Ahsoka – Season 1 Episode 1 “Master and Apprentice” Recap & Review

Master and Apprentice

Episode 1 of Ahsoka takes place after the Galactic Empire has fallen. A new Republic has risen to take its place, but sinister agents are already working in the shadows, wanting to undermine the fragile peace. A plot is underway to find the lost Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn and bring him out of exile.

He was once presumed dead, but rumours are circulating surrounding his return, which would galvanize the remnants of the Imperial and start another war. Thankfully, Ahsoka Tano has captured one of Thrawn’s allies and learned of a secret map vital to the enemy’s plan. Ahsoka is now after the map, while Morgan Elsbeth, the prisoner, is transported to the New Republic to await trial.

Unfortunately, Morgan’s ship is intercepted midway as “Jedi” show up and want to meet the prisoner. The Captain decides to call their bluff and lets them aboard, but soon finds himself at the mercy of these sinister Sith.

The pair split up as they come aboard, slaughtering the crew while also taking the prisoner for themselves. Baylan is his name and he’s clearly been paid for this mission. He frees Morgan and they leave.

Meanwhile, Ahsoka continues to hunt for the map. She spends about 5 minutes solving a puzzle inside a temple, before eventually uncovering a strange golden orb which happens to be the map. She tries to communicate with Huyang but the signal is jammed down there. And worse, when she pops back up to the surface, droids are waiting in ambush.

Naturally, Ahsoka makes swift work of them all before rushing away as they initiate a self-destruct protocol. This sends a shockwave across the planet, but Ahsoka manages to hop aboard the ship just in time. I mean, what would happen if they caught her and destroyed the map? Anyway, Baylan and the Sith are on Ahsoka’s trail and figure out that Ahsoka is the one with the map.

When she’s back aboard her ship, Ahsoka receives a Priority One transmission. General Hera Syndulla is there to brief her, updating our protagonist on what’s happened with the prisoner. Ahsoka sees the transmission of the Sith duo but doesn’t know who these guys are either, and the pair have actually disappeared without a trace.

Elsewhere, we’re re-introduced to Sabine Wren, a rebel who isn’t one for following orders. However, she’s also not alone. She’s being hunted by Baylan’s apprentice Sith. Thankfully she is reunited with Ahsoka first, who shows up with the map, knowing where Sabine’s expertise lie.

Alone, Ahsoka shows Wren the map and points out this could be the clue to finding Ezra, which is her main drive. She looks over the star map and believes there must be a key or codex to be able to read it. The clue could well come from the temple, which Huyang maps out and projects on the table before them.

Ahsoka isn’t sure letting Sabine keep the map is a good idea, given it could lead to a war if it falls into the wrong happens. Ahsoka refuses to let her leave and commands her to stay put. She immediately leaves the room though to speak to Hayun in secret. Remember what we said about her being a rebel? Well, of course she doesn’t listen to Ahsoka. She takes the map and heads off back to her place. However, she’s being watched by this Sith Apprentice.

In the wake of it all though, Sabine figures out a crucial clue. She discovers there are three faces inside the depths of the temple. She uses this clue against the Star Map to figure out what the key is and how to solve the puzzle. And it comes from twisting the different points around. In doing so the map projects across the entire room, mapping out their next direction.

However, Sabine isn’t alone and she can’t map or record it as effectively as she would have wished. The droids take the map, blast her room and hold back, as the Apprentice and Sabine get set to duel it out at the communications tower. As they fight, the Apprentice stabs Sabine right through the gut with her lightsaber and takes off.

The Episode Review

While the story itself isn’t bad here, with a solid opening fight and some intriguing elements, everything just feels… lifeless. Honestly, the entire episode felt like a table read at times. There’s no emotion from anyone in delivering their lines, while interactions between characters are stiff and awkward. When you have droids and animals more expressive than your human actors, you know you have a problem.

There’s a moment at the end of the episode when Sabine and the Apprentice are dueling that perfectly encapsulates this. Both are supposedly using all their strength to try and best the other, lightsabers locked together…but the close-up shot of both their faces shows a blank, emotionless stare.

Compare that to say Luke Skywalker in Empire, using all his strength, gritting his teeth and staggering around, and it pales here by comparison. And unfortunately, once you start to see this monotonous tone and stiff interactions, it’s hard to ignore.

Hopefully this is ironed out in the episodes ahead because Ahsoka definitely has potential.