Disney Plus’ live-action show Ahsoka comes to a crescendo in the final episode. The title, “Part Eight: The Jedi, The Witch, and The Warlord”, indicates that there will be some magic happening, so let’s dig into it. This episode is written by Dave Filoni and directed by Rick Famuyiwa. It premiered on October 5th, 2023 on Disney Plus. Unfortunately, it’s the final episode of the season, so we will have to wait to see what happens next!

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

Ahsoka Episode 8 | Summary & Recap

On Peridea, Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) tells Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) that the cargo is ready to dock with the Eye of Scion. Thrawn tells his captain of the guard, Enoch, to start the docking. Enoch says that he believes they have the location of Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and her comrades. Thrawn orders Enoch to dispatch some TIEs (Twin Ion Engine starfighters) and engage if the crew is found. 

Thrawn thanks the Great Mothers for their help. They tell Elsbeth to come forward and offer her the “Gift of Shadows”. She accepts, vowing to offer herself to the sisterhood, the magicks, and the “old ways”. One of the Mothers touches Elsbeth’s forehead, causing her eyes to glow. They bequeath her with the Blade of Talzin, a sword that was used during The Clone Wars animated series by Mother Talzin.

On the surface, Ahsoka follows the Noti caravan in her shuttle along with Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi), Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), and Huyang (David Tennant). They work together to build him a new lightsaber, each of them getting on the other’s nerves. Huyang asks Ezra who taught him to build a saber. Sabine and Ezra both talk about Kanan Jarrus, Ezra’s old master. Huyang says that he taught Kanan how to build a saber. He gives Ezra an extra blade emitter that he kept as a spare for Kanan.

As he lights his new blue blade, he asks Huyang about Sabine’s relationship with Ahsoka. Huyang explains that Ahsoka was worried that Sabine was training for the wrong reasons, out of revenge for the Great Purge of Mandalore instead of learning the Jedi ways. She worried that if Sabine could unlock her full potential as a Mandalorian Jedi, she would be too dangerous.

Sabine and Ahsoka have a heart-to-heart. Sabine realizes that Ahsoka is not mad that she didn’t destroy the map. Ahsoka talks about all the tough choices she had to make during her time in the temple and beyond. The only person who understood her was Anakin Skywalker. He stood with her no matter what, and she will do the same for Sabine. 

The TIEs that Enoch dispatched arrive at the caravan. The two Jedi jump out of the ship to defend the Noti while Huyang and Sabine pilot. The TIEs manage to shoot down their ship and take out part of the Noti caravan as well. They manage to ram the TIEs and destroy all of the ships, including their own. They crash what’s left of it on the prairie. At the fortress, Enoch briefs Thrawn on the battle and the location. He orders Enoch to prepare for a ground assault.

Ahsoka, Sabine, and Ezra ride Howlers to face Thrawn. Meanwhile, the Great Mothers and Elsbeth bless the Night Troopers. Thrawn asks if the volunteers were made aware of what they’re sacrificing by receiving the blessing, and Elsbeth ensures him that they know. The Chimaera begins docking with the hyperspace ring from the Eye of Scion. Ezra realizes that Thrawn’s intention is to bring his Star Destroyer with him. 

The trio storm the fortress as the Night Troopers attack. They make quick work of the troopers, but the Great Mother’s blessing reanimates their corpses. Blasters are ineffective, and they are at a loss. This is the first time they have dealt with this Magick. They end up sealing the blast doors to prevent the undead Night Troopers’ advance. 

Thrawn did not expect the Jedi to make it to that point so quickly, so he asks Elsbeth to stall them. She descends from the Chimaera. The Jedi find Elsbeth in a large chamber. Ahsoka tells Ezra and Sabine to go after Thrawn while she takes on Elsbeth. As they battle, Thrawn makes his final preparations to jump to hyperspace. Sabine and Ezra battle two Night Troopers. They eventually decapitate the soldiers and make it to the hangar in time. 

Sabine convinces Ezra to jump onto the ship and then pull her onto it. However, she sees Ahsoka struggling in her fight with Elsbeth as the Night Troopers have now joined the fray. After Elsbeth tells her that her friends are dead and she will die alone on Peridea, Wren jumps into the battle. Ahsoka, reinvigorated, gets the upper hand and cuts Elsbeth in half. 

The remaining troopers chase Ahsoka and Sabine to the edge of the fortress. Luckily, Huyang and the Noti have fixed the ship. They fly away as Thrawn bombards the fortress with turbolaser fire. They ascend into the upper atmosphere. Thrawn taunts Ahsoka, saying that she belongs on Peridea while he is the victor. They jump to hyperspace, leaving Peridea, and the Jedi, behind.

Sabine and Ahsoka return to the Noti. Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) rides towards the bandits she worked with on Peridea. Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) sees three giant statues of the Gods of Mortis: the Father, the Son, and the Daughter, the latter one destroyed. Thrawn and company approach Dathomir, home of the Nightsisters. Ezra, dressed as a Night Trooper, reunites with Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Chopper. 

Back on Peridea, Ahsoka and Sabine talk about the future. Sabine is upset that Thrawn escaped. Ahsoka points out that Ezra made it home, which means they are all where they need to be. Sabine senses something hopeful. Ahsoka looks toward the sky as the Force ghost of Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) watches over them.

Ahsoka Episode 8 | Review & Analysis

Performances | 10/10

Everyone had great performances all around. The whole series has had some really great character beats. The Star Wars Rebels crew were perfectly cast, especially Eman Esfandi. Oh man, Esfandi absolutely nails it as Ezra. I know I’ve mentioned this in previous reviews, but this episode really let him shine. His conversations with Huyang about Kanan allowed him to be gentle while also showing off his sillier side as he insults Huyang. He was a perfect Ezra.

Dawson and Bordizzo were an excellent master and apprentice duo. They played well off of each other. At the beginning of the season, they were antagonistic and, by the end, they were back to being friends. That’s obviously a very common trope, but their performances both sold it as a natural and unforced change. This was apparent in their conversation after Ezra built his saber. Ahsoka said that she would always be there for Sabine, unlike her master, Anakin. It’s another gentle moment of Ahsoka actually being a mentor to Sabine.

Mikkelsen’s Thrawn was terrifying. Full stop. Excellent work.

My biggest complaint was that Ahsoka and Ezra holding up the ship with the Force looked really bad. They had these weird arm flails and extremely wide stances, it looked very fake. Normally, I can suspend my disbelief with the Force, but that was just too much.

Direction | 10/10

I want to start with the music. The music in this whole series has been hit after hit. In this episode, the heavy drums that were used throughout the early parts while they were hunting Thrawn were a great choice. It felt primal, intense, and sinister. It added an undeniable weight to the moment. Another inspired addition was the fiddle while the Night Troopers reanimated. That was very creepy.

One of the highlights for me was when they first entered the castle. Ahsoka lazily batted laser blasts away, and they took down the Night Troopers with ease . . . Then, they reanimated. The corpses shambled forward, looking like zombies. They couldn’t be destroyed! They just kept coming! The only way to beat them was to cut their heads off! It was so well done and makes me really want a Star Wars horror movie. 

All the fight scenes in this episode were well choreographed. Elsbeth versus Ahsoka felt tense like it could go either way until Ahsoka obviously got the upper hand. That final slice? So good. Ezra and Sabine taking on the two Elite Night Troopers was fun. They essentially turn into pro wrestlers, clotheslining each other and trading punches, something you don’t see in the more Jedi-focused Star Wars fare.

Ahsoka Episode 8 | Final Thoughts & Feelings

Man, I’m so bummed this series is over. Obviously, there are a ton of places to go from here. There are the obvious plotlines like Ahsoka getting back to the main galaxy and Thrawn’s future plans (more on that later). I hope that we get more from our side characters. Skoll standing at the statues of the Father and Son was an interesting angle. Why is the Daughter’s statue so decrepit? What is he looking for? We could follow Hati becoming a warlord on Peridea, and explore the land there a bit more. How did the witches get to Dathomir? Or vice versa, how did they get to Peridea? There’s lots to explore.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Thrawn and Ezra are on their way to the Galaxy proper. Ahsoka and Sabine are trapped on Peridea. It’s a literal 180 from where they started this season. The New Republic is wholly aware that Thrawn is a threat now, so what are they going to do about it? I’ve got a few theories.

My first and most plausible theory is that the New Republic will have to figure out a way to deal with Thrawn and his Night Troopers, which leads to the Empire’s final and complete collapse. The Rebels crew figures out how to bring back Ahsoka and Sabine. I wouldn’t be surprised if Din Djarin and Grogu are the ones that do it. This leads to Ahsoka somehow sacrificing herself to either lock Thrawn away in the World Between Worlds or she is able to turn the Nightsister magick back on him. Those are the two most likely scenarios on how Thrawn is taken out.

That’s probably going to be what happens. Good guys win, bad guys lose, and Ahsoka dies. However, what I really hope happens is that Thrawn just bypasses the galaxy and goes straight back to the Chiss Ascendency, where he is originally from. In the canon Thrawn by Timothy Zahn, we learn that Thrawn was actually sent as a scout to the Empire in order to assess their strength. The Nine Ruling Families, the governing body of the Chiss, wanted to see if the Empire could be an ally to the Chiss in order to face a looming threat in the Unknown Regions. In Thrawn: Treason, we learn that the Ascendency is facing a calamity and that the Ruling Families are in turmoil. Shortly after the events of that book, Thrawn is captured by space whales.

This leads me to believe that Thrawn is still playing the long game for the Chiss. He is amassing an army of troopers using the Nightsisters in order to bring a fighting force that can defeat whatever calamity has descended on the Ascendency. Our heroes follow Thrawn to his home system, leading to the New Republic and the Chiss entering into an alliance to help defeat the enemy. It concludes in Thrawn being an ally to the Republic, or at least, indifferent toward them.

Tinfoil hat? Sure. But, that would make a great movie. Or a second season. Please give us a second season.

Final Score | 10/10