Film and TV Review: Ahsoka Part 1 & 2: Master and Apprentice and Toil and Trouble

Apr 23, 2024

Every time an episode of Ahsoka lands, Fantha Tracks will be giving their responses, and here are our initial gut feelings, deep dives and thoughts on the first and second episodes, ‘Master and Apprentice’ and ‘Toil and Trouble’. Beware of spoilerific elements in here.

Ross Hollebon

The pair of opening episodes for Ahsoka intertwine like Shin Hati’s seeming Padawan braid. The integration allows Dave Filoni to send a love letter to his animated Star Wars: Rebels series, while at the same time setting this new story and the direction it is taking the audience.

The majesty of the familiar is embraced via wide shots of Lothal and the landmarks and characters Ghost Crew fans can cheer for: Ezra Bridger’s communications tower, the Capital City skyline, and, of course, Lothcats frolicking in the tall grass. These places, along with the introductions of Ahsoka Tano, Hera Syndulla, Sabine Wren, Ryder Azadi, and Jai Kell, start to force (pun intended) the reality that live-action is at hand for a place many fans know and love.

Conflict and tension are at every turn (along with some comic relief from former Jedi Temple architect droid, Huyang). There are new “bad guys,” starting with Baylan Skoll and his apprentice, Shin, who wield their orange lightsabers. They are introduced while freeing Morgan Elsbeth, who we learn is related to the Nightsisters of Dathomir and her only goal is to return Thrawn to this galaxy.

From the moment we’re introduced to Ahsoka on the planet Arcana, there is mystery. She is retrieving the map, sought by Morgan, figuring if it can lead to Thrawn it could also provide a path to rescuing Ezra. This start slowly introduces magical elements before we go visit a Stonehenge-esque rock formation on the planet Seatos. Here the Nightsister uses her powers to activate the map and open up a visual masterpiece of a 3D holographic map. These mystical tools also move into the spotlight, setting the stage for more surprises as we barrel toward episode 3.

Maybe the most awkward tension is that between Ahsoka and Sabine. The narrative tells us that Sabine has studied the Jedi ways under Ahsoka but that something went wrong during the process and they have since been estranged. Sabine seems to have embraced an artist’s isolation with no interest in being the star of the Rebellion that she is.

The episodes weren’t perfect, but the introduction of Sabine was. She is punk rock ‘n’ roll, ready to question anything, do things her way, and accept any challenge—especially if there is anyone doubting she can pull it off.

My overall highlight, beyond everything Chopper, is the song written for Sabine’s intro. Thank you to Kevin Kiner, Deana Kiner, Ludwig Göransson, and Noah Gorelick, for writing “Igyah Kah,” and Sarah Tudzin of Illuminati Hotties for belting out these vocals. Now I just want to see my favorite Mandalorian tagging something with her spray paint gun.

Jonathan Hipkiss

My excitement for Ahsoka had been building since the start of August. I think this in part was helped by my playing the Edinburgh Festival for the month. Everywhere I went there was Ahsoka on billboards and buses. It was amazing. When the premiere episodes came, my anticipation had been rewarded.

The opening crawl, in blood red, reminded us that Dave Filoni really is the heir to George Lucas’ galaxy far, far away and the opening sequence had me hooked. The music is the stand out star from these two episodes. Kevin Kiner has done a phenomenal job. Give this man a live-action film for goodness sake! The late Ray Stevenson is simply brilliant. He oozes charisma with villainous delight whilst also allowing us to detect an undercurrent of something else going on beneath the surface.

The production design and cinematography on display here were second to none. Dave Filoni has become a master of his craft and much like his master before him, he sees a vision and will execute it to play the long game. The pace of these 2 episodes wasn’t what one would expect. It took its time in some places and there was a little too much exposition here and there but that’s simply because I’m a die-hard fan. I know all the story that’s come before it and I completely get that there needs to be some for casual television/film enthusiasts.

What’s on offer here is a different kind of Star Wars. Andor allowed us to look at the roots of the Rebellion while Obi-Wan Kenobi was a character study of heavy drama with a Jedi in deep trauma. Here with Ahsoka I get the feeling we’re going to be delving into the mystic side of Star Wars and I couldn’t be more excited. The lore of the Force and secrets of the Unknown Regions has countless storytelling possibilities and could inject new life into the saga.

The cast all did a superb job and Rosario Dawson has really become Ahsoka Tano. I closed my eyes at one point during a monologue she was giving and she really does have the same inflections in speech as Ashely Eckstein did in episodes of Rebels as a more world-weary Ahsoka.

With the return of Thrawn imminent and the stage set for a showdown a near decade in the making I, for one, could not be more excited for the rest of the season. A special shout out too goes to everyone’s favourite war criminal, Chopper, who has made the jump from animation to live-action seamlessly.

Brian Cameron

I really struggled to get into it, but I liked some of it. The opening crawl was terrible at setting the scene, plus if you’re doing a crawl do a proper Star Wars one. The animated character relationships were all confusing to me. They made no effort to explain any of it, Hera in particular. She acted like she didn’t know them for first episode.

The “evil” characters were much more rounded and intriguing, but they should have explained Morgan’s history at the beginning. The New Republic killed someone for shouting “long live the empire” and then arrested people for supporting the Empire – democracy is dead.

Huyang (voiced by David Tennant) is pretty much a main character but got little to no promotion before the show. Weirdly, even though he was a droid, he’s the most intriguing character in the show so far.

I know, I did say that.

Chopper flexing muscles and acting like Hulk Hogan was weird. I’d fit a restraining bolt.

The whole map thing, and linking it to “ancient force users” was done in the Sequel Trilogy. It didn’t work then and it’s boring and slow. Just type the coordinates in the navigation computer. Done. I don’t understand why finding Thrawn is supposed to suffice as the main motivation for the season. He’s had dozens of books and comics; it’s not that exciting, we’ve met him so many times.

The music was great, and I liked the rock track too. Odd, but it worked.

The reasons Mandalorians don’t take off their helmets is clearly because when they do, they spend 10 minutes looking at them before putting them on. I’m bored of Mandalorians. Ahsoka the character was dull as dishwasher, but Sabine was interesting. However, another Mando to lead a series – easy pass.

Not giving up on it yet, but it needs to tilt more towards the bad guys and move on from cartoon tributes. Could do better.

Paul Naylor

I watched The Last Jedi five times at the cinema. Five. Not because I liked it. In fact, quite the opposite. I wanted to like it. I was searching for redeemable qualities. Something. Anything!

Since it’s release on Wednesday, I’ve watched the first two episodes of Ahsoka four times each. Not because I wanted to like it. This time because it is so, so good.

This is how to set Star Wars beyond Return of the Jedi. The inclusion of Home One, 2-1B, the briefing room, and of course it’s links to the Rebels animated series.

It’s really made me want to go back and plough through that show, no more than when we got the live-action remake of the Ahsoka and Sabine scene from the animated season 4 finale.

This is masterfully done. Not a weak link in the chain for me, and with the way the narrative is going, all possibilities are on the table.

Eric Onkenhout

Damn! That was good! The acting, writing, pacing, and music stood out for me. For Ahsoka, I minimized my exposure to a couple of trailers shown at Celebration Europe 2023 and the one that came out recently. I don’t even know when. That’s how out of touch I was being.

I never had expectations before starting a new Star Wars series or movie. I honestly believe that’s a recipe for disappointment, but of all of the Star Wars series, the Favloni projects (The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett) have been my least favorite. For me, the writing and acting weren’t as good as Obi-Wan Kenobi and not in the same league as Andor. But I am happy to say that in the first two episodes of Ahsoka, the acting was good, as was the writing.

Before the series began, I heard about Ahsoka being a slow burn. I don’t have a problem with that. Some fans don’t like that; they want action 24/7. There needs to be a good balance of both. Too much of either could be dull or mind-numbing. I think wanting all action shows little knowledge of how a story works. Anyway, I loved that the slower pace in the first two episodes allowed the actors to act, and we got to rekindle the relationships built in previous stories, like Star Wars Rebels. Filoni did an excellent job with that aspect, and the actors accurately portrayed their animated counterparts.

It took me a minute to remember that Kevin Kiner was brought back to create the music for Ahsoka because it sounded nothing like his animated works. The music for Ahsoka is subtle but very intriguing, and it fits so well. It doesn’t sound out of place. I found some of Göransson’s music distracting in The Mandalorian because it was so unusual and otherworldly. Kiner’s music for Ahsoka coexists rather than overpowers.

All that hubbub about Natasha Liu Bordizzo isn’t right to play Sabine Wren can go away now. She’s perfect. She shows the same attitude animated Sabine showed, and her vocal inflections matched Tiya Sicar’s perfectly. I have no issue with Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera. Animated Hera has a face no human would ever be able to match, so chill, folks. And seeing real-world Lothal was more satisfying than I expected. Ahsoka really is Rebels season 5.

Seeing Huyang in live-action was so cool, too! Ray Stevenson and Ivanna Sakhno were great as Baylon Skoll and Shin Hati. I’m unsure what their M.O. is, but Skoll seems sympathetic towards Ahsoka despite his red lightsaber blade. Diana Lee Inosanto as Morgan Elsbeth was fine, but I’m not sure why she is so interested in Thrawn’s whereabouts.

I love how, with Andor, The Mandalorian season 3, and Ahsoka, we are getting away from the restrictions of the Volume. Worlds look more natural and encompassing instead of looking like a literal stage with a black curtain in the background.

The timeline. The timeline can be confusing and misleading. The end of Rebels (2018) seems much further back in the timeline when Sabine and Ezra were teenagers, Hera was maybe in her late 20s, and Ahsoka was about 35. Now it’s post-Return of the Jedi, but only half a decade or so later in the timeline, so not a ton of time has passed.

Paul McQue

I didn’t watch The Clone Wars until Leland Chee posted his chronological episode guide, which I’m grateful for because I would’ve missed out on some fantastic Star Wars stories. I only watched Star Wars Rebels after each season ended as I liked to devour more than one episode at a time. I haven’t watched either series more than once, so going into Ahsoka I was a bit “oh yeah, I remember Loth-cats”. Most easter eggs went completely over my head, like Clancy Brown reprising his role from animation. Some Ralph McQuarrie inspired scenes from Rebels are iconic and it’s great to see another version of them. Sabine’s Ahsoka intro speeding down the road on Lothal was an instant iconic scene for me too*.

I felt Kevin Kiner’s music did a lot of the heavy lifting during the first 15 minutes or so when Ahsoka was introduced to us as she discovered the map, and the lightsaber battle that followed. The characters that really sucked me into the show were Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati. I need to know everything about them. Ray Stevenson and Ivanna Sakhno did an incredible job bringing those characters to life.

Overall I liked the first two episodes but felt at times the pace could’ve been a wee bit tighter to keep me on the edge of my seat. I’m really looking forward to where this series goes and the stories it tells. If Bob Iger is looking to cut down on Star Wars Disney Plus shows, I hope he looks elsewhere to cut costs because these characters in this timeline clearly have potential for several seasons.

*Sidenote: try having the Beastie Boys’ Sabotage queued when Sabine says “get lost” and hit play when she flicks the switch on her speeder, the action on screen matches the tune so well I’d be surprised if it wasn’t the temp track.

Dan Lo

It’s the evening of May 27, 2022. The theater lights go out. Movie studio animations begin cycling through as the main title theme plays, exactly like it first did in 1986. Opening credits follow, a surreal mix of old names and new. The déjà vu intensifies as familiar title screens continue, giving way to dramatically lit scenes of fighter jets on an aircraft carrier. In a burst of eye-watering acceleration, an F/A-18E Super Hornet blasts down the carrier runway as the music transitions into Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins. At this point, my friend leans over and declares “I’m already super happy with this movie!“. I am beaming in my seat in agreement.

I didn’t experience Ahsoka in a theater, but my enthusiasm from watching the first two episodes mirrors my reaction to the opening sequence of Top Gun Maverick. I am indeed already super happy with what I am seeing so far. No, of course it isn’t perfect but it has just the right blend of action, drama, and humor that feels spot on with everything I like best about Star Wars. It even has an opening crawl, which is a nice touch. The main cast of characters are all straight out of The Clone Wars and Rebels, but the show doesn’t make required viewing out of either series. I may even go out on an extreme limb here and say that it just might be the most familiar-feeling live action Star Wars since the prequels. There’s no such thing as recency bias, right?

In my reviews of previous live action Star Wars TV shows (with the notable exception of Andor), I sometimes attribute various shortcomings as the byproduct of crafting new storylines in a familiar universe as well as finding the limits of what the latest technology has to offer. I got a strong impression that those shows were still in sandbox mode, and we were being shown live beta tests. While I wouldn’t say that these first two episodes are a quantum leap over what’s come before, they do boast modest but noticeable improvements in just about every way that matters. Doesn’t sound like much of a compliment, but boy does it add up. Perhaps most crucially, there is so far a consistency in quality throughout which we never quite had in non-Andor shows. We are only two episodes in of course, but it seems promising so far.

Well okay, I have some minor gripes too. The first most certainly stems from my own pettiness, but it’s still strange for me to hear rock music in Star Wars. In a vacuum, Sabine racing a speeder bike against a pair of E-Wings could easily pass for a nod to Top Gun but the soundtrack turns it into a scene straight out of J. J. Abrams Star Trek instead. While the overall look and feel so far is quite good for a TV show, there are still bits of editing here and there that strike me as a little clunky. Then there’s also the garden variety instances of strange decision-making, such as Captain Hayle letting a pair of dark force users aboard his ship when the use of Jedi clearance codes is obviously suspicious. Granted, that was also a nice echo of Darth Vader allowing a small Rebel strike force to land on Endor, which we all know backfires in even more spectacular fashion. My biggest complaint, however, is the increasingly routine ability to survive lightsaber stabbings. What used to be a kill stroke is now a catalyst for resolve, with Sabine serving as the latest example courtesy of Shin Hati. Arguing about how made-up weapons should behave is a silly exercise at its core, but I still think it would have been far more realistic and on brand if Sabine had lost a limb instead. Perhaps we really have Darth Maul to blame for opening this can of conduit worms?

Intentional or not, I like all the nods and references to previous Star Wars. There’s the aforementioned shuttle clearance code. Baylan Skoll continues the fun tradition of lightsaber-armed force users cutting down lesser opponents in hallways. We get more elevated platforms and walkways without railings. Shin Hati and her small probe droid is a fun visual callback to Darth Maul at the start of his hunt for Anakin Skywalker. Live action Lothal looks a lot like Bespin without being a carbon copy. And of course we have the gigantic hyperspace transport ring, normally considered to be old technology by this point. Just to name a few.

The end of episode one isn’t much of a cliffhanger. Losing the map is hardly a surprise, and we already know that pre-haircut Sabine will survive her injury. The second episode ends in a much more interesting fashion. In the closing scene, Morgan Elsbeth speaks with Hati, Skoll, and Marrok the inquisitor via holograms, but it’s a weird witchcraft-looking type of hologram, one that I don’t recall seeing before. Personally, Skoll is the standout new character so far. We know he is a former Jedi Knight, but how he has since sided with the Galactic Empire remains a mystery. His reaction to the idea of killing Ahsoka raises an eyebrow, setting up the possibility that he is not a one-dimensional antagonist.

The rest of Top Gun Maverick does not disappoint. In fact, I would say it even overdelivers on its introduction in a fun and satisfying manner. In a few weeks, we will know if Ahsoka does the same.

Mark Newbold

It would have been very, very easy to get Ahsoka wrong in so many ways. The pressure piled upon the shoulders of Dave Filoni is undoubtedly immense; not only is he following the monster global success of The Mandalorian and the Emmy-nominated seven-episode first season of The Book of Boba Fett, he’s also continuing a grand set of story strands started in The Clone Wars and even further, he’s essentially bringing us a fifth, live action season of Star Wars Rebels using all the currency that much-loved show earned and parlaying it into the post-Return of the Jedi era the final episode of Rebels left us at. It’s an intricate scattering of uncooked spaghetti splayed on a kitchen worktop just waiting to be cooked. Thankfully, Filoni is one hell of a chef.

Kevin Kiner music opens the proceedings as a very Doctor Aphra-like treasure hunt sees Ahsoka find a map (and yes, there are plenty of maps in modern Star Wars storytelling, but this is space fantasy; what’s The Fellowship of the Ring without its quest?) but no key to activate it. The skills of Sabine Wren are required, but there’s baggage from a failed padawanship and possibly a more personal fracturing of their relationship, and we head to the eastern Outer Rim and a prosperous Lothal (fourteen years after we first saw it in Spark of Rebellion) where they reunite and the story truly begins.

It’s been widely commented upon, the sombre tone and the seriousness of the characters, especially Ahsoka herself. Certainly the show is taking its time in reintroducing our leading characters to familiar eyes while introducing them for the first time to new viewers, but quite apart from from the fact we know very little of what’s happened to Ahsoka in the intervening years – and Lucasfilm have wisely opted not to carve in stone exactly when the events take place (after the Ahsoka episode from season 2 of The Mandalorian and possibly before The Book of Boba Fett‘s 2 Mando season 2.5 episodes and The Mandalorian season 3) – we stand at a juncture where the galaxy could be on the precipise of a third war in relatively quick succession, spearheaded by the lost Grand Admiral Thrawn.

We can surmise that Ahsoka has walked a lonely path with Huyang as her only companion, while General Hera Syndulla could be justifiably concerned that the New Republic aren’t ready or prepared for another war (a strand of spaghetti that forges all the way to Leia’s formation of the Resistance in the Sequel trilogy). Sabine has lost her found family and failed in her efforts (be it by her own lack of skills or Ahsoka walking away) to become a Jedi, and our happy-go-lucky Spectres are now scattered around the galaxy. Hera and Chopper are on the Ghost, quite possibly using Home One – what a moment to see the Rebel briefing room from Jedi again – as a base, Sabine is still on Lothal living in Ezra’s tower, Zeb is in the New Republic Defence Fleet out of Adelphi Base. Ezra is missing, and Kanan is long gone. Their days of youthful rebellion are ended.

We’ve seen the Galactic Civil War (where we spotted Chopper and The Ghost at Massassi base on Yavin 4 in Rogue One), and the fall of Palpatine and Ahsoka’s master Anakin Skywalker, entering a post-war galaxy five years beyond Endor where the years and the mileage have seen them mature beyond their younger selves into the people we meet in Master and Apprentice. How has the death of Anakin affected Ahsoka? We know they reunite in the Force by the time Rey faces Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker – we hear both their voices give their support to Rey alongside Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Ezra amongst others – but where does she sit with the death of her former master?

One minor grumble is the inclusion of another galaxy, separate to the Star Wars galaxy we’ve spent almost 50 years exploring. I can only assume that decision is in part due to the ease in which starships can now navigate the galaxy, seemingly hopping from ‘one side of the galaxy to the other‘ in minutes. Much of that would appear to come from the very linear view of a scene from A New Hope, where the Millennium Falcon leaves Tatooine (way down in the south-east Outer Rim) and minutes later arrives at Alderaan (in the Core Worlds, near the Hydian Way). As a route it’s easy – hop on the Corellian Run and branch off at Denon north on the Hydian) but for a ‘world that it’s farthest from‘ the thought of travelling from Tatooine to Alderaan in minutes makes no sense – a logical view of that scene is that Han didn’t enter the hold until well after they’d evaded their Imperial pursuers, and only joined them when they were much closer to Alderaan. West End Games developed a system that determined how fast any given ship could travel without hinderance from point A to point B in the best possible conditions (and old school gamers will know that never happened), but modern Star Wars has frustratingly abandoned any such constraints. Now, a shuttle can travel from D’Qar to Cantonica and back in scant hours – in short, the galaxy (which still has vast swathes yet to be charted, catalogued or explored) has shrank tremendously. Perhaps Thrawn is seconded on one of the seven satellite galaxies clustered above and below the galactic disc (hey, maybe he’s in the Sedapard Cluster), but that seems unlikely. To reinforce the vast distances Filoni wants to convey, we’re introducing an entirely new galaxy rather than using the mysteries of the Unknown Regions or Wild Space. I’m intrigued, and I know there’ll be a fascinating reason for that choice, but as a lover of GFFA stellar cartography I can’t pretend to not be disappointed.

The galaxy has changed. There’s nothing unified to fight – not yet – but everything to protect. How our heroes and intriguing villains navigate that is a weekly treat I cannot wait to savour.

Jen Sopchockchai Bankard

When in doubt, always follow the loth-cat.

I begin with this statement about my favorite fuzzy friends from Lothal because it is what Ezra says to his Ghost crew friends in Season 4 of Star Wars Rebels. He says this because time and time again, when he follows loth-cats — and later loth-wolves — he experiences some kind of inexplicable, Force-loaded phenomenon. He encounters previously unknown ties the Force has to his home planet, Lothal, or discovers something about the history of the Force more generally, realizing it is far vaster than he knows. The idea of following a loth-cat when you are in doubt implies a leap of faith, a surrender to what you can’t control, can’t explain, and can’t yet understand. Trusting the Force to take you somewhere weird and wonderful at the right place and time, even if you have no idea why.

The two-episode premiere of Ahsoka gives me that same sense of mystical mystery and wonder. That same sense that characters like Ahsoka and Sabine, as well as we the audience, must all let go and follow the loth-cat. Because only when we let go of the fear of not knowing and bathe in ignorance can we begin to learn. The opening scene for Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka signals this right away because we get very little dialogue, only a lone Ahsoka exploring a temple on Arcana, a planet occupied centuries earlier by the Witches of Dathomir or Nightsisters. It’s ancient. It’s mystical. It’s Indiana Jones-y, in the best way.

Later, we learn that Morgan Elsbeth, the tyrannical governor that Ahsoka sought out and fought alongside Din Djarin in Season 2 of The Mandalorian, is a descendent of the Witches of Dathomir. Even if a viewer hasn’t seen The Clone Wars animated series, in which these witches appear in multiple arcs (including one that reveals that Darth Maul’s mother was one), they can see at the end of the second episode of Ahsoka that Elsbeth can manipulate green light to levitate and open the map. And, in the most shocking reveal of all, perhaps, the coveted map reveals that Thrawn’s location is not only in a remote system in the galaxy; it’s in an entirely new galaxy.

I cluster all those moments and revelations together to emphasize just how much of this series thus far leans into Star Wars’ more mystical side. I have long held the belief that Star Wars is as much space fantasy as it is science fiction, and spooky puzzles made by an ancient civilization, secret maps, and witches with Force magic all shore up that belief for me. Morgan Elsbeth says that the “reflex point” for the map on Seatos was not built by Jedi, but by “an ancient people from a distant galaxy.” How are these ancient beings related to the witches, if at all? Why did they build a superhighway between their galaxy and Ahsoka’s? Where did they go? And where are they now? Is Thrawn with them now?

We have Dave Filoni to thank for these juicy questions. In The Clone Wars, Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan meet what are essentially Force gods called The Son, The Daughter, and The Father. In Rebels, Kanan and Ezra find an enormous, all-powerful bull moose tortoise in the desert who is deeply connected to the Force, yet exists as neither light side nor dark side. Ezra follows a pack of giant Force-sensitive wolves. An owl-like creature with a spiritual connection to The Daughter watches over Ahsoka. Jedi temples swirl in and out of the ground at will, with new doors opening each time. And Filoni created The World Between Worlds, a liminal plane that contains doors to non-linear points in time and space. He has successfully convinced me that the Force is a bottomless well of storytelling, and that rather than falling back on what we already know or what George Lucas established in the Original Trilogy, he and other creators can keep finding new concepts and revelations with which to challenge us.

Those who have not watched The Clone Wars more recently or at all may not know that by the time we start this new series, Ahsoka has already died and come back more deeply connected to The Force — more specifically the Mortis god The Daughter, who sacrifices herself to save Ahsoka. Revisiting that arc would be very helpful for contextualizing or giving clues for the rest of the season of Ahsoka.

I find it hard to believe that Filoni has not sketched out an entire detailed and cohesive mythology for all of Star Wars as he understands it. The Mortis gods or “The Ones,” the Bendu, etc. — they all have their own stories, but the Filoniverse series do not tell their stories in full; they’re there as largely unspoken backstory in order to make the more contemporary story we actually care about feel more fully-formed and meaningful. I imagine that could happen with these unnamed ancient beings from another galaxy as well. We may not learn ALL there is to learn about them or where they originated from. We may not even meet them. We will likely learn just enough to advance the Ahsoka v. Thrawn plot.

The main criticism of the Ahsoka series premiere is that this version of Ahsoka may be too stoic for fans to reconcile with previous versions who have been feistier, snarkier, warmer, and more empathetic than what we see here. This reaction may in part be because we are dropping into a period of Ahsoka’s life that is far later than The Clone Wars or Rebels. This series takes place after Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker, her former master, has finally died. It’s also after she has apparently tried and failed to train Sabine as her Padawan.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we are starting Ahsoka here so that she can mend fences with Sabine and unearth some of the personality traits she had in happier times. If she’s going to be as skilled, formidable, and as strong with the Force as she is, we need somewhere for her to go emotionally. All that has happened to Ahsoka since we last saw her at the end of Rebels — all that we have not seen — could have changed her demeanor. In the story, it makes total sense, but to fans dropping into the story in medias res, it can be disorienting.

It’s unclear at this point if Ahsoka in live action has actually undergone this transformation from Grey to White, however. Side by side comparisons between the epilogue of Rebels, in which Ahsoka wears a white cloak and carries a staff, suspiciously like Gandalf, and the final scene of Ahsoka Episode 2, in which Ahsoka wears the gray cloak we have seen her since she has appeared in live action. It’s unclear if this live action scene supplants the animated one, or if it represents an echo of it, to show that Ahsoka and Sabine have once again come together to search for Thrawn and Ezra.

I can see now the extent to which this series sits in a very dense and precarious web of Star Wars canon, multiple fantasy influences, live action vs. animation, and the biography of a character that fans have lived with since she was a 14-year-old Padawan named “Snips.” That’s a lot of plates spinning at once.

I choose, however, to keep following the loth-cat.

(This is condensed and edited – with permission – from Jen’s The Long Take review, which you can subscribe to here)

Sander de Lange looks at all the reveals and easter eggs in Ahsoka – The Guide Part 1: Master and Apprentice.

And Ahsoka – The Guide Part 2: Toil and Trouble.

Brian Cameron and Greig Robertson discuss Master and Apprentice and Toil and Trouble on Your Weekly Star Wars News Recap For 27th August 2023 | Good Morning Tatooine

Mark Newbold, Mark Mulcaster and members of the Fantha Tracks team discuss Parts 1 & 2 on Making Tracks Reaction Chat: Ahsoka S1 – Master and Apprentice and Toil and Trouble.

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Event by Echo Base LIVEKingfisher Square, Redditch, B97 4, United KingdomSaturday 7th October 2022 from 10:00-15:00Price: free ·

Event by Echo Base LIVEKingfisher Square, Redditch, B97 4, United KingdomSaturday 7th October 2022 from 10:00-15:00Price: free · Duration: 5 hr

Early bird entry from 9.15am. The passes will be given out in the queue from 8am. Passes will also be available to collect on Friday evening from 5-7pm from the front door of the venue.Regular entry is FREE from 10am, just turn up and walk right in!– We have 9 amazing guests signers (charges apply)– Over 180 tables of great Star Wars toys and collectibles– Charity MEGA Raffle (Accepting any prizes please, bring them along!)– Cosplay– Displays (TBC)Car Park 1 or 4 are easy access, buts it’s accessible from any of the car parks. Tons of parking.Cash is advised as the WiFi can struggle with demand and the cash machines always run out!We shall see you there!

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(Saturday) 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Kingfisher Centre, Redditch

43 Evesham Rd, Redditch B97 4HJ

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thu12oct(oct 12)10:00 AMsun15(oct 15)5:00 PMNew York Comic Con: 12 - 15 October 2023This event ends in..

October 12-15, 2023Javits CenterWhere you can feel unafraid to geek out. Where you’re accepted and embraced for being yourself. Where

October 12-15, 2023Javits Center

Where you can feel unafraid to geek out. Where you’re accepted and embraced for being yourself. Where you can experience the best in pop culture because no matter what fandom you’re passionate about, we have it waiting here for you. Be inspired by award-winning comic artists and Japanese anime creators. Get star struck over your favorite TV and film idols. Treat yourself to exclusive fandom gear and unique artwork. But most importantly, create all of those memories with the people you care about the most. Because this event is for you. To embrace your inner hero or root for the villain. To geek out as a family. To celebrate a weekend together you’ll never forget.

What Is New York Comic Con?New York Comic Con is the East Coast’s largest pop culture convention and the only one that takes place in the comic book, publishing, media, and licensing capital of the world — Gotham City.

Who is the organizer?There are a number of comic book shows around the country and even around New York City. New York Comic Con is ONLY affiliated with C2E2, Emerald City Comic Con, Keystone Comic Con, and Florida Supercon. We do not run, do not staff, and are not part of any other comic conventions in the US. New York Comic Con is a ReedPOP show.

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12 (Thursday) 10:00 AM - 15 (Sunday) 5:00 PM EST

Javits Center

655 West 34th Street

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december 2023

sun10dec11:00 AMsun4:00 PMFarthest From 25: Sunday 10th December 2023The UK Star Wars retro toy showThis event ends in..

The only show in the UK that is 100% dedicated to vintage Star Wars toy collecting and memorabilia is back, Sunday 10th of December 2023.

Join us on Twitter @Farthest_From

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(Sunday) 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Fordingbridge Town Hall

64 High Street, SP6 1AX

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august, 2023

Every time an episode of Ahsoka lands, Fantha Tracks will be giving their responses, and here are our initial gut feelings, deep dives and thoughts on the first and second episodes, ‘Master and Apprentice’ and ‘Toil and Trouble’. Beware of spoilerific elements in here.

Ross Hollebon

The pair of opening episodes for Ahsoka intertwine like Shin Hati’s seeming Padawan braid. The integration allows Dave Filoni to send a love letter to his animated Star Wars: Rebels series, while at the same time setting this new story and the direction it is taking the audience.

The majesty of the familiar is embraced via wide shots of Lothal and the landmarks and characters Ghost Crew fans can cheer for: Ezra Bridger’s communications tower, the Capital City skyline, and, of course, Lothcats frolicking in the tall grass. These places, along with the introductions of Ahsoka Tano, Hera Syndulla, Sabine Wren, Ryder Azadi, and Jai Kell, start to force (pun intended) the reality that live-action is at hand for a place many fans know and love.

Conflict and tension are at every turn (along with some comic relief from former Jedi Temple architect droid, Huyang). There are new “bad guys,” starting with Baylan Skoll and his apprentice, Shin, who wield their orange lightsabers. They are introduced while freeing Morgan Elsbeth, who we learn is related to the Nightsisters of Dathomir and her only goal is to return Thrawn to this galaxy.

From the moment we’re introduced to Ahsoka on the planet Arcana, there is mystery. She is retrieving the map, sought by Morgan, figuring if it can lead to Thrawn it could also provide a path to rescuing Ezra. This start slowly introduces magical elements before we go visit a Stonehenge-esque rock formation on the planet Seatos. Here the Nightsister uses her powers to activate the map and open up a visual masterpiece of a 3D holographic map. These mystical tools also move into the spotlight, setting the stage for more surprises as we barrel toward episode 3.

Maybe the most awkward tension is that between Ahsoka and Sabine. The narrative tells us that Sabine has studied the Jedi ways under Ahsoka but that something went wrong during the process and they have since been estranged. Sabine seems to have embraced an artist’s isolation with no interest in being the star of the Rebellion that she is.

The episodes weren’t perfect, but the introduction of Sabine was. She is punk rock ‘n’ roll, ready to question anything, do things her way, and accept any challenge—especially if there is anyone doubting she can pull it off.

My overall highlight, beyond everything Chopper, is the song written for Sabine’s intro. Thank you to Kevin Kiner, Deana Kiner, Ludwig Göransson, and Noah Gorelick, for writing “Igyah Kah,” and Sarah Tudzin of Illuminati Hotties for belting out these vocals. Now I just want to see my favorite Mandalorian tagging something with her spray paint gun.

Jonathan Hipkiss

My excitement for Ahsoka had been building since the start of August. I think this in part was helped by my playing the Edinburgh Festival for the month. Everywhere I went there was Ahsoka on billboards and buses. It was amazing. When the premiere episodes came, my anticipation had been rewarded.

The opening crawl, in blood red, reminded us that Dave Filoni really is the heir to George Lucas’ galaxy far, far away and the opening sequence had me hooked. The music is the stand out star from these two episodes. Kevin Kiner has done a phenomenal job. Give this man a live-action film for goodness sake! The late Ray Stevenson is simply brilliant. He oozes charisma with villainous delight whilst also allowing us to detect an undercurrent of something else going on beneath the surface.

The production design and cinematography on display here were second to none. Dave Filoni has become a master of his craft and much like his master before him, he sees a vision and will execute it to play the long game. The pace of these 2 episodes wasn’t what one would expect. It took its time in some places and there was a little too much exposition here and there but that’s simply because I’m a die-hard fan. I know all the story that’s come before it and I completely get that there needs to be some for casual television/film enthusiasts.

What’s on offer here is a different kind of Star Wars. Andor allowed us to look at the roots of the Rebellion while Obi-Wan Kenobi was a character study of heavy drama with a Jedi in deep trauma. Here with Ahsoka I get the feeling we’re going to be delving into the mystic side of Star Wars and I couldn’t be more excited. The lore of the Force and secrets of the Unknown Regions has countless storytelling possibilities and could inject new life into the saga.

The cast all did a superb job and Rosario Dawson has really become Ahsoka Tano. I closed my eyes at one point during a monologue she was giving and she really does have the same inflections in speech as Ashely Eckstein did in episodes of Rebels as a more world-weary Ahsoka.

With the return of Thrawn imminent and the stage set for a showdown a near decade in the making I, for one, could not be more excited for the rest of the season. A special shout out too goes to everyone’s favourite war criminal, Chopper, who has made the jump from animation to live-action seamlessly.

Brian Cameron

I really struggled to get into it, but I liked some of it. The opening crawl was terrible at setting the scene, plus if you’re doing a crawl do a proper Star Wars one. The animated character relationships were all confusing to me. They made no effort to explain any of it, Hera in particular. She acted like she didn’t know them for first episode.

The “evil” characters were much more rounded and intriguing, but they should have explained Morgan’s history at the beginning. The New Republic killed someone for shouting “long live the empire” and then arrested people for supporting the Empire – democracy is dead.

Huyang (voiced by David Tennant) is pretty much a main character but got little to no promotion before the show. Weirdly, even though he was a droid, he’s the most intriguing character in the show so far.

I know, I did say that.

Chopper flexing muscles and acting like Hulk Hogan was weird. I’d fit a restraining bolt.

The whole map thing, and linking it to “ancient force users” was done in the Sequel Trilogy. It didn’t work then and it’s boring and slow. Just type the coordinates in the navigation computer. Done. I don’t understand why finding Thrawn is supposed to suffice as the main motivation for the season. He’s had dozens of books and comics; it’s not that exciting, we’ve met him so many times.

The music was great, and I liked the rock track too. Odd, but it worked.

The reasons Mandalorians don’t take off their helmets is clearly because when they do, they spend 10 minutes looking at them before putting them on. I’m bored of Mandalorians. Ahsoka the character was dull as dishwasher, but Sabine was interesting. However, another Mando to lead a series – easy pass.

Not giving up on it yet, but it needs to tilt more towards the bad guys and move on from cartoon tributes. Could do better.

Paul Naylor

I watched The Last Jedi five times at the cinema. Five. Not because I liked it. In fact, quite the opposite. I wanted to like it. I was searching for redeemable qualities. Something. Anything!

Since it’s release on Wednesday, I’ve watched the first two episodes of Ahsoka four times each. Not because I wanted to like it. This time because it is so, so good.

This is how to set Star Wars beyond Return of the Jedi. The inclusion of Home One, 2-1B, the briefing room, and of course it’s links to the Rebels animated series.

It’s really made me want to go back and plough through that show, no more than when we got the live-action remake of the Ahsoka and Sabine scene from the animated season 4 finale.

This is masterfully done. Not a weak link in the chain for me, and with the way the narrative is going, all possibilities are on the table.

Eric Onkenhout

Damn! That was good! The acting, writing, pacing, and music stood out for me. For Ahsoka, I minimized my exposure to a couple of trailers shown at Celebration Europe 2023 and the one that came out recently. I don’t even know when. That’s how out of touch I was being.

I never had expectations before starting a new Star Wars series or movie. I honestly believe that’s a recipe for disappointment, but of all of the Star Wars series, the Favloni projects (The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett) have been my least favorite. For me, the writing and acting weren’t as good as Obi-Wan Kenobi and not in the same league as Andor. But I am happy to say that in the first two episodes of Ahsoka, the acting was good, as was the writing.

Before the series began, I heard about Ahsoka being a slow burn. I don’t have a problem with that. Some fans don’t like that; they want action 24/7. There needs to be a good balance of both. Too much of either could be dull or mind-numbing. I think wanting all action shows little knowledge of how a story works. Anyway, I loved that the slower pace in the first two episodes allowed the actors to act, and we got to rekindle the relationships built in previous stories, like Star Wars Rebels. Filoni did an excellent job with that aspect, and the actors accurately portrayed their animated counterparts.

It took me a minute to remember that Kevin Kiner was brought back to create the music for Ahsoka because it sounded nothing like his animated works. The music for Ahsoka is subtle but very intriguing, and it fits so well. It doesn’t sound out of place. I found some of Göransson’s music distracting in The Mandalorian because it was so unusual and otherworldly. Kiner’s music for Ahsoka coexists rather than overpowers.

All that hubbub about Natasha Liu Bordizzo isn’t right to play Sabine Wren can go away now. She’s perfect. She shows the same attitude animated Sabine showed, and her vocal inflections matched Tiya Sicar’s perfectly. I have no issue with Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera. Animated Hera has a face no human would ever be able to match, so chill, folks. And seeing real-world Lothal was more satisfying than I expected. Ahsoka really is Rebels season 5.

Seeing Huyang in live-action was so cool, too! Ray Stevenson and Ivanna Sakhno were great as Baylon Skoll and Shin Hati. I’m unsure what their M.O. is, but Skoll seems sympathetic towards Ahsoka despite his red lightsaber blade. Diana Lee Inosanto as Morgan Elsbeth was fine, but I’m not sure why she is so interested in Thrawn’s whereabouts.

I love how, with Andor, The Mandalorian season 3, and Ahsoka, we are getting away from the restrictions of the Volume. Worlds look more natural and encompassing instead of looking like a literal stage with a black curtain in the background.

The timeline. The timeline can be confusing and misleading. The end of Rebels (2018) seems much further back in the timeline when Sabine and Ezra were teenagers, Hera was maybe in her late 20s, and Ahsoka was about 35. Now it’s post-Return of the Jedi, but only half a decade or so later in the timeline, so not a ton of time has passed.

Paul McQue

I didn’t watch The Clone Wars until Leland Chee posted his chronological episode guide, which I’m grateful for because I would’ve missed out on some fantastic Star Wars stories. I only watched Star Wars Rebels after each season ended as I liked to devour more than one episode at a time. I haven’t watched either series more than once, so going into Ahsoka I was a bit “oh yeah, I remember Loth-cats”. Most easter eggs went completely over my head, like Clancy Brown reprising his role from animation. Some Ralph McQuarrie inspired scenes from Rebels are iconic and it’s great to see another version of them. Sabine’s Ahsoka intro speeding down the road on Lothal was an instant iconic scene for me too*.

I felt Kevin Kiner’s music did a lot of the heavy lifting during the first 15 minutes or so when Ahsoka was introduced to us as she discovered the map, and the lightsaber battle that followed. The characters that really sucked me into the show were Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati. I need to know everything about them. Ray Stevenson and Ivanna Sakhno did an incredible job bringing those characters to life.

Overall I liked the first two episodes but felt at times the pace could’ve been a wee bit tighter to keep me on the edge of my seat. I’m really looking forward to where this series goes and the stories it tells. If Bob Iger is looking to cut down on Star Wars Disney Plus shows, I hope he looks elsewhere to cut costs because these characters in this timeline clearly have potential for several seasons.

*Sidenote: try having the Beastie Boys’ Sabotage queued when Sabine says “get lost” and hit play when she flicks the switch on her speeder, the action on screen matches the tune so well I’d be surprised if it wasn’t the temp track.

Dan Lo

It’s the evening of May 27, 2022. The theater lights go out. Movie studio animations begin cycling through as the main title theme plays, exactly like it first did in 1986. Opening credits follow, a surreal mix of old names and new. The déjà vu intensifies as familiar title screens continue, giving way to dramatically lit scenes of fighter jets on an aircraft carrier. In a burst of eye-watering acceleration, an F/A-18E Super Hornet blasts down the carrier runway as the music transitions into Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins. At this point, my friend leans over and declares “I’m already super happy with this movie!“. I am beaming in my seat in agreement.

I didn’t experience Ahsoka in a theater, but my enthusiasm from watching the first two episodes mirrors my reaction to the opening sequence of Top Gun Maverick. I am indeed already super happy with what I am seeing so far. No, of course it isn’t perfect but it has just the right blend of action, drama, and humor that feels spot on with everything I like best about Star Wars. It even has an opening crawl, which is a nice touch. The main cast of characters are all straight out of The Clone Wars and Rebels, but the show doesn’t make required viewing out of either series. I may even go out on an extreme limb here and say that it just might be the most familiar-feeling live action Star Wars since the prequels. There’s no such thing as recency bias, right?

In my reviews of previous live action Star Wars TV shows (with the notable exception of Andor), I sometimes attribute various shortcomings as the byproduct of crafting new storylines in a familiar universe as well as finding the limits of what the latest technology has to offer. I got a strong impression that those shows were still in sandbox mode, and we were being shown live beta tests. While I wouldn’t say that these first two episodes are a quantum leap over what’s come before, they do boast modest but noticeable improvements in just about every way that matters. Doesn’t sound like much of a compliment, but boy does it add up. Perhaps most crucially, there is so far a consistency in quality throughout which we never quite had in non-Andor shows. We are only two episodes in of course, but it seems promising so far.

Well okay, I have some minor gripes too. The first most certainly stems from my own pettiness, but it’s still strange for me to hear rock music in Star Wars. In a vacuum, Sabine racing a speeder bike against a pair of E-Wings could easily pass for a nod to Top Gun but the soundtrack turns it into a scene straight out of J. J. Abrams Star Trek instead. While the overall look and feel so far is quite good for a TV show, there are still bits of editing here and there that strike me as a little clunky. Then there’s also the garden variety instances of strange decision-making, such as Captain Hayle letting a pair of dark force users aboard his ship when the use of Jedi clearance codes is obviously suspicious. Granted, that was also a nice echo of Darth Vader allowing a small Rebel strike force to land on Endor, which we all know backfires in even more spectacular fashion. My biggest complaint, however, is the increasingly routine ability to survive lightsaber stabbings. What used to be a kill stroke is now a catalyst for resolve, with Sabine serving as the latest example courtesy of Shin Hati. Arguing about how made-up weapons should behave is a silly exercise at its core, but I still think it would have been far more realistic and on brand if Sabine had lost a limb instead. Perhaps we really have Darth Maul to blame for opening this can of conduit worms?

Intentional or not, I like all the nods and references to previous Star Wars. There’s the aforementioned shuttle clearance code. Baylan Skoll continues the fun tradition of lightsaber-armed force users cutting down lesser opponents in hallways. We get more elevated platforms and walkways without railings. Shin Hati and her small probe droid is a fun visual callback to Darth Maul at the start of his hunt for Anakin Skywalker. Live action Lothal looks a lot like Bespin without being a carbon copy. And of course we have the gigantic hyperspace transport ring, normally considered to be old technology by this point. Just to name a few.

The end of episode one isn’t much of a cliffhanger. Losing the map is hardly a surprise, and we already know that pre-haircut Sabine will survive her injury. The second episode ends in a much more interesting fashion. In the closing scene, Morgan Elsbeth speaks with Hati, Skoll, and Marrok the inquisitor via holograms, but it’s a weird witchcraft-looking type of hologram, one that I don’t recall seeing before. Personally, Skoll is the standout new character so far. We know he is a former Jedi Knight, but how he has since sided with the Galactic Empire remains a mystery. His reaction to the idea of killing Ahsoka raises an eyebrow, setting up the possibility that he is not a one-dimensional antagonist.

The rest of Top Gun Maverick does not disappoint. In fact, I would say it even overdelivers on its introduction in a fun and satisfying manner. In a few weeks, we will know if Ahsoka does the same.

Mark Newbold

It would have been very, very easy to get Ahsoka wrong in so many ways. The pressure piled upon the shoulders of Dave Filoni is undoubtedly immense; not only is he following the monster global success of The Mandalorian and the Emmy-nominated seven-episode first season of The Book of Boba Fett, he’s also continuing a grand set of story strands started in The Clone Wars and even further, he’s essentially bringing us a fifth, live action season of Star Wars Rebels using all the currency that much-loved show earned and parlaying it into the post-Return of the Jedi era the final episode of Rebels left us at. It’s an intricate scattering of uncooked spaghetti splayed on a kitchen worktop just waiting to be cooked. Thankfully, Filoni is one hell of a chef.

Kevin Kiner music opens the proceedings as a very Doctor Aphra-like treasure hunt sees Ahsoka find a map (and yes, there are plenty of maps in modern Star Wars storytelling, but this is space fantasy; what’s The Fellowship of the Ring without its quest?) but no key to activate it. The skills of Sabine Wren are required, but there’s baggage from a failed padawanship and possibly a more personal fracturing of their relationship, and we head to the eastern Outer Rim and a prosperous Lothal (fourteen years after we first saw it in Spark of Rebellion) where they reunite and the story truly begins.

It’s been widely commented upon, the sombre tone and the seriousness of the characters, especially Ahsoka herself. Certainly the show is taking its time in reintroducing our leading characters to familiar eyes while introducing them for the first time to new viewers, but quite apart from from the fact we know very little of what’s happened to Ahsoka in the intervening years – and Lucasfilm have wisely opted not to carve in stone exactly when the events take place (after the Ahsoka episode from season 2 of The Mandalorian and possibly before The Book of Boba Fett‘s 2 Mando season 2.5 episodes and The Mandalorian season 3) – we stand at a juncture where the galaxy could be on the precipise of a third war in relatively quick succession, spearheaded by the lost Grand Admiral Thrawn.

We can surmise that Ahsoka has walked a lonely path with Huyang as her only companion, while General Hera Syndulla could be justifiably concerned that the New Republic aren’t ready or prepared for another war (a strand of spaghetti that forges all the way to Leia’s formation of the Resistance in the Sequel trilogy). Sabine has lost her found family and failed in her efforts (be it by her own lack of skills or Ahsoka walking away) to become a Jedi, and our happy-go-lucky Spectres are now scattered around the galaxy. Hera and Chopper are on the Ghost, quite possibly using Home One – what a moment to see the Rebel briefing room from Jedi again – as a base, Sabine is still on Lothal living in Ezra’s tower, Zeb is in the New Republic Defence Fleet out of Adelphi Base. Ezra is missing, and Kanan is long gone. Their days of youthful rebellion are ended.

We’ve seen the Galactic Civil War (where we spotted Chopper and The Ghost at Massassi base on Yavin 4 in Rogue One), and the fall of Palpatine and Ahsoka’s master Anakin Skywalker, entering a post-war galaxy five years beyond Endor where the years and the mileage have seen them mature beyond their younger selves into the people we meet in Master and Apprentice. How has the death of Anakin affected Ahsoka? We know they reunite in the Force by the time Rey faces Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker – we hear both their voices give their support to Rey alongside Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Ezra amongst others – but where does she sit with the death of her former master?

One minor grumble is the inclusion of another galaxy, separate to the Star Wars galaxy we’ve spent almost 50 years exploring. I can only assume that decision is in part due to the ease in which starships can now navigate the galaxy, seemingly hopping from ‘one side of the galaxy to the other‘ in minutes. Much of that would appear to come from the very linear view of a scene from A New Hope, where the Millennium Falcon leaves Tatooine (way down in the south-east Outer Rim) and minutes later arrives at Alderaan (in the Core Worlds, near the Hydian Way). As a route it’s easy – hop on the Corellian Run and branch off at Denon north on the Hydian) but for a ‘world that it’s farthest from‘ the thought of travelling from Tatooine to Alderaan in minutes makes no sense – a logical view of that scene is that Han didn’t enter the hold until well after they’d evaded their Imperial pursuers, and only joined them when they were much closer to Alderaan. West End Games developed a system that determined how fast any given ship could travel without hinderance from point A to point B in the best possible conditions (and old school gamers will know that never happened), but modern Star Wars has frustratingly abandoned any such constraints. Now, a shuttle can travel from D’Qar to Cantonica and back in scant hours – in short, the galaxy (which still has vast swathes yet to be charted, catalogued or explored) has shrank tremendously. Perhaps Thrawn is seconded on one of the seven satellite galaxies clustered above and below the galactic disc (hey, maybe he’s in the Sedapard Cluster), but that seems unlikely. To reinforce the vast distances Filoni wants to convey, we’re introducing an entirely new galaxy rather than using the mysteries of the Unknown Regions or Wild Space. I’m intrigued, and I know there’ll be a fascinating reason for that choice, but as a lover of GFFA stellar cartography I can’t pretend to not be disappointed.

The galaxy has changed. There’s nothing unified to fight – not yet – but everything to protect. How our heroes and intriguing villains navigate that is a weekly treat I cannot wait to savour.

Jen Sopchockchai Bankard

When in doubt, always follow the loth-cat.

I begin with this statement about my favorite fuzzy friends from Lothal because it is what Ezra says to his Ghost crew friends in Season 4 of Star Wars Rebels. He says this because time and time again, when he follows loth-cats — and later loth-wolves — he experiences some kind of inexplicable, Force-loaded phenomenon. He encounters previously unknown ties the Force has to his home planet, Lothal, or discovers something about the history of the Force more generally, realizing it is far vaster than he knows. The idea of following a loth-cat when you are in doubt implies a leap of faith, a surrender to what you can’t control, can’t explain, and can’t yet understand. Trusting the Force to take you somewhere weird and wonderful at the right place and time, even if you have no idea why.

The two-episode premiere of Ahsoka gives me that same sense of mystical mystery and wonder. That same sense that characters like Ahsoka and Sabine, as well as we the audience, must all let go and follow the loth-cat. Because only when we let go of the fear of not knowing and bathe in ignorance can we begin to learn. The opening scene for Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka signals this right away because we get very little dialogue, only a lone Ahsoka exploring a temple on Arcana, a planet occupied centuries earlier by the Witches of Dathomir or Nightsisters. It’s ancient. It’s mystical. It’s Indiana Jones-y, in the best way.

Later, we learn that Morgan Elsbeth, the tyrannical governor that Ahsoka sought out and fought alongside Din Djarin in Season 2 of The Mandalorian, is a descendent of the Witches of Dathomir. Even if a viewer hasn’t seen The Clone Wars animated series, in which these witches appear in multiple arcs (including one that reveals that Darth Maul’s mother was one), they can see at the end of the second episode of Ahsoka that Elsbeth can manipulate green light to levitate and open the map. And, in the most shocking reveal of all, perhaps, the coveted map reveals that Thrawn’s location is not only in a remote system in the galaxy; it’s in an entirely new galaxy.

I cluster all those moments and revelations together to emphasize just how much of this series thus far leans into Star Wars’ more mystical side. I have long held the belief that Star Wars is as much space fantasy as it is science fiction, and spooky puzzles made by an ancient civilization, secret maps, and witches with Force magic all shore up that belief for me. Morgan Elsbeth says that the “reflex point” for the map on Seatos was not built by Jedi, but by “an ancient people from a distant galaxy.” How are these ancient beings related to the witches, if at all? Why did they build a superhighway between their galaxy and Ahsoka’s? Where did they go? And where are they now? Is Thrawn with them now?

We have Dave Filoni to thank for these juicy questions. In The Clone Wars, Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan meet what are essentially Force gods called The Son, The Daughter, and The Father. In Rebels, Kanan and Ezra find an enormous, all-powerful bull moose tortoise in the desert who is deeply connected to the Force, yet exists as neither light side nor dark side. Ezra follows a pack of giant Force-sensitive wolves. An owl-like creature with a spiritual connection to The Daughter watches over Ahsoka. Jedi temples swirl in and out of the ground at will, with new doors opening each time. And Filoni created The World Between Worlds, a liminal plane that contains doors to non-linear points in time and space. He has successfully convinced me that the Force is a bottomless well of storytelling, and that rather than falling back on what we already know or what George Lucas established in the Original Trilogy, he and other creators can keep finding new concepts and revelations with which to challenge us.

Those who have not watched The Clone Wars more recently or at all may not know that by the time we start this new series, Ahsoka has already died and come back more deeply connected to The Force — more specifically the Mortis god The Daughter, who sacrifices herself to save Ahsoka. Revisiting that arc would be very helpful for contextualizing or giving clues for the rest of the season of Ahsoka.

I find it hard to believe that Filoni has not sketched out an entire detailed and cohesive mythology for all of Star Wars as he understands it. The Mortis gods or “The Ones,” the Bendu, etc. — they all have their own stories, but the Filoniverse series do not tell their stories in full; they’re there as largely unspoken backstory in order to make the more contemporary story we actually care about feel more fully-formed and meaningful. I imagine that could happen with these unnamed ancient beings from another galaxy as well. We may not learn ALL there is to learn about them or where they originated from. We may not even meet them. We will likely learn just enough to advance the Ahsoka v. Thrawn plot.

The main criticism of the Ahsoka series premiere is that this version of Ahsoka may be too stoic for fans to reconcile with previous versions who have been feistier, snarkier, warmer, and more empathetic than what we see here. This reaction may in part be because we are dropping into a period of Ahsoka’s life that is far later than The Clone Wars or Rebels. This series takes place after Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker, her former master, has finally died. It’s also after she has apparently tried and failed to train Sabine as her Padawan.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we are starting Ahsoka here so that she can mend fences with Sabine and unearth some of the personality traits she had in happier times. If she’s going to be as skilled, formidable, and as strong with the Force as she is, we need somewhere for her to go emotionally. All that has happened to Ahsoka since we last saw her at the end of Rebels — all that we have not seen — could have changed her demeanor. In the story, it makes total sense, but to fans dropping into the story in medias res, it can be disorienting.

It’s unclear at this point if Ahsoka in live action has actually undergone this transformation from Grey to White, however. Side by side comparisons between the epilogue of Rebels, in which Ahsoka wears a white cloak and carries a staff, suspiciously like Gandalf, and the final scene of Ahsoka Episode 2, in which Ahsoka wears the gray cloak we have seen her since she has appeared in live action. It’s unclear if this live action scene supplants the animated one, or if it represents an echo of it, to show that Ahsoka and Sabine have once again come together to search for Thrawn and Ezra.

I can see now the extent to which this series sits in a very dense and precarious web of Star Wars canon, multiple fantasy influences, live action vs. animation, and the biography of a character that fans have lived with since she was a 14-year-old Padawan named “Snips.” That’s a lot of plates spinning at once.

I choose, however, to keep following the loth-cat.

(This is condensed and edited – with permission – from Jen’s The Long Take review, which you can subscribe to here)

Sander de Lange looks at all the reveals and easter eggs in Ahsoka – The Guide Part 1: Master and Apprentice.

And Ahsoka – The Guide Part 2: Toil and Trouble.

Brian Cameron and Greig Robertson discuss Master and Apprentice and Toil and Trouble on Your Weekly Star Wars News Recap For 27th August 2023 | Good Morning Tatooine

Mark Newbold, Mark Mulcaster and members of the Fantha Tracks team discuss Parts 1 & 2 on Making Tracks Reaction Chat: Ahsoka S1 – Master and Apprentice and Toil and Trouble.