Review 697: Ahsoka

Ahsoka is the Star Wars show I’ve been waiting for. It penetrates to the galaxy wide possibilities of the Star Wars led by a protagonist who, while maybe not as well known to casual Star Wars fans, is at least persuasive as a Togruta who dresses like Ahsoka the White and renounces her Jedi title.

Set after the fall of the Empire, former Jedi knight Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) investigates the emerging threat and return of Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) to the vulnerable galaxy.

Unlike most Disney/Star Wars films and shows, Ahsoka doesn’t simply supply the show’s narrative in a way that relies wholly on age old Star Wars clichés, but explores the path of that leads Ahsoka and her apprentice Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) to encounter Thrawn. 

Ahsoka has two qualities that I feel have been sorely from Disney/Star Wars output. A solidly, engaging, high stakes story and an unique and imaginative visual twist on George Lucas's world as well as this little sub-corner collectively known as the "Mandoverse". Of course, the initial premise of the first four or so episodes being a Battle of the Heroes and Villains to recover a map that will show a location of importance where a long lost character is doesn’t sound particularly inspiring and brings to mind the tedious The Force Awakens which centred on trying to put together a map to find Luke Skywalker. However, in this case it seems that Dave Filoni drew heavy inspiration from The Hand of Thrawn duology of novels which followed a similar premise. Besides, this amount to more of a means to end so we could get to weird and wonderful. It also sets up an itriguing moral dilemma for both Ahsoka and Sabine because the starmap provides them a way to find Ezra and bring him home but at the same time they risk    giving Thrawn the means to return. Ahsoka's unweilding Jedi like commitment to the greater good conflicts with Sabine's desire to bring Ezra home. The downside is that while there are plenty of arguments to be made about whether it's better to destroy the map than let it fall into the wrong hands

Ashoka is also a continuation of the Rebels animated series, essentially Rebels (Season 5) and even as someone with a passing knowledge of that show, Ahsoka works better than it should.

Ahsoka isn't a show that is ballsy enough to pull a fast one on the audience and bump off a character, so it never feels like there's enough danger surrounding what should be a high stakes situation. I say this not as a criticism but as an observation   

When Ahsoka is firing on all cylinders, it builds on Dave Filoni's willingness the strangest corners of the Star Wars Galaxy. Ahsoka only offers a tantalising glimpse at this other other Glaxay, maybe another episode or two would've helped to flesh out the characters motives and build this world.

Opening with Jedi turned mercenary’s Baylan Skoll (the late Ray Stevenson) and Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) breaking Nightsister Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) from New Republic custody, Ahsoka proves to be one of the most vibrant and dazzling Star Wars shows in recent memory rife with intriguing ideas, fascinating concepts and gorgeous visuls - they don't always recive fufilling explanations or resolutions, but at least the ingrediants are impressive. Filoni's influences from Tolkein, Kurosawa as well as papa George are very much apparent onscreen       

There's an undercurrent of masters and apprentices throughout Ahsoka. "Always two, there are" as the saying goes. We’re told that Ahsoka took Sabine on as an apprentice between Rebels and this show, but it’s never explained how or why: The whole conflict between them has been manufactured offscreen. As a result, their padawan/mentor dynamic didn't quite pack the emotional punch that Dave Filoni was intending. Even when they meet again at the start of the series, we know that they’re going to make up so there’s no tension.   I wished they hadn't waited so long to reveal that Ahsoka abandoned her training because after that she feared that unlocking her potential could lead her to becoming "too dangerous" which makes sense when we take into account Ahsoka's guilt over Anakin becoming Darth Vader but the way it was handled came off as an after thought. To take on an apprentice requires the deepest commitment and the most serious mind and I’m not sure how committed Ahsoka was to training Sabine before abandoning it. The way show tries to juxtapose them between Babylon and Shin comes off as wonky and disjointed because of   Baylan and Shin just made for a more engaging and interesting dynamic by a considerable margin. 

 The whole time watching this show, I kept asking myself "Why put them together?" I suppose there's no reason why no except in Rebels (from what I've seen at least), they don't have have much of a connection or share that many scenes together. That's less a criticism and more of a curiosity on my part. Regardless, Ahsoka and Sabine don’t a meaningful relationship to draw from, Dave Filoni’s writing mearly tells us that they do and expects us to role with it. That undercurrent is also prevalent in the exploration of dynamic between Ahsoka and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen). Yoda assigned Ahsoka to Anakin 

A particular highlight from the season comes at the midway point with Part Five: Shadow Warrior, written and directed by Dave Filoni, which sees Ahsoka revisit the World Between Worlds from Rebels. It was really powerful and emotional rewarding not just to see revisit the Clone Wars in live action but to also see Ahsoka's guard come down and to see this stoic, super powerful, on-top-of-it warrior become a padawan again. Ahsoka may have been trained as warrior since she was a child, but she also has compassion as this episode beautifully showcases when she comforts wounded clone troopers and struggles with the loss of life because of her choices.

The following episode, Part Six: Far, Far Away is my favourite type of episode: the one that focus on the villains. Giving us a deeper look into Baylan's psychosis and our first look at Thrawn in live action

Ahsoka ended on a fairly mixed note with Part Eight: The Jedi, the Witch and the Warlord. The episode features some truly gripping, edge of your seat action while also making time for quieter moments of growth and reconcilliation between Ahsoka, Sabine and Ezra, yet it feels like it bit off more than it could chew. Meanwhile, Baylan and Shin basically fall by the wayside only appearing short dialogue-less scenes that feel more like set up for their roles in future stories rather than conclusions to their own story arcs in this show. It's clear Skoll is just getting started with his grand plan and is on a journey to break the cycle of conflict between the Dark Side and the good. Not every question raised during the show was adressed and the loose ends were more frustrating than gripping.

Which begs the question of where Ahsoka showrunner Dave Filoni intended to take the story? Wether the long term ramifications of this finale will be explored in a second season or the upcoming Dave Filoni movie or could end up in Star Wars purgatory with the rest of Disney Star Wars' many abandoned projects is to early to tell but the shows commitment to those ramifications is admirable as opposed to chickening out and everything going back to normal as if nothing happened.

Dave Filoni leading a directing team consisting of Steph Green, Peter Ramsey, Jennifer Getzinger, Geeta Patel and Rick Famuyiwa do a spectacular job of handling  The lightsaber fights are among some of the best in recent years though admittedly that’s not a particularly high bar. Both Ahsoka and Baylan have destinct fighting styles, Ahsoka fights like a Ronin whereas Baylan fighting style is more akin to that of a medivel Knight.                                                                                                                                            The cinematography is winsome, giving the Star Wars galaxy a more, dynamic and fresh vibe than any previous  the locations are fabulous, There's intriguing world building to be found in this other Galaxy Ahsoka, her allys and foes end up in but not that much of it  the score by Kevin Kiner is marvellous, an excellent blend of percussion and orchestral instruments to create a unique Star Wars sound. Filoni's animated sensibilities shine through and you're either going to like it or you won't.

Rosario Dawson expertly captures the stoicism and reserved  required for this version of the character. At the expense of writing assuming that there are audiences who aren’t familiar with the Star Wars animated series, Ahsoka Tano was a Jedi Padawan who was taken under Anakin Skywalker’s (Hayden Christensen) wing during the Clone Wars. They went on many adventures together but due to a series of unfortunate circumstances, she left the Jedi Order after becoming disilusioned and tried to forge her own path. Her mannerisms, voice and subtle facial expressions feel like they're ripped out of the animated shows. At the start of the show, we're introduced to a more guarded, more world-weiry Ahsoka, someone who following the events of Clone Wars and Rebels is more closed and enigmatic and has been hearing whispers about Thrawn’s return to the Galaxy. Ahsoka never fully forgave herself for Anakin's turn to the Dark Side and this show is about her coming to find peace with herself. Dawson feels like a natural progression of the character from animation to live action. Dawson radiates a sense of power, authority and grace. Ahsoka wants peace but in order to gain that, she must fight. There are hints that Ahsoka is afraid that her legacy will be all about death and war since was already a warrior as a child fighting in the Clone Wars.

Natasha Liu Bordizzo is also excellent playing Sabine Wren. Determined, fiesty, headstrong and spunky. Sabine’s recklessness and impulsiveness reflects the attitude that Ahsoka had when Anakin trained her throughout the Clone Wars. At the beginning of Ahsoka when we're introduced (or reintroduced to Sabine) she's been living on Lothal and stewing in the aftermath of Ezra's sacrifice and an intervening period between Rebels and Ahsoka. Sabine lost her family in the Night of a Thousand Tears which coupled with the loss of Ezra is acting out. Sabine always tries to do right but she also cares a great deal about her friends and those she sees as family. But Sabine’s idealism is also put to the test when it becomes clear that finding Ezra may lead to the return of Thrawn but Dave Filoni’s narrative doesn’t challenge that idealism and her decisions as much as I would have hoped. Sabine and Ahsoka were always the spark plugs of their respective shows. Over the course of the show, Sabine learns to be willing to let go off what she wants.

But honestly, watching this show, I wasn’t entirely sure why they bothered making Sabine Ahsoka’s padawan in the first place at all when in Rebels she was already a compeling character; a Mandalorian graffiti artist, an explosives expert, a mechanic, a marksman and demolition expert. Sabine had already accomplished so much at a young age, her being Ahsoka’s padawan just felt unnessecary. Throughout Rebels, Ezra Bridger and Kanan Jarrus helped her learn how to weild the Darksaber and at no point did they suspect that she was force sensitive. There were some were I wondered why she didn't use her graffiti skills or Mandalorian weapons as much as she should have. By making Sabine Ahsoka's apprentice, Dave Filoni clearly wants to say that anyone can use the force if they put their mind to it, but using an already established character with such a strong backstory like Sabine makes the message ring hollow.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead makes for a smashing standout playing Hera Syndulla. Hera is strong leader and a fighter, but she’s also got such a big heart. Since the events of Rebels, Hera has become a general and kind of a legend just from all the work she's done fighting on behalf of the rebellion. She's still the maternal figure she's always been, but she's carrying the weight of the past with everything she's been though. Winstead expertly conveyed her maternal nature as well as strong leader with emotional intelligence that fans of the Rebels cartoon know her as.

Ray Stevenson (in tragically one of his last roles) and Ivanna Sakhno make for an inspired pair of antagonists as Dark Jedi and mercenary Baylan Skoll and his apprentice Shin Hati. Skoll is a man who laments and is haunted by the loss of the Jedi Order Skoll especially the idea of it he says at one point. But he’s also tired of the endless cycle of war, the cycle of evil rising in one form or another. The enemy being defeated by good and then it returning in another form. The idea of an older "Dark Jedi" who has a gentlemanly demeanour brings to mind the late Christopher Lee as Count Dooku in the Prequel Trilogy. radiates a great sense of mystery about the character but maybe a little too much mystery. He believes that war Thrawn will bring is a Necessary Evil, as he states at one point “One must create, in order to destroy.” but why he thinks so is never elaborated on and ends up feeling like on of the fake mysteries from Lost. Skoll is the best type of antagonist for this show, the one that believes he's doing the right thing. Misguided but understandable. He knows how to read people and then break them apart. Even though he is manipulative, he is a man of his word. Whilst he does seek to return Thrawn to the Galaxy, he has his own agenda. But while his philosophy is certainly intriguing, the show constantly keeping real goals and motives at arm’s length began to grait and was a detriment to his character. I’m not sure how Dave Filoni and co will resolve his storyline down the road.

We also see the return of Diana Lee Inosanto as Morgan Elsbeth who you may recognise from Ep. 5 of The Mandalorian (Season 2) Chapter 13: The Jedi. Elsbeth serves as the main threat for the first half of the miniseries.

The show also showcases two droid characters, the cute but confrontational little astromech droid, Chooper (another character from Rebels) and the Jedi Temple droid professor Huyang (David Tennant, reprising his role from the Clone Wars) working extensively with Ahsoka and Sabine to find Thrawn and Ezra. Think C-3PO and Mr. Ollivander in a food blender and you'll have a pretty good idea of the kind of character he is. The blunt and by-the-book Huyang brings a great deal of levity and humor to the show. Ahsoka and Sabine had a falling out and Huyang has to be the glue that holds them together.

We also see the return of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker. Here, we get to see an Anakin that’s closer in line with his animated Clone Wars counterpart. Christensen successfully manages to pay homage to Matt Lanter by capturing that same swagger and confidence while also channeling that maturity and wisedom of being Ahsoka's master as well Anakin's affection for Ahsoka, his commanding presence, his strict and uncoventional leadership style and the underlying darkness brewing inside of him. His appearance adds so much to the pathos Filoni built between him and Ahsoka over so many animated shows as she embarks on the next step of her journey as a Jedi.

We also get a welcome appearance from Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma, now the Chancellor of the New Republic. I'm not quite sure how I feel about the showcase of the corruption in the New Republic considering "all roads lead to the Sequel Trilogy" and

Newcomer Eman Esfandi also shines in the role of Ezra Bridger. Esfandi brought a chipper, Han Solo-esque demenour to the role while also bringing  that helps to convey the sense that he's matured  Curiously, this shows other Achilles Heel is the handling of Ezra and Sabine's relationship and how she found him. There are some intimate moments and some witty banter between them but not enough of them and I'm not certain how Ezra feels about her coming to look for him.

We get the live action debut of Grand Admiral Thrawn and it was spectacular and glorious. You really can’t go wrong with Lars Mikkelsen as your villain in general and it was fun to see the veteran actor bring to life a character created in the early 90s that he made popular in animation. He’s intriguingly kept offscreen until Part Six. His screen presence is immediately felt in his first scene He's been in exile for these past 10 years since Rebels and has been plotting his return  Much like Dawson's Ahsoka, Mikkelsen's Thrawn feels like a natural progression of the character from animation to live action. His cold, calculating, meticulous nature is certainly prevalent throughout the latter half of the show when he finally comes into play. I'm not entirely sure how one beat up Star Destroyer, a bunch of undead stormtroopers and some mysterious Nightsister cargo is going to be a threat to the New Republic. The smart tactician part of Thrawn is just okay, but the performance and menace part is super.

As far as Disney Star Wars films and shows go, Ahsoka is probably the one I've enjoyed most. Did it get me back on the Disney/Star Wars hype train? Not really. But I enjoyed it like a five-finger exercise. The show feels uniquly Filoni and that makes Ahsoko (whatever flaws it may have) feel like a true Star Wars story since the Lucas era compared to the Sequel Trilogy and the glut of shows and films we've gotten in recent years, 4/5.

The Anonymous Critic.