Star Wars has always had its ups and downs in terms of quality, and in recent years the state of the franchise has reached a new low. Since the end of the sequel trilogy and the pandemic, Star Wars has completely shifted everything onto streaming, for better or worse.
The introduction of The Mandalorian changed everything for Star Wars. Many praised the show and fans began to return to the franchise they loved, but after more content came out it became more and more apparent that Star Wars had a problem — quality. Many of the more recent additions to the Star Wars franchise have been less than stellar and have left many feeling disappointed and exhausted.
Ahoska is different. From the get-go, the show throws you right into the action and develops the mysterious and darker tone of the series. Like Andor, the series sticks to an overall tone and delivers a cohesive narrative that many previous installments have failed to deliver.
Created by Dave Filoni, Ahsoka follows the former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano (played by Rosario Dawson) and her journey with Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) to stop the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) and the new threats following the fall of the Empire.
Ahsoka opens up aboard a New Republic ship transporting Morgan Elsbeth (Diane Lee Inosanto), whom Ahsoka captured in The Mandalorian, to her trial. Things come to an abrupt halt when a mysterious vessel approaches carrying two unknown Jedis, a master and his apprentice. The action is perfect and well-choreographed and leaves the viewer wishing for more.
Despite opening with two very strong episodes, the Ahsoka series has a major flaw that doesn’t go unnoticed.
The biggest problem for casual and new viewers first getting into Ahsoka is the daunting scale of the franchise and the time commitment that it requires. Ahsoka is a spin-off of two shows— The Mandalorian and Rebels. Everything is woven together and overlaps in a way that becomes hard to keep track of. With every addition to the Star Wars franchise, it gets more and more complicated to follow.
With so many interconnected shows and movies, it can be challenging for someone to understand the plot without the necessary context and information surrounding a character or plot line. This is especially true when looking at some of the more recent shows. Despite the overcomplicated plotline Ahsoka manages to find a compromise.
After the first few episodes, the show uses the concepts and storylines developed in previous shows and makes it new and exciting for both new and old audiences.
One highlight of the show is the performances. I found myself captivated by the main antagonists, Baylan Skoll (played by the late Ray Stevenson) and Shin Hati (played by Ivanna Sakhno). Star Wars has always been filled with interesting and mysterious characters, and their portrayal of the dark Jedi pair did not disappoint. From the start, Stevenson and Sakhano bring an intimidating feel to the series as they decimate a New Republic ship. With every episode, I become more and more intrigued and obsessed with their characters.
Steveson and Sakhano aren’t the only stand out performances in the series.
Rosario Dawson particularly shines in her role. When she was originally cast in The Mandalorian it was hard to tell if she could capture the magic and character of the Clone Wars favorite, but in her stand-alone series she’s proven that no one could play Ahsoka better than her. She keeps Ahsoka’s snarky and stubborn nature from the animated series but captures how an older more mature Ahsoka’s personality has developed. Dawson makes the character her own while sticking true to what makes Ahsoka, Ahsoka.
