The Jedi, The Witch, and the Warlord
Episode 8 of Ahsoka starts with Thrawn overseeing his cargo transfer. He calls on the Eye of Scion to begin the interlocking procedure, and dispatches two TIE-fighters to slow Ahsoka and co down. Morgan Elsbeth is confident that the Jedi won’t interfere, but Thrawn is not so sure. He is wary of their threat and remains vigilant.
Morgan is told to step forward before the three witches, with the Great Mother embracing her into their ranks. She pledges her life to them and with that, she becomes one. The Sisters conjure the Blade of Talzin and encourage Morgan to take it. She does just that and bows before them.
What happens between Ezra and Sabine?
Meanwhile, Ezra starts constructing his lightsaber but does so quickly and haphazardly. Hayung is not happy about his process, until Sabine shows up and gets involved in the banter, Anyway, Ezra makes his lightsaber but Sabine takes off before Ezra can talk to her. Ezra learns from Hayung just what’s going on with Sabine, given Ahsoka is worried that she’s training for the wrong reasons.
Outside, Sabine apologizes to Ahsoka but the latter points out that she’s also made difficult choices so they let bygones be bygones. Ahsoka brings up Anakin and how he always stood by her side no matter what. Ahsoka is going to do the same thing for Sabine, and asks Sabine about her training. Ahsoka tells her to trust in the Force and points out that there’s more to it than wielding a lightsaber.
Do the TIE-Fighters attack?
The two TIE fighters show up and blast Ahsoka and the others. The Noti underneath their transport are almost crushed but Ahsoksa and Ezra both use the force to hold up the transport, allowing Sabine to take control, fly forward and straight into both TIE fighters, Kamikaze style. The result is their ship destroyed but obviously both Hayung and Sabine absolutely fine.
No one reacts to the plane going down, but Thrawn decides they should prepare for a ground assault. He knows that they’re downed and have nowhere else to go. Would it not make more sense to bomb the area with Tie Fighter Bombers? Anyway, I digress.
Hayung stays behind with the plane and the Noti, while Sabine takes off with Ezra and Ahsoka, They head straight for Thrawn’s location and effortlessly dodge all the lasers smashing down around them. The usual lackadaisical reaction from our characters ensues, as Ezra uses the Force to open the gate with Ahsoka. They make it inside, so Thrawn decides to dispatch the Night Troopers.
Do Ahsoka and co defeat the Night Troopers?
Ahsoka couldn’t look more bored if she tries, giving instruction to both Ezra and Sabine for taking out the troopers, who blast sporadically and are hastily dispatched. While this is going on, the Great Sisters use their magick to bring the troopers back to life again. This time, they don’t go down so easily, and Sabine is forced to use her lightsaber to cut through a few. Thrawn and his cronies still need more time though, so they call on Morgan to do that for them.
Ahsoka tells Ezra and Sabine to leave, who are allowed to go on ahead while Ahsoka and Morgan trade blows. Morgan with her magic sword and Ahsoka with both her lightsabers.
The level above, Ezra trades blows with his trooper, while the other, takes off Sabine’s helmet and holds her up by the throat. Sabine uses the Force though and manages to call her lightsaber over and this time, she uses it on his face and it works. Ezra grabs his lightsaber and cuts the Night Trooper’s head off. With the Imperial Star Destroyer leaving, Sabine uses the Force with Ezra to blast him across and stays behind to help Ahsoka as she fights with Morgan.
Is Morgan Elsbeth killed?
Ahsoka hits Elsbeth across the stomach with a lightsaber and this time, it actually kills her. Ahsoka and Sabine jump off the edge of the tower, which Thrawn targets for destruction, and Hayung shows up in the ship. Instead of changing fire and targeting their ship, the Imperial Star Destroyer continues to fire on the tower.
Ahsoka and Sabine fly up into the atmosphere and chase after the Destroyer. Thrawn opens a channel to speak and boasts about his victory. He smashes through the hyperdrive and takes off, leaving Ahsoka and Sabine in space with nowhere to go and lost in this other galaxy.
How does Ahsoka season 1 end?
Elsewhere, Shin heads over to the bandits and decides to lead them, holding up her lightsaber. As for Baylan, he looks over a statue which serves as a derivative nod to Lord of the Rings, and looks out at the land below. As for Thrawn, he approaches Dathomir. Finally, Ezra manages to make it back after all, heading to see Hera in a stormtrooper outfit and admitting that he’s home.
Back with Ahsoka, she thanks Sabine for her help and decides that they’re all where they need to be. As she heads off with Sabine, we cut to a shot of Anakin watching as a Force Ghost.
The Episode Review
No other line encapsulates Disney’s Star Wars more than Ahsoka’s line at the end: “It’s time to move on,” and I wholeheartedly agree. If Ahsoka’s disappointing viewing figures and terrible story is anything to go by, then it is time to move on from Star Wars’ diminishing returns.
It’s hard to know where to start with Ahsoka. The fact that this is basically Rebels Season 5 is one thing, but the cardboard cut-out caricatures that struggle to emote or even tell a competent story is another. The whole narrative goes round in a circle, with no resolution to any of the characters nor is there anything resembling a journey or arc for anyone beyond perhaps Thrawn, who makes it back to the other galaxy.
The bad guys aren’t defeated, there’s no closure for Shin, Baylan, Ahsoka or Ezra. One could argue that there’s a bit of closure for Sabine given she’s learned to use the Force but it’s not exactly like she was really tested this season given she’s effortlessly blown through everything that’s been thrown her way.
Morgan Elsbeth has absolutely struggled to emote through the entire 8 episodes, while Sabine and Ezra’s big reunion occurring off-screen and with a simple “hey, you alright?” on screen rather than a genuinely deep and meaningful connection. This could easily have been mined for some solid beats but instead we just move on to the next set piece.
Much has been said about the action in this show, with many praising lightsabers returning but the choreography, with the exception of perhaps parts of Morgan Elsbeth’s fight and Baylan’s original fight with Ahsoka, has been poor. The Night Trooper skirmish with Ahsoka and co in the hallway is evidence of this, with everyone just sounding bored while the troopers fire off random bullets from time to time.
None of this is helped by the fact that every single scene drags on unnecessarily and some of the scenes do this show no favours. The blatant rip-offs for Lord of the Rings, with Baylan standing on the statue at the end and Ahsoka wearing white, don’t work and come across as derivative. That’s before mentioning the long, ponderous establishing shots or scenes where characters just stare at one another for several seconds after talking.
With a weak story, poor direction and terrible character writing, you know you have problems when the two most emotionally charged characters in your show are droids. Star Wars continues to chug along but Ahsoka is certainly not the resurrection many fans will be hoping for. It’ll be forgotten in a few months.
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