Even if you’re familiar with all 11 live-action feature films from the Star Wars universe, you might not know Ahsoka exists. It was created by George Lucas and Dave Filoni – the master and his padawan – in 2008 for the animated movie Star Wars: The Clone Wars. In the timeline, this one is between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Episodes II and III. So it was during wartime that Anakin Skywalker took a 14-year-old Togruta under his wing. Fans didn’t take to the character right away, criticizing her temper and immaturity – she’s a teenager, after all… The native of the planet Shili has, however, become more and more popular over the seasons of The Clone Wars, and then more in the Star Wars Rebels series. If you have time, watch all three episodes featuring her in Tales of the Jedi.
Ahsoka is something of a sequel to Rebels, although the events the show chronicles take place after The Mandalorian’s third season, about eight years after the Emperor’s “death”. If, like us, you haven’t seen the entire series, take the time to watch a recap video on YouTube – New Rockstars’ Erik Voss does some great ones. Let’s get the gist of it anyway. Rebels begins as the Republic and the Jedi Order have been crushed by the Empire. The rebel alliance doesn’t exist yet, but small groups are banding together to fight against the oppressive regime – as seen in the brilliant Andor series. The Jedi Kanan Jarrus, his apprentice Ezra Bridger, the pilot Hera Syndulla, her robot Chopper, the Mandalorian Sabine Wren and the burly Zeb Orrelios form the crew of the Ghost spaceship. They follow missions for the rebellion and encounters with new and old characters, including Ahsoka. Together, they notably face the Inquisitors, Darth Vader and Grand Admiral Thrawn.
At the end of the fourth season, Ezra and Thrawn disappear into the “Unknown Regions” outside of the galaxy in which Star Wars is primarily set. However, there is a map showing the way to get there. Ahsoka begins as followers of Thrawn still loyal to the Empire and New Republic allies simultaneously seek out this card. Ahsoka, played by Rosario Dawson as in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, finds Hera (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), who is now a general, and Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), who hopes to see her good friend Ezra again. A former Jedi named Baylan Skoll (the late Ray Stevenson), his apprentice Shin Hatin (Ivanna Sakhno), and numerous robot assassins, however, give them a hard time. We don’t divulge anything by writing that Lars Mikkelsen takes over the role of Thrawn, to whom he lent his voice in Rebels.
From the outset, let us mention that the way Dave Filoni tells Star Wars bores us a little. It’s not bad, but it lacks soul. A great fan of the trilogy of the 2000s, the filmmaker constantly refers to it. To us, that translates into cold characters, hollow dialogue, and an absence of emotions that go beyond love and hate. The first two episodes of Ahsoka are another demonstration of these impressions. Conversations only serve to explain the issues. Characters who reflect for a long time in silence do not have more depth. The performances are fair, but only that of Lars Mikkelsen could knock us down. The action scenes, fights and visual effects are fantastic though. The music of Kevin Kliner as well as the cinematography of Eric Steelberg and Quyen Tran are also remarkable. The script has good potential and should keep us going for eight episodes, but let’s hope the pace picks up.
