“Ahsoka” officially ended its first season on October 4. The eight-episode season had a lot to offer and has set up even more thrills than initially expected. Needless to say, fans of the ever-expanding franchise are excited for what comes next.

The series doesn’t only set up the future of the Star Wars universe, [specifically the thirty years between “Episode VI: Return of the Jedi” and “Episode VII: The Force Awakens”] it also builds off of Star Wars’s past.

Rosario Dawson returns to the role of Ahsoka Tano [introduced in “Star Wars: the Clone Wars”] after portraying her in the second season of “The Mandalorian” and a brief stint on “The Book of Boba Fett.” 

The show picks up after the end of “Star Wars: Rebels,” “The Mandalorian” season three, and “Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.” 

Many viewers have come to the conclusion that “Ahsoka” acts more as “Rebels” season five than anything else, from sharing a majority of characters to plot beats, especially towards finding Grand Admiral Thrawn and missing Jedi, Ezra Bridger.

The streaming series begins with an opening crawl similar to that seen in the Skywalker saga films. Morgan Elsbeth, a descendant of the Night Sisters, is released from capture by a pair of Dark Jedi mercenaries [Baylan Skoll and his padawan Shin Hati]. For background, Dark Jedi, much like Grey Jedi, don’t align themselves with the Jedi or Sith orders, though Dark Jedi lean more towards the dark side of the force.

After Elsbeth’s rescue, Ahsoka Tano and her companions Sabine Wren [returning from “Rebels”] and Huyang [from “Star Wars: the Clone Wars”] embark on a mission to the far reaches of space to intercept and put an end to Elsbeth and her nefarious plot to find the lost Grand Admiral Thrawn.

“Ahsoka” introduces not only new planets, but a completely new galaxy to the Star Wars Universe. The galaxy in question is where it is said the force originated from. The galaxy also holds Thrawn and an army of battle-damaged Stormtroopers, waiting to return home to enact revenge on the New Republic after the destruction of the Empire in “Return of the Jedi.”

In the end, and after a fierce battle with reincarnated stormtroopers, Ahsoka, Sabine, and Huyang are left on the mysterious planet [Peridea] where the force was born, with Shin Hati taking control over a native band of hunters as Grand Admiral Thrawn returns to his home to take revenge against the Republic.

“I’m also eager to see what Thrawn and the Night Sisters will do to the Empire,” PMS eighth grader Dane Smith said. “Ezra Bridger’s lightsaber also piques my interest due to the fact that it’s modeled after his master’s lightsaber.”

If the story of the show wasn’t compelling enough, the cinematography and symbolism in the show is second to none. For fans of the Star Wars series, seeing Skoll look over the world of Peridea on the outstretched arm of The Father [an embodiment of both the light and and dark side of the force] was masterfully done, further pointing to Skoll’s alliance to neither the Sith or Jedi.

Episodes like “Part Five: Shadow Warrior” are among fan favorites, featuring the return of beloved characters from the Clone Wars era of Star Wars. Hayden Christensen reprised his role as Anakin Skywalker for the series, with Temuera Morrison as clone Captain Rex for the first time in live action.

Graphics and model production on the Disney Plus show were also top tier this goabout, with a majority of the effects for landscapes in particular being filmed on Lucasfilm’s Volume. Practical models were used in the series as well, specifically for Ahsoka’s T-6 Jedi Shuttle.

“I think physical models make [a Star Wars project] better,” junior Trevon Abraham said. “It makes [the ships] look more realistic.”

Needless to say, the original series by Disney and Lucasfilm has garnered a lot of attention and for good reason;, storytelling, graphics, acting, and symbolism to the greater Star Wars universe is at the top of its game. With the cliffhanger ending the show left viewers with as well, leaves fans excited for the next stages of the ever-expanding world set a long time ago in a galaxy far far away.