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Grounded and without a ship to take them anywhere, Ahsoka, Sabine, and Huyang are isolated from the rest of the New Republic forces on a planet completely overrun by enemy forces.
It's all mastered
No previous chapter, we saw Syndulla become frustrated with the political machinations within the New Republic and the trio Sabine, Ahsoka and Huyang arrive in Denab, where they hope to find answers about the conspiracy surrounding the return of the feared Grand Admiral Thrawn.
Now, with no other options, as they were practically slaughtered by the forces of Baylan and Morgan, our heroine and her apprentice have to do what they can to survive on a hostile planet, not to mention the need to investigate what is going on behind the scenes of the enemies. . Oh, and not to mention they know they're coming and they're ready!
Leaving the robot busy repairing the ship, Sabine joins Ahsoka outside, she informs her of the list of complications they are facing regarding the situation of their ship, which is without means of locomotion or communication. with the external universe, perhaps asking for help.
The map: this is the crux of all the current confusion, and the enemy has the means to get to where he wants to be. Ahsoka is accurate in her analysis of the situation, as the two are up against forces far beyond what a former Jedi and an apprentice are capable of alone. Also, Ahsoka questions the purpose of their quest, to find Ezra, and whether that is something they can actually do.
They are not mere similarities
It's not news that Disney has been reusing elements of the old Star Wars expanded universe with its recent productions, and Ahsoka is following the same path; a sign of this is the main protagonist's direct quotation of the name of the book saga written by Timothy Zahn, which continued the story of the original film trilogy and which starred Thrawn.
Yes, the “heir to the Empire” that Ahsoka mentions in this chapter is the name of the trilogy of books that were for decades considered the official continuation of the Star Wars canon post-Return of the Jedi, from which Disney has been gathering elements for its new continuity as if she were at the fruit fair.
And the similarities don't stop there. Baylan himself is already very reminiscent of fallen Jedi Joorus C'Baoth, both in his dark ways of using the Force and his motivations, aiding in the return of Thrawn as leader of the Empire's remaining forces. Such claims can still be considered speculation on our part, but the further we move towards the second half of the Ahsoka, but it seems reasonable.
The search continues
Let's go back to the plot of the episode. At the villains' base, Baylan receives information that Ahsoka and Sabine's ship has been found, and the evil one puts his ward in charge of hindering the girls' progress. Morgan takes the opportunity to needle his aging companion, as he notices a certain apprehension, even fear, in his colleague's voice, which he counters by saying it is experience speaking.
Inside the ship, Sabine prepares herself for the dangers she will have to face very soon, dressed in her Mandalorian armor, the same one we saw in Rebellious. Noticing the girl's nervousness, Ahsoka tries to comfort her, trying to find out if she has something to worry about with her apprentice.
The two share concerns over the fate of their mutual friend and whether the stakes are too great to be worth the danger they are in. Huyang, in turn, succeeds in repairing some of the ship's systems, but is soon attacked by another droid.
What follows is a true robotic battle, very reminiscent of that old two-player boxing toy, as the two exchange blows. Anyway, Huyang ends up losing and surrendered by the opponent, but not before turning off the ship's internal lights, a signal to Ahsoka and Sabine warning that something was wrong.
Outside and armed with their sabers and dual laser pistols, the heroine duo is able to repel the invaders, and Huyang is tasked with reactivating the ship's communication systems as soon as possible, to call Syndulla and the Nova forces. Republic.
Speaking of which, the general is pissed off at her failure to enlist the new government's help in aiding Ahsoka's search mission. Along with her son and Chopper, Ivy takes off in the Phantom, accompanied by Carson (recurring character of The Mandalorian) and his squadron of X-Wings, reminiscing about the good days of Rebels.
Many barbs, even too many
The villains' frames don't stop. Baylan wonders if the preparations for the extradimensional jump to where Thrawn is are ready, because where they are going there is no margin for error. Morgan claims that fallen Jedi must have faith, something he has long since lost. With the sphere containing the map in hand, she, as a sorceress, knows exactly where to go, activating it and pointing to the place within hyperspace where her evil alliance will head very soon.
Ahsoka and Sabine's progress is stopped again by Baylan's ward, Hati, amidst the planet's forest. With Sabine dueling with the girl, Ahsoka takes it upon herself to face her colleague, who carries a double lightsaber characteristic of the inquisitors. A fierce struggle ensues between the two, as Sabine does what she can without using her own Jedi weapon until she is forced to do so amidst her rival's rampant onslaught.
Amid the fight, the exact location where the villainous duo will leave is slowly revealed by the droid in charge. Armed with the green saber, Sabine goes on the offensive against Shin Hati. Ahsoka takes out her opponent with his characteristic lightsaber swing, literally cutting the guy's high, and he disappears in a cloud of dust. She leaves Sabine in charge of taking care of her rival to continue the search for the map.
Shortly before having Thrawn's location in hand, Morgan charges Baylan with the mission to protect the location where the map calculation is being done. It doesn't take long for Ahsoka to arrive and run into her master's former colleague, who comments that Anakin spoke a lot about her to him. The former Jedi counters by saying that Baylan was never mentioned. He questions her about why Ahsoka left her master, knowing now what he would become.
destroy to create
Baylan, when confronted by Ahsoka, who accuses him of wanting to start a new war for nothing, says that who will do this will be Thrawn, and that to create something new, there is a need to destroy what currently exists. Of course, it doesn't take long for the two to come to blows, pulling out their lightsabers.
The fight starts slow, as the two face each other, but soon accelerates, as both show off their different styles of swordsmanship, Baylan much more aggressive, almost primitive, full of brute force. Morgan, on the other hand, is getting closer and closer to getting the complete map.
Sabine, who finds herself in her own duel, is increasingly close to defeat, but manages to buy time using tricks on her Mandalorian armor, causing Baylan's guardian to flee. Taking advantage of the opportunity given to her, Ahsoka manages to disconnect the sphere from Morgan's navigation computer, interrupting the villain's droid's calculation.
Tired and almost out of strength, Ahsoka has to deal not only with the villain, but with her helper, who fled the fight against Sabine to join her master. At the edge of the cliff, Ahsoka calls out to her apprentice to destroy the map sphere just before being pushed back by Baylan.
With the map in hand, Sabine is challenged by Baylan to destroy it, but he uses her hope to find Ezra again to deceive her, stating that she will be able to see her friend again and promising that he would not hurt her. He succeeds, but Shin still tries to asphyxiate her with the Force before Baylan interrupts her, saying that unlike Ahsoka, he would honor her promise.
an exciting reunion
At last, the hyperspace path is drawn. In time to get help from Syndulla, who is in the planet's orbit, Huyang asks her to go to the rescue of Ahsoka and Sabine, in the enemy base. The pursuit is now spatial, but first of all, Baylan destroys the sphere of the map, so that nobody follows them. The ring rises through the clouds, just before reaching the stratosphere, and Hera's squadron ships prepare to attack.
In the hands of the enemy, Sabine comes face to face with Morgan, who orders his minions to ignore Syndulla's forces and begin the journey to Thrawn via hyperspace. And that's what happens, without any ability to react on the part of Syndulla, Carson and the other ships, some of which are shot down just by the power of the villains vessel's impulse when starting.
Back on the planet's surface, Huyang finally finishes the ship's repairs and on the edge of the slope where Thrawn's map was being assembled, we see the waves that took Ahsoka after her fall. She has a vision among the stars, where she meets her master, Anakin, again played by Hayden Christensen. But the conversation between them will be for next week…
Our verdict
We have yet another electrifying episode of Ahsoka this week. Understandably, it's transient, as it served to finally get us on Thrawn's trail, without much ado. What many series would take several chapters, in this one we had the development of the map in a few moments, putting the plot in a fast pace to take us to the next phase of the story, with the journey that will take us to the entry of the long-awaited villain.
In the field of good guys characters, we had big changes too. First, Syndulla was forced to escape the mold in which she was behaving, putting her position as a military leader at risk in order to help her friends, bringing with her Carson, a recurring participant in this new Star Wars television universe. Sabine, on the other hand, ended up acting like the classic Jedi pupil when she found herself in conflict with her emotions, giving in to the dark side.
The big surprise was reserved for Ahsoka. Seeing herself without resources, she is defeated and thrown overboard, with no hope of survival. Not only that, now she is approached by her former master, in a pre-final form, the dreaded Vader. It remains to be seen what this conversation will turn out to be. With certainty, we can say without fear, is that our warrior will return to the world of the living.
Baylan also got his fair share of development, showing that there's more to his character than just the current villain role for this series. As the fallen Jedi for whom this week's episode is named, there are portions of his backstory we don't yet know, but what's been said here already hints at his arc as a conflicting piece of Morgan's plans. In fact, there is more to him than meets the eye and it is certain that his true intentions will show their faces very soon.
the fourth episode of Ahsoka brought a bit of everything: action scenes, a lot of intrigue and a generous dose of emotions, among them nostalgia, without leaving aside the internal struggle of a pupil in Jedi training and that classic conflict that we are used to seeing in Star Wars. It remains to be seen whether Sabine's decision to join Baylan will yield the fruit she so desperately seeks.
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Source: wikipedia
Text proofread by: Pedro Bomfim (06 / 09 / 23)
