TL;DR – A lacklustre conclusion to a solid season.

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

Ahsoka Review –

Well, we have reached the end of what turned out to be Ahsoka’s first season, and I came into this series with a bit more trepidation than any of the other Star Wars series. I did not watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars or Star Wars Rebels growing up, and I wondered how much that would have hindered me starting here. But as we reach the end, I am a little more confident about where we are and, surprisingly, where we will go from here.

So to set the scene, after fighting, flying, and finding across multiple galaxies, Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson), Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), and Ezra (Eman Esfandi) are finally reunited on Peridea. However, while this is a joyous moment, there is no time to celebrate because time is running out. Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) has been filling his star destroyer with its cargo, and it will soon be ready to fly back home. They must act fast to stop the tyrant and the last lingering remnant of the Imperial Order. But time is not on their side as their ship crashes to the ground. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

Well, if one thing shines in this episode, it is the action sequences. The core of this is the fight up the temple to stop Thrawn. I liked how our three different Jedi had different styles as they made their way up the stairs. Sabine switching between her lightsabre and blasters, Ahsoka with her dual blades, and Ezra with his new blade and force powers. The zombie stormtroopers were a nice touch, but we didn’t spend much time with them. Part of that, I think, is that they had ratings in mind, with many of the harder hits happening behind posts. While most of it was engaging, sometimes it felt like they were filmed individually and composited in.  

The more I think about this season finale, the more I feel that it was a bit of a lacklustre end. Beyond some of the visual effects, they felt a bit subpar, with more time needed in places. The main issues I had came with the characters themselves. There was a lot of setup in this series but minimal resolution. Lord Baylan (Ray Stevenson) and Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) were set up as these interesting characters and all but got forgotten in this final episode, with their character arc just reduced to vibes. Which is unfortunately elevated by the loss of Ray Stevenson, and all the pathos this season was for naught.

We also see this with Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto), who finally got some character growth in this episode, only to be killed off five minutes later. There was so little substance behind this character that I had forgotten they were in the second season of The Mandalorian. Once again, most of her story was vibes, stuck behind more charismatic characters. I think part of the issue was that this was presented as a contained season story like The Book of Boba Fett. However, it turned out to be part 1 of a season, or worse, we won’t get any resolution until the Mandalorian-ish movie.

However, while I felt the season finale was a bit lacklustre, the rest of the season was quite strong. While it does have the thematic strength of Andor, it makes up for that with character interactions. You can feel the weight of all those past episodes in all the interactions. But as someone who is not coming in with all the knowledge of the past, I am glad that I never felt lost. There were obviously references, characters, and events that I didn’t have any reference to. However, they made sure to give content if it was necessary.

I liked that it went into the universe’s lore, but in a more Star Wars way than just saying midi-chlorians and moving on. The weird mystical stuff feels like a better fit, so you are willing to just go with it like Star Whales to a new galaxy where humanity might have come from, maybe? The Great Mothers (Jeryl Prescott Gallien, Claudia Black & Jane Edwina Seymour) were weird and wonderful and made a great counterpoint to the more tactics-focused Thrawn. They also add to the collection of actual mythological characters from Earth in the show.

From a structural perspective, a lot of this season was set up, well in hindsight, all of it was. I did appreciate a lot of this setup, but I think it might have dragged for you if you came into it with that pre-knowledge. For me, the show finally clicked into place with Shadow Warrior, which took some big swings and gave Hayden Christensen his best work in the franchise. It took a while for Rosario Dawson to warm into the role, but once she got there, it was fantastic. David Tennant was a delight every moment he was on screen, and Ray Stevenson had this subdued sadness to him that was deeply compelling. I would have liked to have gotten more of Mary Elizabeth Winstead, but that side of things feels like it is on hold until the following season.

In the end, do we recommend the first season of Ahsoka? Overall, yes. It focused on the feels over the substance, but they led into those feels so much that it worked. Going forward, I hope they spend some time actually digging into this mythological world they have created. Also, it would be nice to see Thrawn do more than just posturing.        

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 – Dave Filoni, Steph Green, Peter Ramsey, Jennifer Getzinger,
Geeta Vasant Patel & Rick Famuyiwa
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, Evan Whitten, Ariana Greenblatt, David Tennant, Lars Mikkelsen, Eman Esfandi, Hayden Christensen, Genevieve O’Reilly & Anthony Daniels with Temuera Morrison Mark Rolston, Shakira Barrera, Clancy Brown, Matt Law, Peter Jacobson, Jaqueline Antaramian, & Eisa Davis and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Claudia Black, Wes Chatham, Nelson Lee, Maurice Irvin, Nican Robinson, Jeryl Prescott Gallien, Jane Edina Seymour, Vinny Thomas, Michele Weaver, Shelby Young, Paul Darnell, Michael C. Alexander, Dawn Dininger, Chau Naumova, Brendan Wayne,
Episodes Covered – Master and Apprentice, Toil and Trouble, Time to Fly, Fallen Jedi, Shadow Warrior, Far, Far Away, Dreams and Madness & The Jedi, The Witch, and The Warlord