I predict that the Ghost crew survived to die another day. Hera, Chopper, and the ship make it to Rogue One. Who perishes before and after the battle of Scarif is open.

Concerning Bendu's prediction, I think that he was referring to the Empire and not Thrawn. Does this mean that Thrawn starts making his post-imperial plans from this moment

Season 4 sounds ambitious. I expect blue squadron to show-up. Is Boba finally going to make an appearance as a part of the Mandalorian civil war?

Not a bad finale, but a little underwhelming, especially when compared to the incredible S2 finale. I am fascinated by the Bendu character though. Would love to dig into his background and role and I'm happy he played an impactful role in Zero Hour.

Season 4 does sound ambitious, especially considering all the filler episodes contained in S3. I found it interesting that in Rebels Recon, Filoni discussed trying to wrap up the story arcs of some Clone Wars characters in S4 of Rebels. Showing Ahsoka in the montage during that discussion also raises some questions about her fate in the Vader duel in the S2 finale. In my head canon, she's dead, and it honestly feels to me like fan service if she isn't.

All the discussion in Recon also strongly indicates S4 will be the final season of the show, which I think is appropriate. I still don't think - 3 seasons in - that Rebels has reached the level of Clone Wars. Maybe it's due to Rebels being aimed at a younger audience?

With the Solo movie, there's a marketing reason to keep the OT-era Rebels in production through 2019.

Subsequent to "Twilight of the Apprentice," I believe that Filoni stated that Ahsoka is done with Rebels.

I hope that she'll show up in the animated series that proceeds Rebels. I also hope that this new series takes place after ROTJ and stars Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker.

He later backtracked on that at the Celebration Europe panel for Ahsoka's Untold Tales and said given the reaction to the Season 2 finale, he said Ahsoka might return in Rebels: https://youtu.be/lS4sclln5J4. He says it at the 1:01:05 mark to the 1:01:51 mark.

Satisfied.

As crushing and as cruel a victory as I wanted to Thrawn's latest moves to be, I have to remember that there still needs to be a rebellion and familiar protagonists for the show to continue. It couldn't have been too grim.

In any case, I was very much sated by the scope of the space battle and moved by Sato's sacrifice. Also, I appreciated more time with the Bendu and was awed by his godly transformation. A lot to love in this season finale.

Now, bring on that Celebration season 4 preview!