– Spoiler Review –
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, this show, and those it continues stories from, wouldn’t exist. Consider supporting the strikes here.
While some of the hollowness is getting harder to ignore, there’s no doubt Ahsoka “Part IV – Fallen Jedi” was a engaging episode with lots of action, plot movement, and a cliffhanger like no other.
As much as I enjoyed Ahsoka “Part IV – Fallen Jedi,” the lack of motivations, or at least clear ones with more history for the characters, feels starker by the episode, as if Dave Filoni is writing it knowing full well the answers but acting like we should as well or at least not need more, but it’s beginning to get harder to ignore. Take Baylan Skoll for example, it’s cool to learn he knew of Anakin Skywalker, even heard the Jedi talk about Ahsoka, and his ability to get into people’s heads and use it against them is engaging, but his vague talk about creating a new galaxy is interesting but knowing so little about him makes the words meaningless at the moment and leaves us wondering why he’s here. Same can be said for Shin Hati, beyond trying to finish what she started with Sabine, or even Morgan Elsbeth, as while she’s supposed to be an ally of Thrawn’s back in the Imperial days (maybe Timothy Zahn will get to write about it in an upcoming book), it’s still unclear why she’d even want Thrawn back in the first place and what she’ll get out of it. Speaking of Thrawn, the Grand Admiral as a threat doesn’t feel palpable yet, especially if you’ve never read any books or watched Rebels, as Hera’s scene last episode was a nice start but even another short scene of someone talking about his abilities could help this aspect. Sabine’s choice later this episode could’ve hit harder if we had some more of the new backstory in the still nebulous time of Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren’s training days between the end of Rebels and the start of this show, as well as even a brief conversation between Hera Syndulla and Sabine about the importance of finding Ezra Bridger would’ve added more to her feelings about finding her friend. Because while these things will likely come in time, at this point I’m worried they won’t given how Jon Favreau and Filoni have done other recent live-action shows, saying the fans will do the work for them, and for the average viewer just watching Ahsoka, it certainly makes a harder case for why this show and its characters should be the next big thing in SW if the context isn’t forthcoming. It’s certainly fun to speculate answers to many of the above questios, and much of these pockets leave plenty of room that I already find my mind wandering to possibilities, but without something more the motivations for many of the characters in this show are nebulous at best and it’s hard to be invested in these stories without it. Under all the intense lightsaber battles, race against time tension, wonderfully depicted effects, and mood setting score, Ahsoka feels a little hollow, at least more so than necessary, even for someone who’s watched and read what’s come before.
Despite all I said above, this was still a gripping episode and it all stems from the very beginning, with the unsettling, alien sounds of Seatos’ forest. Kevin Kiner’s score carries the rest of “Fallen Jedi,” but it’s this opening silence, beyond dialogue and the eerie red, dark glow of the forest, which set the mood for what’s to come. From the moment the HK droid attacks Huyang (he’s fine, thankfully!), the episode doesn’t really relent, and Kiner’s score and director Peter Ramsey’s work which help keep viewers engaged. Even though I had no concern over the fates of Sabine, Ahsoka, Hera, Huyang, Jacen, Chopper, and Carson Teva, there’s some tight action and building tension as I mentioned earlier that at least gave me some slight concern and still had me anxious. Marrok’s duel with Ahsoka has some neat moments but was the weakest of the three, if only because his fate was more than sealed, while Baylan and Ahsoka was the highlight, with Sabine and Shin almost taking the cake due to the shear palpable hate and desire to one up one another. Ray Stevenson’s presence is immense, so the might and ferociousness he swings his saber with almost made my hands hurt, and Ahsoka looked to be pulling out all her skills to match his offensive; though her injury from grabbing the active map and her concern for Sabine, and some potential lingering issues about her old Master (no, we’ll get to him later) add up to her defeat. Sabine got to pull out some Mandalorian tricks, focusing first on blasters, but she holds her own far better with the saber after her recent return to training. Yet Shin has it out for Sabine, if only to prove she’s the better apprentice and worthy of the power Baylan’s promised her, trying to make up for her first failure. Ivanna Sakhno brings a ferocity to her performance, it’s as mesmerizing as Stevenson’s stoic, chatty presence, and it gives Natasha Liu Bordizzo someone to match her performance so far, making me look forward to more of these two together. And as for Hera arriving with Jacen, Chopper, and Carson Teva and a few other X-wings, I never expected them to stop the Eye of Sion, but as it got ready to jump, memories of the stunning Holdo Maneuver came to mind and gave me worry, though thankfully only some unnamed pilots bite the dust (as I guess since they were inside the ring’s circumference, it didn’t cause the same effect).
As “Fallen Jedi” begins, Ahsoka notices Sabine’s tension is wound up more than ever before, as the weapons expert can’t even find the fresh tibanna gas canister for her blaster on the table next to her. As Ahsoka talks to Sabine about it, it’s a window into their previous time as Master and Apprentice, how they were close enough for some time to know little ticks and abnormal behaviors. Ahsoka’s certainly troubled about Sabine’s connection to Ezra Bridger, maybe seeing shadows of Anakin Skywalker’s connections in her apprentice, but Sabine sidesteps answering what she’ll do if faced with the potential option they’ll have to cut off everyone’s access to the other galaxy where Thrawn and Ezra seem to be, which you know means she’ll have to make such a choice soon. Once the attack on their ship begins, Ahsoka and Sabine show what a formidable team they can be, using their particular strengths together to make short work of the attackers. In another classic trope fashion, Huyang says it was a thrill to see them together again and they should stick together in the fight ahead, so you know trouble is coming because they’ll have to split at one point. There’s a shared look of recognition between them, how right Huyang is, before they head off, which was nice to see knowing things would not stay that way long. As they rush to the map-henge, the pair finds Shin and Marrok waiting for them, leading to the inevitable split as they face off with their newly minted nemeses. Ahsoka makes short work of Marrok, revealing he was no one terribly special besides either Nightsister zombie magic by Elsbeth or a number of the gaseous species out there. As for Sabine and Shin, this is now a much more even fight and they have a lot of emotional baggage riding on the outcome. Sabine tells Ahsoka she’s okay and the two split, leading to a longer fight between the two that ends in a detente, with Shin throwing smoke to go help her Master once she realizes they are more of a match than she realized.
As Ahsoka gets to map-henge, Lady Elsbeth’s droids on the Eye of Sion are close to calculating the coordinates for the jump to the other galaxy. She’s safely on the ship while Baylan awaits Ahsoka, who greets her with his alluringly interesting perspective, not denying Thrawn will start a war and how he sees it as a means to an end to fix what he sees as a broken galaxy. What’s wrong and what he wants to see on the other side remains to be seen, but it’s compelling enough through Stevenson’s performance you instantly want to know more. In fact, he seems disappointed it’s come to this, that he has to fight Ahsoka, but he does his job admirably well, using his immense physical prowess to keep her at bay, but she’s wily in her own way and manages to get past him, grabbing the map but burning her hand in the process to do so. This injury is intense and helps Baylan turn the tide, beating her back to the edge of map-henge’s cliff, only for Sabine to show up and put her gun to the map, threatening to blow it to hell. This is where Baylan, by the way of Stevenson, really shines, as he reveals his real might is in his ability to read other people’s minds and intentions, as he knows Sabine won’t prevent her chance to see her friend again. Sabine’s initial hesitation is enough to throw off Ahsoka’s focus and Baylan knocks her off the cliff into the icy, rocky waters below. Is she safe? Is she alright? Are we going to be subjected to more of Filoni wearing shirts with questions marks on Ahsoka’s fate? Thankfully the episode ends with an answer and it’s loaded with potential…but we’ll get to that in a moment.
When Baylan turns his full attention to Sabine, it’s mesmerizing to watch as he makes her an offer to live long enough to see her friend as long as she gives him the map and lets them finish their work. Since Sabine should know better than to give in and we don’t have any reasons she’d betray Ahsoka’s trust, especially since she might be dead now, of course she’d say no to Baylan’s offer, right? Well, in the process of Baylan’s proposal, he reveals to us part of the problem with Ahsoka abandoning Sabine: the entire Wren family died during the Mandalorian Purge, an event we’re still gathering specifics on in The Mandalorian, which Sabine seems to hold against Ahsoka for not being there to help. It’s devastating to learn the wise, strong-willed Ursa, the supportive, art-focused Alrich, and even her burly brother Tristan died, as we only just got to know them before they’re torn from Sabine and us. It would help this moment if we had an earlier hint Sabine felt betrayed by Ahsoka, that the abandoning issue had such baggage with it, but it makes sense when Sabine decides to take Baylan’s deal. However, it wouldn’t be too surprising if she had done it without needing a family’s worth of motivation to do so, as not having her Ghost family around, as Hera’s off being a General in the New Republic, Zeb’s a pilot doing who knows what, and Ezra’s missing, she doesn’t have that support system so it makes sense she’d risk it to get one part of it back. Add in the dead family and there’s really no other choice, is there? If they were still alive, it might feel like more of a struggle, but it doesn’t lessen the impact of her choice. Baylan returns the map to the podium and the calculations are completed, and then he promptly destroys the map so no one can follow them, whether this works or not, whether they find who they are looking for or not.
Shin arrived while Baylan had Ahsoka on the razor’s edge, but was knocked out by a Force push by Ahsoka before she fell, though she awakes shortly after Baylan’s deal with Sabine and she’s looking to finish off her rivalry, Force choking Sabine until Baylan shows he’s true to his word and has her stop it. The next we see of the three, Shin is pulling a chained up Sabine behind her, adding rhydonium to the fire of the shipping between the two women, and making me very curious how they act being stuck in a new galaxy together and Baylan watching over the two; their dynamic has been electric, whether you ship the two or not, and I’m glad there’s going to be more between them. As the Eye of Sion charges up, Hera Syndulla arrives in the Ghost, which is beautiful to see up close again, with Jacen, Chopper, and…Carson Teva and a small squad of X-wings! We learn Teva knew Hera from before, dropping the name Phoenix Squadron for their little rebellious group breaking away to help Ahsoka and Sabine when the New Republic declined to assist. The resulting hyperspace jump by the Eye throws them about like ships on a tumultuous sea and I’m just glad they were in the middle of the ring to avoid the Holdo Maneuver effects, even though two random fighters die. The resulting scene, the Eye gone on a journey to another galaxy (how long will it take them and how long will they be gone before they return?) and Jacen almost saying the full ‘have a bad feeling about this’ line, with Hera staring blankly and quietly, is a bit awkward, and sort of steals the gravity of the moment, but it’s still a promising ending…
….but that’s not where “Fallen Jedi” finishes, as we return to the seas of Seatos, panning over the cliff and to the waters where Ahsoka fell. The view shifts to a close up as we near in on her face and it initially looks like she’s floating in the water but it’s shifting and rippling with sparkles, not like the dark and deadly sea we saw moments before. The moment the effects kicked in, I couldn’t believe it, as there was no doubt in my mind where she was: the World Between Worlds! First introduced in Star Wars Rebels, the World Between Worlds is the ethos of the Force writ large, taking the truth of how it connects and binds the galaxy together and giving it a physical location. Through this expanse, Emperor Palpatine hoped to control time and space, while Ezra used it to save Ahsoka from her fateful duel with Darth Vader on Malachor, and she taught him about sacrifice and letting to, which is where the two last saw each other and she promised to find him after returning to the time he pulled her from. As Ahsoka awakes and begins to realize where she is, we hear a very familiar voice, and neither us nor Ahsoka can quite believe it’s real…and it’s really him. And then she turns around, after he says he’s surprised to see her so soon, and there he stands, dressed in what looks like his Revenge of the Sith outfit, and in the face as young as he’d be at that time: Anakin FREAKING Skywalker!
After having played the character again in Obi-Wan Kenobi, Hayden Christensen returns once more for the role! He’s digitally de-aged, even though they didn’t do it on Obi-Wan Kenobi‘s flashback scene, which I was totally fine with and would’ve been fine with here, it actually looked quite good this episode. I think it helped a lot it was Hayden’s voice, not more Respeecher AI which sounds way too wooden (though works better for Vader) and would’ve affected my thoughts on the face. So how and why is Anakin here?! And will it help Ahsoka finally resolve her lingering feelings about what happened to her former Master, whom she last saw when he was trying to kill her and, having met Luke Skywalker, seen how there was still good in Anakin and learned he became one with the Force? Is she upset she couldn’t help her friend turn back on Malachor? While it’ll be interesting to finally give Ahsoka a little more to do next episode and maybe get some more character growth, for now I can’t quite speculate what we’ll all see, but I can bet she’ll return to the galaxy by the time it’s over, refreshed and ready to train Sabine and handle what comes next. As for Anakin, my mind initially went to the idea he’s here because he’s fulfilling what he was meant to do on Mortis, be the chosen one and guide light and dark onto their respective paths when they stray to far, or more like a Charon from Greek myths, ferrying souls into the afterlife…if it’s their time. Will he be tempting her to join him or showing her what she needs to let go of to do what the galaxy needs at this time? Also, it’ll be interesting to learn how he can be here and be a Force Ghost, as he’ll save his son from Exegol’s ghouls and visit him as a Ghost years later. I cannot believe this is happening and I am so intrigued to see where they go with this, as there’s so much potential, like seeing Obi-Wan again as well in the Clone Wars alongside Anakin and Ahsoka, or even Rex for a bit, though I definitely wish it was happening in animation, but am happy to see it in live-action so it merges the two performances for these characters at last. It’s gonna be a wild one in Part V, I can only imagine.
Here are a few other things:
- The case against Rosario Dawson and her family was never truly resolved, as it was only due to the court not rescheduling that the charges were dropped, so this is still an outstanding issue if and when the plaintiff decides to reopen things. This disclaimer will come with every episode reminding readers of this, as it’s the very least we can do for trans fans of the Saga.
- Got to thank fans for pouring over every scene in details, as someone has uncovered there is a photo of Kanan Jarrus on Hera’s controls of the Ghost! Closer inspection seems to potentially suggest this image is of Freddie Prince Jr. as the character! Too bad not everyone got to play their live-action counterpart, but if true, could this mean we’ll see it closer soon…and maybe when Freddie himself in a later episode, like even during Ahsoka’s travels in the World Between Worlds in Part V?!
- Speaking of Part V, the episode is coming to limited theaters screens, building hype for the episode, and yet really reminding us how much Disney should pay its writers and actors.
- Hot Toys has come out with an immaculate (and expensive) sixth scale figure of Sabine, full of little details, a crazy good design all around, and even a little Ezra hologram.
Ahsoka “Part IV: Fallen Jedi” makes a case for why we need a bit more background details, but it’s hard to worry too much about it after such a tense, exciting episode and surprising final reveal.
+ Sound design, from scene setting creepy forest to Kiner’s score, builds palpable tension
+ Now that’s how you do a cliffhanger!
+ Fantastic lightsaber battles
+ Baylan’s abilities/Sabine’s choice
– Motivations are growing more necessary by the episode
– A little awkward reactions from Jacen/Hera at the end
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, Twitter @MynockManor, and Instagram @mynockmanor.
AHSOKA REVIEWS
Season One: Part I: Master and Apprentice / Part II: Toil and Trouble | Part III: Time to Fly