That is to say that I think Filoni and Co. might be using Ahsoka as a red herring of sorts to lead us fans to prematurely expect her death. Most fans are ignoring that there is another apprentice (or former apprentice) in the mix, namely Darth Maul. I don't think Filoni will kill off his greatest character so quickly, when he could draw out the Vader-Ahsoka relationship for a while longer. Perhaps, even though he is just resurfacing in Rebels, the title refers to Maul's death.

Then again, maybe the Rebels creative crew is playing it straight with us. Back in the early years of The Clone Wars, I always assumed that Ahsoka had to die before Revenge of the Sith. Surely she doesn't survive into the OT period.

Maul is just being reintroduced to Rebels and probably will need to be around a bit, assuming his role will be to tempt Ezra to the Dark Side.

Ezra or Kanan (the latter being a stretch) as easily as Ahsoka or Maul.

Filoni has stated that he knows for certain what happened to Ahsoka in his mind. I think he believes she is dead. However, I bet there was some behind-the-scenes pressure to not make this outcome conclusive because Ahsoka is a "Disney cash cow" (in addition to being a great character), being one of the most significant female Jedi (or "former Jedi," if you want to split hairs). I'm not sure what that scene of Ahsoka at the end meant...it was an interesting transition from Vader leaving to the bird creature flying to Ahsoka re-entering the temple/falling down.

Some people are saying it's meant to be a Force Ghost. Having not finished The Clone Wars yet, some of the possible symbolism is lost on me. Apparently, those birdlike creatures often appeared in scenes involving Ahsoka, and the scene with her at the end is meant to be a visual parallel to a scene from TCW when she left the Jedi Order. I'd probably interpret the scene as playing out in Vader's mind as he hobbled away...another part of Anakin Skywalker was destroyed, as indicated by Ahsoka seeming to fall forward and being absorbed by the darkness of the Sith Temple.

I have no doubt that Filoni meant for her to die as the episode was written. I also have no doubt that, if that proves to be the canonical version of events, we'll still see new Ahsoka stories, probably set during The Clone Wars. However, I think higher-ups with LFL and Disney pressured Filoni to make the outcome ambiguous. I really think he was ready to "put her out to pasture." I wouldn't have been surprised if, had Disney owned the Star Wars IP when the OT was being made, some executive or another would have even wanted Darth Vader to survive.

I loved how Maul's situation and behavior when Ezra first finds him parallels Luke's first meeting with Yoda on Dagobah.

And did anyone think it was a little weird that, when Anakin's helmet cracked, the exposed portion of his face was flesh-colored rather than pasty white?

Lastly, half joking, but I kinda want Kanan to sport Terminator robot eyes at some point in the future.