TL;DR – It is time to get our battle on as the many different elements of this show come crashing together.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

Ahsoka Review –

When I came into this show, my only connection to any of the characters was Ahsoka’s (Rosario Dawson) time in Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian, and that probably was not a ringing endorsement. Add to that some more time with Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) on Andor, and hey, is that the cool space dad, Captain Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee), who is in everything. I didn’t come in with the passion for these characters that many people did, but I am starting to understand the appeal.

So to set the scene, Ezra (Eman Esfandi) and Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) get reunited down on the surface, not knowing that this is part of a trap set by Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) and Lord Baylan (Ray Stevenson) and Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) are chasing at their heels. Up on a space whale, Ahsoka and Huyang (David Tennant) are ready to re-enter this new galaxy, not knowing that the Nightsisters (Jeryl Prescott Gallien, Claudia Black & Jane Edina Seymour) warned of their coming and they have prepared a trap waiting for them. But back in the republic, Hera (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has to answer for her wilful ignoring of the Council. A court-martial is in her future until she receives aid from an unlikely source. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.   

This was an action-heavy episode, so let’s dive into that first. The final act and a bit, it was all about the action set pieces, starting with the chasing down of the turtle people in their floating ships. During this fight, we get five different levels of combat happening simultaneously intercut between each other. You have the blaster fight between Sabine and the raiders, the force power battle between Ezra and the raiders and then Shin, the lightsabre duel between Ahsoka and Lord Baylan, the aerial battle between Huyang and the fighters, and then finally, the tactician of Thrawn looking down at his hexes manipulating it all. Respect to the director, editors, actors, and effect artists for making all these levels feel distinct but also work as part of the whole. I would have liked to see maybe some more force powers other than the push here, but that is just a minor critique.

Dreams and Madness is the episode where all the different threads finally come crashing together; from that perspective, it works. It was nice seeing them all work together again, but could people please stop saying they are about to go home. My ‘I’ve only got two days before retirement’ tingles can only take so much. With all the stories coming together, I am glad they spent time on character moments that helped build them up. I understand Thrawn now as the tactician, moving pieces on a chess board and knowing that all he has to do is waste people’s time, and he wins. I loved the internal battle we watched on Lord Baylon’s face as he chose between saving his apprentice and his own selfish goals. Or even Ahsoka and Huyang’s banter is some quality banter. Hey, I even didn’t mind C3PO (Anthony Daniels) popping in for a visit.

However, as the credits rolled, one thing made me pause for a moment. This was the show’s penultimate episode, but I don’t think we have anywhere near gotten through all the story we needed to before getting to the season/series finale next week. I fear that we will rush through everything or leave the show on a cliffhanger, and I am not sure it has been picked up for a second outing. I don’t think we were wasting any time this week, but I fear that the pacing this season might be unable to hold it all together.

In the end, do we recommend Star Wars: Ahsoka – Part Seven: Dreams and Madness? Absolutely. This episode was a lot of fun, even from a standalone perspective. I hope they can stick the landing this week, or at the very least, don’t leave all these friendly turtle people slumming it on a death planet.     

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen Ahsoka yet ?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.    

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Ahsoka
Directed by – Geeta Vasant Patel
Written by – Dave Filoni
Created by – Dave Filoni
Based On – Star Wars by George Lucas
Production/Distribution Companies – Lucasfilm, Golem Creations & Disney+
Starring – Rosario Dawson, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ray Stevenson, Ivanna Sakhno, Diana Lee Inosanto, David Tennant, Lars Mikkelsen, Genevieve O’Reilly & Eman Esfandi with Anthony Daniels & Hayden Christensen and Nelson Lee, Maurice Irvin, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Nican Robinson, Jeryl Prescott Gallien, Claudia Black, Jane Edina Seymour & Wes Chatham