‘Ahsoka’ Knows What ‘Star Wars’ Fans Really Want: Dramatic Pauses

Life is short, so let’s get one of the biggest concerns out of the way: Yes, Ahsoka already feels considerably sharper than whatever the hell happened to The Mandalorian Season 3. This latest Star Wars series starring Rosario Dawson as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader’s former apprentice feels purposeful and confident right out of the gate thanks to a refreshingly well-crafted first episode. It continues to weave a compelling story even as the second installment gets mired in some rote scenes that these shows cannot avoid for the life of them. (A shipyard/droid facility where things go awry? What are the odds?!)

As for the next biggest concern: No, you do not need to watch Rebels or even The Clone Wars to watch Ahsoka. Will it enhance the experience? Sure, of course, but you’ll never catch me telling anybody that they have to sit through countless hours of children’s cartoons butt-loaded with filler episodes. Did you not catch my opening? Life is too damn short.

“But, Mike, isn’t Ahsoka basically the fifth season of Rebels like so many headlines are saying?” Well, yes and no. It does pick up that story, but that story was also very basic because, again, it’s a children’s cartoon. You can easily jump right in and not be lost. I’ll even help you.

Here’s everything you need to know about Rebels: A found family consisting of Jedi Knight Kanan, skilled pilot Hera, Mandalorian warrior Sabine, big alien guy Zeb, and young new recruit Ezra operate as freedom fighters for the Rebellion shortly before the events of A New Hope (a.k.a. the original Star Wars movie). On a tiny number of occasions, Ahsoka would show up to assist Kanan with Ezra’s Jedi training and connection with the Force. While zipping around the galaxy in their ship, the Ghost, the Rebels team often tangled with the ruthless strategist Grand Admiral Thrawn until Ezra took him off the table in the series finale by surrounding Thrawn’s command ship with a bunch of hyperspace whales. The two of them blasted off to an unknown destination, never to be seen from again. The show ended with Ahsoka and Sabine vowing to find Ezra, and boom, you’re all caught up.

Jump to roughly 10 years later, and that’s where Ahsoka kicks off. The premiere catches up with our hero who’s still operating alone in her hunt for Thrawn that was shown during her live-action debut in The Mandalorian Season 2. We also quickly learn that the Imperial magistrate Ahsoka defeated in that episode, Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto), wasn’t just some random throwaway character.

In the opening minutes of Ahsoka, Morgan is rescued from the New Republic by two mysterious Jedi mercenaries: Baylen Skoll (Ray Stevenson) and Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno). The three of them are also searching for Thrawn and pose an even bigger threat to Ahsoka after it’s revealed that Morgan belongs to the Nightsisters, a powerful clan of dark side-wielding witches.

While those three do mysterious bad guy shit, Ahsoka uncovers a golden snitch map thingy that she has no clue how to unlock. She regroups with the New Republic where Hera (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) briefs Ahsoka on Morgan’s escape and encourages her to reconnect with Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo). Clearly, the two of them did not find Ezra (Eman Esfandi), and instead, got real sick of each other. But the map-ball might change all of that.

Here’s where Ahsoka makes a risky creative choice. The premiere establishes that at some point Ahsoka attempted to train Sabine as a Jedi before one, or both, of them gave up. There’s clearly a complicated history between the two, so it’s entirely understandable if viewers feel lost because they missed something that was covered in Rebels. Surprise! They didn’t. The whole Jedi training thing is completely brand new.

Again, it’s an odd choice because Ahsoka does a good job laying the very basic groundwork for people who didn’t watch the cartoons:

Hera and Sabine were part of a close-knit team. Check.
Ahsoka has a history with said team. Check.
Everyone wants to find Ezra and/or Thrawn. Check.

Granted, I’m leaving off a few bullet points to avoid spoilers, but like all things Rebels, they’re simplistic enough to grasp in context. More importantly, Sabine’s Jedi training is a curveball. It was not a thing in Rebels at all. Sabine being Force-sensitive never once camp up, and she very easily might not be.

Unfortunately, the way Ahsoka establishes Ahsoka and Sabine’s relationship is by constantly repeating the following conversation with dramatic pauses that last a million years:

AHSOKA: You’re difficult.

SABINE: No, you’re difficult.

HERA: This relationship is very difficult.

I seriously wish I was joking.

Anyway, thanks to Sabine and her aforementioned difficult-ness, the bad guys get the map-ball and are pretty much done building a massive hyperspace travel ring. They’re just a few button pushes away from going after Thrawn who was apparently rocketed towards — wait for it — a galaxy far, far away. I see what you did there, Dave Filoni, you cheeky bastard.

Humbled by losing the map-ball and getting stabbed to shit by Shin Hati, Sabine busts out her Mandalorian armor, cuts her hair to sell more action figures, and agrees to give working with Ahsoka another chance after one last dramatic pause. Except, just kidding, there’s one more when they get inside their ship. I’m going to light my TV on fire by the time this show is done.

And that’s pretty much it. Over 90 pause-filled minutes to have everyone fight over a map-ball, get Ahsoka and Sabine back together, and launch everyone at wherever the heck Thrawn and Ezra went. Star Wars is back, baby!

Mike Drops

— Quips about the simplistic nature of the plot aside, I really am enjoying Ahsoka. The premiere hits the ground running and moves forward with a purpose. Unlike the meandering nature of The Mandalorian, Ahsoka knows where it’s headed. On top of that, Dave Filoni directed the first episode, and he’s clearly ready to take on a full Star Wars film. It’s a technically proficient showcase that captures the feel of the original trilogy and demonstrates how far The Volume has advanced since Mando first walked across our screens. Unfortunately, the second episode isn’t as tight, but there is a remarkably crisp ship chase that’s Industrial Light & Magic doing what they do best. CGI doesn’t have to be bad!

— David Tennant voices the show’s sassy robot character, Huyang, and if you want to argue that I should be fired for not mentioning this in the first sentence, I’m right there with you. What the hell, Mike?

— And, now, the elephant in the room. I’ve long maintained that Ahsoka is one of the best characters to come out of Star Wars. In her animated form, she is bold, captivating, and electric. However, and this is a problem that plagues every Disney live-action adaptation, Ahsoka just isn’t that compelling outside of her original medium. Don’t get me wrong, Rosario Dawson is doing her best. Throughout the two-part premiere there have been neat little flashes where you can tell she’s thoroughly studied the character. Unfortunately, there’s only so much expressiveness that the human face can convey, and we’re also at a point where Ahsoka should be worn down. She’s been fighting her whole life without an end in sight.

— Baylan Skoll is giving off total Extended Universe vibes, and I freaking love it. If that statement makes no sense to you, what is sex like? I bet it’s neat.

— Finally, I’m not seeing a whole lot of excitement for Ahsoka as of yet. Disney/Lucasfilm should really be concerned with what they’ve done to this brand, particularly from The Rise of Skywalker on. Sure, The Mandalorian was a juggernaut out of the gate, but look at it now. Less has always been more for Star Wars, and there’s one thing that always made it special: It would go away for a while.

See you next week.