Bringing in Abeloth here would both be a great way to bring some more cosmic horror into Star Wars, and explain all the hints dropped in this episode. Why did the Dathomiri Witch-Empire flee to an entirely different galaxy? Because the Bringer of Chaos was squatting on their homeworld. Why is the planet still an anarchic hellhole, and why do the Great Mothers want to leave now? Because she's still there. Why is Baylan convinced he'll find power here? Because she's been whispering in his dreams.
This can end with an extra stake in the conflict, as Sabine and Ezra are trying to prevent Thrawn from returning, trying to prevent Abeleth from returning, and trying to return themselves. That will let them have a major win (preventing the primordial evil that terrorized a galaxy from escaping her exile) while still have Thrawn succeed in his own goal so he can do stuff in the future.
Writing a post-post apocalypse LitRPG on RR. Also fanfic stuff.My only problem with Abeloth is that throughout the season, Thrawn has been presented as The Dreaded.
If they introduced a villain out of nowhere, who is much worse than him, that would undermine Thrawn.
So, I do think the big thing going against the thing Baylan is looking for being an actual person/character is that it's too late in the series to introduce a brand new major character like that.
That said, I do think taking into account what a new threat does to Thrawn at this point is a sailed ship. The show's putting on pretty noticeable vibes that no matter what Baylan is looking for, that's going to be the final threat of the season (with Baylan as the Final Boss) while Thrawn leaves everyone behind to be the Big Bad of the upcoming movies and/or surrounding series.
So no matter what, Baylan's going to find something that's going to make him a more immediate threat than Thrawn.
I agree that we aren't likely to see a foe introduced in the last couple episodes who takes over the role of the primary antagonist.
However I could see a scenario where whatever Baylen finds leads into the main threat for the post-ST era. Maybe Ezra, Ahsoka, and Sabine ultimately decide to stay in the other galaxy (or even return to it after the Mandoverse finale movie) in order to further investigate this new threat.
Having rewatched Rebels recently I was surprised by what a small role Ashoka has in it. She's a rare feature in series two and has a speaking role in only one season four episode.
She has a big impact though. Giving Anakin an apprentice and having that be a positive thing was genius.
I want a Tales of the Jedi short about what Ashoka and Anakin thought of each other prior to Yoda appointing hee his apprentice.
Speaking of which. Honestly, I can't help but imagine someone decided to watch Rebels, after starting Ahsoka, only to realize that Sabine and Ahsoka have almost no scenes together.
Like: "I was hoping to find out more about their relationship, and it turns out they never talk to each other."
Edited by Luisdalas on Sep 26th 2023 at 5:07:44 AM
I was right about how this series format was set up. Episodes 1 & 2 go together. Episode 3, 4, 5 are a batch, and 6, 7, 8 finishes it off. I wish Disney just did double drops like they did with the premiere.
But also, I love the whole reunion and seeing Ahsoka’s new attitude in life reflect her priorities too.

I believe Abeloth is the power that calls out to Baylan.