Summary
Warning: This review contains mild spoilers for the two-episode premiere ofAhsoka.
With its colorful characters, high-flying action scenes, and campy musical score,Ahsokais the firstStar Warsproject in a while that feels like classicStar Wars. Dave Filoni has been mulling over an Ahsoka solo story for a while now, and he’s gotten that story off to a terrific start with the two-episode premiere ofAhsoka. A lot of modern franchise efforts feel like they were designed by committee, butAhsokahas the distinctive feel of a show spearheaded by a single authorial vision. The story setup of the search for a MacGuffin that unlocks the location of a different MacGuffin feels a little arbitrary, but it’s really just an excuse for Ahsoka to get the band back together.
After trying his hand at directing live-action with episodes ofThe MandalorianandThe Book of Boba Fett, Filoni is now fully confident behind the camera. His sure-handed direction of the pilot episode, “Part One: Master and Apprentice,” is one of its greatest assets. He has a strong sense of pacing, characterization, and the best place to position the camera. In the second episode, “Part Two: Toil and Trouble,”Steph Green takes over the director’s chairand does an equally admirable job of balancing action and character. Best known for directing the Wade Tillman episode of HBO’sWatchmenminiseries, Green is just as interested in the characters’ relationships and motivations as the pew-pew space opera spectacle around them.
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The series wouldn’t work nearly as well as it does withoutRosario Dawson’s electrifying performanceas the title character. Dawson is more comfortable than ever in the role of Ahsoka. She carries herself with a self-assured swagger and captures Ahsoka’s zen spirit as she maintains grace under fire and approaches new places and people with warm curiosity. Dawson is backed up by two other great live-action takes on beloved animated characters: Natasha Liu Bordizzo deftly captures Sabine Wren’s defiant attitude, while Mary Elizabeth Winstead taps into Hera Syndulla’s maternal instincts as she mediates conflicts between less mature characters.
The series premiere introduces a couple of promising villains: the late, great Ray Stevenson (to whom the first episode is dedicated) as shamelessly evil Jedi-turned-mercenary Baylan Skoll and Ivanna Sakhno as his cold-hearted but conflicted sidekick, Shin Hati. From Ahsoka’s sidekick Huyang, voiced by a returning David Tennant, to Hera’s trusty companion Chopper, voiced by Filoni himself, the scene-stealing droid characters inAhsokahave plenty of personality.
Kevin Kiner’s score pushes the boundaries ofStar Warsmusic for the first time since Ludwig Göransson’s iconic work onThe Mandalorian. Kiner’sAhsokamusic begins withtypical sweepingStar Warsorchestrations, but they’re punctuated by piano melodies that add a delightfully campy quality to the show’s music. Unnerving brass notes indicate a sinister twist, like a villain following the trail of an unsuspecting hero. Electric guitar licks and thumping drum beats play as Sabine is chased out of town on a speeder bike, instantly introducing her reckless, rebellious personality. Kiner’s score gives the series its own unique musical identity that also fits perfectly into the familiar canon ofStar Warsmusic.
Ahsoka’s visual effects are stunning. The CGI in TV shows usually looks cheap and flimsy, but the CGI inAhsokacould’ve been in a theatrical movie and no one would bat an eye. The Lothal skyline is breathtaking, and shots of starships drifting through space are jam-packed with rich details and subtle lighting tricks.The use of The Volume technologyis much less obvious here than inObi-Wan KenobiorThe Book of Boba Fett. Thanks to the impressive, immersive cinematography of indie darling Quyen Tran and Jason Reitman’s go-to lenser, Eric Steelberg,Ahsokahas a much more convincing sense of scope and scale than its StageCraft predecessors. The lightsabers inAhsokadon’t have the blinding, overly pronounced glow of the frame-flooding lightsabers inObi-Wan Kenobi. The lightsabers inAhsoka– especially Ahsoka’s own signature white blades – have the understated hue of the original movies.
Ahsokawears its heart on its sleeve asa live-action continuation ofRebels, but it’s still accessible to viewers who have never seen a single episode of the animated series. There are a few succinct lines of exposition to catch up anyone who skipped the cartoon, and the story itself works brilliantly as a standaloneStar Warsadventure. Anchored by a trio of strong, powerful, fiercely independent female characters,Ahsokais aStar Warsshow that finally caters to the little girls in the audience and gives them a band of heroes they can look up to.
The first couple of episodes ofAhsokadon’t break any new tonal or thematic ground likeAndor, but they’re strong enough to restore faith in theStar Warsfranchise afterthe semi-disappointment ofThe Mandalorianseason 3. TheAhsokapremiere doesn’t waste any time reintroducing fan-favorite icons like Hera and Sabine, and it has a ton of solid action sequences to break up the exposition. And this is just the beginning;Star Warsfans have six more rollicking episodes to look forward to.
