Tag: Star Wars

With a dense eighth and final episode directed by Rick Famuyiwa, the first season of Ahsoka has come and gone; however, much like seasons of its animated prequel series, Star Wars Rebels, just as much as–if not more than–was left in limbo for the next adventure as was resolved. In many ways, “The Jedi, The Witch and The Warlord” feels much like the second acts in each of the Star Wars trilogies (Attack of the Clones, The Empire Strikes Back and The Last Jedi). Tough choices are made, heroes are separated and there’s a strong sense the bad guys won though a glimmer of hope remains. And so perhaps, given creator Dave Filoni’s deep understanding of the style, structure and rhythm of Star Wars, Ahsoka will eventually be seen as the second act of the New Republic era of stories that Filoni and Jon Favreau have been crafting for Disney Plus and which will eventually culminate in an as yet undated theatrical release. However, as is true about nearly every Star Wars project, its place in the even larger narrative is incredibly relevant as well.

Taken as a complete series, Ahsoka seems to fill three roles. It serves–potentially equally but certainly simultaneously–as a sequel to Star Wars Rebels, the second act of the New Republic era of stories and a prequel to the sequel trilogy or, at the very least, the Rise of the First Order. Set around 11 ABY, Ahsoka takes place roughly 10 years after the events of Star Wars Rebels and, coincidentally, roughly 10 years before the establishment of The First Order which makes the series–and perhaps the character–the fulcrum on which the fate of the galaxy pivots. Given its equidistance (and there’s no way any of that is coincidental) between the before and the after, it was requisite that it service both the before and the after and the finale did just that. Thus the Talzin Sword, the Mortis gods, Morai and any other Rebels callbacks were just as front and center as Thrawn’s next step in becoming heir to the Empire, the open-endedness of what awaits Ahsoka, Sabine, Baylan and Shin on Peridea and any other foreshadowing of the next story in the New Republic timeline. So just as The Empire Strikes Back is the second act of the original trilogy and the original trilogy is the second act of the Skywalker Saga, Ahsoka finds itself as the second act of a second act because as begun by George Lucas and continued by Filoni, Star Wars stories will always fit a role in a familiar pattern.

Despite falling into that pattern and feeling very much like the Star Wars fans around Filoni’s age grew up with, Ahsoka also feels like something brand new and all its own. The finale continued Filoni’s career-long crusade to expand the nature of the Force. Sabine finally tapped into the Force (is it stronger there than in the “home” galaxy?), Thrawn and the Great Mothers set a course for Dathomir (what exactly is in that cargo hold?) and Baylan’s last scene teased a potentially monumental deep dive into the origins of the Force through a further exploration of The Ones (is Peridiea where they left The Mother when they went to Mortis?). It also left Sabine, Ahsoka, Baylan and Shin in a galaxy far, far away from THE galaxy far, far away allowing for the potential for stories (past, present and future) to be set there. In that way, and taken as a whole, Ahsoka feels expansive both within the framework created by Lucas and outside of that same framework where it seems Filoni is becoming more comfortable carving his own path. And just as it seems the right path for Ahsoka–as the appearance of Morai indicate–to explore Peridea and all its strange unknonws, it seems the right path for Filoni, as well.

As the finale of an eight-episode season, “The Jedi, The Witch and The Warlord” did plenty to resolve what was unquestionably the biggest question: will Ezra get home? He did and got to wear his favorite disguise in doing so; however, given Ezra’s eturn went hand-in-hand with the inevitable return of the Heir to the Empire and where the galaxy is bound to end up in a decade, his happy reunion with Hera and Chopper will certainly be short-lived. But Ahsoka’s role in the larger narrative, while still to be fully realized, is clearly greater than one season’s worth of stories but if the first season is any measure of what to expect from more, fans should be excited. If, in fact, Ahsoka is the fulcrum upon which the fate of the galaxy pivots, the finale just tipped the scales: up is headed down and down is headed up and balance will be elusive if not impossible for everyone along for the ride…including you.

Episode 6 of Ahsoka, “Far, Far Away” left fans feeling pretty fantastic…and we should all have a bad feeling about that. Dating back to his work on Star Wars Rebels, Dave Filoni has occasionally chosen to end seasons of his series with two-part blockbusters. Those blockbusters, however, don’t typically go well for the heroes and often leave things unresolved until the two-part premiere of the next season. With only two episodes left in the first season (to be directed by Geeta Vasant and Rick Famuyiwa, respectively) of Ahsoka, things are trending in that direction again.

With most of the action taking place on Peridea, “Far, Far Away” gave us the first Star Wars story set outside of the galaxy far, far away we’ve all come to know and love and that means, to some extent, all bets are off. No matter what you think you know about Star Wars, things are likely to be a little different in this new galaxy. And indeed despite intentionally layering in some of the familiar Star Wars tropes like marauders reminiscent of Tusken Raiders and horseshoe crabs who dress like Jiminy Cricket reminiscent of Jawas, Ewoks or whichever strange species you want to compare them to, something just ain’t quite right on Peridea. Revealed to be the ancestral home of the Nightsisters of Dathomir–a group of witches who have already been well-established to view and use the Force quite differently than groups like the Jedi or Sith–Peridea, as explained by Baylan Skoll, is a place of great and terrifying power. “Far, Far Away” reveals just the tip of that iceberg as any further exploration of it takes a back seat to the reunion of Sabine and Ezra and the return of Thrawn. However, as wonderful as Ezra looks sporting a beard reminiscent of his father’s, as perfect as Lars Mikkelsen is bringing his Thrawn to live-action and as terrifying as Thrawn’s Chimaera full of some interesting-looking Stormtroopers is, Ahsoka isn’t done with Peridea just yet.

First and foremost, it’s made very clear that Ahsoka and Huyang–who may have been revealed to be the narrator of every Star Wars story we’ve ever been told–are indeed on their way to Peridea thanks to the Purrgil. Ironically enough, while Sabine and Ezra are entirely unaware that Ahsoka is on her way, Thrawn is, as Thrawn does, preparing for the possibility of her throwing a monkey wrench into his long-gestating plans. The Grand Admiral has already indicated that he’s low on troops and it now seems only a matter of time before Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati face off with the reunited, Ahsoka, Sabine and Ezra, who could do quite a bit of damage to the Heir to the Empire’s plans.

And so it seems that “Far, Far Away”, while a very neat episode of the ongoing Filoni-verse narrative in its own right, is the calm before a very nasty storm and likely the conclusion “second act” of the New Republic era of stories. Though the cavalry, in the form of Ahsoka, is coming to Peridea, there’s almost certainly nothing she can do to prevent Thrawn and his minions from making the jump back to the galaxy from whence they came. Expect, as is often the case in Filoni’s stories, for the heroes to suffer–and perhaps even die–as they fight valiantly against the evil Empire. While Filoni has done a masterful job of putting his own spin on Star Wars, specifically the Force, he still loves to follow the path laid out by George Lucas and the master storytellers from whom he drew inspiration. So, if Ahsoka is the end of the second act of a larger story–in the way that Attack of the Clones, The Empire Strikes Back and The Last Jedi were in their corresponding trilogies–the next two episodes are going to hurt.

Marrok theories be damned, Episode 4 of Lucasfilm’s latest Star Wars streaming series, Ahsoka, provided just about everything a fan of the franchise could hope to see in 40 minutes or less. Wonderfully choreographed lightsaber duels, heroes doing what’s right instead of what’s easy, an homage to the samurai films that inspired the franchise, complex villains and the sort of twists that have largely been missing from some of the more recent theatrical efforts combine to make “Fallen Jedi” a very entertaining,–and tantalizing–end to the first half of the first season of Ahsoka.

Without counting minutes, it seemed as though half or more of the episode was spent watching warriors clash their lightsabers against the beautiful backdrop of Seatos with each battle carrying its own weight. Though fairly quickly dispatched by Ahsoka, the mysterious Marrok slowed the former Jedi down and ultimately separated her from Sabine (when are these guys going to learn to listen to Huyang??). Better prepared and fully armored, Sabine was able to survive her rematch with Shin by relying on her training as a Mandalorian though the extended duel kept her from having her master’s back. It’s Ahsoka’s battle with Ray Stevenson’s fascinating Baylan Skoll, however, that deserves the attention.

Clearly deeply connected to the Force, Baylan is the type of non-traditional villain that the franchise has been missing. While he’s no Jedi, he’s a man who though he’s lost his religion still holds on to some of the tenets of the faith. He serves the will of his benefactor–for now–but harbors no ill will for neither Ahsoka nor Sabine though as indicated in his first appearance, he also won’t hesitate to take on whatever challenge is presented to him. Though his own agenda is yet to be defined, he seems far to complex of a character to simply be serving Morgan and his past seems far too interesting to simply have him killed off quickly. Though Ahsoka and Sabine are the series’ leads, creator Dave Filoni certainly hit a home run with Baylan.

And finally, no discussion of the episode would be complete without addressing Ahsoka’s surprising return to the World Between Worlds. While the nature of how she arrived there remains a mystery, her presence there–and the presence of her former master–is a promise of a whopper of a next episode. Knowing that Filoni was behind the camera for next week’s Part Five only makes the week-long wait more tantalizing. Ahsoka has been part “what happened” since Rebels and part “unfinished business” and it now seems that Ahsoka may just find herself in the same scenario she talked Ezra out of when he hoped to use the World Between Worlds to save Kanan.

Ahsoka has quickly become “must see TV” for Star Wars fans because it, like Star Wars Rebels before it, draws on what made the first three films so memorable; however, Filoni has proven capable of not just rhyming with the fun beats of the original trilogy but also adding to the mythology. While Tony Gilroy’s Andor stands as a shining example of how to make a Star Wars show that’s not very Star Wars, for fans of the original trilogy (and don’t ever forget that’s exactly who Filoni is) Ahsoka is the Star Wars you’re looking for.