I distinctly remember my first introduction to the world of “Star Wars.” It was an episode of the first season of the animated “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” airing on Cartoon Network back in 2009, in which protagonist Anakin Skywalker is gravely injured and his young apprentice Ahsoka Tano must lead a group of survivors to safety. Since the beginning, the character of Ahsoka has been a core part of my “Star Wars” experience.
She has gone through a substantial amount of character development in the years since, throughout many seasons of “The Clone Wars” and its sequel “Star Wars Rebels.” “Ahsoka” now brings the character into live action to join the Marvel-style interconnected and expanding network of “Star Wars” live action TV shows based around the successful “The Mandalorian.”
Taking beloved characters from our childhoods and bringing them into new stories is always risky but can have an incredible payoff. “Ahsoka” does this right. Dave Filoni, who co-created the character and wrote her story throughout the animated series, wrote and directed “Ahsoka,” and his love for his characters is evident in the show. This is “Star Wars” created by fans, for fans. He takes storylines from the end of “Rebels” and continues them in “Ahsoka,” only on a much grander scale.
The show is excellent. The story is a thrilling and sprawling adventure, a race to find both lost friends and foes, but it truly shines in its characters. Making the transition from animation to live action can be a challenging task, but through impeccable casting and exceptional acting from all involved, “Ahsoka” exceeds all expectations. While it was initially strange to see these animated characters in live action, once I got used to the new medium, it felt like the characters fell right back into their old, familiar selves.
Rosario Dawson plays the titular character Ahsoka, who appeared previously in “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett.” Her portrayal of the character in those appearances initially felt somewhat distant from Ashley Eckstein’s in “The Clone Wars” and “Rebels.” However, here we see a lot more of her old self, although a bit more jaded, mature and reserved as she takes on her own apprentice, the Mandalorian Sabine Wren from “Rebels.” Natasha Liu Bordizzo’s Sabine is a capable warrior but unskilled in the ways of the Jedi. She goes through the most development over the course of the series as she struggles with her own training, her complex relationship with Ahsoka and the choice between finding her friend Ezra and preventing the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Eman Esfandi as Ezra Bridger does the best job of recapturing their character’s essence from “Rebels,” and actor Lars Mikkelsen reprises his role as the antagonist Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn’s signature chilling voice is an iconic part of the character, and Mikkelsen does an excellent job bringing the threatening, calculating strategist to live action. He immediately brings back the menacing character of Thrawn in full force with his first line in the show: the bone chilling, “What was first just a dream has become a frightening reality for those who may oppose us.”
Ray Stevenson and Ivanna Sakhno portray two new villains, the powerful and imposing former Jedi Baylan Skoll and his ambitious and intense apprentice Shin Hati respectively. Ariana Greenblatt, who starred in this summer’s “Barbie,” also portrays a fantastic young Ahsoka who feels very familiar to Eckstein’s younger Ahsoka. Ray Stevenson sadly passed away earlier this year after filming for the show wrapped, and the first episode’s credits give a short tribute to him: “For our friend, Ray.”
Kevin Kiner, who created the scores for both “The Clone Wars” and “Rebels,” also does a fantastic job on the music for the series. He brings themes from those shows into the music of “Ahsoka,” and his triumphant end credits theme had me staying through the entire credits every episode.
One flaw of the series is that it spends very little time explaining the plot lines it picks up from previous series and relies heavily on the viewer having previous knowledge for many of the most impactful moments. Aside from a brief opening crawl in classic “Star Wars” fashion and the occasional line of explanation, the average viewer who hasn’t seen “The Clone Wars” and “Rebels” will likely feel lost and blindsided through many of the reveals and side plots. However, in saving time by cutting exposition and relying on previous material, “Ahsoka” is able to craft many incredibly impactful and compelling moments throughout the series, rewarding longtime fans.
The show ends in an interesting place, for both these characters and “Star Wars” as a whole, and I am excited to see what comes next.
‘Ahsoka’: What was once a dream has become a reality
Maria Tobias | The Observer
