What to Watch Before Ahsoka Season 2: The Episodes That Matter Most

Ahsoka Season 2 arrives on Disney+ on January 20, 2027, and Grand Admiral Thrawn is coming back with what's left of the Empire behind him, according to StarWars.com. Ahsoka Tano's story stretches across four shows and almost two decades, so here's the short list of what to watch first, in order. (You can skip a few of The Clone Wars' 133 episodes. We won't tell.)

Where should you start before Ahsoka Season 2?

Start with The Clone Wars movie from 2008, which introduces Ahsoka as Anakin Skywalker's teenage Padawan. Their bond drives everything that follows. The Season 2 teaser even shows Anakin still pushing her. From the series, the essentials are the Season 5 finale arc, where Ahsoka is framed for the Jedi Temple bombing and walks away from the Order, and the four-episode Siege of Mandalore arc that closes Season 7 with Order 66 from her side of the galaxy.

Which Star Wars Rebels episodes matter most?

Rebels is the big one, because it introduces Ezra Bridger, Sabine Wren, Hera Syndulla and Thrawn himself. At minimum, watch these:

• "Twilight of the Apprentice," the Season 2 finale, where Ahsoka faces Darth Vader
• "Steps Into Shadow," the Season 3 premiere that brings Thrawn into the story
• "A World Between Worlds" from Season 4, where Ezra pulls Ahsoka out of that duel
• the two-part series finale, where Ezra and Thrawn vanish into hyperspace with a pod of purrgil

Our Grand Admiral Thrawn explainer covers the villain in more detail.

Where does Ahsoka appear in live action?

Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka debuts in The Mandalorian Season 2, Chapter 13, "The Jedi," where she asks Din Djarin about Thrawn. She pops up again in The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 6, but that one's optional. Then comes Ahsoka Season 1, eight episodes from 2023. It reunites her with Sabine, Hera and finally Ezra, while Thrawn escapes Peridea.

Is anything else worth watching?

Two bonus picks. Tales of the Jedi gives Ahsoka three short episodes in 2022, covering her childhood, her training and her escape after Order 66. Ariana Greenblatt is also back as young Ahsoka, per StarWars.com. The second pick is The Clone Wars' Mortis arc in Season 3, because the D23 stage for Season 2 was decorated with carvings of the Mortis gods.

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• Star Wars Rebels: The Complete Series
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Blu-ray
• Star Wars: The Black Series Ahsoka Tano figures

My read is that Rebels is the real homework here. Ahsoka Season 1 leaned hard on characters that a lot of casual viewers had never met, and Season 2 looks like it's going even deeper with Thrawn and the Mortis gods. (If the Rebels finale makes you cry, that's normal. It got us too.)

Which Ahsoka episode do you rewatch the most? Tell us in the comments.