Warning: spoilers ahead for Episode 3 of Disney+'s Ahsoka, called "Time To Fly."
The adventures of Ahsoka Tano in her Disney+ solo series continued in "Time To Fly" after getting a two-episode premiere last week, and Ahsoka has taken the leading lady and Sabine Wren past the point of no return, with no expectation that Hera will be able to send help from the New Republic. The stars are starting to align about how to track down Thrawn – and hopefully also Ezra – with some new reveals about hyperspace travel, but the odds are still stacked against them after being hunted by Shin Hati and the mysterious Marrok... who is lightly less mysterious after Episode 3 dropped some clues, but I'm not convinced we should trust them for a big reason.
The New Clues About Marrok
The most interesting things about Marrok are arguably the extremely specific points that Ahsoka seems to be going the extra mile to obscure. Marrok continued to wear his mask in Episode 3 despite being in circumstances that didn't require it, as he was flying the same kind of fighter as Shin Hati, who was not wearing a mask. His voice was also modulated to sound unnatural. We don't know what he looks like or sounds like, and that feels extremely deliberate to hide details from viewers as opposed to serving an in-universe purpose.
As for what Ahsoka has told us about Marrok as opposed to deliberately concealed, there's no sign that the character is injured or disabled in some way that requires a mask to function like Darth Vader did. He proved in the first two episodes how skilled he is with a lightsaber; Episode 3 showed that he's a skilled pilot as well. The credits at the end of the episode also reveal that Paul Darnell played Marrok in the episode. This is what we know about the character.
Who The Clues Point To
Call me a Star Wars Rebels loyalist, but I agree with fellow CinemaBlend writer and Star Wars fan Adam Holmes about the Marrok evidence seemingly pointing toward Ezra Bridger. I wasn't convinced after the first two episodes, but Ahsoka went way too hard on concealing Marrok's identity from viewers in "Time To Fly." There was no in-universe reason why he would need to hide his face or modulate his voice in the fighter when he was just interacting with Shin Hati. It felt like a ploy to hide his identity from viewers more than anything else, and what would be the point of that if the identity wasn't of somebody who viewers already knew?
As in, somebody who was already announced as part of the Ahsoka cast and even appeared briefly in the series premiere via holo recording? With the Disney+ series going the extra mile to conceal Marrok's face and voice after already showing live-action Ezra's face and voice, the clues truly seem to be pointing toward the long-lost Jedi. Why hide somebody who we wouldn't recognize? It makes the most sense that his is a familiar face.
And sure, Paul Darnell was credited as Marrok and not Eman Esfandi, who plays Ezra in live-action, but The Mandalorian voice actor Pedro Pascal can certainly attest to the fact that the person wearing the mask in Star Wars isn't always the main actor for the character. Marrok in the mask could be played by Paul Darnell while Marrok unmasked could be Eman Esfandi.
Marrok was even featured in a scene involving purrgil, and Sabine mentioned that she hadn't seen purrgil since the last time she'd seen Ezra. Throw in the meaningful pause after she dropped that little reminder, and I'd say that the dots connect. Is it a perfect theory without any holes? Maybe not, but suspending disbelief is really part of the Star Wars experience.
Why I'm Not Ready To Go All-In
I'm much more on board with the theory that Ezra Bridger is Marrok now, even though it'd be a pretty sad turn of events considering his heroic exit in Star Wars Rebels and his training with original mentor Kanan Jarrus. The clues really point more toward Ezra than anybody else, and Marrok obscuring his identity when not necessary in Episode 3 has me convinced that he's at least somebody who fans will recognize. So why am I not ready to go all-in?
Call me paranoid, but the evidence pointing to Ezra feels entirely too obvious at this point as a Star Wars Rebels diehard. This could very well be a red herring, and Dave Filoni wrote "Time To Fly." I'm just not ready to commit to an Ezra reveal when we're three episodes into an eight-episode series.
At this point, my stance is that If the Marrok mystery is going to stretch out for most of the eight episodes, Ezra is too obvious at this point. I'd love for a reveal of Ezra as Marrok if it comes sooner rather than later, though! Ahsoka not stretching out the mystery would be a nice surprise, and getting some live-action Ezra sooner than the finale would be a treat.
New Questions To Ask About Marrok After Episode 3
There’s only so much speculation that we can do about Marrok based on what we know after three episodes, but there are plenty of theories floating around the internet. While my personal favorite right now is obviously that Ezra Bridger is the man beneath the mask, CinemaBlend’s Mick Joest has suggested Cameron Monaghan’s Cal Kestis from Star Wars: Jedi Survivor. And Cal is only one known Force user unaccounted for at this point in the timeline! Throw in the World Between Worlds and Legends characters who could still make it into canon, and there are a lot of candidates.
So, who is it really? Am I reading too much into Ahsoka going the extra mile to hide Marrok’s face? How long will we have to wait for a reveal? If he is Ezra, how did he connect to Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati while Thrawn is still MIA? If he’s not Ezra, what is all this evidence leading to? Is Ahsoka deliberately drilling down on a bizarre Star Wars trend?
For now, I'm just going to wait and see. New episodes of Ahsoka release on Tuesdays for Disney+ subscribers at 9 p.m. ET. The appearance of Jacen Syndulla in Episode 3 suggests that more Star Wars Rebels nods are on the way, so you can find that series streaming on Disney+ as well. Also, check out my picks for Rebels animated moments that I'd love to see in live-action! and a theory about a potential new Jedi Order!
