What do Star Wars and Scooby-Doo have in common? A lot of unmasking scenes. From the reveal of Din Djarin’s face to Luke Skywalker suddenly appearing to take Grogu to Jedi camp, there’s nothing cooler than a gasp-worthy reveal where everything starts to snap into place.
Ahsoka Episode 4 was the latest Star Wars show to indulge in this tradition, but it didn’t go where everyone thought. Instead, the clearly telegraphed reveal of Marrok became a fascinating subversion of this trope, and a great example of Star Wars magic. Spoilers ahead.
Ever since Marrok was included in preview images months before Ahsoka premiered, fans have been speculating on who they could be. A cloned Ezra? Complicated Clone Wars antagonist Barriss Offee? How about Galen Marek from the video game The Force Unleashed?
It turns out none of the above were right, or even really applicable. In Ahsoka Episode 4, Ahsoka manages to slay Marrok, but before she can unmask him and do a big reveal, Marrok disappears in a puff of green smoke. It didn’t really matter who Marrok was; the true shock was in the magic affecting him.
The smoke’s greenish tint instantly identifies it as a power familiar to hardcore Star Wars fans; it’s the magic of the Nightsisters of Dathomir, the order of witches Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth belongs to. Examples of this green magic are seen throughout The Clone Wars and in the video games Fallen Order and Survivor.
It appears Marrok was some sort of Inquisitor who was reanimated, enhanced, or brainwashed to become Morgan’s lapdog. The fact he dissipates upon his defeat heavily implies Marrok was already dead, and the magic — essentially a unique way of using the Force — had zombified him.
This is possibly the biggest shock Ahsoka could pull off: the complete lack of a shock. The non-reveal threw viewers off, leaving them unsuspecting of the true reveal lurking at the end of the episode when Anakin welcomed Ahsoka to an otherworldly plane. So maybe it’s for the best Marrok wasn’t anyone special. Sometimes, a henchman is just a henchman.
