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Finally, the big villain of the series is found: the Grand Admiral Thrawn sets her Machiavellian plan in motion, while Sabine finally finds who she was looking for, her great friend Ezra Bridger in an episode full of action and lots of emotion!
Starting from inside the mouth of the leader purrgil, Ahsoka and Huyang go after Sabine, who is in the company of Baylan and Morgan, towards the place where Grand Admiral Thrawn is banished.
A journey of introspection
Traveling through hyperspace with the purrgil, our heroine and her robotic partner remember a time long ago, when Ahsoka was a child in the time of the Jedi. Encouraged by Huyang, she reveals that she saw through the Force, when holding the map sphere, that Sabine was not coerced into leaving with the villains, but rather voluntarily.
Ahsoka feels frustrated with her protégé, as the girl had the opportunity to end everything, but didn't; worse, she joined her enemies in the process. There would be no danger of the war to come, but the robot reminds her that without this new adventure, the possibility of her also finding Ezra would be lost.
Sensible in his analysis, the former Jedi trainer states that Ahsoka's biggest fear is losing Sabine, which shakes the recently rescued from the world of the dead in previous episode wanting to change the subject quickly. Sure blow for mere words, without a doubt.
“A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away…”, begins one of her stories, at Ahsoka's request, while they are still waiting for the end of their journey in hyperspace, setting the tone for the dramatic opening of the series, and serving as the title of the episode.
In the hands of the enemy
With a cut to Sabine, who is handcuffed in a scene on Morgan's ship, we learn of the girl's fate, possibly regretting her decision. Baylan visits her, speaking to her through the door, questioning her about what he imagines to be one hell of an introspective session taking place inside the young Mandalorian's box.
Already seeing that she made a huge mistake by joining Baylan, Sabine finds herself confronted with the reality that the former Jedi's promise may not have been sincere, as it doesn't look like she will see Ezra anytime soon. Baylan, in turn, continues with his plan, going to talk to Morgan on the ship's bridge.
Morgan is in doubt about his ally's objectives, and seeks to know if he will actually fulfill his promise to Sabine; he believes that the search for his friend leaves the girl blind, but that even so there is still use for her within his sinister objectives. Finally, the villains reach their destination, leaving hyperspace.
The ring-shaped ship heads to the planet Peridea, homeland of Morgan's ancestors, the Dathromir. According to Baylan, this place also serves as the final landmark of the purrgil's journey through space, acting as a kind of cemetery, with the villain also revealing that her people domesticated these beings and made use of their unique abilities for their own benefit.
Approaching the planet's orbit reveals a wave of cosmic trash, including parts of ships and animal carcasses, probably from the purrgils who made the journey to the site their last in life. Morgan's robotic officers claim that a powerful signal is emanating from the surface of Peridea, and the villains waste no time in responding to it, heading straight for it.
Heading towards Thrawn
Baylan, Hati and Morgan, along with Sabine, aboard a smaller ship, head towards the mysterious signal. Amidst the clouds, they see rock formations and fallen statues near the planet's wasteland. Their destination ends up being a kind of base, clearly the place where the transmission captured by the dark side agents departs.
In the center of some pillars, a group of robed figures are in possession of spherical objects: they are witches from Morgan's people, the Dathromir, who waste no time in talking to her about the vision she had in her dreams, containing the so-called from them to the planet they are on now.
She was guided there by them, and the promise remains that Thrawn is on his way and that she must wait. Plenty of time for Ahsoka to arrive on the planet too, of course. Sabine is targeted by the witches for “stinking of Jedi”, the enemy order of the sect to which Morgan is a member. The spheres carried by the sinister figures surround Sabine, trapping her.
With no options, Sabine is now under the power of the witches, and Baylan does nothing to stop this, even though he still wants to keep what he said to Ahsoka's protégé. The girl is left in a dark chamber, while Hati and Baylan watch Morgan's ship depart back to the ring.
Baylan becomes thoughtful, and when asked by his own apprentice, he states that the planet is nothing more than a place where children's stories come to life, especially those told in the old Jedi temple. The warrior who left the path of light recalls his past days, not much older than Hati is, when he saw his life change with the execution of the infamous order 66.
The beginning of a new cycle
According to Baylan, history becomes inevitable the older you get, and that the events of the fall of the Jedi and the rise of the Empire are doomed to repeat themselves, again and again.
His apprentice asks if this alliance with the Grand Admiral will finally bring them to power, which he counters by saying that such an achievement is temporary. What the fallen Jedi is looking for is a beginning, to finally put an end to the vicious cycle he mentioned, which has lasted more than 20 thousand years, implying that perhaps the events of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic become part of the current canon of the saga, where the Jedi and Sith fight a battle very similar to what we see in the current story, only a long time ago.
In her new cell, Sabine tries to summon what little Force power she has, but is soon interrupted by the unexpected arrival of a remnant of the past. The shadow of an Imperial destroyer darkens the structure in which the characters are standing. Visibly refurbished, the vessel is gigantic in comparison to the tower in which the villains are and easily encompasses it within the opening of its extensive hangar. It is nothing more and nothing less than Chimera, the star destroyer last seen in Rebellious.
The tension grows as they approach what turns out to be a battalion of Imperial soldiers and battleships under Thrawn's command. All, it is noted, wear dirty armor, with replaced parts, including one of them with the traditional mask of stormtrooper exchanged for a gold one. And everyone shouting the name of their leader, like a cult full of worshipers, even fanatics.
It is worth mentioning that these soldiers are referred to in the episode's subtitles as night troopers, which may be a reference to another event from the old Star Wars canon where undead soldiers served the remnants of the Empire; seeing as Thrawn is an ally of the Nightsisters, nothing is impossible.
Anyway, habemus the Grand Admiral
Wearing a uniform with clear signs of seams and patches, the triumphant Thrawn marches towards his new allies, amid shouts and screams of his name from his soldiers. The member of the Chiss race, with blue skin and blood-red eyes, smiles when he meets his visitors, including the Witch-Mothers of the Nightsisters of Dathromir.
The exile, says Thrawn, is about to end, inviting everyone to board his destroyer, in the company of his squad leader, Enoch, the one with the golden mask. An exception among the fascist forces of the Intergalactic Empire, Thrawn was the rare alien to rise to the position of Grand Admiral, and his presence is already phenomenal in the episode.
Presented as mercenaries by Morgan, Baylan and Hati, the master is instantly recognized by Thrawn as a general of the Jedi in the Clone Wars, which Baylan soon counters by saying that he has long left the fallen order. Upon learning who the prisoner is, a smile takes over the great villain's face, recognizing an enemy he hasn't faced in a long time, since the events of the animation. Rebellious.
Face to face, Thrawn ironically thanks Sabine for bringing him the solution to his exile, at which point she soon seeks to know Ezra's fate, which the Grand Admiral skillfully classifies as the girl's blind goal that will change the course of history. of the universe, since it brought back a figure like him to the scene.
Not believing what was offered to her by Thrawn, the means to find her friend and a free passage, as Baylan's promise still stands, the chiss comforts her by saying that the moment they leave in their destroyer, Sabine will be trapped on the desert planet, and that, most likely, Ezra is dead, along with a howler, a mount previously seen in the games Star Wars: Jedi Knight, previously part of the canon, are now reused in the series' new reality, as natives of Peridea.
Sabine is about to go her own way. First, however, she is warned by Enoch of the dangers that await her on the surface of Peridea, of how the nomads who make the desolate place their home live, attacking each other to survive, before handing the girl their weapons. “Die well” is her goodbye to her before the doors open and Sabine moves on.
A suicide mission
Shortly after Wren leaves, Thrawn informs Baylan and his apprentice that they have an open path to finding Sabine. Even if he finds Bridger, the Mandalorian will have to face the evil Jedi and Hati, who are determined to be obstacles to Ahsoka's apprentice.
It takes mere moments for Sabine to face the dangers of the planet as she is fired upon by laser fire from hidden enemies, scaring her mount away. Unfortunately for her, her Mandalorian fighting skills do little to help her in the fight, but she remembers her lightsaber and is soon able to send her opponents running.
Unfortunately, during the fight, the tracker given by Thrawn ends up being damaged, and Sabine has no choice but to leave on foot, aimlessly. Meanwhile, the non-Jedi duo are hot on Sabine's trail. Thrawn orders squads to be ready to join Baylan at the right time, which Morgan judges to be little to help his ally.
Thrawn shows little concern, not even with Sabine and Ezra, even worse with Baylan. Back to Sabine, she scolds her poor mount, who left her alone to face the enemy forces. Visibly remorseful, the animal follows the girl, who doesn't even want to know him, rejecting him at every turn. However, the animal is stubborn and continues to follow her until Sabine returns to the saddle.
Counting on her new friend's nose, the girl from Mandalore continues forward, but soon reaches a crossroads, thinking that the mount only took her to a place to quench her thirst. But Star Wars being Star Wars, nothing is in vain, as a little stone-shaped monster reveals itself to the duo. In fear, she tries to communicate with Sabine, who tries to calm her down by communicating in her own alien language. She recognizes the Rebel emblem on the shoulder of Sabine's armor, revealing a collar around her neck bearing the same symbol.
Sabine recognizes the artifact as Ezra's, and upon hearing the name, more animals like the first join the conversation. Everything indicates that they know her friend and will guide the girl to him through the inhospitable planet they are on. And it wasn't without time, as Baylan is very close to finding her, examining the remains of the fight she had just now.
In a quick conversation with his apprentice, Baylan comments on Ezra's origins as a Bokken Jedi, part of the warriors who continued training in the order's rituals after the fall of the temple. Hati, in turn, he says, will be trained to be something much greater than a Jedi, after the young woman shows herself identifying with Bridger's life story.
Baylan appears nostalgic for his time as a member of the Jedi order, but after his apprentice's question about the longing he has for his past, he reinforces that he misses the concept, but not the group's weakness and lack of future. Hati is amazed that her master cannot sense the location of Sabine's friend.
She rightly questions Baylan's decision to stay behind, as even the witches of Dathromir are wasting no time in fleeing the planet. Baylan, on the other hand, says he believes he feels something stirring on the planet. Approached by the nomads, the old saying reigns that “the enemy of our enemy is our friend”. At least for now the two won't draw their weapons.
Look who else showed up
Sabine arrives at the little creatures' stronghold, a series of shell-shaped houses, where she finds a true society of curious beings. Wearing a cloak made of patches and with long hair and a beard, Ezra reveals himself to Sabine, eliciting a laugh from the girl, who soon questions him about her strange methods of bringing him back among her friends.
Thanks to the help of his small allies, Ezra was able to bring Sabine to his side, and at least for now the two will not talk about what is to come, but simply enjoy each other's company while strolling through the village. Without a doubt, the two have a lot to talk about. But let's not forget the villains, as they prepare to leave and wreak terror on the universe. Alerted by the witches, Thrawn learns of Ahsoka's approach, very unwelcome news for the blue guy.
Questioning the veracity of the information given to him by Morgan, the Grand Admiral shows frustration upon learning of the miraculous return of the “recently deceased” Ahsoka Tano, leaving Morgan, for the first time in the series, embarrassed. Underestimating a Jedi is beyond the capabilities of the Nightsisters, with her giving the excuse that Baylan had ensured the death of her enemy, with which Morgan also engaged in combat during The Mandalorian, we remember.
The weakness of the Jedi still remains in Baylan's being, and Thrawn says he will only consider Anakin's former apprentice dead when he has adequate proof of the fact. He wants to be prepared to face her, knowing everything about the heroine, using not only Morgan's hidden means, but also the mysterious power of Dathromir's Nightsisters. With an enigmatic appearance, Thrawn's face is the last thing we see before the credits begin, concluding the week's episode. Ahsoka!
Our verdict on the episode
We, as Star Wars fans, can now safely say that it has been a while since we have seen a series or animation of such influence as the one that Ahsoka has been taking place within the Star Wars universe. Without a doubt, none of this would be possible without all the careful construction carried out by Dave Filoni and his team in the more than a decade since taking on the role of creating intellectual property under Disney's control.
What Ahsoka has been doing very well is tying up the loose ends left by Clone Wars e Rebellious, dotting the “i’s” within the Star Wars saga as a whole, not to mention a tremendous development of its characters after the events of the animations. Thrawn's return, by the way, dictates a plot point that, even contained only within the events of the series, has the potential to be one of the coolest stories in George Lucas' universe since the original trilogy.
Now, it remains to be seen how we will reach the inevitable confrontation between Baylan and Ezra, and how this will affect the future of the universe, as the threat that Thrawn poses with his presence is not small at all, even though we already know that one way or another, everything will turn out will resolve in time for the events of the last film trilogy, with the rise of the First Order as the true heirs of the Empire, no matter how bad the story got after Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker.
Luckily, we won't have to wait for years for an answer, like with movies. Next week's chapter promises a lot, and we'll be here to comment on it. Ahsoka is approaching its finale and we couldn't be happier with how the series has been going so far. Until then, may the Force be with us!
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Source: Screen Rant.
Text proofread by: Pedro Bomfim (20 / 09 / 23)
