Chris Connor reviews the third episode of Star Wars: Ahsoka…
After a promising two-part opening, Ahsoka’s third episode sees the action pick up as both our heroes and their adversaries continue their search for Grand Admiral Thrawn, and by association Ezra Bridger. This episode may be slighter shorter than the opening two episodes but is nonetheless full of intrigue and set pieces, resolving some questions from the opening episodes but also raising a few more.
The episode focuses heavily on the relationship between Ahsoka and Sabine as they continue the latter’s training. She is clearly competent with a weapon owing to her heritage as a Mandalorian and time wielding the darksaber in Rebels, however she is struggling to connect to the force. The idea of a non-force user training to be a Jedi is of course not new and was hinted at with Finn in the Sequel Trilogy but it looks set to be a major plot thread here.
Sabine’s training is one of several callbacks to A New Hope, although rather than being direct retreads these are more subtle visual references. David Tennant’s Huyang is once again a standout providing humour and levity where it is required.
We also see further discussion around the politics of the New Republic which has been a key theme thus far here and in The Mandalorian. Genevieve O’Reilly makes a brief return as Mon Mothma after her role in Andor and so it is interesting to see how the character has evolved since, marking the latest part we have seen the character in the Star Wars universe. We see the bureaucratic difficulties plaguing the fledgling new Republic as they aren’t keen to commit to a potential conflict with Thrawn and his allies, already hinting at cracks that will lead to the rise of the First Order.
We are also treated briefly to the live-action debut of Hera and Kanan’s son Jacen, continuing to bring Star Wars Rebels characters into live-action. While he made his debut in season three of The Mandalorian, it is surprising we have yet to see Rebels’ Zeb appear in this show, although it is surely a matter of time.
There is a continued mystery surrounding our antagonists and Morgan Elspeth as they continue to build a way to reach Thrawn. Who is the mysterious Marrok? Could they be Ezra, Cal Kestis, Starkiller or someone else entirely? The new villains continue to impress, although there is a marked lack of Ray Stevenson’s Baylan Skoll here, such a standout in the opening episodes, with only a brief appearance at the end.
Ahsoka’s third episode builds on the promise of the opening two; it’s shorter yes, but setting up threads for the remainder of the season as Sabine continues her training and all sides look to a potential conflict led by Thrawn. The cast continues to impress and it will be interesting to see how the series continues to progress as the plot threads unravel and we move closer to Thrawn’s inevitable return and a full-scale conflict that may tee up Dave Filoni’s film.
Chris Connor
