Star Wars Rebels and Ahsoka Mystery Explained

A key element of the plot of Ahsoka hinged on the mysterious ending of Star Wars Rebels – The disappearance of Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn. In the last two years before the Battle of Yavin, Phoenix Cell, the main group in RebelsCame into the sights of Thrawn and his forces. Phoenix Cell is originally from the planet Lothal, which at this point was occupied by the Empire.

Shortly before the battle of Scarif, Phoenix Cell and other rebels decided that it was time to take back Lothal, culminating in a conflict with Grand Admiral Thrawn’s forces. Ezra played a very important role in the battle, and was brought aboard Thrawn’s flagship Chimaera in order to speak to a hologram of Emperor Palpatine. But during an attack by the Purgil summoned by Bridger, he was able to sneak onto the Chimaera’s bridge to challenge Thrawn face-to-face.

The Chimaera was in the atmosphere when it was dragged into hyperspace

Thrawn’s Star Destroyer Over Lothal

The Purgil that Ezra summoned then grabbed the Chimaera, and even used their tentacles to break through the Chimaera’s bridge window. They held the throne in place as Ezra used the Force to hold him still as the Furgil prepared to jump to hyperspace. This fulfills the prophecy of the mysterious being known as Bendu after the Battle of Atollon earlier in the series, “I see your defeat,“He told Thran.”How many arms surround you in a cold embrace.“

The Chimaera was in the atmosphere when the Purgil jumped to hyperspace. This explains why the tentacles breaking into the bridge did not result in explosive decompression, killing everyone aboard—the sort of explosive decompression seen in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The problem is that this does not explain how the people on the bridge survived when the ship was dragged into hyperspace.

How could Thrawn & Ezra have survived the hyperspace journey?

Two possible methods of survival

Hyperspace is somewhat mysterious, but one thing is certain; It is a vacuum, like space. That means the incident is immediately comparable to another in Return of the JediWhere A-Wing crashed through the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer in the Battle of Endor and took down the entire ship. The Chimaera was not destroyed, though, likely thanks to the Purgil holding it together intact. But how could the people on the Chimaera’s bridge have survived?

One option is that there are likely emergency energy-based shields that extend into the spaces that the windows once covered. This technology is not unprecedented for Star WarsAs starship hangars seen since the original film are permeable yet vacuum-proof. There is also a specific precedent for this, with Bounty hunters #19 By Ethan Sacks & Ramón F Bachs Depicting a TIE Defender crashing through the bridge of an Imperial Light Cruiser, followed by the extension of red energy shields, protecting the bridge from the vacuum of space.

The other possible option for Thrawn & Ezra’s survival is the Purrgil itself. These creatures are vacuum breathing, and travel through hyperspace on their own, due to their consumption of coaxium-related chemicals. The Purgil could absolutely have generated some sort of vacuum field, keeping the Star Destroyer’s passengers alive. And well in the vacuum of space.

How did Thrawn & Ezra survive a return to Real Space?

A new galaxy

Upon their arrival in a strange new galaxy in Peridea, the funeral world of the Purgil, Ezra and Thrawn could have been in for another surprise: de-pressurization and landing. The energy shielding is likely in place due to the precedent established in Bounty hunters Could easily solve this problem. But with the tentacles of the Purgil wrapping around the ship, and the Chimaera slowly falling to pieces, other problems are coming their way..

Star destroyers can only land in specific places, with dedicated landing pads necessary for the entire process. This was obviously not the case on Peridea, meaning that Ezra and Tron’s likely uncontrolled descent would have been another serious threat to their well-being. However, based on ahsaka, That they did survive, probably with the chimera that was left by the Purgil in orbit.

This brings into question how Ezra was able to escape the Imperials, though. He was in the same room as Grand Admiral Thrawn, on a fully crewed star destroyer. It is possible that Bridger was able to escape in some sort of escape pod before meeting the Noti on Peridea, or perhaps he was simply able to slip away in the chaos of the arrival of the Chimaera in a new galaxy – a similar approach that he used in Ahsoka.