'Ahsoka' finale recap: Zombies, witches, a villainous win and a 'Star Wars' return home

Spoiler alert! The following discusses important plot points in the “Star Wars: Ahsoka” season finale (now streaming on Disney+), so beware if you haven’t seen it.

Apparently it’s spooky season in the “Star Wars” universe as well, with the season finale of “Ahsoka” going full zombie while opening a new corner of the franchise’s mythology.

After a slow start, the latest “Star Wars” show really started cooking midseason by sending its heroes to another galaxy: Former Jedi Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) rides a hyperspace whale to the distant planet Peridea where she met up with friend and apprentice Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo).

They found Sabine’s long-lost friend Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) and tussled with Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) ― a paunchy but steely officer who’s kind of the Empire’s Next Big Thing ― and his allies, a trio of cosmic witches called the Great Mothers.

In the end, “Ahsoka” veered a little close to “The Empire Strikes Back,” as the villains gained an important win and the good guys split up, with wars seemingly coming on two intergalactic fronts.

Here’s what you need to know about the season finale and how it teases next steps in the “Star Wars” galaxy:

The ‘Ahsoka’ season finale features zombies, witches and a return home

Thrawn and his army of Stormtroopers are ready to board their Star Destroyer and ride the Eye of Scion transport through hyperspace and back to what's left of the fallen Empire, hoping his return sparks a new battle against the New Republic. To stop this from happening, Ahsoka, Sabine and Ezra attempt a last-ditch assault on Thrawn’s forces. Their blasters and lightsabers tear through the Stormtroopers, but the Great Mothers wield their dark magic and resurrect these helmeted soldiers as freaky, undead menaces.

They’re taken care of, but our heroes then run into their foe Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto), who’s been turned into a witchy Nightsister and gifted with the Force-imbued Blade of Talzin. Ahsoka fights her for all the marbles and Ezra boards Thrawn’s ship just as it’s departing. But instead of going with him, Sabine stays to help Ahsoka and is now able to fully wield the Force. After their victory, the two women try to catch Thrawn in their ship but don’t make it, ending up stranded (for now) on Peridea. Meanwhile, Ezra (disguised as a Stormtrooper) hitches a ride back and reunites with old pal Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) after about a decade, just as the New Republic has a returned menace on its hands.

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Hayden Christensen’s Anakin Skywalker makes a spirited appearance

Stymied from traveling home, Ahsoka and Sabine settle into their new semi-permanent one with the friendly Noti (think the snail/turtle hybrid version of Ewoks, with a little Baby Yoda thrown in). “Ezra is where he needs to be, and so are we,” Ahsoka says. Looking out over the night sky, Sabine pauses and senses something ― “shadows in the starlight,” she figures ― but Ahsoka sees what Sabine doesn’t: the Force ghost of her former Jedi master, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen).

The fifth episode featured a long-awaited reunion between Ahsoka and Anakin in an afterlife setting, as Ahsoka levels up her Force enlightenment. Intriguingly, he was wearing his old “Clone Wars” and “Revenge of the Sith” garb then, while Force ghost Anakin is shown wearing Jedi master robes. (Perhaps a symbol of redemption from his time as Darth Vader?)

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Last ‘Ahsoka’ episode is a fitting final tribute to Ray Stevenson

The late Ray Stevenson, who died in May, was one of the greatest highlights of “Ahsoka,” bringing magnetic gravitas and a sense of mystery to his new antagonistic ex-Jedi character Baylan Skoll. His appearance in the season finale is brief, bittersweet and potentially game-changing: In one of the final scenes, Baylan, who’s been on a secret mission the whole time, is seen on Peridea, next to the mountainous statues of the Mortis gods, the beings connected to the origins of the Force. (It’s worth going on a Google deep dive and a binge-watch of some “Star Wars: Clone Wars” for more on them.)

With Stevenson gone, an “Ahsoka” Season 2 might bring Baylan’s apprentice Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) into the forefront if she takes on whatever he was up to with that larger bit of the “Star Wars” mythology. And it likely means she'll come into conflict again with Ahsoka and Sabine.

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So where do Ahsoka and friends go from here?

While fans await word of a potential second season, more of the post-“Return of the Jedi” timeframe is being explored in the next “Star Wars” series: Expected to premiere later this year, “Skeleton Crew” is a coming-of-age show starring Jude Law and recent Oscar nominee Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) about four lost kids on a grand space adventure.

Those curious whether Thrawn becomes the true heir to the Empire will want to keep an eye on the big screen. “Ahsoka” creator Dave Filoni is directing an upcoming “Star Wars” movie that closes out the interconnected stories of “The Mandalorian,” “The Book of Boba Fett” and “Ahsoka.” Since the Grand Admiral was name-dropped quite a few times in the third “Mandalorian” season, that could be where Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin, his little pal Grogu, the Mandalorians and all the Disney+ protagonists team up for an epic battle against Imperial remnants.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Ahsoka': 'Star Wars' show sets up multiple conflicts in season finale