Written by Jennifer Ariesta.
Ahsoka’s first season is coming to a close. Does it live up to its (really excellent) buildup? Does the Star Wars spinoff manage to answer every question it posed? The answer is… quite interesting.
The episode’s title, “The Jedi, The Witch, and The Warlord” pretty much spells out the three-way showdown that’s about to happen.
Our trio of Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) are still stranded in Dathomir’s wilderness. But, with all three finally reunited, the mood is jovial. Now that Ezra’s in tow, there is a noticeably more chummy atmosphere all around. After her confrontation with Anakin, Ahsoka, too, finally lightens up and shows remarkable improvement in the hopeful department.
But they still have to find their way home. Not so easy when Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) continues deploying air strikes on them. The latter, too, is gearing up to return home, having almost completely recharged his ship. Most critically, he gains a stronger dark magic ally as Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) is finally granted The Great Sisters’ full power.
Can our trinity – plus Huyang – make it home and prevent Thrawn from doing the same?
With this episode, Morgan and her sinister sisterhood – the Witch(es) of the title – are officially the most significant addition Ahsoka brings to live-action Star Wars mythology. Their presence means Jedi are no longer the only yielder of supernatural forces, a fact that has always made them the most invincible figures. In this episode, the witch finally brought the reanimating trope to Star Wars by turning dead Stormtroopers into undead army. Admittedly, the trope itself has become quite predictable since we’ve seen it on Game of Thrones, The Suicide Squad, and nearly every major genre IP. But it just goes to show there’s no limit to what they’re capable of. Certainly more menacing than Stormtroopers who can never aim correctly.
Directed by Filoni-verse regular Rick Famuyiwa, the episode is visually resplendent. As always, the show does a great job of depicting the vast scope of the adventures. Tiny Jedi running away from crumbling gigantic structures. Tiny ships against the massive ring of a planet. A towering cloaked figure standing in what is revealed to be a statue carved on a cliffside. It’s giving epic! There is also a gorgeous stunt involving a creative use of the Force. The episode is chock full of these wallpaper-worthy shots. Coupled with the exceptionally gorgeous score, the vibe of the episode is near perfect.
There are, however, two things that don’t quite gel. Firstly, while the show’s grand epic moments deliver, the Dathomir landscape where our heroes spend most of their time looks so dull. Quite clearly shot inside the Volume, the arid grayish savannah may be mimicking nature but lacks its natural quality. Secondly, to non Star Wars Rebels watchers, Ezra’s character development is so sparse and therefore, his sudden front and center role feels unearned.
As for the ending, it leaves more questions than answers them. Thank the Force, it actually contains some great twists with the potential to be intriguing if ever there’s a season 2, or whatever serves as a continuation in this interconnected universe.
(Warning: Spoiler Alert)
Ezra successfully returns to the New Republic base, but Sabine and Ahsoka fail to follow suit and are now stuck. Meanwhile, Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) and Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) are both abandoned in Dathomir by Thrawn and seem to be on interesting trajectories of their own. Will there be a team up with the Light Side incoming or a new faction of villains?
With our heroes stuck in another galaxy far far away while the evil overlord is on his way to our beloved galaxy, there can only be one conclusion: whatever the next installment is gonna be will feature an epic showdown against a Thanos-level threat. It’s not Han-frozen-in-carbonite level exciting, but a tantalizing cliffhanger still.
