This episode marks the series debut of Imperial death troopers, a design first seen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The troopers that accompany Thrawn have incandescent spots on their helmets, which were part of the movie costume design and seen widely on Rogue One product images, but were ultimately left unlit in the finished film.

Seen briefly in “Secret Cargo,” General Jan Dodonna makes his proper series debut in this episode. Actor Michael Bell provides the voice. A younger Bell can be heard in Star Wars: A New Hope as the voice of Commander Willard in the original film.

Commander Sato’s “Defense Formation Aurek One” gets its name from the aurebesh alphabet. The first letter in the aurebesh is “aurek.”

When Hera orders an evacuation, we hear the signal “Kay One Zero” given. This is the same evacuation code signal announced on Hoth when Princess Leia gives the same order in The Empire Strikes Back.

Thrawn makes mention of the Danaan tactics employed by the rebels. The Danaans are another name for the Achaens, the ancient Greeks, in the Iliad and the Odyssey.

General Dodonna’s forces are called the “Massassi group,” deriving their names from the ancient temples found on Yavin 4. This name that dates back to the original screenplay for Star Wars: A New Hope.

The eight-spoked cog on the shoulder of Ezra’s spacesuit indicates that it dates back to the Republic. Good thing it’s built to last!

Tristan Wren’s armor has been marked with a Sabine illustration on his right shoulder.

Grand Admiral Thrawn wears a version of Imperial officer battle armor seen previously on General Veers in The Empire Strikes Back and Governor Tarkin in Rebels. Thrawn’s version keeps his uniform coloring, and has his insignia atop the helmet.

Seen among the ships of the rebel fleet is a Dornean gunship, which originally was created as a background vessel that is barely glimpsed in Return of the Jedi. The Rebels animation model was revamped and used in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as well.

The finale brings an end to Phoenix Squadron, with the destruction of the Phoenix Nest carrier, the death of Commander Sato, and the loss of Atollon.