Posted in: Disney+, Star Wars, TV | Tagged: Ahsoka Tanko, bleeding cool, cable, Diana Lee Inosanto, disney, michael biehn, Pedro Pascal, Review, rosario dawson, Season 1, star wars, streaming, television, The Mandalorian, tv

The Mandalorian S02 The Jedi Review: A Fan Favorite Debuts (SPOILERS)

Another Star Wars animated television series fan favorite makes her triumphant return and makes her live-action debut on The Mandalorian. The director and writer of "Chapter 13" is none other than The Clone Wars and Rebels creator Dave Filoni himself. There's no real tease as to who "The Jedi" is that the episode is referring to but just in case? We're throwing on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign ahead of the image buffer jump.

Catching Up From "The Clone Wars" to "The Mandalorian"

For those who haven't seen The Clone Wars, Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka Tano is the apprentice taken on by Anakin Skywalker, who is allowed to take on a student despite not being given the rank of Master. As the animated canon established, she managed to escape the Galactic-ordered purge from Order 66 despite already quitting the Jedi Order before the conclusion of the animated series. Tano's made sporadic appearances from those who need help living the life of a ronin. The latest episode of The Mandalorian continues those ways as she tries to help even if it's not on a grand scale as she tries to liberate a colony from the oppressive rule of its local magistrate Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto). Protecting not-Sarah Connor is her-hand man Lang, played by The Terminator's Michael Biehn.

After giving a reintroduction to Ahsoka's badassery, Mando (Pedro Pascal) finds his way to the colony and tasked by Morgan to find her and kill her with offerings of Mandalore treasure. Upon finding her some major details about The Child/Baby Yoda are revealed as expected. So a few more things about the episode to remind fans is that the time Ahsoka was coming up the ranks within the Star Wars universe, she was primarily dealing with droids as creator George Lucas had no qualms using them as endless fodder and it translated to the prequel-era shows like TCW.

Seeing Ahsoka taking out the human Empire indiscriminately does match up with the Wild West darker nature of The Mandalorian, but it's an obvious change and adjustment to those used to seeing her in the animated shows. It didn't bother me, but the appeal does lend itself to the flexibility the characters lend themselves when sharing a universe. After all, this of it from Ahsoka's perspective. The Empire "cannot be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead." Filoni deserves all the credit in the world for making this episode work every which way possible and Dawson fits the role of Ahsoka every which way possible. While I feel it's a one-off, part of me hopes she appears in another future episode. The Mandalorian streams Fridays on Disney+.

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