REVIEW #315 Ahsoka (Season 1)

After the fall of the galactic empire, former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano investigates a troubling threat to an already vulnerable galaxy. 

After a pretty slow start to the show I was left hopeful but depleted, wondering if my high hopes were just silly to begin with. Ahsoka soon turned it around and within a couple more episodes, I realised I should have never doubted Filoni’s vision for the franchise. Finally we see the real mystical elements of Star Wars brought to live action and it was done beautifully, with the cinematography working wonderfully with those themes. The world between worlds, the Clone Wars flashbacks, the lightsaber duels, it all was all a sight to behold. Not quite the spectacle of peak Hayden Christensen in Revenge of the Sith but having so many force sensitive characters in one place again was great. 

I’ve mentioned my love for the prequels many of times on the page and in previous Star Wars reviews, so as you can imagine seeing Hayden back as the mighty Anakin Skywalker had me feeling like a kid again. He’s my favourite fictional character of all time, considering the arc as a powerful protagonist turned most iconic antagonist. But the best part was that it didn’t feel like they chucked him in there for the sake of it, he was there to finally complete Ahsoka’s training, to show her that she’s not all just war and her teachings have a far greater purpose. Not to mention that those flashback scenes were created so artistically and it worked so well. 

Now I have to mention the wonderful late Ray Stevensen who played Baylan Skoll, a new character who is one of the most mysterious Star Wars characters I can remember! His story left him in sight of the Mortis Gods and what looks like the temple from the Altar of Mortis Clone Wars episode. There is lots of speculation surrounding that right now and I’m loving it! Unfortunately they will have to recast but hopefully the successor can do Ray and the character justice. Secondly, we also had Lars Mikkelson as Grand Admiral Thrawn, who voiced the character in animation. I think he done well to capture the menacing nature of the character and although in retrospect we didn’t see that much of him, it certainly sets the tone for the future of the franchise. Also Ezra in live action looks awesome, I hope they keep the beard on him for his future appearances. Eman Esfandi played him perfectly, capturing the heart and his humour, whilst also giving him a little something different for live action too.

I will say that some of the choreography in the final episode did look a little stiff and I don’t think they captured Ahsoka’s acrobatic style nowhere near as well as the animation did. Of course there is restrictions in live action but I think they could have done a better job with Rosario Dawson’s movement. There are quite a few minor issues with the show, it’s far from perfect, but quite frankly there are so many cool elements to it, that they make you forget about the negatives real quick. Can you put that down to the excessive fan services? Perhaps, but people LOVE the clone wars and Rebels for a reason, people love Hayden and Anakin for a reason, so if they can flex the characters into it organically, I’m all for it! Hopefully it inspires people to give the animation a go, you won’t regret it!

Overall (8.5/10)

Thanks for reading.

Callan