Star Wars: Ahsoka (Season 1) (2023) (Disney+)

I don't usually do this. Usually I treat Pilots very gently, and with a grain of salt. I try to keep an open mind. But I strongly disliked that. It used a brand of plot-related stupidity of the type usually reserved for long-running series that have become a little long in the tooth and run out of gas. Now, this IS a direct sequel to "Rebels", from Dave Filoni himself, and "Rebels" had some amazing plot-related stupidity of its own week in and week out, but I always brushed that off as it being a show for kids. Nope, truly Filoni doesn't understand how dumb this is and is an actual bad writer. Interesting to learn.

I don't begrudge Sabine for being dumb enough to take the map and go off by herself. It's established she doesn't like being told what to do, and likes testing limits with authority. What I object to it the fact that Ahsoka should already know this about her, and insisted she hand over the map to her right this instant while she was entertaining notions of taking off with it.

Interesting Ahsoka once trained Sabine to be a Jedi. The ending DID fool me though. I really did think they actually killed Sabine off. I was pissed for a hot minute.

David Tennant is not as big as Doctor Who get for Star Wars as Tom Baker's voice-over role was in "Rebels", but it's probably second.

Return of the credit crawl Narration at the beginning, this time using red lettering. I've kind of missed that in the franchise.

I am very unhappy with that, and I almost NEVER give Pilots the business. But this shows started off on the thinnest of ice with me. 1 star.

Better.

I have to say the New Republic is making some of the exact same kinds of stupid mistakes as the Old Republic. The idea that about half the Republic fleet is former Imperialists is troubling. Not only should those guys be in jail, but the bad dude played by Peter Jacobson thought he was justifying the idea, when instead he was pointing out the flaw in its logic, when he claimed the New Republic couldn't function without the Imperialists in the ranks. That's a BAD thing, man.

See, to me, that means the New Republic needed to start over. The idea that they NEED former Imperialists to function gives that faction an alarming and unnecessary amount of political power. If I were Leia, I would simply have the people learn to do without. At least to start off with. Would people have been pissed to lose so many of their comforts? Yeah. But you don't overthrow an Empire and do it halfway by refusing to actually destroy it. Man, people talked smack of The Mandalorian: Season 3, but I dug the fact it hinted the New Republic was not just even more corrupt than the Old One. It was starting to become as corrupt as the Empire itself. This is an interesting idea I want to see further explored.

While we are talking smack about the Republic and the Jedi, I am tickled that the Droid played by David Tennant seems ten times wiser than Yoda and Obi-Wan on their best days combined. And probably twenty times as honest. I dig him.

Sabine with the Mandalorian helmet is a much bigger deal with the added context of "The Mandalorian" than it ever was on "Rebels". Which is something I like.

I can work with this. 3 1/2 stars.

SHE LEFT THE CAT BEHIND?!?!?!?...

Solid as hell. Not up to the levels of Andor or Obi-Wan Kenobi yet. But close.

David Tennant has the perfect voice for a Droid. Huyang is a revelation of a character. I love that he unashamedly admits what he said to Sabine to Ahsoka, and his defense is it's true. And Ahsoka's perspective that she's not exactly looking to turn Sabine into a Jedi is maybe really the only push back against it that is needed. Maybe she IS the suckiest potential Jedi Huyang has ever seen. But maybe her actual role in all this is supposed to be different.

I also love that he has a name instead of letters and numbers.

They almost died. Par for the course. Golf is apparently a thing in Star Wars. He's especially cool because he doesn't argue further about being shut down once he's reminded it's Jedi protocol. That is one chill Droid. I love his, "Almost... Almost..." leading to him being shorted out.

Is Jason Kanan's son? If he was, you'd figure he'd have small tentacles and not just green hair.

Return of the space whales. The episode kindly reminded us the last time we saw them was Rebels' finale.

Mothra from Andor appears. Really leaning into the Shared Universe here. Somebody reminded me seeing her in future-set projects is all right because we already had before Andor started. She was always gonna survive that series.

Great episode. On-board now. 4 1/2 stars.

A little bland and dry, although it was nice to see Hunyang in action for a bit (even though he lost).

I have to say I always found Vader's end in Jedi totally unjust. After all that genocidal maniac did, he gets to hang around with Yoda and Obi-Wan as a blue ghost for all eternity? Not remotely fair. Anakin's appearance at the end here has me feeling hopeful that there's a chance he'll actually wind up useful for the good guys, and that his last minute unearned "redemption" THEN will have actually shockingly meant something for NOW. We'll see. But seeing Anakin's ghost past the Ewok celebration and seemingly willing to help Ahsoka out is already a good thing.

I can't believe Sabine gave into Baylan like that. I think a LOT less of her for it. She can live without Ezra. The rest of the galaxy cannot live WITH Thrawn. How is she too dumb and selfish to get that? I don't think I'll ever forgive her.

I expect that will probably get favorable reviews, but I was a little bored. About the best thing I can say is that it promises good things for next week. But we'll see. I don't think a single Star Wars project has handled Anakin Skywalker well, and if this is the first I'll be (pleasantly) surprised. But it just might be. Like I said, we'll see. 2 1/2 stars.

So much for fan speculation that Marrok was either Ezra or Starkiller.  I guess he could still be found to have been Luuke but, at this point, I don't think that's going to happen...

 

Posted by: @matt-zimmer

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I don't think I'll ever forgive her.

Leaving the cat behind got that reaction from me... *grumble*...

One more episode, right?...  The whole Thrawn thing is The Force Awakens and Luke all over again, isn't it?...

Mixed feelings (to say the least). For an 8 episode season, an episode that has as little forward momentum as this one does is troubling. The fact that the current strikes make new content at a premium is also worrisome. Are they spinning their wheels because they plan to end the season on a huge cliffhanger? Considering the studios are refusing every reasonable demand from both the actors and writers that cliffhanger might remain unsolved for a good five years. Ill-advised time for big franchises to do long-term planning. Andor is kinda screwed there too, by the way.

I'll talk about the quality in a minute. But there was something I've been meaning to mention every week but I always declined to because I could have been wrong. It's episode 5. I feel safe enough observing this. What's interesting is I've never seen anyone else point this out.

Am I the only one who has noticed that there is a distinct lack of cursing on this show?

Star Wars is not a profane franchise. But for the Disney live-action stuff especially, "hells" and "damns" are common. Andor has even provocatively graduated to s-bombs. Why do I think the characters are speaking so squarely? My theory is Dave Filoni is trying his damndest to rehabilitate Star Wars Rebels in the fans' minds.

Rebels is the red-headed step-child of the canon. So much of the arc of the current stuff can be tied to it, but its quality was shady. And unlike both The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch, which both had TV-PG stuff with violence, death, and for The Clone Wars, occasional cursing, Rebels totally Nerfed the franchise in not just violence, but the way the characters spoke. (For example it routinely used the dreaded "Destroy them" rather than "Kill them".) Maybe Filoni is having the characters on this show speaking in a more age appropriate manner to suggest Rebels simply happened to follow a group of characters who just randomly happened to not be profane. Maybe this show uses gentle language to give THAT show's gentle language credibility, and to say it both fits, and is in character for that cast. There are three episodes left so for all I know Ezra will scream "Leroy Jenkins!" followed by multiple f-bombs, but in case I'm right, that's the theory I'm going with.

Really, the only more disrespected Star Wars show than Rebels is Resistance. But a future producer tries to find ways to make THAT mess more believable I'll be surprised. I think Filoni has done a good job making Rebels seem like a worthwhile project in hindsight. There ain't no polishing the turd that was Resistance.

I was unhappy with Anakin's portrayal. He seems mad that Ahsoka brings up the Vader stuff. You know what Annie? She is right to bring it up. In fact, SHE'S the one who should be mad. The episode is trying to portray Anakin as helpful, but if that's true, there is no logical reason to instigate a light-saber duel other than Filoni imagined we wanted to see at least one in the episode, and one between Anakin and Ahsoka especially. I think it was wrong on both counts because it makes no damn sense.

Carson is taking an awful lot on faith here. They are asking him to risk him entire career for some truly nutty stuff.

Speaking of which, I loved the ending. Not only was it weirdly majestic (and how great was it when Ahsoka admitted she didn't know where the whales were gonna take 'em but reasoned that somewhere was better than nowhere?) but the looks on the faces of the Republic pilots said a LOT about the people in the franchise. Andor has gotten a LOT of praise for exploring how civilians live and fit in on the fringes of the Star Wars Universe. That right there suggested these tie-fighter jockeys really had no inkling of the weird adventure stuff Jedi get up to every week. There isn't just fear and disturbance running through their minds. It's wonder and awe.

Do you know what it is? It's Tyrion Lannister watching Daenerys Targaryen escape a fiery death by flying away on the back of her pet dragon. Of course, I don't think Ahsoka and Dani's arcs will end the same way (God forbid) but it was also a moment with people with previously mundane and / or crappy lives briefly believing in the notion of magic and superheroes. It was really cool. Maybe things are gonna turn out all right. Maybe fairytales are real and happy endings are possible. Maybe.

Jacen is useful. It's also kind of cute to see a live-action Chopper. I love Jacen asking Huyang if he'd train him, and Huyang saying no. Does he know how to build a light saber? Yes. Will he teach him? No. David Tennant was the right voice casting choice for this specific Droid.

The girl they got to play young Ahsoka is not just credible for Rosario Dawson. But the character as she was on The Clone Wars too.

Felt weird to hear Hayden Christensen himself call her "Snips" though.

Cool they got back Temuera Morrison to briefly voice Rex in the flashback.

With Ahsoka in limbo, and about half the of the episode spent searching for her, we feel like we are spinning our wheels in a point in the season we can't afford to do that (Thrawn and Ezra still haven't shown up and the common worry among the fandom is their returns will be as brief and frustrating as Luke Skywalker's in the last 30 seconds of The Force Awakens). I don't love that bit myself. 3 stars.

I have a lot of nice things to say about that, and I also have a lot of pointed things to say about that. I feel like this will be a longish review because I want to explore all of the episode's virtues and faults in detail. I have a feeling my gripes, although perhaps fewer than my compliments, might take up a disproportionate amount of the review. But even if I complain a lot, I'm letting you know up front this is a relatively positive review. It might be hard to tell that at points because I will speak some hard truths about the series' failings, apparent in this episode especially.

And if most of the review seems negative, I think it's fair that I state a positive right off the bat. Star Wars has been around for around 45 years, right? Give or take? That's about as long as it's been a part of the pop-culture Zeitgeist. I personally think that after 45 years, Huyang is simply put, the greatest Droid in the history of the franchise. And after a mere six episodes I don't think it's even close for another beloved Droid like C-3PO. David Tennant deserves and will get the lion's share of the praise for the character. But the truth is it's not simply Tennant. The character is written with a nuance and subtlety all other Droids lack. And whatever else, good or bad, Ahsoka, the TV show is, it is definitely the thing that came up with the best Star Wars Droid of all time.

My biggest misgiving about the episode is that Ahsoka is only in the very beginning. And this is what happened to The Book Of Boba Fett. More colorful characters like Mando and Grogu (not to mention Luke Freaking Skywalker himself) showed up and essentially stole Boba's series right out from under him. I won't pretend that Ezra Bridger or his new actor is the same level of scene-stealer, but Lars Mikkelsen as Thrawn? He just became a way more important and interesting character than Ahsoka ever was. The Book Of Boba Fett goofed and did wrong by Temuera Morrison. They promised the poor guy his own show and just got distracted with other stuff. I think the same thing happened with Rosario Dawson. I could be wrong. But I don't think the final two episodes will be shifting focus back to her so I don't think I am.

I love that the show is raising questions about the storytelling nature of the words "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away." It makes the movie credit crawl feel like a part of the mythos, and a part of me wonders when Baylan describes the dead world they are on in those terms, if perhaps Our Universe has a similar relationship to Star Wars. Baylan describes wanting things to stop, and how the rising and falling power struggles seem unending. Does the saga perhaps take place in the long ago and far away BECAUSE things have ended, and George Lucas and Disney are standing over the remnants of a dead galaxy? You will say, "Matt, you are overthinking things again." I say you can never overthink sci-fi and speculative fiction. The questions and theories raised are part of the fun, especially if said questions and theories are never answered / paid off. Cynics will bemoan me taking the reality of a sci-fi / fantasy mishmash so seriously. I will tell those cynics their problem is they aren't taking things seriously enough.

Disney had been hedging about Mikkelsen being cast as Thrawn. For Star Wars fans, he was really the ONLY choice. He doesn't exactly LOOK the part, but his voice is irreplaceable, and probably the second most memorable Star Wars voice after Darth Vader's himself. Disney went back and forth in denying the casting (probably to keep it a secret) but if they HAD cast somebody else, not only would it not have worked, we all would have been pissed. So NOT a surprise.

And I think it's about time to talk about actual surprises, and how for the franchise that came up with the shocker "Luke, I am your father," Star Wars does not surprise the audience or the viewer very often anymore. And nowhere is it more predictable than the villains' goals and plans. I would love to singularly blame Lucas for this, and yes, it was worst during Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but the Disney stuff hasn't really upped their game there, (with the notable exception of Vader's clever machinations in Obi-Wan Kenobi). Otherwise, the villains in the current Star Wars stuff are pretty basic evil.

Thrawn and Baylan's plan to track Sabine and have her lead them to Ezra and then kill them both is portrayed as both shocking and coldblooded. No. What it IS is common sense. I am not giving Thrawn or Baylan Bonus Supervillain points for doing a logical thing. The fact that Sabine has no idea that's the reason they let her go shows a deep stupidity in the character. And her declining to talk to Ezra about HOW she got there says there is stupidity inherent in Filoni's writing as well. That specific bit of plot-related stupidity should not ever have happened. It would not have on a better project. Is is possible Sabine knew they were behind her the entire time and is playing a long con? I would love to grasp at that theory, I would, but her refusing to talk to Ezra about how she got there means it's actually a nonstarter. I wish Filoni didn't decide to make Sabine, one of the more likable characters on Rebels, this dirt-stupid and annoying.

Speaking of Rebels, I gave a crazy theory in the last review that this show's mild language was a way for Filoni to have the censor-plagued Rebels fit into the larger Star Wars Universe easier. And I'm sure many people thought I was overthinking THAT too. If anything this episode proves me right! Why? Because Thrawn doesn't just threaten to kill Ezra and Sabine. He threatens to "DESTROY" them, the Nerfed threat of neutered Saturday Morning and Weekday Afternoon villains everywhere! Tell me Filoni didn't JUST do have Thrawn make that ridiculous, real-world unrealistic threat to make Rebels seem credible in hindsight! Because I won't believe you!. Because damn it, that's what it actually does!

Are we done with the review? Do I actually need to offer thoughts on the cutesy rock-shell creatures or Sabine's pet horsey-thing? No. What I will point out is something I mentioned in some of my reviews for The Mandalorian, but maybe not everybody has read them. Whatever action occurs in the Disney+ series is a huge step down from the nonstop fast pace of the Disney-era films. I will argue the pacing and effects are a step down from the Prequel Trilogy too. What I want people to keep in mind when talking crap about this show and the others about that is that both the effects and pacing seem very much in line with the Original Trilogy. I actually think because of the creatures, the effects are a little better. But I hear nothing but criticism about the slow pacing of this show, The Book Of Boba Fett, and the Mandalorian Season 3. What was the last time y'all watched the first Star Wars? Because the first 45 minutes of THAT beloved classic are a freaking slow-paced slog. You can bemoan the Disney+ stuff for that. But the ponderous treks over vast planetary vistas is VERY much in line with the first movie. The franchise only really became frenetically paced in Return Of The Jedi and onward. I don't mind people taking shots at the pacing. But at least admit the slow pacing is NOT off-brand for the franchise. Watching a fussy C-3PO chase R2-D2 all over the dunes of Tatooine is about as riveting as watching paint dry. And it always was.

Okay, now I'm done. 3 1/2 stars.

That was fun! Remember when Star Wars used to be fun? Yeah, it's been awhile.

I don't think this review needs to be super long. I have three things to discuss. Two of them can brief. I'll start off with the longish thing first.

I have always loved Thrawn because he's intelligent. More, he's smart. And he thinks well strategically AND tactically. Rebels was sort of a hot mess, but it got acceptable around the time Thrawn came aboard. The cool thing about Thrawn is the fact that he never loses his cool or his temper, and he takes any obvious losses in stride, and takes all the gains from he can from them, which is great for a fictional villain. I also want to impress upon you how rare it is for a Star Wars villain. I've seen practically everything in the franchise of note, and I wouldn't describe myself a fan, but more of a general viewer. There is SOME stuff I'm a fan of. But truthfully, not much. And part of the reason for that is because I mostly dislike the Lucas-era stuff. It almost always makes me unhappy because both the heroes and the villains are stupid and solve every problem with a chainsaw when a scalpel would do. The only reason a guy as obvious, and as bad an actor as Palpatine got as far as he did is because he was going up against people as dumb as Obi-Wan and Yoda. And the thing that kills me about the Lucas stuff, is that for every stupid thing those characters do, for every completely wrong piece of advice or warning they gave Luke, Lucas still did not have the insight to portray them as anything other than wise. Despite the fact that they both held back Anakin and Luke, and were a huge part of the reason the Empire came into being, because an obvious con artist like Palpatine pulled the wool over their eyes, while almost deliberately rubbing in their faces what he was doing the entire time. Palpatine, even when was Senator, was HARDLY a subtle villain. Lucas thought by giving Palpatine these devious double-entendres, it shows how smart and crafty he is, and how he fooled the wisest organization in the galaxy.

And Lucas has always been a poor writer because it never once occurred to him it proved the opposite. It said Palpatine was Totally Basic, and Obi-Wan and Yoda were idiots. And the reason this is so is simply because Lucas, as gifted as he was in world-building, was crappy in plotting and storytelling. Writing a smart villain who could think tactically and not just kill every underling who displeases him was simply beyond him. It's not because such villains were unheard at the time. Especially considering how late in the pop-culture game The Clone Wars were (relatively speaking). He simply did not have the talent or the patience to write villains that smart. Period. And that's why Thrawn is a breath of fresh air. And it's damn good to see him again.

I mentioned two other observations after this one.

2. Th fact that Ezra Bridger has learned how to use the Force as a fighting weapon in and of itself without a light saber or other weapon present makes Ezra Bridger cool for the first time ever. His entire persona on Rebels was that of a Gary Stu. And all of the suddenly Filoni turns him into the baddest ass Force user we're ever seen by cleverly having him use it in a new way. And I DO love that when a blaster opens up, Ezra DOES grab it. Suggesting he's an effective fighter because he doesn't JUST use the Force's power to his own advantage. He uses anything he can get his hands on to his advantage. Congratulations are due this show for making one of Star Wars' most annoying characters awesome years later. Well played.

3. C-3PO is not necessary for this show to work. But, man, producers USE Anthony Daniels while you have him. You won't always. I wholehearted approve of this pointless cameo that adds nothing. The point is that Daniels is a treasure that no Star Wars fan ever takes for granted. It's good to see him. For as long as we have him.

By the way, when Huyang says he felt bad the last time the trick he and Ahsoka tried pulling failed I was like, "It's very good to get definitive confirmation that Droids actually have feelings." I feel that's been up in the air for too long.

That was fun! Didn't you think that was fun? 4 1/2 stars.