**This review contains some SPOILERS**
Watch the SPOILER review on YouTube
Continuing off from where the “Rebels” left off, “Ahsoka” works well as a stand-in for continuing that animated series, and while it does a good job of paying off threads for fans of that show, it doesn’t quite do enough to stand as its own thing and ultimately feels like a setup for some future Star Wars project.
The basic plot is laid out pretty early as we learn the bad guys and the good guys are both trying to get to the same place to find their respective missing comrades. The series takes quite a long time to get everyone where they need to be, and that doesn’t leave a lot of time to wrap much up. And the show really digs into the ineptitude of the New Republic (which seems kind of unrealistic that only five years after defeating the Empire, they already on the brink of crumbling.) With the plot spinning its wheels quite a bit, the show relies on the character arcs to do the heavy lifting.
Ahsoka continues her pessimistic streak that she’s shown in her live action appearances, and if anything, she’s a bit worse now. While the cathartic moment with her old master does a lot to reinvigorate the character, she doesn’t quite live up to the “Ahsoka the White” nickname given to her by the fans. (The Anakin stuff actually works very well to subtlety show that he’s redeemed but Darth Vader will always be a part of him.) Sabine’s arc isn’t all that strong. Her Jedi training doesn’t quite build up to a great payoff, and her desire to find Ezra drives her character but she never discussed her feeling which could’ve helped the audience sympathize more with her decisions. Huyang was a nice surprise, as his sassy attitude really gets to shine here compared to his appearance on “The Clone Wars.” While it was nice to have Hera included in the story, it felt like they struggled to keep her relevant to the story and she was mostly regulated to often-unnecessary political plot points. And although Ezra’s jump to live action captured the essence of the character, he was added too late to the story and was minimally involved in the plot.
As far as the show’s villains go, they all started off strong but then faltered. Morgan Elsbeth had her character tweaked into being a Nightsister, and while it was cool seeing her and her fellow witches in live action, Elsbeth ended up being shoved into the background, and her motivations were never defined. Both Shin Hati and Marrok looked cool, but ultimately, they were just there to pull out lightsabers and fight the good guys, never revealing what they were hoping to gain out of all of this. (Especially with all the wild fan theories swirling around about Marrok. While they all mostly went up in smoke, there was a hint at something more that just never was explained.) Thrawn was exactly what he should have been, a cool, calculating commander. His character needed to prove himself to convince the audience he was a big a threat as he was made out to me. And while he mostly delivered, it was more of a last second field goal victory as opposed to a dramatic touchdown drive. The most intriguing character in the show was Baylan. The former Jedi really straddled the line between good and evil and came tantalizingly close to laying his cards on the table. (Sadly, with Ray Stevenson’s death, we may never learn more about the character.)
Overall, the show looked great, with the cinematography creating some breathtaking shots. Despite some wonky moments, the CG looked movie-caliber. The action was fine, but rarely got out of first gear.
All in all, “Ahsoka” was a great continuation of “Rebels,” but the slow-pace and unsatisfying conclusion made it feel like it didn’t get the job done. While the character arcs were strong on paper, they never quite landed with any emotional depth.
*** out of *****