Posted in: Disney+, Review, Star Wars, TV | Tagged: Ahsoka, disney, lucasfilm, rosario dawson, star wars
Ahsoka Episode 3 Sees A Return to The Jedi Training Narrative: Review
A Jedi training sequence and a long dogfight highlight this week's episode as Ahsoka Tano and Sabine attempt to elude Morgan's forces.
After the two-episode premiere of Ahsoka, we've established the journey, which begins with the title character playing Master instead of Apprentice, which will obviously draw parallels to her training in the animated The Clone Wars. Compared to the more action-packed previous episodes that are mainly defined by two long sequences in the episode "Part Three: Time to Fly," which largely features Rosario Dawson, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, David Tennant, Diana Lee Inosanto, and Ivanna Sakhno. The following contains minor spoilers.
When we last leave our heroes, Sabine (Bordizzo) is looking to fully tap her fighting prowess with the use of Ezra's lightsaber with Ahsoka Tano's (Dawson) help. The Mandalorian shows some potential in terms of abilities but has a long way to go before she can try to understand the Force. As the two resume their search for Ezra (Eman Esfandi) on the Jedi's ship T-61974, Tano tries to reestablish the basics and try to work Sabine's rust out. I appreciate what creator Dave Filoni did with the first part of the training. It is something long-time fans of the franchise will recognize that harkens to the blind training sequence that Obi-Wan (Alec Guinness) and Luke (Mark Hamill) went through during the events of Star Wars: A New Hope (1977). It's simple and to the point, nothing elaborate and overthought.
While Sabine doesn't use the Marksman-H training remote that Luke struggled with in the film, we see her cracking away at that potential, not as helpless as imagined with Tennant's faithful and witty droid Huyang providing the sarcastic commentary. I rather enjoyed the sequence because it loosens up the narrative of what Jedi training is back to the Original Trilogy, akin to when one is starting to train in martial arts. I liked that it essentially kills the Midi-chlorian discussion once and for all.
While the two are continuing their training and closing in on their next clue, they're approached by some unwelcome company that the other major action-packed sequence of the episode. There's one particularly badass Ahsoka moment that you'll have to see to believe that almost makes it worth the price of admission alone. Directed by Steph Green, who did the same for the previous episode, we do get some surprise cameos and minimal screentime from Mary Elizabeth Winstead's Hera with a couple of cool Easter eggs thrown in the mix. "Time to Fly" keeps the momentum going, but it doesn't necessarily elevate the show as much as serving as connective tissue for the next major sequence of events. Ahsoka streams Tuesdays on Disney+.