Max Nocerino 
The season finale of STAR WARS: AHSOKA proved that Dave Filoni always has a trick or two up his sleeve!
When looking for a good Star Wars story, sometimes it pays to have a veteran helming the ship. The final part of the first season of STAR WARS: AHSOKA proved that Dave Filoni always has a trick or two up his sleeve. And sometimes it is always darkest before the dawn.
ASMR is a phenomenon that scientists here on Earth still cannot explain. It’s the scientific pins and needles a person gets when they are experiencing an emotional response to meaningful stimuli. That was a feeling I felt multiple times as I watched the episode. While I previously critiqued this show for merely setting up for the new season, I had truly underestimated how powerful a story could be.
HEIR TO THE EMPIRE
All of the things I complained about have vanished. Thrawn was tactically brilliant and coldly evil, proving that his mind was more than a match for the Force. The lightsaber duel between Ahsoka and Morgan Elsbeth was crisp and reminiscent of a samurai duel and I am no longer complaining about choreography. The Nightsisters are creepy as heck, and I loved seeing some dark magic aiding Thrawn in his mission to leave this planet and return to the main galaxy to conquer and long live the Empire (as he said).
I really can’t find anything wrong with this finale and I am very much looking forward to season 2. Our heroes ran the gauntlet and now it is up to Ezra to stop Thrawn as Ahsoka and Sabine have chosen a new direction and may very well become Ronin Jedi, as Thrawn himself remarked as he claimed his victory. The fact that these two beautiful warriors have accepted this fate so easily is quite admirable. Now in a strange reversal, Ezra is home and they are “lost”.
VERDICT
I also must commend the casting of the live-action Ezra and Sabine. They looked the part, sounded the part, and most importantly, acted the part. The visuals were spectacular and really captured the scope of how large a Star Destroyer truly is and how beautiful mountains in the foreground can be if one makes them so.
Lastly, I withdraw my final complaint that this new galaxy isn’t as strange and alien as I wanted. The ancient Nightsister presence really does suffice in this regard, and I must admit – I need to remember that this is Star Wars and not Star Trek and we deal in swords and wizardry as opposed to wormholes and quantum technology.
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Star Wars: Ahsoka is streaming on Disney Plus now!
FORCE FACTS
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The Great Mothers gifted Morgan Elsbeth with a blade of glowing magic ichor and introduced it as the Blade of Talzin. This is an obvious reference to the late Mother Talzin, leader of the Nightsisters in the main galaxy. The fact that the Great Mothers honor her shows what a powerhouse Talzin was and Palpatine was truly correct in viewing her as a potential obstacle during the Clone Wars.
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Huyang let both Ezra and Ahsoka know that he was doing Jedi stuff before each of them was alive, yet doesn’t drop just how long that time really is! Huyang is 25,000 years old and that number is mind-boggling and incomprehensible to two beings, not even 40 years of age.
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The Great Mothers pool their magic to raise Thrawn’s fallen stormtroopers into undead zombies. It was so creepy to see this in live-action, but thankfully we did not see the faces of the zombie Stormtroopers, so I will not be having nightmares after I write this review. We saw this dark spell that even Talzin could not perform in the Clone Wars TV show when Dooku attacked Dathomir. We also “see” Merrin perform this unholy technique in the book Jedi: Battle Scars (tie-in to the Fallen Order games). It would seem for all accounts that this technique can only be performed by the wisest and most powerful witches and the Great Mothers had to be in a triad to do it, while Old Dacca and Merrin can do it solo. Take that of what you will.
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Sabine CAN use the Force. Meaning, yes, she is indeed, Force-sensitive. Yet, her sensitivity may be weaker than the average Forceful; low midi-chlorian count (or lack of focus?)
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I did not know the Empire razed Mandalore after Endor and not before. Unless this was previously established in the Mandalorian, we may be looking at a continuity error.
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Why was Thrawn’s first stop at Dathomir? Is he dropping off the Great Mothers and going on to attack the New Republic alone? Also, how the heck did Ezra get off the Chimera and return to Republic space? What will be the fate of the also-stranded Baylan Skoll and his misguided apprentice? And how will the Mortis story arc from the Clone Wars impact season 2? So many questions!
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It would appear that there is no range limit for Force spirits. They could even probably appear here on Earth.
Max Nocerino is a regular Staff Writer for The Future of the Force. He is a passionate Star Wars fan and loves the literature of the galaxy far, far away. Follow him on Twitter where he shares his love of the Force frequently!
