What is the Eye of Sion in Ahsoka? Everything to know about the Star Wars hyperspace ring and its link to a deep-cut Sith Lord

Ahsoka
(Image credit: Disney/Lucasfilm)

The first three episodes of Ahsoka are now out on Disney Plus, and they’ve introduced an intriguing new concept called the Eye of Sion. The hyperspace ring will undoubtedly be crucial to bringing Grand Admiral Thrawn (and potentially Ezra Bridger) back – and Ahsoka episode 3 gave us some more clues about how it works.

Star Wars fans also have another intriguing theory too, linking it to a niche Star Wars character. For more on all of this, check out our guide to the Eye of Sion below. But a quick spoiler warning before we go any further, we’ll be discussing details from Ahsoka episodes 1, 2 and 3 below so make sure you’re up to date before scrolling on.

What is the Eye of Sion? 

Ahsoka

(Image credit: Disney Plus/Lucasfilm)

In the second episode of Ahsoka, after Morgan Elsbeth has got her hands on the star map which should lead them directly to Grand Admiral Thrawn, she references the Eye of Sion. "The Eye of Sion is on its way here," she tells Baylan Skoll and his apprentice Shin Hati. "Make sure that everything is ready for its arrival."

Part of that preparation involves Inquisitor Marrok stealing a hyperdrive from a New Republic shipyard. Then, right at the end of the episode, we see the hyperdrive being inserted into a massive structure as Morgan says that this will allow the Eye of Sion to be complete and it will "deliver Grand Admiral Thrawn from his exile in the far galaxy."

While it seemed like it might be some kind of portal, episode 3 of Ahsoka explained exactly what it is. In Huyang's own words, its a Hyperspace Ring that's almost complete. "I have never seen one built on this scale before," he tells Sabine Wren and Ahsoka Tano. "A craft with these power levels and configuration would be capable of a hyperspace jump of astonishing speed and distance." Huyang adds that it will likely even be able to jump to another galaxy if it knows the coordinates. 

And the key to finding these is seemingly in the purrgil, who were reintroduced in this episode. These space whales – who we first encountered in The Mandalorian season 3 – have the ability to travel through hyperspace. And that's not all, they were actually how Ezra managed to transport Thrawn away in the big battle that ended Star Wars Rebels.

Could the Eye of Sion be setting up a niche Star Wars character introduction?

Darth Sion

(Image credit: LucasArts)

The fact that the Eye of Sion shares the same name as a brutal Sith Lord has got tongues wagging. Introduced in the 2004 video game Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, Darth Sion is known as the Lord of Pain, and is kind of a zombie Sith. He was killed in the Great Sith War, but rather than dying, he ended up surviving by calling on his pain and essentially becoming immortal. Yikes. 

"I really hope this is a reference to Darth Sion," one fan speculated on Reddit. "I assumed it was worded Psion or Scion," replied another about the potential link. "Darth Sion didn't even cross my mind. That would be sick."

Others pointed out that there’s another KOTOR reference in the opening episodes too, which might make this theory a little more likely. In the New Republic shipyards, Ahsoka Tano and Hera Syndulla speak about HK droids, which served as part of Ebon Hawk's crew in the games. "Between that, the HK reference, and the Star map looking like it came out of KOTOR I am happy lol," added another fan.

As Inverse points out too, the fact that it’s his eye that is mentioned in Ahsoka is particularly interesting as well, because Sion has one completely white eye in the game that is covered in cracks. Very intriguing indeed…

Not everyone is so convinced though. Not only is KOTOR not actually considered to be canon, some think that this is really just an Easter egg planted in for fans of the wider Star Wars universe.

"I'm hopeful myself but not sure how they're going to tie Sion to the far galaxy and all that," added another fan on Reddit. "Of course, I'm not sure what Sion canon is…" Meanwhile a fifth agreed, admitting: "I'm guessing the name is the only reference we'll get. Just a little wink to the fans." It seems we'll just have to wait and see.

Ahsoka is streaming weekly on Disney Plus. For more on the new Star Wars show, check out our guides to:

Fay Watson
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I’m the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for the Total Film and SFX sections online. I previously worked as a Senior Showbiz Reporter and SEO TV reporter at Express Online for three years. I've also written for The Resident magazines and Amateur Photographer, before specializing in entertainment.