Welcome back to the blog readers. Welp, this is it lads. The end of the line is here. Today we say goodbye to the hottest series on television right now: Ahsoka. Up to this point, we were killing it with performances, story and action. But now we have to shake off the hype of this series and end on a high note. Were we able to do that with this episode, titled "Part Eight: The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord," directed by Rick Famuyiwa, and written by Dave Filoni? Stick around one final time to find out.
NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the episode.
As I said in the intro, I was hoping we would have a finale that could stand up to the rest of the series, and I believe we got a finale that was equal parts thrilling and shocking to say the least. It is a damn shame that we have to say goodbye to these characters for now (unless we get a second season, which at that point I will edit this post), because I have had a damn good time getting to revisit these guys. Especially Baylan Skoll, who we will be saying goodbye to permanently.
Let us start on that note actually. Possibly the best character outside of Ahsoka was Baylan Skoll. I know this is not the full season review, and I will only be brief here, but I really wanted to say something about the late Ray Stevenson's performance as the villain. He was a very dynamic character that I wish we could get more of. Recasting the character would not do Stevenson justice and I believe it would be an insult to his memory if Star Wars did that. This is part of the reason why I was not happy with Marvel recasting Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross after the late William Hurt passed. With that being said, thank you Ray Stevenson for seven weeks of awesome acting. We will miss you man.
Now let us actually get into the episode. We start with an absolute bang, with Morgan Elsbeth being granted greater powers by the Great Mothers, as well as getting the sword owned by Mother Talzin. I have to say that this was a badass scene, and one that I believe I will remember for a while. The iconic status of this scene was cemented when I noticed Thrawn inspecting this with his hands behind his back and a sinister grin on his face. That put such a smile on my face that I cannot believe we will not be seeing him anytime soon (unless he miraculously shows up in the upcoming series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew). Unfortunately, we do not really get to see her utilize these powers al that much this episode, because she sort of takes a back seat to Thrawn.
Also something I find sort of unfortunate is the fact that we do not see a whole lot more of the relationship between Ezra and Sabine, as it seems like that takes a back seat to just Ezra. I did appreciate his conversation with Huyang about Sabine and what she can be capable of if not led down the right path. We learn that her family was killed in the Great Purge of Mandalore, and that Ahsoka has been hesitant to train her because of the darkness that sits dormant inside of her. After learning this information, I really want a character study of Sabine Wren from the end of Rebels to the beginning of this series. I know you're listening Dave, give it to us!
Finally we get some Great Mothers action! They do more this episode than they did in the previous two episodes combined. We already spoke at length about them giving greater power to Morgan Elsbeth in the opening. But they do something else that is far more fucking cooler. In the final battle, when Ahsoka, Sabine and Ezra are mowing through a bunch of Thrawn's Night troopers, these fucking witches reanimate the troops and bring them back to life. Essentially making them immortal. I definitely did not think I needed to see zombies (or something equivalent to them) in Star Wars, but bring it on boys. I know these Great Mothers went with Thrawn back to our main galaxy, but are there any more of those Great Mothers around in that galaxy? I'll pay, pinky promise.
Speaking of our heroes, there are a lot of moral choices that occur at the end of the episode. Sabine has been able to tap into her ability to use the Force and uses it to save herself and Ezra from some very heavily-armored troopers. She also uses the Force to push Ezra onto the Star Destroyer that has very literally taken off and is already at least a hundred feet away at this point. It was a little cheesy but it was cool in the end. She decides then that she will stay with Ahsoka to help her fight the reanimated Night Troopers and Morgan Elsbeth (who Thrawn convinced to stall them). Ahsoka winds up killing Elsbeth, which was kind of deflating (which ties into my second paragraph about not getting to see her use these powers).
But the main shocker of the episode is that the villains are successful in traveling back into our galaxy with Ezra on the Star Destroyer, leaving Ahsoka, Sabine and Huyang (as well as Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati) all stranded on Peridia. This was a shocker to me as it came completely out of left field. This shit has massive ramifications for the galaxy. First of all, Thrawn is back and now he has an army. Thrawn, his right-hand Enoch, and the Great Mothers set a course and arrived at Dathomir. If the New Republic had gotten their shit together and took this threat seriously, this whole operation would not have had to rely on three people and a droid. Secondly, Ezra is the only one to have returned, reuniting with Hera and C1-10P "Chopper." This is a reverse of the events of the end of Rebels. Thrawn and Ezra return with Ahsoka and Sabine stranded. How the hell are they getting home? Because it seems like they are content being trapped on a planet in a distant galaxy. I really hope someone leads a mission to steal that ship and go to Peridia to get them. It would be really unfortunate if one of the only remaining Jedi, and one of the most powerful, is stuck in a distant galaxy. Get your shit together New Republic.
One final note for this episode. We do end on the cliffhanger of Ahsoka, Sabine, and Huyang stranded on peridia, but I added in parentheses that Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati are also stranded there. It appears that Shin is looking to join that clan of mercenaries that her and Baylan recruited to kill our heroes last episode. Maybe this is where she thinks she belongs, and good for her if that is the case. Speaking of Baylan, he finds himself at the foot of some very interesting statues. Turns out, those statues are of the Mortis gods. The Mortis arc was one of the most critical arcs in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-14; 20), where we learned of three religious-like figures on the namesake planet: the Father, Daughter, and Son. We even saw the owl that is normally associated with the Daughter and Ahsoka in the end. My theory is that Baylan somehow is connected to the Mortis gods and that they may originally have been from Peridia. Only time will tell, and I really hope they do not recast the character.
What a way to end a very good season of television, and a grinning Anakin Skywalker was the icing on the cake. He finally gets to see his Padawan become better than he ever was, the only thing he got right in his life (other than his kids). Thank you all for reading, and I will see you all for the full season review, and the review for the premiere of Loki.
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