STAR WARS: AHSOKA -- Another Phenomenal Addition to STAR WARS Lore

10/4/2023

Review by Dan Skip Allen

S1E8: "Part 8: The Jedi, the Witch and the Warlord"

(L-R): Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), Huyang (David Tennant) and Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) in Lucasfilm's STAR WARS: AHSOKA, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

Star Wars: Ahsoka has brought some of the best characters from the past — whether from books or animated series — into the live action canon. Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau have given Star Wars fans what they are looking for. There have been a few filler episodes in the series, but most of the show has been fan service. Fan service keeps the fans like myself on Lucasfilm's good side. If they produce good films and series like this one, we stay happy

Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) rewards his loyal ally Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) with a membership in the Red Sister order, but he still hadn't gotten his mission accomplished. Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson), Sabine Wren (Natasha Bordizzo), Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi), and their trusty droids Huyang (David Tennant) and Chopper have to fend off an all out assault from Thrawn's troops before he escapes back into the main Star Wars galaxy.

Filoni and company have saved the best for last. The season finale has brought an entirely new element to the show previously unseen. The writers have saved some tricks for this final episode, and they were worth the wait. Without giving spoilers away, there are forces that have not been seen before in this series or other for that matter. A darkness swells to the surface, which doesn't bode well for the future of the galaxy.

Like some previous episodes, the season finale of Ahsoka doesn't leave out the action or the lightsaber battles. We wouldn't want it any other way. The forces of evil must battle the forces of good, and as viewers, we hope the outcome is favorable for the forces of good. Fioni and Favreau have upped their game in this show, and it shows in every level of production — from the music to visual effects and everything in between. This series has been an upgrade from The Mandalorian season 3 and The Book of Boba Fett.

Star Wars: Ahsoka has been a joy to watch from week to week and episode to episode. The villains like Thrawn and the other Jedi turned Sith have been worthy adversaries to Ahsoka, Sabine, Hera and others. This show is destined to get a second season, and who knows who might pop up in future episodes. With the time this series is already being established, Filoni and Favreau can connect it to some things we already know exist and happen. It's going to be fun to see what happens next. For this season, though, it's been incredible in every sense of the word.

Star Wars: Ahsoka is now streaming on Disney+.

Rating: 5/5

S1E7: "Part Seven: Dreams and Madness"

After a long journey inside the mouth of a space whale, Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) and her trusty Droid Huyang (David Tennant) arrive at the planet at which Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) has met with Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen). They are unceremoniously interrupted by a minefield, which they must navigate through to reach the planet's surface. They are also met with fighters, who Thrawn sent as a backup in case they survived the minefield. He doesn't want her to meet with her friends.

While Ahsoka is dealing with her issues in another galaxy, Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has to deal with an inquisition regarding her missing to her Ahsoka and Sabine. On the planet, Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) is hanging out with Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) and his little friends. Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati (Ray Stevenson, Ivanna Sakhno) catch up to them, and that is when the action ensues.

This episode has a lot of action, mainly a sequence of multiple lightsaber duels, which I know Star Wars fans will love. There is an underlying story about Thrawn's master plan, and this could be what the last episode mainly deals with. Filoni and company again give us a lot of what we're looking for regarding Star Wars goodness. They have always had political strife along with battles, and that's what this episode is all about.

Each of the various directors other than Filoni puts their own touch on the episodes they direct, and the same goes for this episode by Geeta Visant Patel, who has done some House of the Dragon episodes in the past. This episode has its moments of action and dramatic dialogue sequences, which I liked a lot. It's a bit different from other episodes in the series so far. It's one of the better ones, though. It will lead into a big final episode for Star Wars: Ahsoka, I'm sure of that. And I can't wait.

Star Wars: Ahsoka is now streaming on Disney+.

Rating: 4/5

S1E6: "Part Six: Far Far Away"

In the latest episode of Star Wars: Ahsoka, Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) has decided to trust her new friends, the star whales, so she travels with them to the uncharted part of space. She risked everything to go after Sabine Wren (Natasha Bordizzo) and hopefully find some answers about someone she thought lost, as well as find out the true plan of Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) and her two ex-Jedi turncoats she has been trying to track down.

Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau have given fans a lot of fan service so far in this series, but this episode provides more knowledge to the endgame of this season of the show. The technical aspects regarding the volume and visual effects are, once again, quite nice to look at. They use this story to go to new planets and show viewers some new places unheard of before in the Star Wars universe.

This episode, the wait is finally over, as the character everybody has been waiting for has finally arrived. The first appearance of Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) in a live action Star Wars series is worth the wait. He is a nasty character, played very well by Mikkelsen. There was no other way he would have been written or portrayed for that matter. The character needed to live up to expectations fans have already reached in their own minds. I, for one, was happy with his first appearance and how he was portrayed.

This episode had many twists and turns, and focused on multiple character arcs. Ahsoka was put on the back burner to focus on the villains and their motivations, as well as Sabine Wren and her mission to find her friend she — and her other friends — thought lost. The scenery in these scenes is quite beautiful, but this story arc provides some interesting levity to the story in the end. Star Wars never ceases to amaze, though. There are always new places the stories can go, and this one has gone in a strange direction.

Star Wars: Ahsoka is now streaming on Disney+.

Rating: 4/5

S1E5: "Part Five: Shadow Warrior"

(L-R): Captain Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), Chopper, Chancellor Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) and Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) in Lucasfilm's STAR WARS: AHSOKA, exclusively on Disney+. ©2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

Ahsoka has fallen into a dream world where she meets her old master, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has finally caught up to where Ahsoka and Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) were, but they are not there. All that remains is Huyang (David Tennant), holding Sabine's helmet and spouting words of warning. But Syndull's son Jacen (Evan Whitten), who she brought along for the ride, senses something amiss regarding Ahsoka and Sabine's disappearance.

Episode five uses a dream sequence as a way to do a flashback to the Clone Wars. Ahsoka never finished her Jedi training and left the order before finishing. This sequence shows some of those moments, how she has to grow from her past, and what she needs to do going forward regarding her own apprentice if she indeed has one. This is a learning lesson for young Ahsoka. With the help from Captain Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), Hera Syndulla hopes to find the pair still alive.

Dave Filoni is trying to tie up all the looks ends he started with both The Clone Wars and Rebels. As fans already know, these characters' fates have been written in films and books, so this is a new version of how these characters' stories come to an end. Other Jedi have had to work out how their lives will be going forward, and the legacy they choose to lead. It's Ahsoka's time for that now. Filoni and company do justice to that legacy. Hayden Christensen gets a little justice as this character as well, which is good for him. Fans will surely like how this episode ends.

Star Wars: Ahsoka is a very good series thus far, with many things from previous shows like The Clone Wars and Rebels thrown in for fan service, including some space whales. These added elements bring a new and interesting story to the forefront, combining elements we've seen before to create an exceptional show. Most of the episodes are in the range of 35 to 40 minutes, but this one is longer, which allows for more story beats. This will in turn make viewers and fans of Star Wars happy.

Star Wars: Ahsoka is now streaming on Disney+.

Rating: 4.5/5

S1E4: "Part Four: Fallen Jedi"

In the latest episode of Star Wars: Ahsoka, Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) have crash-landed on a planet near the Stargate. The Fallen Jedi (now Sith) are fast on their heels. Huyang (David Tennant), Ahsoka's trusty Droid, tries to fix the ship, but he is attacked, and the Sith droids have worsened the damage. Fearing the worst, General Hera Sendula (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Chopper chase her friends using the last known coordinates she had for them.

Episode four is more of an action packed episode. Multiple lightsaber duels and set pieces litter the episode. This is what Star Wars fans didn't get with Andor, but it didn't mean Andor was bad in any way. It just shows there are multiple ways producer Kathleen Kennedy can do Star Wars. Dave Filoni has made this episode much more exciting for everyone to watch.

The Sith Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) and Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) serve a greater good as they see it. Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) has gotten the map set so she can go find Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen). The only hope of stopping her lies with Sendula and the Rebel ships she has with her, but they may be too late to stop them.

Star Wars: Ahsoka is a Star Wars fan's dream. It has many of the things they've loved about past series and brought them to life in this new live action series. Episode four is just the dessert for the main course of episodes five and six. It’s similar to, but better than episode three. The title suggests something dark has happened, but the darkness may lead to some greater things for fans of Star Wars. Once again, the visual effects are incredible, and they help Filoni and company make this show gorgeous and technically astounding. The later episodes are going to be worth the wait.

Star Wars: Ahsoka is now streaming on Disney+.

Rating: 4/5

S1E3: "Part Three: Time to Fly"

In the last episode of Star Wars: Ahsoka, Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) uncovered a plot to stop her from finding out the location of Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen). Two ex-Jedi-turned-Sith, Boylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) and Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno), have rescued Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) from her prison. With the help of General Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), and their trusty Astromech droid, Chopper, Ahsoka hopes to go forward to the Denab system to see what they can find — maybe information about the disappearance of Ezra Bridger (Esman Esfandi)?

With the tracker they put on an escaping ship from a shipyard, they can follow them. When they get to the Denab system, they find out they have gotten a little too close to finding information, as they are attacked by the team of former Jedis, as Elsbeth mans a special space station, which may be a portal to the outer reaches of the galaxy. This investigation continues to get more and more interesting.

Dave Filoni and Steph Greene have done a solid job following up the last two episodes of Star Wars: Ahsoka. They've followed up on Sabine Wren's Jedi training, and successfully continued the plot to find Grand Admiral Thrawn and possibly Ezra Bridger. The plot is finally uncovered, now it's time to see how it comes to light. Ahsoka Tano has a lot to do regarding how she will go forward with the information she found out about this episode. This is what's called a filler episode, though. Nothing special happens fans wouldn't already expect.

Star Wars: Ahsoka is now streaming on Disney+, with new episodes released every Tuesday at 9pm ET/6pm PT.

Rating: 3/5

S1E1: "Part One: Master and Apprentice" and S1E2: "Part Two: Toil and Trouble"

Dave Filoni created his own fingerprint in the world of Star Wars with the blessing of George Lucas many years ago. He created such animated shows as Clone Wars and Rebels. Once Disney bought Lucasfilm, he remained part of the plan led by Kathleen Kennedy. She recruited Jon Favreau from Marvel, and they were off and running. The creation of The Mandalorian ushered in a new age of Star Wars television, and together Favreau and Filoni have created their own little corner of the Star Wars Universe. Star Wars: Ahsoka, the latest show from Lucasfilm, is a phenomenal expansion of that universe.

As seen in The Mandalorian Season 2, Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) went to a planet seeking information about the whereabouts of Grand Admiral Thrawn. What she found was Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto), an ally of Thrawn who was very well fortified. They ended up getting in a lightsaber duel, with Elsbeth captured by Ahsoka Tano and brought to the New Republic to stand trial. That's where this show picks up, as Elsbeth is rescued by two unknown assailants wielding red lightsabers.

While this was going on, Ahsoka was on a different planet trying to find a hidden map to the location of Thrawn with the help of her trusty Android friend, Huyang. Once she gets back from the mission, she gets word from General Hera Sendula (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) that the prisoner has escaped with the help of these lightsaber-wielding strangers. She enlists the help of another member of the Ghost crew, Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), to try to help her friends unlock the map hidden in an orb Ahsoka found. This could be the key to finding Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) — their old friend, another member of the Ghost crew, and a Jedi.

Dave Filoni has a lot of experience creating animated shows, but this is the first live-action series he's been involved in creating besides the episode of The Mandalorian he directed in season 2. He definitely has a knack for live-action television because Ahsoka is visually stunning and one of the best-looking Star Wars shows to date. In the first episode, “Master and Apprentice,” there are three main sequences, and they all look incredible. The cinematography by Eric Steelberg in episode 1 is breathtakingly beautiful. This sets up the look of the entire show, and it is gorgeous, to say the least.

These Star Wars shows have used a new-ish technology called the Volume to set up the background of their shows. In doing so, the creators of these shows are able to create amazing new locations and worlds that, until now, have not been on the big or small screen. Add in all the sets and production design, and it's much easier these days to create realistic Star Wars. Filoni and Favreau have the help of good directors such as Steph Green, Rick Famayua, and others to bring this beautiful world vividly to life. As the writer and showrunner, Filoni has assembled a great crew and cast to add a new chapter in Star Wars lore.

The cast of actors I've mentioned have brought animated characters to life for the first time, but this series also has other new characters, with some cameos from famous actors like Clancy Brown, Ray Stevenson, and Ivanna Sakhno. As the show progresses, we will see Hayden Christensen, Temuera Morrison, Genevieve O'Reilly, and Lars Mikkelsen portray some of the most well-known characters in Star Wars lore. The first two episodes are just a taste of what is to come in this amazing series so far. All Star Wars fans should be very excited about what is to come in this show.

One of my favorite parts of Star Wars are lightsaber duels and fights involving the Jedi and Sith. This show has a few of those in the first couple of episodes. These will whet the appetite of any Star Wars fans going forward — especially since some of the fights are from characters we haven't previously seen wield lightsabers before, and some aforementioned newer characters that are pretty handy with the Jedi/Sith weapon of choice. This of course includes Ahsoka, who we know is pretty handy with her two dual white lightsabers.

With this being a show called Ahsoka, she has to play a larger role in the series. Dawson has become this character and has made it her own. Ashley Eckstein previously portrayed this character in all her animated interactions, but seeing Dawson play her in this way is much better from my point of view. She is a bit darker, and the force has allowed her to be more stoic and reserved, while also being brooding. She is also a good investigator. Seeing as this show is a mystery waiting to unfold before our eyes, the detective aspects play a big part of why this series is so good. This is a different part of Star Wars we've previously not seen.

Star Wars: Ahsoka is another fantastic show from what I have seen in the first two episodes. Dawson has become this character and makes it her own, taking over for Ashley Eckstein. The visuals and cinematography make the series one of the best looking Star Wars shows to date. Filoni, as writer/showrunner, and Favreau have created another fantastic series for fans of Star Wars to whet their appetites to. After two episodes, I can't wait to see what awaits us in the rest of the series. This is entirely different from anything I've previously seen in Star Wars, but I loved every minute of it.

Star Wars: Ahsoka streams on Disney+ beginning August 22. Two out of eight episodes reviewed.

Rating: 5/5

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