to the Chimaera before she departs.

Part Seven: Dreams and Madness

• When Ahsoka connects with Sabine through the Force, it cuts from a close-up of Ahsoka's face to that of one of the Great Mothers, who is cruelly smirking at the camera, her huge black eyes fully staring into the viewer's.
• While not outright nightmarish, the knowledge that Thrawn subtly manipulated the situation to keep Ahsoka and Ezra from interfering with his cargo transfer brings about a sense of foreboding knowing that the heroes can't stop him from returning.

Part Eight: The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord

• The Great Mothers reanimating the fallen Night Troopers. Plus, the implication that those particular troopers volunteered for that mission knowing that their bodies would be raised to fight again, or that they believed the Nightsisters would protect their actual lives and not just their animation. And to make matters worse, the longer they're animated, the smarter they get. They first awaken as mindless shamblers, but as time goes by, they regain their intelligence and begin using their skills and weapons again. And still just as unstoppable.
• When Sabine damages the Death Trooper's helmet, we get a glimpse at the trooper's rotten decayed jaw to confirm yes they're really undead. And if you're still not sure, there's also the inhuman snarling, hissing, and snapping to drive it home. Sweet dreams.
• Morgan Elsbeth's initiation ritual is downright unnerving, to the point where even Thrawn seems unsettled by it. Much like Talzin's empowerment of Maul, the process is painful and physically deforms Morgan's face such that she ends up with dark facial markings and black empty eyes.

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