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July 26, 2024
Star Wars: Ahsoka Episode 1 | Summary, Recap, & Review
Ahsoka is the highly anticipated live-action fans have been waiting for, but did it live up the hype? Check out Episode 1's recap and review to find out.
8
Cinematic
Episode 1 of Ahsoka is a great continuation from Star Wars Rebels, and it's full of action and complex characters that keep things interesting.
Pros
The live-action sets look really good.
David Tennant voices Huyang.
The Lothcat.
Cons
Their costumes are too clean for the environment.
Ahsoka doesn't have much of a personality.
It relies on a few overused tropes.
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This article contains spoilers for Episode 1 of Ahsoka and the ending of Star Wars Rebels.
Before the Show Starts:
Before digging into this opening episode, there is some important backstory that needs to be laid out. In The Mandalorian, Din Djarin seemingly takes a bounty on Ahsoka Tano, a former Jedi, in order to find her and get her help to train Grogu. The offer comes from Morgan Elsbeth, an Imperial with an axe to grind towards Ahsoka.
Elsbeth serves the very same person that Ahsoka is looking for, the Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn. Ahsoka and Din decide to attack Elsbeth to get the information Ahsoka wants. They manage to capture Elsbeth and take her into custody. The show starts shortly after this when Elsbeth is being transported to prison.
There are many references and callbacks to Dave Filoni's animated series Star Wars Rebels, which takes place during the Galactic Civil War. Rebels focuses on the crew of the rebel ship named the Ghost, the leader Hera Syndulla, the Jedi Kanan Jarrus, the droid Chopper, the muscle-man Zed Orrelios, the weapons expert Sabine Wren, and the Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger. Together, they’re known as the Phoenix Squadron or Phoenix Rebel Cell.
Throughout the duration of the Rebel series, the crew mainly fights on Lothal, a planet in the Outer Rim that invites the Empire to take over manufacturing in order to bring wealth. Of course, the Empire is not as friendly as it seems and is taking advantage of the populace. The Ghost crew takes on the Empire and, most notably, Thrawn. In the final episode, Ezra and Thrawn are taken somewhere outside the galaxy by Force-sensitive space whales called Purgill. Sometimes, Star Wars lore just doesn't make sense and you just have to accept it.
Ahsoka Episode 1 | Summary & Recap
The episode opens with an unknown vessel hailing a New Republic ship using old Jedi codes. Captain Hayle believes that the ship is actually helmed by an Imperial who is posing as a Jedi, but allows them to dock in order to capture them. He provokes the two people who emerge from the ship, resulting in the intruders igniting their red lightsabers. During the fight, they use various Force techniques that are most commonly used by Sith lords, such as Force Choking. It is revealed that Baylan Skoll and his apprentice, Shin Hati, have come aboard the ship to free Morgan Elsbeth from her captivity. Elsbeth believes Ahsoka Tano is looking for a map to Grand Admiral Thrawn and must be stopped.
After the title card, it cuts to Ahsoka arriving on a deserted planet called Arcana. The camera pans out to a massive statue that is part of an old temple. Ahsoka finds a symbol on the ground that signifies the entrance to the temple. She cuts a hole with her two lightsabers and falls to a room with carvings on the walls. There are three figures with orbs in their hands carved at different points in the room. After solving the puzzle in the room, she pulls out a small golden orb, a star map.
She jumps out and fights some Assassin Droids, who demand she give them the map. They battle and the droids self-destruct in a massive cloud of flames. Huyang, an ancient Jedi temple droid, flies in and picks her up. Returning to the New Republic command ship, Home One, she talks with General Hera Syndulla about her quest.
Ahsoka shows her the star map and Hera thinks they can use it to find Ezra. However, the map is locked and Huyang is unable to open it. Hera suggests that Ahsoka see an old friend about it. Hera also briefs Ahsoka on the two lightsaber wielders who attacked the New Republic. Huyang says that they can use images of the hilts to identify who the people are.
In Lothal’s Capital City, people are gathered to celebrate the anniversary of the defeat of the Empire. The governor gives a speech about how the Rebels of Phoenix Squadron helped save Lothal from the clutches of the Empire many years before. He tries to introduce Sabine Wren to the people, but Sabine is nowhere to be found. Two New Republic guardships find her speeding away from the city and are unable (or unwilling) to stop her. When Sabine returns home, she pets her Lothcat and rewatches a transmission Ezra sent her.
On Arcana, Elsbeth, Skoll, and Hati survey the remains of the temple. Elsbeth tells the two Force users that the temple is actually a stronghold of the Witches of Dathomir, also called the Nightsisters, and that she is one of them. She sends Hati to Lothal as she believes that Ahsoka will be there to meet with her former apprentice, Sabine.
This proves true as Ahsoka brings her orb to Lothal at Hera’s suggestion. She reunites with Sabine and asks for her help deciphering the map. They catch up as best they can despite the animosity the two hold for each other. Sabine wants to take the map back to her home, but Ahsoka wants it to stay on her ship.
Huyang has identified Baylon Skoll as one of the culprits who helped free Elsbeth. He’s a former Inquisitor, a person who hunted down Jedi who survived Order 66 for the Empire. While Ahsoka is in the other room, Sabine steals the map. Hera and Ahsoka have a conversation about Ahsoka’s past. Ahsoka reminisces about Anakin Skywalker, her former master. She talks about how she never finished her training just like how she didn’t finish training Sabine. Ahsoka left the Jedi Order shortly before the fall of the Republic, narrowly escaping death.
Sabine ponders the star map, comparing the symbols on the orb to the ones in the temple. She cracks the code! She turns the orb a few times and the map opens up, revealing a second galaxy. The Lothcat is intrigued but hisses at something offscreen. Sabine is attacked by Hati’s droid. While Sabine is distracted, they take the orb. She fights with them until Hati shows up. She quickly calls Huyang for help, before getting her lightsaber to duel Hati. Ahsoka and Huyang race to help her, but Sabine is stabbed before they get there. Hati runs off into the night.
Ahsoka Episode 1 | Review & Analysis
Performances | 9/10
Ahsoka has a pretty small central cast of characters and they all are pretty well portrayed.
Rosario Dawson reprises her role as the titular Ahsoka. She continues to play her with a somewhat flat affectation that all Jedi seem to have in the shows. This has always been bothersome as Ahsoka in Clone Wars and Rebels had a lot of personality. She was sassy and quick on her feet, like Anakin. Now, her only personality trait is “Jedi”. All that said, Dawson does an incredible job as Ahsoka. Hopefully, the more snippy side of Ahsoka will come out as the show progresses.
Hera is played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, another big name in the show. She is pretty good overall. She handles Hera’s mannerisms well. Her exasperation at Ahsoka and Sabine is very well done.
David Tennant voices Huyang. There isn’t really a need to elaborate here, obviously, it’s good. Tennant is a treasure of an actor and should be in everything.
The two breakouts are Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine and Ivanna Sakhno as Hati. They both nail their roles. Bordizzo has a perfect “haunted former Rebel who is trying to hold it together” look. The casting on that could not have been better. Same with Sakhno as Hati. Her vacant eyes really sell her as a villain. She reminds me a lot of Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace. She doesn’t say much but has an incredibly imposing stance.
Sets & Costuming | 7/10
As always, the sets in these live-action shows are impressive. The carvings in the Nightsister temple were scary (even if the set as a whole felt more like an escape room than a stronghold). Lothal’s long highways looked really cool in live-action form.
The costuming was on point, except for the fact that everything looked a bit too clean. This is something that the movies also had a problem with. For all of these desert planets, everyone is very well kept. The only exceptions to that are Skoll and Hati who did look a bit bedraggled and Sith-like. Their clothing looked right out of the Old Republic and it fit their characters so well.
My absolute biggest complaint with the show so far are the head-tails for both Ahsoka and Hera. They genuinely look like they're made out of that squishy material stress balls are made out of. Which would be fine, except those are supposed to be actual body parts, not just hats. They look too fake to be attached to a body.
Music and Sound | 8/10
Although they’re not John Williams, Kevin and Deana Kiner really brought it with the music. The opening crawl is soft and menacing, very reminiscent of the opening scene in A New Hope. There are lots of really good tone settings with the music. One of the better uses was the whimsical music while Sabine was trying to figure out the orb.
On the opposite side, the super cheesy rock song that played when Sabine was escaping the guards was laughable. It fits the scene, but it is one of my biggest pet peeves. Directors are like, “How should we show this person is edgy? Oh, let’s just play rock music!” It’s a bit of an overused trope.
The sound mixing was good. What usually happens with shows like this is quiet dialogue with loud music and sound effects. This episode did not have that issue. My TV stayed at the same volume the whole time, and I wasn’t worried that my kids would wake up to the sound of blaster fire.
Ahsoka Episode 1 | Final Thoughts & Feelings
Full disclosure: I’m not a fan of Ahsoka Tano. I didn’t really like The Clone Wars series. She was okay in Rebels and The Mandalorian, but I just never got the appeal of her character. She was borderline annoying to me. However, I am very excited to see where this series goes.
To me, this show isn’t about Ahsoka, it’s about the people who orbit her, especially Sabine. It’s a love letter from Filoni to fans of Rebels as well. As someone who liked Rebels way more than Clone Wars, I can appreciate that. There is something here for any Star Wars fan, from the casual Star Wars watcher to the most seasoned fan.
This definitely feels more cinematic than any of the other live-action Star Wars shows thus far, something I was a bit worried about since Filoni is used to the animated medium. The opening scene and the grandiose sets made me feel like I was sitting down for a movie and not an episode of a TV show. That bodes well for the series as a whole, and I hope that continues. Hopefully, they can keep this pace through the rest of the season. There weren't many slow parts, except a few lingering shots that went a bit too long.
There were a lot of great moments in this episode. The chemistry between Sabine and Ahsoka felt like a sister dynamic, and they played that so well. The lightsaber battles have been great, which is something I have been missing since The Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett don’t have many of them. It was a little moment, but my favorite part was how Hati used her cloak to distract Sabine during their battle. It was a perfect piece of subtle attention to detail that really blew me away. I’m genuinely excited to see where those two go in the future.
Also, the Lothcat was adorable, and it is my favorite character in any show ever.
Final Score | 8/10
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Sabine Wren in Ahsoka?
+Who is Ezra in Ahsoka?
+What to know before seeing Ahsoka?
+What is on Ahsoka’s head?
+What species is Ahsoka?
+When does Ahsoka take place?
+Will there be a Season 2 of Ahsoka?
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