The ultimate episode of Ahsoka’s first season presents the blooming flowers from the seeds showrunner Dave Filoni has been planting and cultivating since 2008. Now, whether or not or not you assume that’s a superb factor relies upon fully on how a lot you want your Star Wars tales to be an ouroboros of self-recognition, or should you’d slightly they be one thing fully completely different, à la Andor.
If the winkingly referential title “The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord” doesn’t make you bemusedly shake an invisible fist on the sky within the identify of the lovable dork working this present, then all the things else within the episode will. There’s magic, there’s zombies, there’s extra references to Japanese samurai movies, it’s a Filoni favourite fest. Rebels stakes are raised after which paid out, in numerous methods. And by the point the episode fades to black, these with some Clone Wars-level data will know that we have now by some means ended up circling again to some of the weird (and arguably among the finest) tales from the animated collection.
So, how did the ultimate episode of Ahsoka season one go? Let’s get into it.
A race to cease the inheritor
Ahsoka has its flaws, however even haters need to admit that by its halfway level the collection had deserted any potential plodding plots and carved away on the extra fluff of the type that had slowed down The E-book of Boba Fett and the latest season of The Mandalorian. From the second episode eight begins, it’s clear that we’re losing no time, because it snaps like a taut rubber band between the makes an attempt of Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) and Morgan Eslbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) to flee this far-off planet, and the efforts of Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), Sabine Wren (Natashia Liu Bordizzo), and Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) to catch them earlier than they do.
“The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord” begins with Thrawn and Morgan studying that the cargo switch they’ve been organizing is full, and we see a large shot of rectangular containers tucked away someplace within the ship’s cavernous maintain. It’s fairly clear what these are at this level, however we’ll get into that later. The Nightsisters strategy Morgan, thank her for her work bringing the Eye of Sion to them, and ask her to take the pledge of the Sisterhood. She agrees, one reaches out to the touch her face, blackish-green burns etch onto Morgan’s pores and skin, and the sisters summon a glowing inexperienced sword for her: the blade of Talzin. That’s Mom Talzin, to you, the previous Clan Mom of the Nightsisters, who you see loads of in Clone Wars (she’s additionally Darth Maul’s mother).
We then return to the floor of this planet far, far-off, the place Ahsoka’s ship is flying low and gradual over the Noti caravan. Inside, Ezra is making an attempt to construct his personal lightsaber with Huyang, who’s flummoxed on the Jedi’s considerably sporadic strategy to the method. Huyang principally asks Ezra who the hell taught him tips on how to construct a lightsaber, and is considerably greatly surprised when he learns it was the late Kanan Jarrus, one more Jedi who as soon as educated underneath the traditional droid (the identical Kanan Jarrus who fathered Hera’s son). As soon as once more, Huyang presents vital knowledge concerning the nature of the Padawan/Grasp bond (and thereby all the present’s thesis), saying that the difficult relationship is “as difficult as it’s significant.”
For those who, like me, had been a fan of Jedi: Survivor’s lightsaber customization, you then’ll love this scene, as Ezra satisfyingly snaps items into his saber earlier than igniting the blade. He’s mid-sentence, asking Sabine if Ahsoka taught her how to do that, however Sabine’s disappeared to go speak to her Grasp. “What’d I miss?” Ezra asks aloud. Huyang tells him that after Sabine’s household died when the Empire carpet-bombed Mandalore, Ahsoka grew fearful she’d grow to be harmful throughout her research.
In different Star Wars media we don’t get a lot—if any—time to see Ahsoka reckon with Anakin’s flip to the Darkish Facet, nevertheless it’s clear now why Filoni focuses on it a lot on this collection (and never simply in order that he can usher within the Anakin Skywalker Renaissance). Ahsoka’s hesitancy, and the errors she’s made with Sabine’s coaching, emerge immediately from her fears that she will likely be concerned in one other particular person turning to the Darkish Facet, and solely the closure she obtained within the World Between Worlds a couple of episodes again will enable her to maneuver previous that.
You assume Ahsoka goes to chastise Sabine for making the rash resolution to go along with Baylan Skoll to seek out Ezra, however as a substitute, she remarks that Anakin at all times understood her causes, he at all times had her again. Naturally, I’m reminded of the Jedi Temple bombing enterprise from the Clone Wars, how Ahsoka was framed, and the way all the Jedi Order save Anakin was prepared to chop her out. Ahsoka is reminded of that too, and so reminds Sabine that any further, she’s bought her again. Woman energy.
The three Jedi
The remainder of the opening third of episode eight strikes the chess items round quick sufficient that you simply gained’t get bored, however with sufficient character improvement thrown in there to make it largely fascinating. Thrawn is getting information on the trio’s whereabouts, TIE fighters attempt (and fail) to take them out, Ahsoka will get again on a wolf. Because the three strategy Thrawn’s docked Star Destroyer, he instructs the crew to “rain hellfire upon them.” “There will likely be no negotiating with the apprentice of Anakin Skywalker,” he says.
With the facility of Ezra’s skills (and perhaps Sabine’s, Ahsoka cleverly hides a few of its playing cards but once more with Sabine’s Power-use), the three make it by way of the doorways of the construction the ship is docked on. They take out a spherical of Darkish Troopers, and Thrawn instructs the Nice Moms to start out doing their witchy shit. They do, and it resurrects the entire Darkish Troopers in a slightly goofy zombie nod, with their glowing inexperienced pupils by some means shining from behind their helmet’s visors. However the three Jedi (as Thrawn calls them) proceed to ascend the construction, forcing Thrawn to ship Morgan right down to cease them.
“For the empire,” Thrawn says to Morgan earlier than she departs. “For Dathomir,” she says quietly, reminding us how deep her ties are to the Nightsisters (that’s her house planet). Cue her and Ahsoka combating, with the latter instructing Sabine and Ezra to go away her and forge on after Thrawn. Thrawn’s bought the Eye of Sion working like a defrosting Camry in a New York Metropolis winter, and he’s able to skedaddle, so he sends two heavy zombie Darkish Troopers right down to deal with the younger Jedi. Sabine and Ezra take a beating, and simply once you assume one of many baddies goes to choke the life out of the Mandalorian, she makes use of the pressure to summon her lightsaber into her hand, igniting it on the darkish trooper’s temple. Seems, that’s the way you kill a zombie in Star Wars, too.
However regardless of their spectacular efforts, they’re too late. The Eye of Sion is pulling out of the station, and the hole between their platform and its dock is just too massive. Beneath them, Ahsoka and Morgan proceed to conflict, with Talzin’s blade and the Nightsister magic proving a formidable foe. Morgan slashes one in all Ahsoka’s saber hilts in half, however quickly after Ahsoka disarms her and slices her clear throughout the intestine with each saber and blade. It was, for lack of a greater time period (I’m on an in a single day flight to London as I kind this), very fucking sick.
Fortunately, Sabine can use the Power fairly properly now, and helps push Ezra throughout that large chasm. He simply barely grabs on, and watches as Ahsoka and Sabine mix forces to complete off the remainder of the zombie troopers. He takes out a trooper of his personal, and drags his physique offscreen. he’ll be utilizing that in a second.
Sabine, Ahsoka, and Huyang (reunited after the droid and the Noti efficiently restore the ship) pursue the fleeing Eye of Sion, and Thrawn chooses this second to brag. He flags their comms and tells Ahsoka he anticipated this example, he anticipated the apprentice of Anakin Skywalker to behave in such a manner as a result of he knew him properly. He calls her a Ronin, the Japanese phrase for a samurai and not using a grasp, furthering the connections to samurai epics (bear in mind bokken Jedi from a couple of episodes again?) He boasts some extra, sneers “Lengthy reside the empire,” and jumps to hyperspace, leaving them fairly actually in his wake.
However Ahsoka isn’t bothered. In spite of everything, as she and Sabine settle again in with the Noti caravan, a white owl takes flight from a close-by rock. Did you’re feeling that? That tingle of data, that Leonardo DiCaprio meme briefly flashing earlier than your eyes? Ahsoka is actually right here for a purpose, as that white owl that’s probably definitely Morai suggests, and Baylan Skoll is principally standing on it—we lastly see the place he was heading final episode: the sting of a cliff, upon which two figures are carved, The Father and The Son, from one of many weirdest (and coolest) Clone Wars arcs of all time.
It’s all developing Mortis
The Father, The Son, and The Daughter are first launched within the third season of Clone Wars, in a three-episode arc that takes Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, and Obi-Wan Kenobi to a distant planet (or aircraft, is determined by who you’re asking) known as Mortis. There, they be taught that the household represents the three points of the Power: gentle aspect (Daughter), darkish aspect (Son) and stability (Father). The Father drew the trio there, as he felt himself dying, and defined to Anakin that his future because the Chosen One meant he can be the stability the Power wanted after the Father’s demise.
However in fact, issues aren’t that easy, because the Son tries to drag Anakin to the darkish aspect, placing Ahsoka underneath a spell that offers her yellowy, evil eyes and a bloodlust that forces her to struggle Anakin and Obi-Wan. Then, the son kills her, however the Daughter provides her life to resurrect Ahsoka. Do you see how our different favourite trio has slotted into these archetypes: Anakin at the hours of darkness, Ahsoka within the gentle, Obi-Wan because the stability?
With that in thoughts, and with Baylan clearly searching for solutions within the godlike trio, it opens up the ground for an fascinating dialog. Baylan is standing in entrance of the Father statue, with the Son statue to his left (our proper). Because the digital camera zooms out, we see that there’s an area the place a 3rd statue was once—the Daughter. Within the closing moments of this episode, Ahsoka assures Sabine that Peridea is strictly the place they’re meant to be—an odd remark to make contemplating Thrawn efficiently left the galaxy and is presumably heading to start out one other battle.
So, is Ahsoka meant to take her place because the Daughter, and restore stability to the Power? Will Baylan, who appears to straddle the road between good and evil, step into the Father function? And can Shin, who’s revealed to have joined the planet’s nomads by approaching them and igniting her lightsaber, characterize the Son?
The Ahsoka collection felt like a love letter to Rebels and Clone Wars followers written in what is probably going an indecipherable language to different viewers, which weakens it. It’s onerous to care should you don’t already, and the gathering of predictable outcomes (Ezra will get again house and removes his shadow trooper armor to disclose himself to a shocked Hera, Thrawn is heading again to start out some wars but once more) don’t assist it a lot, both. However, perhaps Filoni isn’t utilizing this present to inform a fantastic story, however to do one thing much more fascinating with the philosophy of the Power. Anakin Skywalker’s content material ghost showing on the very finish of “The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord” means that the Chosen One is glad to see his apprentice on this specific planet, maybe as a result of she is going to lastly do what the prophecy stated he would: stop this countless tug-of-war between ideologies.
Or perhaps, Dave Filoni simply actually loves Ahsoka Tano and lofty allegories, and I’m a bit too Power-pilled to see in any other case. We’ll have to attend till we get extra Ahsoka materials, whether or not that’s a second season or a standalone film, to seek out out.
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