Table of Contents
Sabine's Jedi training resumes now that she has returned to being Ahsoka's disciple, long after the two have gone their separate ways. Now, master and apprentice will have to, alone, in addition to rekindling their relationship, get to the heart of the great conspiracy that is proving to be increasingly complex.
Sabine's training finally begins
The third episode opens with the young woman training hard in the ways of the Force, with the help of the droid Huyang. Much to the girl's chagrin, her abilities have declined in the years she has been away from Ahsoka's care.
She ends up suggesting that her disciple try a fencing style closer to hers as seen in the animations. Clone Wars e rebels, a direct reference to the Japanese samurai cinema classic, Zatoichi, in which all training is done blindfolded, blind like the protagonist played by Shintaro Katsu and Takeshi Kitano.
Ahsoka shows Sabine that there is more than just sight among the senses necessary for Jedi survival, a clear allusion to the training we saw with Luke along with Obi-Wan and Yoda during the classic trilogy. At first, launching haphazard attacks against her master, Sabine appears anxious, frustrated and above all, unprepared, feelings that will lead her to become stronger.
An open but ignored conspiracy
Meanwhile, aboard a New Republic fleet ship, Syndulla meets with members of the new Senate, led by Mon Mothma (with Genevieve O'Reilly returning to the role after Andor), along with Xiono, an old Twi'lek acquaintance, who is in a hurry to take care of matters. Even dispensing with formalities and making small talk, the boy emerges Jacin, son of Syndulla by Kanan Jarrus, Ezra's late master, former member of the team of rebels, character played by Freddie Prinze Jr. in the animation.
Hera shares with the senators the events of the first two episodes of the series, in which she was attacked by infiltrators loyal to Morgan, which is soon countered by one of the senators at the meeting, stating that all former Imperials now working for the new government have taken an oath. Syndulla, not missing an opportunity, repeats the "Long live the Empire" mantra uttered by the shipyard workers moments before attacking her. She questions whether this is the kind of loyalty the senators are looking for, which gives Mon Mothma a chance to defuse the situation, stating that the bandits' activities had been completed with her arrest.
But Syndulla soon brings up a name that silences everyone for a few moments: Thrawn. The plot's great villain, whom everyone seeks to know about his fate, the Imperial Grand Admiral who everyone believes is missing and, hopefully, dead. Ivy fills everyone in on the dark plans that lead her to believe that Thrawn is very much alive, and that if the ongoing conspiracy continues unhindered, he will soon return to make life hell for the members of the New Republic.
She proposes forming a task force tasked with investigating her suspicions, starting with a trip to the Denab system, where the last clue found is leading her. However, Xiono is against the general's efforts, claiming that such a plan is nothing more than her attempt to use the new government's resources to find her friend Ezra Bridger, who has also long disappeared.
Rebutting his opponent's allegation, Syndulla hits on his weak point, his non-participation in the war against the Empire, in which he, like many other powerful people, decided to "wait and see who would win" the match, a fight that those who watched the excellent series Andor knows full well that Mon Mothma put himself at open risk to finance the rebels.
Even with such an argument, Hera finds herself facing a group of senators who are mostly reluctant to put themselves in another conflict with what they believe to be a decentralized and aimless enemy. Even so, she claims that she knows Thrawn very well, as he took loved ones from her, and that she knows a great deal about the suffering of war. Mon Mothma, Syndulla's only ally at the meeting, tries to calm her down, putting the matter on the back burner to be discussed off-call.
Connections with the past
Frustrated, the general doesn't have much to do but huff indignantly on her way to the hallway, where she finds her son, Jacen, accompanied by the little robot Chopper. He learns of Sabine's return to Jedi training and is also interested in becoming a warrior of the order, much like his father.
Back at the Jedi duo, Sabine expresses impatience with the pace things have been going, stating that perhaps there is a way to speed up their training given the growing threat the two are facing. Of course not, and Ahsoka explains to her the ways of the Force, using the same arguments of Jedi masters that we already know.
Sabine feels that she cannot use the Force in the same way as her master, and Ahsoka reinforces that to make use of the power behind Jedi techniques, there is a lot of training and a little talent too, and that for the young woman, the best thing is go slowly.
In the ship's cabin, in a conversation with Huyang, Ahsoka's decision to train the Mandalorian is put to the test. The droid, responsible for the Jedi order's teaching regiment before the fall of the ancient republic, says that Sabine would never be accepted by the council as a suitable candidate to become a disciple of whoever was her master.
Ahsoka, on the other hand, claims that standards have changed a lot since the order was ruined by the Emperor, which Huyang counters by saying that a millennium of existence has long since proven that they would be right to deny Sabine training, if she still existed. For her, not only did they fail to be defeated, but that her ward doesn't exactly have to be a Jedi, but herself, which the droid agrees that even Ahsoka doesn't conform to traditional molds.
Alone, but not helpless
Soon after, Sabine and Ahsoka receive unexpected news from Hera, who warns them that there will be no official New Republic help in this investigation. The space fleet will not come, as the senate did not approve; the conversation ends up being cut off, as when approaching the Denab system, communications are blocked, which raises Ahsoka's suspicions. Coming out of hyperspace as a result, there are signs that an unidentified presence is in orbit.
It doesn't take long before the trio's ship is boarded by the enemy squadron led by the villain Baylan's apprentice, Shin Hati. There's a space battle in which Ahsoka forces Sabine to use her Jedi instincts to somehow get them out of this predicament. In a coordinated movement between Ahsoka, in command of the ship, and Sabine, in control of the weapons, they are able to gradually get rid of their pursuers.
In the midst of the chase, the trio finds their target, the giant ring orbiting the planet, where Morgan is and orders Ahsoka and her gang to be killed for good, using the laser batteries of the station in which she is located. , as his squadron did not cope. They wait until the last moment to open fire on the two, who have their work cut out to prevent the ship's total destruction while the droid surveys the curious craft before them.
Downed, but not out of the game, Ahsoka's ship, without its thrusters, heads the course it was heading before being attacked, directly towards the planet, while Sabine and Ahsoka try to regain control, with Huyang disabled to give support. Despite thinking she has succeeded in killing her main opponent, Hati soon arrives to spoil the party, taking it upon herself to finally finish off our heroine.
Light sabers and lots of laser cannons
As a last resort against the squadron about to finish off what's left of the group, Ahsoka takes a desperate measure, exiting the ship, lightsabers in hand, outside, into open space. With excellent juggling skills, she is able to finish off one of the attacking ships, while Sabine manages to reactivate the ship and bring Ahsoka back inside, just in time to avoid Shin Hati's gunfire.
Already in the atmosphere of the planet, among the clouds, Ahsoka and the young woman come face to face with some members of a species of flying whale, which are in the way between them and the helper of the villain, but even so, she is not able to lose her from the double trail. Taking advantage of an opening in the tentacles of the “whales”, they manage to see themselves free, but not for long.
In the meantime, Huyang returns to activity, unaware of the perrengue the two went through to survive Hati and Morgan's attack. Landing in a swamp, it is the perfect place to stay out of sight, but even so, the girl in the service of evil does not give up the search, separating herself from her colleague, giving time for the droid to inform her companions about her discoveries regarding to the ring-shaped station where Morgan is.
Old friends, new paths
Sabine, meanwhile, remembers the last moments beside Ezra, remembering the flying whales they just came across, that they were also there before the disappearance of their friend. The station, according to Huyang, turned out to be a hyperspace ring, of a larger size than had ever been seen before.
The droid calculates that such construction, which is still in progress, will be able to take whoever uses it to locations very far away and at an absurd speed, even to a neighboring galaxy, if the navigators know the correct coordinates, which, yes, Morgan and your pack are on par. Such a path, the robot says, are the same as the migratory paths of the whales that were seen in the previous scene, whose name we learn to be purrgil.
Elsewhere on the planet, Baylan entrusts his sinister agents with the pursuit of Ahsoka and her companion, which brings to an end another action-packed episode and a certain amount of intrigue in the new series of the Star Wars saga.
Our verdict
The whole series needs time to settle down and get on track, and Ahsoka is no exception. In the first two episodes, we had the reintroduction of elements that were already familiar to those who watched the animations, but knowing that the new Disney+ production would bring newcomers to the Star Wars canon outside the movies, it was necessary to update them on what was happening.
The third episode very well developed the reverberations of the events of last Wednesday, showing that the political scene after the fall of the Empire is fragile and still full of resentment. This was made clear by the senators' behavior regarding Syndulla's mission, by denying much-needed help to the general, who sees her goals conflict with her desire to see a long-lost friend again.
Ahsoka and Sabine's relationship, which now becomes that of a master and her apprentice again, is well developed during the almost 40 minutes that the chapter lasts, giving plenty of time for the two to develop their points of view and even to change them, as was the case with the young woman, who found herself rushed and without patience with the traditionally mysterious mannerisms of the Jedi, even presented by someone like Ahsoka, who stopped following them a long time ago.
For a transitional episode like this, we had a decent amount of action, with a dose of Jedi power even, with Ahsoka climbing on the wing of the ship to shoot down enemies and give Sabine time to reactivate the systems in time to land on the planet. Not to mention a surprise in the form of space beings who not only showed up to help the duo escape, but as elements of the story in general, as they will be the ones who will guide the two from now on.
It now remains to be seen what Morgan and company will find at the end of their path, once the season is complete. Since she isn't there yet and Ahsoka and Sabine are on the planet, where we imagine the construction and preparation of that ring is taking place, it gives us room to believe that they won't leave the villains alone for that, right? After all, this wouldn't be a Star Wars product without sabotage, or at least an attempt to put a deterrent against the villains.
Even so, knowing that Thrawn will eventually show up, it will be up to Ahsoka reveal the great villain in an exciting way and with the weight worthy of a name that for many years has touched the limits of Star Wars history, and that with this series, will become part of the main plot, which for the most dedicated fans of the franchise, it should have happened a long time ago. Fortunately, we still have many episodes to go for this to develop well, and everything that has been shown so far, it seems that it will happen in good time, without much detour.
Keep following us on our journey through Ahsoka next week, and until then, check out more geek news here on Showmetech!
Text proofread by: Pedro Bomfim (30 / 08 / 23)
