Ahsoka has gifted a classic Star Wars villain an army of the undead

“Far Far Away”, episode 6 of Disney Plus Ahsoka, delivered in style, giving us a new planet, new creatures, and a company of remarkably ornate castaway stormtroopers. The army is led by Enoch, an officer who has replaced the faceplate of his helmet with what looks like a frightening golden death mask.

What do we know about Enoch? What do we know about these soldiers? It’s not much, but it’s already disturbing in a way that Star Wars usually avoids, leaving us with a bit of theory.

(Ed. note: This piece contains spoilers from Ahsoka episode 6, “Far Far Away” through the season 1 finale, “The Jedi, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”)

What’s wrong with Enoch and Thrawn’s soldiers?

Thrawn’s forces in Episode 6 make a big appearance during his grand entrance. We can immediately see a military force isolated from anything designed to keep it in shape. Although Ahsoka doesn’t specify when it takes place, Thrawn’s star destroyer has been stranded in another galaxy for at least nine years. His soldiers’ armor is dirty with time, tied with cloth and repaired with metals, some even in a kintsugi style this really emphasizes the need to keep equipment in working order without the possibility of replacement. It looks cool !

Now forget the armor – what kept them soldiers together for a decade? This question hasn’t been answered exactly, but they certainly seem like a cult, unlike the pushy, complaining soldiers of their rebellion days, chanting “THRAWN, THRAWN, THRAWN, THRAWN” as their leader crosses a shipment. deck to meet your own allies. Something about their isolation has naturally changed the way this army operates.

On the other hand, they’re still recognizable stormtroopers, blending into the background of scenes and taking orders without comment, even though their commander, Enoch, has a strange robot voice and a glowing mask. The silent, omnipresent stormtroopers are one of Star Wars’ most reliable pieces of set dressing, and these troopers are one of the ways that “Far Far Away” truly delivers on design.

The other other hand… what if something very serious happens here?

Hey Thrawn, what’s in the box(es)?

Let’s take a look at some of the other, more subtle ways that “Far Far Away” tells us that these soldiers – who the subtitles call “Night Troopers” – are different.

Firstly, this is the reason why Thrawn is reluctant to use it in great force. “During this exile, our numbers have dwindled,” he tells Elsbeth, as an excuse for sending only two squads to support his mercenaries. So it’s not just about visuals: Ahsoka took a moment to tell us that something is wrong with the Thrawn guys.

Furthermore, we do not see any of them bridge officers or other command personnel on this star destroyer. There are no people in the classic high-collared and caped Imperial uniforms, only helmeted soldiers, and aside from Enoch’s very cyborg voice, we don’t hear any of them speaking.

Speaking of witch which – haha, we’re having fun here – Enoch begins this scene by speaking to the soldiers in a language other than the basic Imperial standard.

Image: Lucasfilm

On top of all this, the strips of fabric wrapped all around the Night Troopers’ armor are the same red as the Dathomiri Great Mothers’ robes. And the “Nightsisters” are another name given to the witches of Dathomir. And remember a few episodes ago when Baylan and Shin’s masked ally Marrok was once hit with a lightsaber and dissolved into dust? And at the end of this episode, Thrawn says, “Great Mothers, I’ll need the help of your dark magic once again,” implying he’s used their magic before? And Enoch is a biblical character notable for passing through the afterlife without dying – for being dead, but not dead as people who have died usually are? “Die well,” he said to Sabine as parting words, as maybe he has personal experience with this?

So perhaps this is a good time to mention that one of the specialties of Dathomiri magic is raising zombie armies.

It really looks like Thrawn has at least a partially zombie army, man

Image: Lucasfilm

The witches of Dathomir pulled this particular ability out of their pocket in a 2012 episode of Clone Wars called “Massacre”. In a last-ditch (and ultimately unsuccessful) effort to repel the onslaught of Count Dooku’s droids, the mummified bodies of the dead Nightsisters were resurrected to life as snarling zombies. And they were a sect of secretly practicing Dathomiri witches targeted by the wrath of the Sith. It is easy to imagine that the power of the three Great Mothers of the religion’s homeworld would be even greater. After all, they’re sitting in a space whale graveyard.

“Far Far Away” doesn’t say as much, but it does drop what appear to be some very telling clues. Before Thrawn can leave the planet, he must fulfill his part of a “deal with the Great Mothers”, by transporting goods for them. Elsbeth had a very specific reaction to this, saying, “I saw the catacombs. It’ll take time.” And boy, oh boy, the cargo we see the Night Troopers hauling later in the episode Of course they look like coffins.

Are Thrawn’s forces mostly or entirely made up of zombified stormtroopers? Are the Witches of Dathomir bringing an army of zombies to the main Star Wars galaxy? We won’t know until Ahsoka season 1 finishes its last two episodes. But honestly? That would kick ass.

Update: AhsokaThe season finale delivered on its undead promise, when the Great Mothers resurrected a squad of stormtroopers to stop Ahsoka, Sabine and Ezra from entering Thrawn’s ship. Green lights glowed from the eyes of their helmets, covering the rotting flesh beneath.

Now, thanks to Thrawn, these great mothers have reached Dathomir, with all their suspicious coffin-shaped “cargo” from the catacombs. It seems like everything will probably be fine.