Disney Plus’ new live-action show Ahsoka ramps up the stakes in “Part Four: Fallen Jedi”. The title of this can mean several different things, so buckle up, there is a lot to unpack. This episode is written by Dave Filoni and directed by Peter Ramsey. It premiered on September 5, 2023 on Disney Plus.

Spoilers for Ahsoka abound in this article. Read with caution!

Ahsoka Episode 4 | Summary & Recap

The gang is on Seatos in the middle of a forest with a ship that doesn’t work. Huyang (David Tennant) is on the floor trying to fix the comms on the ship so they can get ahold of the New Republic. Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) leaves the cockpit and meets with Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) outside.

Ahsoka tells her that the enemy has the map and the means to get where they want to go. She believes that if they can’t make the journey to find Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi), no one should. Sabine obviously doesn’t agree with her as she wants to make the journey even with all the risks involved. He’s alone and stranded with the enemy. Ahsoka reminds her that Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) will return with Ezra, no matter who finds them. She wants to know if she can count on Sabine. Sabine says she can.

Huyang exits the ship and asks them if everything is alright. Ahsoka doesn’t respond to the question and just tells him to be careful as he works outside. In the forest, an assassin droid watches them from a distance.

Shin Hati (Ivanna Sahkno) and Inquisitor Marrok (Paul Darnell) approach Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) and Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) at the ruins. They tell the pair that their scouts have located Ahsoka. Elsbeth warns that the guards won’t last long against a Jedi. Skoll says that Hati and Marrok will keep them busy. They leave to go fight them. Elsbeth is worried that Skoll is fearful. Skoll tells her that it is just experience.

Back on Ahsoka’s ship, Sabine is getting geared up to do reconnaissance in the forest. Ahsoka enters and they talk about Sabine’s feelings for Ezra. She reminds her that she needs to do what is right in spite of personal feelings, to not let her emotions cloud her judgment.

Outside, Huyang is trying to fix the comms when he is ambushed by an assassin droid. They box each other. Literally. It’s a droid fistfight. The assassin droid punches the ship, causing the power to go out. Ahsoka and Sabine jump out and start battling the guards and droids. They make quick work of them, although Huyang’s progress has been hampered. The two Jedi tell him to prioritize the comms to call for backup.

On Home One, Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) decides to leave without orders with her son, Jacen Syndulla, and her droid, Chopper. She takes the Ghost along with a few New Republic starfighters. Jacen asks why he has to listen to her when she doesn’t listen to her own orders. She says, “Once a rebel, always a rebel.” They jump to hyperspace.

Skoll and Elsbeth talk about their upcoming travels. Skoll worries that even a slight miscalculation can send them into the far reaches of space without help. Elsbeth tells him to have faith, something he doesn’t have anymore. Their droids begin to calculate hyperspace coordinates.

Ahsoka and Sabine run through the forest until they are blocked by Marrok and Hati. Hati and Sabine battle while Marrok and Ahsoka duel. Ahsoka duels him with one of her lightsabers instead of two, while Marrok uses both ends of his lightsaber. Initially, Sabine uses her blaster to fight but pulls out her lightsaber after being knocked to the ground.

Marrok starts spinning his lightsaber and charges. Ahsoka cuts him across the chest. He falls to his knees and a green mist pours out of him. He’s presumed to be dead. Hati is distracted and Sabine uses the opportunity to tell Ahsoka to get the map. Ahsoka runs off. Elsbeth and Skoll begin to prepare for departure. Elsbeth tells Skoll to stay behind to protect the map.

Ahsoka approaches the ruins. Skoll is sitting on a rock and tells Ahsoka that Anakin Skywalker always spoke highly of her. Ahsoka is shocked at the mention of her old master. Skoll knew Anakin, and he was one of the few who knew who Anakin became. She says she isn’t here to discuss her past. He says he is securing his future. He won’t start a war, Thrawn will. They get out their sabers and begin to circle, taking jabs at each other. Their duel picks up in ferocity.

Aboard the Eye of Sion, Elsbeth waits for the coordinates. Skoll throws a rock at Ahsoka using the Force. Sabine and Hati continue their duel. Sabine is kicked to the ground and tries to use the Force unsuccessfully. Hati realizes that Sabine has no power. Sabine shoots a rocket at her with her outstretched hand.

Ahsoka and Skoll continue their duel. Skoll tells her that her legacy is the same as Anakin’s. It’s all death and destruction. She overpowers him and grabs the map, burning her hand. Skoll continues his attack. In the forest, Hati uses a smoke bomb to distract Sabine. She runs to Skoll, who tells her to get the map. Ahsoka uses the Force to push Hati into a rock. Skoll walks toward Ahsoka with malice in his eyes. He battles her up to the edge of a cliff.

Sabine runs in and grabs the map, pointing a blaster at it. Ahsoka tells her to destroy it, but she hesitates. Skoll swipes his saber up and knocks Ahsoka off the cliff. He turns his focus to Sabine, who is extremely distraught. She shoots at him, but he deflects it easily. Skoll uses the Force to read her mind. He tells her that she thinks Ezra is her only family. He begins telling her about her life, manipulating her to give him the map. He holds out his hand, and she recoils. He tells her to do it for Ezra. She relents and gives him the map.

Hati starts Force choking Sabine, but Skoll commands her to release her grip. He promises to keep his word and take her to rescue Ezra, unlike Ahsoka. Elsbeth confirms that the hyperspace route is complete. She comms to Skoll, telling him that preparations are ready. He uses his lightsaber to destroy the star map.

On Ahsoka’s ship, Huyang gets a message from Hera. He tells them their location and requests backup. Luckily, they have already made it to Seatos. Huyang relays what has happened, telling her that the hyperspace ring must not be allowed to leave. Phoenix Squadron sets up for battle.

Skoll, Hati, and Sabine meet Elsbeth on the deck of the Eye of Sion. Their path is blocked by the small squadron of New Republic ships. Elsbeth ignores them and prepares the hyperspace jump. They rocket off, sending all of the ships careening into each other. Ghost survives, along with a few Republic ships, but Elsbeth is gone. Jacen tells Hera that he’s got a bad feeling. Huyang tries to contact Sabine and Ahsoka, but cannot reach either of them.

Ahsoka wakes up in a void. A voice says, “Hello, Snips.” She turns around to face her former master, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen).

The World Between Worlds

Before we get into the review, we need to talk about where Ahsoka woke up. The World Between Worlds was introduced in the Star Wars Rebels animated series. According to Emperor Palpatine in Rebels, it is a mystical plane that exists within the Force, a conduit connecting the worlds of the living and the dead. Access to this world is very limited, only few sentient beings have connected to it, including Ahsoka and Ezra. Loth-wolves are also creatures who can use this world to travel, similar to hyperspace travel.

In Rebels, Ezra uses the World Between Worlds to save Ahsoka from death. It involved some convoluted time-travel shenanigans. Basically, he wanted to do the same thing to prevent Kanan Jarrus from dying as well, but Ahsoka convinced him not to. Without Jarrus’ selfless sacrifice, all of them would be dead. She told Ezra that she understood how it felt to not be able to save their master.

The introduction of the World Between Worlds in Ahsoka could mean a number of things. Is Ahsoka hoping to use this to bring back Anakin? Does she want to travel to kill Thrawn before he is taken off of Lothal? Did she die? Is this where Force ghosts come from? Hopefully, we'll get some answers in the next few episodes.

Ahsoka Episode 4 | Review & Analysis

Performances | 9/10

Ray Stevenson absolutely steals the show in this episode. The dude could eat a can of beans for an hour, and I would be riveted to the screen. His deep simmering anger at the Jedi Order boils over in his battle with Ahsoka. A lot of actors would use this opportunity to scream and just lose their minds. Stevenson plays it in a much more reserved and menacing way that fits his character much better.

His interactions with Hati also convey a lot about his character. He compliments her and Sahkno responds with a small smile. They have mutual respect and protect each other as much as they can. There is a lot of chemistry between the two of them. It feels like the master and apprentice relationship that we see a lot in the animated shows.

The same can be said for Bordizzo and Dawson’s relationship. Their bond is a bit more fractured and strained, and those cracks start to show a bit in this episode. They separated even though Huyang told them not to. He knew that they were better together, but they haven’t gotten back to that point yet.

Bordizzo’s performance at the ruins was incredible. Her internal struggle about whether or not to destroy the map was heart-wrenching. She wants to save Ezra. She loves him and wants him to be back home and safe. However, she knows the threat that Thrawn poses to the galaxy. She knows the Empire can return with Thrawn at the helm. Is Ezra worth sacrificing the galaxy? Hopefully, her choices don’t ruin the future.

Directing | 7.5/10

Outside of the lightsaber battles, which were great, a lot of the directing choices felt a lot like static shots of people talking. I’m not saying that everything needs to be moving all the time. I’m saying that there are too many static shots. This is something that I have noticed in most of the episodes. If it isn’t an action scene, the directors don’t seem to know what to do with the actors. It’s a classic park and bark.

That said, the fight choreography is excellent. All the fights feel scary, like anything can happen. There were also several cool shots during the fights, like the far shot of Ahsoka and Marrok in the forest. The droid boxing match was a bit repetitive, but the action picked up quickly when the two Jedi hopped out.

My favorite scene was Hera leaving the Home One. It felt like a scene right out of A New Hope. The dialogue was on point. Seeing all of the X-Wings get their foils in position was great and really nostalgic feeling. The sweet mother/son moment with Hera and Jacen was also very nice.

There are a few scripting choices that I thought were a bit too on the nose. These are incredibly petty complaints and do not matter to anyone, but they bothered me. Ahsoka straight up says that Thrawn is the heir to the Empire. For those not in the know, Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn was the book that first introduced Thrawn to the world. I thought it was a little too on the nose. At another point, someone says that they need to think of the greater good which is another Thrawn book title. Again, this is a petty complaint, but I feel like these were written to be easter eggs that came off as something really corny.

My last complaint is the color palette. It’s hard to go from the first few episodes with bright and varied colors to all blue, all the time.

Ahsoka Episode 4 | Final Thoughts & Feelings

This has been my favorite episode thus far. The second half of the season has a really strong starting point with the return of Anakin. I guess I’ll trade my Lothcat for a Skywalker. Normally, I hate that kind of fanservice (Luke in The Mandalorian comes to mind), but I think this was handled well. It wouldn’t make sense to have an Ahsoka show without getting some closure with Anakin. As a side note, I'm really glad that I went into this week's episode blind. The end of the episode really made the wait worth it.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes from here. The World Between Worlds is such an interesting concept, and I’m glad it’s getting a bit more of an explanation outside of Rebels. It looks like we are all in for a wild ride for the rest of the season!

Final Score | 9/10