By Ben Wright (@iamzavagno | www.xgeeks.co.uk)
This review contains spoilers.
Ahsoka, so far, has been giving plenty of what I want – mainly a continuation of Star Wars Rebels! That being said, I also think it has its own unique elements to ensure it has its own distinct voice within the Star Wars Universe. So, what will our heroes encounter this week? – On to the review!
We start the episode with Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Huyang (David Tennant) trying to fix the ship and get the word out to Hera, back on Home One. Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) and Sabine are already clashing, emotionally, with the thought of sacrificing finding Ezra to prevent Thrawns return. This “at odds” narrative addition is a welcome one, as it continues to offer the audience a moral dilemma to wrestle with. The mercenaries attack, with Huyang more than holding his own – he has taken down pirates before, of course! It was fun to see Ahsoka and Sabine fighting in collaboration and there were some nice little moments thrown in to make it an energetic, albeit very one-sided, fight! The planetary setting was incredible, with the red leaves and cool Auntumanl atmosphere – Seatos is more than a fitting place for a hunt and showdown!
Back with the New Republic fleet, General Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has had another of politics, and is taking matters into her own hands! Along with Jacen (Evan Whitten) and Chopper (Himself), she sets off in the Ghost – and is joined by a squadron of X-Wings, who also believe this is a cause worth fighting for! Carson Teva (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) is one of those pilots! It was great to have Carson turn up, not only to continue to connect these Star Wars shows together, but we know from The Mandalorian, that he also believes that the Remnant are mobilising. Kevin Kiner’s score has been incredible so far, but there was something about this piece, from the story element of defiance and hearing Hera being called “Phoenix Leader” to the line “once a rebel, always a rebel” and the Ghost and X-Wings shooting off into hyperspace – it was such an incredible moment! I had all-over chills.
Back on Seatos, it is a race against time – as Lady Morgan (Diana Lee Inosanto) is readying the hyperspace coordinates to make the jump to Thrawn, whilst standing in the way of Sabine and Ahsoka are Shin (Ivanna Sakhno) and Marrok (Paul Darnell). Turns out those fan theories of Marrok – is it Starkiller? Is it Ezra? – can be put to bed, as Ahsoka makes quick work of defeating him, and it would appear he was a product of the Night Sisters’ magic. I’m fine with that. Other than the cool design, Inquisitors have always been ultimately fodder characters. Sabine is left to take on Shin, who despite a nice little long shot sequence, are not the most convincing duelists. This allows Ahsoka to press on to meet Baylan (Ray Stevenson). Namedropping Anakin from the off was such a power move, and immediately this raises the expectation levels of this interaction. As exciting as it was to see Ahsoka and Baylan face off in battle, I preferred their “war of words” before igniting their lightsabers. Both Rosario and Ray have such incredible line delivery and screen presence. While the duel was relatively strong, the verbal sparring should have been utilised more. Ahsoka is defeated and Sabine gives up the map, allowing the final jump coordinate to be revealed. As Hera and her squadron line up to make an attack, Lady Morgan engages the hyperdrives on the Eye of Sion, exiting this galaxy and en route to Thrawn.
Obviously, we knew Ahsoka wasn’t dead, however, waking up in the World Between Worlds is something I wasn’t expecting! Albeit something I was desperate to see in the show! The smile on my face could not get any wider, that was until I heard a familiar voice call out “Hello, Snips” – My jaw dropped, and the tears came… standing there, was prime Clone Wars Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen). Ahsoka reverted to that young Padawan immediately. Kiner’s score amplified my emotions and as the Imperial March faded into the melody, a second wave hit me. This was hours and hours of Star Wars media paying off in an instant. These two characters and their shared history and experience, all hit me at once and I cannot wait to see what happens next week! Also, the de-aging on Hayden looked even better than it did in Obi-Wan Kenobi!
This episode gave me an incredible amount of joy. Seeing Anakin and Ahsoka together, witnessing Hera lead her squad and an incredible score to match the wonderful performance of Ray Stevenson. Sure, the lightsaber duels are nothing to shout about, but I don’t mind, so long as the performances and story remain strong! Unless they do a skip episode next week, solely focussing on Ahsoka and the political fallout of Hera’s actions, I would love to see Thrawn introduced, however, I do feel they are saving that one for when the series starts to crescendo.
I can’t stop smiling!
May the Force be with you…
X-Geeks 