What are those star whales in Ahsoka? Why the purrgil will be essential to the future of the Star Wars show
Ahsoka episode 3 brought back the purrgil after their brief introduction in The Mandalorian season 3. The space whales are hugely important to understanding the context of Ezra Bridger and Thrawn's disappearance – and after what we learned here, it seems like they’re going to play a huge part in the rest of the season.
To help you understand who and what they are, as well as a bit of context about their history in Dave Filoni’s animated show Star Wars Rebels, we’ve taken a deep dive into the purrgil below. Of course, we will be discussing spoilers from episode 3, so make sure you’re up to date on Ahsoka before going any further.
What are the purrgil in Ahsoka?
Basically, the purrgil are space whales, a semi-sentient species that live in deep space and can travel between star systems. They look pretty similar to whales too, with their bluish-purple bulbous heads and fins, although the tentacles more resemble an octopus.
In Star Wars mythos, the whales are best known for their ability to travel through hyperspace as they can create tunnels. If you’ve been paying attention in Ahsoka so far, it’s clear this will be very important in finding a certain Grand Admiral Thrawn…
Where have we seen the purrgil before?
The space whales had a very brief cameo in The Mandalorian season 3 episode 1 when Din Djarin and Grogu are traveling through hyperspace. As they travel, strange shapes are moving around them, which Grogu adorably tracks with his fingers, before one of them emerges and is clearly the shape of a purrgil.
Outside of live-action, they were first seen in the Star Wars: Rebels episode 'The Call' when the crew of the Ghost encounter them when they're stranded without fuel. However, they really became important in the show’s series finale after Ezra developed a bond with them strong enough that he could use them in the battle against Thrawn. A purrgil grabbed the Grand Admiral’s ship, jumping him to hyperspace and away from the battle. The issue was that Ezra was also aboard that ship.
Why are the purrgil important in Ahsoka?
The purrgil give Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren a glimmer of hope that Ezra may be alive after all as Sabine points out in episode 3, she hasn’t seen these creatures since the day he disappeared. They also might just be the clue of how they’ll get him back.
As Huyang explains, the Eye of Sion (which we now know is a hyperspace ring) could be able to make the jump to another galaxy, provided they had the right coordinates. And the way of getting them? You guessed it. "The Jedi archives speak of intergalactic hyperspace lanes between galaxies, which used to follow the migration paths of star whales named purrgil," Huyang explains. We expect to see a lot more of them in coming episodes…
Ahsoka is currently dropping a new episode weekly on Disney Plus. For much more on the show, check out our guides on:
Who is Jacen Syndulla?
Explaining the mystical realm of the World Between Worlds
The history between Anakin and Ahsoka explained
The Ahsoka end-credits clues explained
The Nightsisters of Dathomir explained
Who is Inquisitor Marrok in Ahsoka?
Where have we seen Morgan Elsbeth before?
How to watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars in order
The Ahsoka timeline explained
