Ahsoka Episode 8 review: A limp, entertaining finale

❘ Published: 2023-10-04T09:05:38

Disney+

Ahsoka Episode 8 doesn’t exactly go out on a high; it’s packed with action that often lacks flourish, beats that should be emotional feel a bit cold, and the ending isn’t particularly satisfying.

What has Ahsoka been about, really? Is it the extragalactic journey to find Ezra Bridger years after his sacrifice to sever Grand Admiral Thrawn’s control over the known galaxy, is it the efforts to prevent the Chiss villain’s return, or is it Ahsoka and Sabine’s reunion and burgeoning, delicate master-apprentice bond?

With the finale, the answer seems to be all of it and none of it, because the real question is this: can Ahsoka be enjoyed on its own terms? Its heartstring-pulling moments are ultimately referential, with its storytelling constantly indebted to the past while the present wanders around in the periphery.

That’s not to say Episode 8 isn’t watchable, but it is frustrating; the most compelling elements of the series don’t take precedence, making the whole endeavor feel like a table-setting exercise for whatever comes next. Spoilers to follow…

Thrawn readies the Eye of Sion

Morgan Elsbeth, Thrawn, and Captain Enoch in Ahsoka Episode 8

Under Kevin Kiner’s thunderous marching drums – if nothing else, the series has been a great showcase for the composer’s atmospheric, singular sound in a franchise laced with iconicism – Thrawn’s Chimaera is almost ready to leave. “Bring the Eye of Sion out of high orbit,” he tells Captain Enoch, who informs him they’ve found the Jedi shuttle’s location. Swiftly, with prejudice, he sends two TIE fighters to neutralize the target.

Morgan Elsbeth echoes the past naivety against the Jedi, but Thrawn isn’t deluded by arrogance. “I watched many an Imperial officer make the same assumptions about the rebellion. Even I fell victim to the heroics of the single Jedi – never again,” he coldly asserts, before thanking the Great Mothers for their assistance across the years on Peridea.

Morgan, who pledges her “loyalty and life” to “sisterhood and the old ways”, then receives a gift from the Nightsisters for hearing their voices across the stars: a “gift of shadows”, aka the Blade of Talzin, a katana imbued with green, volatile magik.

The Jedi, The Witch & The Warlord

While Thrawn prepares for departure, Ahsoka, Sabine, and Ezra slowly travel back to his ship with the Noti. Sabine finds Ezra bickering with Huyang over the nitty-gritty of lightsaber craft, but he’s surprised to learn that Huyang actually taught his master: Kanan Jarrus, originally known as Caleb.

Ezra eventually finishes his lightsaber, powering up with a radiant light blue – but as he turns to show Sabine, she’s gone. While not digging into the full extent of her trauma, Huyang tells Ezra about Ahsoka’s anxieties after the Great Purge of Mandalore; if Sabine “unlocked her full potential,” she may have become dangerous and used the Force out of anger, which became a point of contention when she was first training to be a Jedi.

Outside on the wing of the T-6, Sabine apologizes for following Baylan and enabling the discovery of Thrawn, but Ahsoka isn’t angry. “I’ve made my share of difficult choices… often nobody understood my reasons,” she says. “Except my master… no matter what happens next, I’m going to be there.” Ahsoka and Sabine’s dynamic hasn’t been emotionally rich, but they make for a good on-screen team.

Screeching over the hills, TIE fighters attack the ship and disable the stabilizers, causing it to fall on top of the Noti – thankfully, Ahsoka and Ezra are able to hold it up while Sabine forces a burst of power from the engines which not only wallops the enemy aircraft but crashes their own way home. “Sorry to state the obvious, but this is gonna slow us down a bit,” Ezra says, but Ahsoka cunningly responds: “Only if we let it.”

Back on the Chimaera, Enoch reports to Thrawn that the fighters logged a successful strike before contact was lost. “An acceptable outcome… consider all of the TIE fighters lost, mark the captain for a citation,” he says, before checking their location. He believes the chances of them reaching the ship are near-impossible – other villains would see this as an excuse to ignore the threat, but Thrawn is a man of insurance. He orders an “immediate” ground assault to curb any possibility of their arrival.

Thrawn rains hellfire

As Ahsoka and co. ride off on Howlers, Huyang wishes them well in their efforts: “May the Force be with you.” On the Chimaera, Morgan gathers the Night Troopers who volunteered to fight the heroes, all of whom were happy to sacrifice their lives for Thrawn. “It is for the Empire, the security of our galaxy,” he says, with a wry smile as he walks away – he enjoys the admiration, he just doesn’t want it to define him.

As Huyang tries to fix the ship with the unlikely help of the Noti, Ahsoka leads Ezra and Sabine in a charge toward the Nightsister fortress. So, Thrawn orders hellfire upon them. “There’ll be no negotiating with the apprentice of Anakin Skywalker,” he says, as they’re barraged with giant blasts. Together, they use the Force to open the gates as they dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge the explosions and successfully enter the base.

Thrawn is most displeased by this outcome. “Dispatch the Night Troopers,” he says, with tremors of anger in his breath – but not at himself. He’s smart enough to know the inevitability of the Jedi’s supremacy if they board the ship; this isn’t a matter of pride, it’s the natural trajectory.

The Night Troopers swarm around Ahsoka, Ezra, and Sabine, with the trio using every weapon in their arsenal to kill them; Ahsoka makes light work with her dual lightsabers, Ezra’s combo of Force-pushing and pulling makes him a versatile fighter, and Sabine’s blasters come in handy in tight spots. The action itself is fine, but don’t make the easy mistake of watching any Star Wars movie in comparison; Rick Famuyiwa is a safe pair of hands, these shows lack serious directorial flair when it comes to action.

Soon, all of the troopers are dead – but there’s just one problem: they already were. The Nightsisters resurrect them (who knows how many times this has happened), but their revival is horrible; they don’t just get back up, they slowly reawaken and drag their feet towards the heroes, groaning in agony with every step. After all, it is the result of dark magick.

Ahsoka and Morgan get their rematch

Thrawn tells Morgan they need more time before returning home, but this is a thinly veiled way of saying she has to stay behind to fight Ahsoka while he boards the Eye of Sion. Ahsoka soon faces off with her again, but this time she’s armed with the Blade of Talzin. Unlike her usual quiet confidence, she tells Sabine and Ezra to leave and attempt to stop Thrawn. No words are exchanged between the two, but they jump into the best-looking, most exciting duel of the series; Famuyima allows them to duke it out in a single wide shot, showing off the fast-paced choreography in a throwback to the prequels.

As Ahsoka and Morgan fight and Sabine and Ezra deal with souped-up, zombie Night Troopers (they’re still not strong enough to stand against a lightsaber through the head), Thrawn’s ship takes off. “We’re too late,” Ezra says, but Sabine thinks it’s possible: he’ll jump, she’ll use the Force to push him up, and he can use it to pull her aboard. He makes the leap, and just when you think he might have plummeted to the ground, he hops up and takes care of troopers standing on the edge.

Alas, only one of them is set to make it home: as the ship ascends into orbit, Sabine stays behind to help Ahsoka against Morgan and her last troopers, but they’re no match for an in-sync Jedi master and apprentice. Morgan is killed, and the pair are stranded – but at least Ezra will get back to the galaxy.

Thrawn wins

Huyang picks them up on the repaired ship, and as they approach the Chimaera, Thrawn opens a channel to Ahsoka. “Allow me to commend you on your efforts today. You’ve been quite a worthy opponent,” he says. “I regret we haven’t met face to face, and perhaps now we never shall. Still, I know you, because I knew your master. I concluded your strategies would be similar… one wonders just how similar you might become. Perhaps this is where a ronin such as you belongs. Today, victory is mine. Long Live the Empire.”

In an instant, Thrawn vanishes into the far, far away distance, leaving Ahsoka and Sabine stranded. As they return to the Noti, Ahsoka catches sight of a white owl watching from the distance – could this be Morai? Meanwhile, Shin Hati finds a squad of nomads and powers up her lightsaber, but she doesn’t attack – she wants to lead. We then see Baylan atop a mountain, with two curious statues behind him: these resemble the Father and the Son, two Mortis gods who represent the balance and darkness of the Force. Only the Daughter is missing – unless she’s just arrived in the form of a Togrutan Jedi.

It’s not all doom and gloom for the main galaxy, though: Thrawn returns and takes position at Dathomir with the Great Mothers, but Ezra steals a ship and boards Home One and reunites with Hera. This moment doesn’t really land – it feels strangely muted considering the grief over his long absence.

On Peridea, Ahsoka tells Sabine she did well, but she’s not convinced. “Thrawn got away,” she says, but Ahsoka responds: “And thanks to you, Ezra got home… Ezra is where he needs to be, and so are we.” Sabine looks off into the distance, and for a moment, she appears to see something. She writes it off as “shadows in the starlight”, but she wasn’t wrong in detecting some sort of presence. Ahsoka smiles as she walks back to the camp, and we see Anakin’s Force ghost watching over her – combined with Kiner’s rousing score, this moment really works.

Ahsoka Episode 8 review score: 3/5

To call it Ahsoka Episode 8 a conclusion would be generous; it’s all just been set up for the next thing, whether that’s a new season or Dave Filoni’s Star Wars movie. It isn’t a complete experience, and that’ll always be the thorn in its side.

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