With episode eight in the bag the first season of the Ahsoka series has come to an end. While many of us had hoped for a tidy conclusion that would wrap up loose threads and do a little bit of setting up, we got the opposite. It felt like watching Avengers: Age of Ultron (and that’s not a good thing) with it’s various threads being spun in different directions.
Obviously expect spoilers ahead.
Last warning!
Ok?
Ok!
We’re Back To Where We Started (Sort Of)
The season started with Baylan, Hati, Ahsoka, and Sabine searching for Thrawn and Ezra in another galaxy. We spent eight episodes with these characters only to end with it being in reverse. Now Thrawn and Ezra have returned to the main Star Wars galaxy and left Baylan, Hati, Ahsoka, and Sabine stranded on Peridea. The only fatality of any real consequence was Morgan Elsbeth (at least we think so), and the rest of the status quo was maintained.
Thrawn is not too pleased about the Rebels crew making their way to him.
It’s clear that they are setting up events for future Star Wars installments, a problem that until recently was only relegated to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but this season kind of just left me feeling a bit dejected. Sure, there are hints of exciting and interesting things in the future. But as a season finale to an otherwise awesome show this episode just wasn’t what I was hoping for at all.
What Did Work This Episode
Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t think it was horrible. There were lots of neat bits of fan service that we were treated to. Ezra constructing a new lightsaber that paid homage to his master Kannan Jarrus was a touching moment between him and Huyang. We didn’t really have time to get a lot of exposition or moments for Ezra this season, but this particular scene did some heavy lifting into showing who Ezra is in relation to the overall Star Wars universe.
Seeing Sabine finally tap into the Force was a payoff we had long been anticipating since episode three of Ahsoka. Not just in calling her lightsaber to herself, but also in giving Ezra a massive boost to his jump. That was a key moment in showing us just how much growth Sabine had undergone, not just in the Force. We are led to believe that Sabine runs off with Ezra as it was her driving goal to be reunited with him all season long. But in the end she stuck by her master’s side and chose to sacrifice herself alongside her and remain marooned on Peridea.
Sabine finally got to pop off with lightsaber and blaster in hand.
Lastly, the arguably coolest moment of the episode was the zombie night troopers. For those of you who have read the Star Wars Legends novels Death Troopers or Red Harvest, it definitely felt like an homage to those books! Most fans anticipated and speculated that the Nightsister magiks would be involved with the Night Troopers, but it nevertheless was a terrific, yet expected, moment to witness.
What Didn’t Work
One of the underlying issues of this episode was that the stakes never really felt high. We knew Thrawn would escape because he has to be the big bad guy in Filoni’s film that is supposed to tie up the Rebels crew and The Mandalorian saga. They got all those mysterious packages/coffins stored up on the ship and we still have to find out what those are. There was just no way that he wouldn’t get away.
Baylan and Shin surviving to the end and just becoming separate nomads on Peridea felt a bit weird. I mean at least Baylan stated that there was a mysterious power calling to him on Peridea before this episode (and it seems like the Mortis force gods are involved in some way kind of way). But Shin just resigning herself to being stuck on Peridea without a real plan and it being implied she would conquer/lead a group of nomads felt like it came out of left field.
It was like Filoni didn’t know what to do with her at all. Several characters were introduced in this series and we just kind of went nowhere with them. It’ll be interesting to see what becomes of Baylan now that Ray Stevenson passed away. Hopefully they don’t kill him offscreen in a book.
Lastly Sabine, Huyang, and Ahsoka just being stranded on Peridea means we are going to be seeing a lot more of them stuck there in the future. I really just wanted them to return to their main galaxy. What was worse was just how “ho hum” they were about being stranded. With almost no hesitation at all, Ahsoka says they should just “move on”. Sabine seems to think that being exiled to an entirely new galaxy is just another standard day.
Seeing the rest of the Rebels crew possibly mount a 2nd rescue trip to Peridea is just not an exciting proposition.
Closing Thoughts
I feel that Ahsoka Tano’s story has been a rather enjoyable, if not consistent, story for Star Wars fans. I praise it for not including random filler (looking at you Book of Boba Fett and Mandalorian Season 3) and having amazing fight choreography. It’s unfortunate that the series’ best episode is a flashback/purgatory episode focused on Anakin Skywalker and the Clone Wars rather than one of the more pertinent episodes. Over on the GNN Greats page I asked about people’s general feelings toward the season finale.
One of our fans, John Conners, said this: “I think Filoni is having entirely too much fun and I am here for it.” Well said. I agree, overall Filoni’s stewardship and handling of the Rebels crew, Thrawn, and Ahsoka herself was well done! It is just hard to stick a landing at the end, but that has generally been the issue across all of the Disney Plus shows (Star Wars and Marvel).
What do you guys think? Are my criticisms on target? Am I just delivering scathing unfounded remarks? Sound off in the comment section! We always read your comments and appreciate them. Be sure to subscribe to follow us on our socials, including our Facebook page here. For more Star Wars pieces check out my thoughts about the new Star Wars aesthetic lacking authenticity and grit here. As always, stay geeky out there everyone!
