Purrgil Explained: Star Wars’ Hyperspace Whales

Summary

• Purrgil are space whales who travel in hyperspace tunnels and can reach the size of an Imperial Star Destroyer.
• Purrgil have migration routes that cross galaxies and reach a planet called Peridea, and they inspired Jedi and Sith navigational technology.
• The appearance of purrgil in
  Ahsoka
  and
  The Mandalorian
  confirms their importance in
  Star Wars
  lore, connecting all galaxies past and present.

Ahsoka season 1 finally showed viewers the purrgil in live-action, and here’s everything viewers need to know about Star Wars‘ beautiful space whales. When George Lucas created Star Wars, he knew he needed a way for ships to travel faster than light. Inspired by Isaac Asimov’s Foundation novels, he came up with the idea of hyperspace, a mysterious dimension that ships could jump into to travel at phenomenal speeds. At first, it seemed as though only starships could travel through hyperspace.

That meant many were as surprised as Grogu in The Mandalorian season 3, episode 1 when he saw a flock of purrgil in hyperspace. Just as there are life forms in space in Star Wars, there are creatures capable of naturally jumping into hyperspace. They’re rarely seen, simply because most starships don’t allow their pilots (or co-pilots) the kind of 360-degree view given to Grogu in his station in Din Djarin’s N-1 Starfighter. However, they’ve been part of Star Wars for years and are an important part of galactic history, and they’re now at the center of Ahsoka‘s exciting plot.

What Are Purrgil, Star Wars’ Hyperspace Whales?

How do they travel across the stars?

First introduced in the animated Star Wars Rebels TV series, the Purrgil are a semi-sentient species of space whales who use hyperspace to travel between the stars. They create their own tunnels through hyperspace (known as simu-tunnels), and their migration routes take them to worlds rich in a rare gas called Clouzon-36, which they consume. As beautiful as the purrgil may be, most navigators consider them hazardous; Din Djarin is fortunate his Naboo N-1 Starfighter didn’t get knocked out of hyperspace, because the creatures are blissfully unaware of the ships that travel faster-than-light.

Most purrgil are “only” the size of a small starship, but a subspecies known as Purrgil Ultra can be as large as an Imperial Star Destroyer. They typically travel in groups and have been referred to by various names – flocks, swarms, or pods. Each group is led by a so-called Purrgil King, a large, typically male creature that appears to choose their direction of travel.

How Purrgil Travel Through Hyperspace

An organic alternative to the hyperdrive

Hyperspace is still a mystery, even in the Star Wars universe itself, which means the nature of purrgil hyperspace travel is hotly debated. They are known to travel through hyperspace tunnels, called “simu-tunnels,” created when their bodies metabolize Clouzon-36 into hyperspace fuel. These simu-tunnels can bisect other hyperspace routes and sometimes cross over major trading routes, meaning purrgil are a real navigational hazard. Fortunately, some sources have indicated that purrgil follow set migration routes, which means they can be avoided. Din Djarin traveled a little too close to one of these migration routes in The Mandalorian season 3, episode 1.

Purrgil Have Actually Traveled Across The Galaxies

From the main Star Wars galaxy to another

The Ahsoka Disney+ TV show has revealed the purrgil migration routes cross the void between the galaxies. It’s long been known that the first hyperspace travelers were inspired by purrgil, but it now seems these ancient beings may not have been from the main Star Wars galaxy. Morgan Elsbeth has retrieved an ancient star map, and Ahsoka‘s credits show this star map – hyperspace routes that follow the purrgil migrations and chart the pathway to Peridea. It seems that, long ago, travelers crossed the intergalactic void by following the paths charted by purrgil.

Peridea Is Where Purrgil Go To Die

A planet strong in the dark side of the Force

When Lady Morgan and her associates arrived at Peridea, many were shocked to see the skeletons of long-dead purrgil in orbit around the planet. It was revealed that Peridea is essentially a graveyard where purrgil come to die, a horrifying sight on a planet already seeping in darkness. Although Peridea is the ancient world of the Nightsisters, who tamed the purrgil to travel between galaxies, it is unknown why so many chose to die there. Perhaps many were killed in the past, or the space whales simply had no other use for a planet consumed by the dark side.

Purrgil Inspired Jedi & Sith Wayfinders

Devices for finding secret locations

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker introduced viewers to Sith Wayfinders, ancient technology that allowed the Sith to find their long-lost redoubt of Exegol. The movie never explained how these worked, but according to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Visual Dictionary, the Wayfinders were inspired by studies of how purrgil navigate hyperspace. The explanation makes sense because travel through hyperspace involves complex navigational calculations, but purrgil do so through instinct. The star map retrieved by Morgan Elsbeth in Ahsoka may be a similar technology.

Which Star Wars TV Episodes The Purrgil Have Appeared In

From animation to live-action

The purrgil first appeared in Star Wars Rebels season 2, episode 15 “The Call.” There, a group of rebels attempted to steal hyperfuel from the Mining Guild, only to cross paths with a flock of purrgil. Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger possessed a light side Force power, allowing him to establish empathic bonds and create a powerful connection to the purrgil, learning their true nature (and feeding habits). The rebels shut down the Mining Guild operation, which had been stopping the purrgil feeding.

The purrgil returned in the Star Wars Rebels finale, with Ezra Bridger summoning them for help in a time of need. His homeworld, Lothal, was under attack by Imperial forces led by the Imperial warlord Grand Admiral Thrawn, and Ezra asked the purrgil to help him protect the planet; they jumped out of hyperspace, capturing Thrawn’s flagship, before vanishing with his vessel. Ezra, who was directing the attack from the flagship, was lost.

Purrgil were glimpsed by Grogu in The Mandalorian season 3, but they didn’t make their full live-action debut until Ahsoka episode 3. Visiting Seatos, Ahsoka was startled to find she was flying into a flock of purrgil over the planet. This presumably means the atmosphere there is rich in Clouzon-36, and it seems this is the last stop for the purrgil before they travel on through the void between galaxies to distant Peridea. Lady Morgan followed a star map based on purrgil migration routes to Peridea, where she sensed the Nightsister calling to her on behalf of Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Bail Organa mentioned them in the first episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi, remembering how he’d dreamed of adventure traveling the stars following purrgil. A hologram of a purrgil can be seen in the Star Wars Squadrons game, and they’ve been name-dropped in novels and audiobooks including Cavan Scott’s Dooku: Jedi Lost, Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath: Life Debt, and Alex Segura’s Poe Dameron: Free Fall. Their role in Ahsoka is unprecedented and surely means they’ll be explored in greater detail going forward – not least because they’re now as important to Star Wars‘ past as its future, given their routes once connected all galaxies.