Look, if there are gonna be eight episodes, then one of them has to be the action one. I’m just glad we’re getting it out of the way this early.
I’ve missed watching a Star Wars show in real-time. The anticipation from week to week is quite enjoyable.
This episode opens with Sabine’s lightsaber training, which fondly reminded me of season 3 of Rebels. This isn’t an entirely new field for her. Watching her practice with Ahsoka was great, and I loved the ANH reference in Ahsoka trying to train Sabine with a blinded helmet. There’ll probably be an episode later on where Sabine has to fight Shin in a darkened environment, or Sabine gets hit with a flash grenade and can’t see. Like that Skywalker Strikes comic with Luke and Boba. And then she’ll summon the Force and win the battle. Mark my words!
By the way, the music in the training scene was particularly good. It’s easier to see how well the show’s soundtrack is done when it’s not trying to copy the original movies. (Again – a strength of Andor, a fault of Kenobi.)
Hera, they don’t deserve you
Out of all the references I expected or hoped for from Ahsoka, I certainly hadn’t anticipated a Resistance one. Senator Xiono, who appears solely to berate Hera, is the father of Kaz, the protagonist of Resistance. This is a show I’ve never been particularly attached to, as it’s angled at a younger audience than either TCW or Rebels, but this tie-in delighted me nonetheless. It’s a fun and subtle connection to other forms of SW media.
I just… wish these senators would listen to General Hera Syndulla, queen of all things, instead of shooting her down that easily.
That whole scene just had me screaming at my laptop. Pay attention to Hera, guys! She’s gone through so much more than any of you! I loved seeing Genevieve O’Reilly returning as Mon Mothma once more, and her and Hera’s casual friendship was lovely, but… STILL. I guess these guys are really out of touch as to Hera’s significant role in the Rebellion. She deserves to be listened to. And oh man, watching her try to stop the slowly approaching First Order – that hurt. She’s trying so hard, but we know how that story ends.
Side note: I really wish Star Wars characters here – and in all other forms of media, honestly – would use more emotional terminology when it comes to their lost friends. A great example of this comes from season 7 of The Clone Wars, where Ahsoka says that she learned fighting from her “older brother.” Disappointingly, this tactic isn’t used as often as it should be. In the Kenobi show, Anakin merely refers to Anakin as his “friend,” when calling Anakin his brother would hit so much harder. And here, in Ahsoka, Hera is doing the same. This is just me being picky – I did like her saying “people who were like family to me,” and I get that it’s a catch-all term for both Kanan and Ezra, since Thrawn took both of them away from her. But I just need Hera to call Kanan her husband once. Please.
But hey – we finally have Jacen! I should’ve known he’d show up sooner rather than later, but part of me had been wondering if he’d be saved as an end-of-season reveal. So I’m glad to see him with Chopper this early on! He better show some Force-sensitivity soon.
Even though he hasn’t shown up as a Force ghost yet, I love how present Kanan is in spirit throughout this show. He doesn’t even need to be mentioned by name – from the way Sabine cut her hair last episode to the look in Hera’s eyes when Jacen asked about becoming a Jedi, Kanan is never entirely absent. His death made the ending of Rebels one of the most painful events in SW history, and his lasting legacy can be heavily felt.
What does it mean to be a Jedi?
Honestly, so much of this show so far is verifying my points from this article, so I’m pleased about that. Ahsoka redefining what it means to be a Jedi, both to herself and to those around her, is a fantastic continuation of her character. Watching her training Sabine is a great ongoing plotline.
And… ugh, I definitely thought of this concept first.
About a year ago, I wrote out some pages for a fanfic I had in mind. It was set to take place after TCW season 2, with a young Boba Fett being taken in by a Jedi instead of getting arrested. The story would be about Boba slowly becoming a Jedi, but he wasn’t explicitly Force-sensitive. I sketched out a scene where his master tells him that she believes “Force-sensitive” is a myth and that all beings are connected to the Force. If one wants to become a Jedi, they must practice the Force and become attuned to it.
I never ended up posting this fic, mainly because the concept was far larger than I had anticipated. I still intend to return to it, but I know it’ll take a while to fully plan out.
So, let me tell you, I was not expecting this theory, of all things, to appear in Ahsoka.
I’m a little salty, but I’m satisfied that this proved to be true. It always made sense to me!
This whole concept also lends very nicely to Sabine’s character, both in this show and in her past. A Jedi Mandalorian is a fascinating direction to head toward, especially when it’s never been an obvious path for Sabine. Her struggle with the Force makes her journey all the more enticing.
And oh man, it’s going to be so cool when Ezra realizes that Sabine also became a Jedi while she was searching for him. I can’t wait.
The space whales strike back
One of my notes halfway through this episode simply reads “Please be a purrgil please be a purrgil please be a purrgil.” What can I say; I love these things so much.
Ahsoka in her spacesuit is a very TCW scene, and I enjoyed watching her and Sabine fighting together in this format. It’s going to be amazing when we get to see them fight side-by-side in a more grounded way.
As for the villains, though… I really feel like they should all be more fleshed out by this point. I’m sure we’ll hear more about Baylan soon, but I still know literally nothing about Shin. She just doesn’t blink. I noticed, though, for the first time, that it looks like she has a variation of a Padawan braid. If she and Baylan aren’t Sith, maybe he’s training her in some twisted form of a Jedi? Or something more in-between?
I’m just waiting for Morgan Elsbeth to do some more Nightsister stuff. Her lines are so dramatic that I can’t take them seriously.
Marrok is also a weird addition. I don’t get what his deal is, exactly, but he reminds me a lot of Durge from the 2003 Clone Wars, who reminds me of Bane from Batman & Robin. Do with that what you will.
But hey, we got to see the purrgils in all their glory! They were live-action in season 3 of The Mandalorian, technically, but that just wasn’t the same. And Sabine reminiscing on how she hasn’t seen them since Ezra disappeared – ooh, love the emotional twist.
What comes next?
Ultimately, this currently stands as Ahsoka’s “action episode.” I’m not so foolish as to presume that there won’t be more fighting-oriented parts of the show, but episode 3 certainly focused far more on space battles than character development. And that’s not a complaint – episode 2 was very heavy emotionally, so the two parts balance one another out.
I’m hoping the purrgils mean that we’re closer to finding Ezra, but I can be patient. Hera is also building up her role in his recovery – she’s trying, but she hasn’t yet been able to outright join Ahsoka and Sabine in their journey. Hopefully, her situation won’t last long. I miss having her with everyone else.
It’s insane that we’re already nearly at the halfway mark. There are still many untouched emotional beats – we’ll see how they get played.
As before, here are my real-time notes from this episode.
