Chris Connor reviews the fifth episode of Star Wars: Ahsoka….
After the bombshell ending of Ahsoka’s previous episode with Balen, Sabine and company transported off to another galaxy in search of Ezra and Thrawn, not to mention the surprise return of Anakin Skywalker, Episode 5 had a lot to live up to. First and foremost, how is Anakin back and which version of him is Ahsoka interacting with; is this pre-Revenge of the Sith, a force ghost, or something different altogether?
It immediately becomes clear this is neither of the first two with the returning Hayden Christensen stating he has come to finish Ahsoka’s training before engaging her in a duel. The first half of the episode leans heavily on the pair’s relationship, developed heavily over the course of The Clone Wars’ seven season run which culminated in Ahsoka leaving the Jedi order.
We see Barbie’s Ariana Greenblatt as a young Ahsoka during the Clone Wars, giving us our largest live action glimpse at the conflict since Revenge of the Sith which is sure to make fans of the Prequels and animated series nostalgic and again giving Hayden Christensen a chance to show he was unfairly treated first time around. The purpose of these sequences is to show that Ahsoka has become more than just the soldier she was moulded into and can make her own choices, independently of the Jedi Order and her former Master, as she decides how she can best mentor her own student, Sabine.
We also see glimpses of the Siege of Mandalore, a key plot point from the final season of Clone Wars, and a brief glimpse of Captain Rex in live-action. These sequences cleverly show Anakin in various guises, from the caring mentor to fallen Jedi he would become through subtle shifts in his mannerisms, and wielding a red lightsaber later on in the pair’s duel. Whether or not we see more of Anakin remains to be seen but it is a treat to see the pair’s relationship explored in live-action.
Beyond these sequences the plot remains on Seatos with Hera, Carson and Huyang looking for signs of what happened to all concerned and trying to explain themselves to the New Republic including another brief appearance from Mon Mothma. Most surprisingly we get glimpses at Jacen Syndulla’s force abilities, showing he inherited these from Kanan and it will be intriguing to see if this is explored further in this series or subsequent projects.
While the central plot may not have progressed much, ‘Shadow Warrior’ will delight long time fans of Ahsoka and Clone Wars/Rebels, exploring her at times difficult relationship with her former master and the past that comes with it but helping to set her up on the journey she will go on for the remainder of this series, emerging a different Ahsoka to the more stoic one we’ve seen in this series to date. With just three episodes remaining there are many twists and turns to come no doubt and fans are in for quite the ride.
Chris Connor
