Last week’s penultimate episode of Ahsoka‘s first season (?) concluded with Grand Admiral Thrawn just about ready to leave Peridea and wreak well-strategized havoc on the galaxy. All that’s left is for Captain Enoch and his Night Troopers to load the last of those mysterious crates for the Great Mothers onto the Chimaera.
Elsewhere, Ahsoka and Huyang arrived on Peridea just in time to save Sabine Wrenn and Ezra Bridger from Shin Hati and a group of bandits. What they won’t be able to save her from is finally admitting to Ezra that she may have sacrificed the galaxy he fought to save just so she could see him again…or at least that’s what should happen. We’ll see how things play out.
Meanwhile, Baylan Skoll‘s frustratingly vague journey led to him ditching Shin and appearing to go completely rogue, all in the name of securing some sort of unstoppable power. No one’s sure what he’s up to exactly, but it’s likely to be very bad for all parties involved.
As always, the recap portion of this review will contain plenty of spoilers along with some brief explorations of Star Wars lore. The order of events has also been streamlined a bit for the sake of clarity.
Blade’s Edge
Ahsoka (Disney+)
Morgan Elsbeth reports to Thrawn that all of the mysterious crates have been loaded onto the Chimaera. When Enoch informs him that they’ve got a location on Ahsoka & Co., Thrawn orders two TIE Fighters to be dispatched and engage them.
The Great Mothers then compliment Morgan on her good work, which they offer to reward with a Nightsister makeover. As if that weren’t cool enough, they also conjure the Blade of Talzin and give it to her.
*Side Note: The Blade of Talzin was first (and last) seen being wielded by Mother Talzin in a very forgettable episode of ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars.’
Elsewhere, Ezra gets to work with Huyang constructing a new lightsaber with one of the same parts that his former master Kanan Jarrus utilized. This gets him, Huyang, and Sabine to talk about the challenging and meaningful bond that forms between a Jedi and their padawan. When this causes Sabine to walk away, Huyang explains that Ahsoka was concerned she’d been working toward becoming a Jedi to avenge the death of her family (who were killed during the Great Purge of Mandalore). She also feared that Sabine would become too dangerous if she ever unlocked her full potential.
Ahsoka (Disney+)
When Sabine steps out onto the exterior of the shuttle, she finds Ahsoka, who subtly reveals that she knows what happened with the star map. Sabine attempts to apologize for potentially plunging the galaxy into death and destruction for the sake of a reunion, but her master is surprisingly zen about it. Ahsoka goes on to explain that when she was a Padawan, Anakin Skywalker always had her back no matter what.
The pair then discuss how being a Jedi is more than wielding a lightsaber. Their conversation is interrupted by the appearance of Ezra, which is followed moments later by the two TIEs Thrawn sent doing a strafing run. This damages the shuttle, forcing Ahsoka and Ezra to jump down and use the Force to keep it from falling on the Noti caravan. After the TIEs do a second run, Sabine hops inside the ship’s cockpit and gets it to take off. While the shuttle isn’t in any shape for a dogfight, it can ram directly into the enemy bogeys, which is exactly what she does.
After the ship crashes (and Sabine and Huyang survive), Ezra notes that this will slow them down from reaching Thrawn. Ahsoka decides they should hop on some howlers and get there that way — a move Thrawn anticipates.
*Side Note: Ezra also says that he never tried finding and defeating Thrawn himself because of the defenses he’d built up and his alliance with the Great Mothers. That’s a pretty weak excuse (especially since those things would’ve taken time), but it’s even worse if you remember how recklessly brave Ezra typically was.
Reborn and Reloaded
Ahsoka (Disney+)
When Ahsoka & Co. get within viewing range of the Chimaera, they see that it’s moving to dock with the Eye of Sion, confirming their worst fears. While Huyang and the Noti continue working the shuttle, the trio dodges battery fire from the starcruiser and manage to slip inside. The group is then confronted by a group of Night Troopers, who they dispatch fairly easily.
Things become exponentially more complicated when the Great Mothers use their dark magick to resurrect the troopers into the undead fighting force we all thought they were in the first place. The group manages to escape, but soon encounters Morgan, who’s willing to sacrifice herself to give Thrawn and the Great Mothers more time.
While Ahsoka and Morgan engage in a MUCH better fight than the first one we saw between them, Ezra and Sabine rush up to the fortress’ landing platform. They encounter two Death Troopers, who are either undead or a horrific confirmation of the genetic modifications these soldiers allegedly had done to them. Whatever the case, Ezra and Sabine defeat them in a hard-fought and wonderfully badass fight. Sabine also manages to use the Force to pull her lightsaber to her.
Ahsoka (Disney+)
While I’m sure Ezra was happy for his friend’s breakthrough, I’m not sure it was enough to make him trust her with Force pushing him through the air to the departing starship. That’s exactly what he does, though. Sabine is about to follow him, but decides against it when Ahsoka appears, still fighting off Morgan along with a horde of undead Night Troopers.
The soldiers politely stop their pursuit and allow the duel to take place. Morgan appears to have the upper hand, but Ahsoka feels inspired when Sabine begins taking down Night Troopers and delivers a killing blow across Morgan’s torso.
*Side Note: Probably should’ve done the same with Shin Hati.
On Thrawn’s command, the Chimaera begins bombarding the fortress. Fortunately, Huyang and the Noti manage the fix the shuttle, which they use to save their friends. As Ahsoka and Sabine pursue the Grand Admiral into space, he opens a comm channel and opines on how her life may have turned out if she’d remained with the Jedi Order. Thrawn then utters “Long Live the Empire” before taking off into hyperspace, leaving Ahsoka and Sabine to return to Peridea defeated.
Unbeknownst to Thrawn, Ezra made it onto his ship.
Watching Over You
Ahsoka (Disney+)
The episode/season ends with a number of codas:
- Shin Hait (who should be dead) rides up to a group of bandits, holds her lightsaber over her head, and ignites it. Hopefully, this is taken as a sign of assertiveness and not a declaration of war.
- Thrawn and the Great Mothers reach their first destination — the Nightsister homeworld of Dathomir. We don’t actually get to see them land, but it’s still pretty cool.
- Baylan Skoll reaches a mountain that has been carved into the shape of the three Mortis gods. Since Filoni & Co. said you don’t need prior knowledge fro the animated shows to watch Ahsoka, I’ll just assume you get how significant that is.
*Side Note: Just kidding — I’ll try to give a VERY brief explanation. The statue Baylan is standing on is an old god of the Force known as the Father. Before he perished, his job was to keep the balance between the Dark (represented by his Son) and the Light (represented by his Daughter). Before the Empire rose to power, there was a ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ story arc where the Father declared Anakin to be the chosen one before he died. His Daughter also died, hence why her sculpture has its head chopped off.
There is a TON I’m leaving out, but here’s a quick video that should help. Otherwise, you really need to watch ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ to understand it. Since we know not everyone will do that, let’s hope/assume whatever Baylan is up to will be explained in a second season (which will sadly require the late/great Ray Stevenson to be recast).
- Instead of sneaking through the Chimaera and finding a way to defeat Thrawn, Ezra takes a ship and flies to the New Republic fleet for a stilted reunion with Chopper and Hera.
- Back on Peridea, Ahsoka sees Morai (aka the Ahsoka bird) and smiles. Later, Sabine senses a presence which turns out to be Anakin’s Force Ghost watching over them.
The Verdict
Ahsoka (Disney+)
I’ve seen a lot of love for this episode online, which makes me feel more than a little sheepish about my lukewarm reaction.
I fully agree with how incredible the fight sequences and visuals were. Also, how can you not be excited over zombie stormtroopers? It was all so good that I could almost make myself forget about all the narrative missteps and missed opportunities.
For starters, we once again have a show relying on recognition and nostalgia for a large portion of its narrative impact rather than a truly satisfying conclusion. Fan service moments can be done in a way that also serves the story (see Episode five). This one, on the other hand, left nearly every mystery hanging in limbo without a good resolution.
- What was in the Great Mothers’ containers?
- What is Baylan looking for?
- Who/what is Captin Enoch?
The main question about whether or not Thrawn would succeed was answered, but all the resulting conflict was left on the table. I’m okay with us not seeing his full return until next season (assuming there is one), but we never got to see Ezra learn that Sabine betrayed his final wish and put the entire galaxy at risk. Instead, it was glossed over via friendly chat with Ahsoka.
Meanwhile, Baylan Skoll’s vague mission is hinted at in a way that a lot of viewers won’t know or understand. Heck, those of us who do are still pretty confused. If they end up recasting Ray Stevenson, I hope Shin Hati develops a cult dedicated to Radiohead and jean jackets that finds him and kicks Baylan’s ass. It’d also be nice to know how Baylan and Shin became dark Jedi who wielded orange lightsabers, but that mystery means little compared to the others.
And what a rough turn of events for Morgan Elsbeth. After a season of expositional purgatory, she finally got a cool moment only to get murked by Ahsoka.
All that being said, Sabine’s inevitable breakthrough was a lot of fun to watch. Also, the moments when she and Ezra banter with each other are pitch-perfect. Let’s hope to see a lot more of them interacting next season along with a story that’s worthy of all the great acting and directing behind it.
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