The Jedi, The Witch And The Warlord

I have deeply mixed feelings about the Season 1 finale of Ahsoka, which I think did a pretty good job of finishing out Dave Filoni’s latest Star Wars project but also felt a little rushed. I think we needed more than eight episodes this season, and I think that’s especially true with regards to Baylan’s story.

That’s the real reason I have mixed feelings. Why a pretty damn good season finale felt so terribly bittersweet.

The passing of Ray Stevenson could not have been anticipated, of course. It’s tragic that such a brilliant actor died, and obviously a crushing blow to the series, which leaves our mysterious dark Jedi standing on a mountainous statue looking off into the distance at what appears to be a volcano of some sort.

His quest is only just beginning—but I’m not sure how Lucasfilm will continue without Stevenson. A recasting is possible, but I don’t envy whoever has to fill those shoes (we’re perhaps not quite in Henry Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia recasting territory yet, but we’re close).

Stevenson did such a terrific job all season. He was absolutely the highlight of the entire show. I hope they dedicate Season 2 to his memory.

I’m definitely bummed out that this is all we got of Baylan, and we got just about as much Shin. Neither master nor apprentice had a single line in the finale. That might be less disappointing if we had more of Baylan to come. Alas.

Are You A Good Witch, Or A Bad Witch?

The rest of the episode reminded me a lot of The Wizard Of Oz. Dorothy, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man (or Beskar Woman in this case) have to race up a tower fighting the Wicked Witch and her minions. That whole segment I couldn’t shake how much it made me think of Oz. The fact that they’re trying to get home only deepens the comparison.

Most of this episode was a whole bunch of action. Thrawn orders wave after wave of attacks on our heroes and they fend each off, though they take some hits along the way. Sabine manages to use the Force finally (color me shocked), first grabbing a lightsaber and stabbing it through the head of an undead zombie Stormtrooper and then using it to Force push Ezra into Thrawn’s departing ship.

That was, I must say, one hell of a leap of faith on Ezra’s part. I’m very much enjoying live-action Ezra, by the way. He’s so much like his Rebels counterpart. Such a lively presence in what has been a rather grim show. When he makes the jump he takes out two Stormtroopers and then hears some chatter on the radio saying they’re sending backup. “Thanks for the warning,” he jokes, dragging the body away. He pulls a Luke-and-Han and dresses up in the Stormtrooper armor, later (off-screen) stealing a ship and making it back to the New Republic where he’s reunited with Chopper and Hera.

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Perhaps the most surprising thing about the episode is not that Thrawn escapes or that Ezra makes it home, but that Ahsoka, Sabine and Hayung are stranded in a galaxy far, far away (along with Baylan and Shin). That’s a much more interesting end to this season than them all making it home in one piece, and leaves a lot of interesting storytelling options open.

Of course, Disney might just have them all get back to their own galaxy in some other show, sort of like how Baby Yoda left Luke and returned to Mando in Boba Fett instead of The Mandalorian. That’s always possible! I guess we’ll see.

Overall, this season really picked up for me, and this was a strong—if bittersweet—finale. The action was a bit hit-or-miss, though I really enjoyed Ahsoka and Morgan’s duel. I’m still not sure that they’ve done a great job establishing Thrawn as this big, bad, brilliant arch-villain, but there’s still time for that. For now, we shall just have to wait and see.

What did you think? Let me know on Twitter or Facebook.

Scattered Thoughts:

• More Easter Eggs for Filoni fans. We get the Sword of Talzin which Mother Talzin used to duel Mace Windu in The Clone Wars. Talzin was actually Darth Maul’s mother, so that’s a big old connection right there.
• I’m glad we got some visuals of the planet during the Baylan scene. I’ve had this uncomfortable feeling ever since we got to a new galaxy that it’s just…not that different from the rest of Star Wars. It still isn’t really, but it’s something.
• I was wrong about Ezra’s eyes in my post about how bad the fake eyes look on so many of the characters. His are worse than I first said now that I’ve had more time with the character. I still love his live-action version but I just don’t think the eyes look good at all.
• I know post-credits scenes are overused and can be kind of lame, but I was really hoping for one here, mostly because I wanted more Baylan, but also maybe something funny with Chopper. More. I wanted more, which isn’t a bad thing.
• This was a nice moment:

Actually, this show has given me a new fondness for both Anakin and Hayden Christensen. That’s a pretty major achievement.

• Hayung and Ezra’s scene was great. I really love Hayung and hope we get lots more of him. And more Chopper, who we did not get enough of. Oh, and kudos to Ezra for whipping together that lightsaber—even if the emitter is too narrow. (More Easter Eggs, inside jokes).
• Ivanna Sakhno, who plays Shin, posted a picture of two wolves chasing the sun and moon on Instagram and wrote “For my friend Ray. Forever your Wolf. x” This makes it very obvious that what we discussed last week about these two and their Norse mythology connection is very intentional. It also makes me very sad.

And I think that’s where I’ll stop. I may add more scattered thoughts as they come up. For now, say a prayer for Ray Stevenson who has, we hope, gone off to some other grand adventure in a galaxy far, far away.

For now, I whipped this up for sentimentality’s sake:

May the Force be with you, Ray.