Many of the critiques of Ahsoka have centered on the show being slow; I’d use the word deliberate, but I understand the criticism. However, with “Fallen Jedi,” I think it is pretty clear that the show had a plan that it was taking its time to execute and, now that the first big piece of it has been revealed, we can all breath a sigh of relief.
1. It Rhymes
There’s a famous clip of George Lucas on the set of The Phantom Menace talking about how Star Wars rhymes; that is, that there are parts in the prequels that are reflective of moments from the original trilogy. “Fallen Jedi” rhymes in a number of ways with prior installments, but the rhymes are surprising, and play up the differences in characters, not just the similarities.
Don’t believe me?
The Force Awakens features a sequence where a strong Dark Side user (Kylo Ren) fights a Light Side neophyte with a lightsaber (both Finn and Rey). “Fallen Jedi” shows the same thing, with Shin Hati fighting Sabine; both fights show surprising resilience and skill from the lesser trained members. The difference here is that Sabine cannot bring her lightsaber back to her the way that Rey does, again proving her lack of Force sensitivity.
The Last Jedi shows that Rey is a nobody – undone by her Palpatine reveal in The Rise of Skywalker – in a very similar way to ho Sabine is shown to have no Force facility. The Dark Side users who chide them for this are smug and condescending, but the difference is that Sabine proves that she doesn’t need the Force, whereas Rey proves that her pedigree doesn’t matter for her using the Force.
Revenge of the Sith features a Light Side apprentice – Anakin – choosing to align with a Dark Side master – Palpatine – in order to save what is left of their family. “Fallen Jedi” sees a Light Side apprentice – Sabine – choosing to align with a Dark Side master – Baylan Skoll – in order to save what is left of their family. Both also feature the master saying “Do it” to the turner, although Baylan adds “for Ezra” to the end of it. The difference here is that Sabine knows that she’s betraying her friends for Ezra, whereas Anakin is convinced into believing he is doing the right thing.
2. Inquisitor goes bye bye
After a week of 400 articles guessing that Marrok, the inquisitor, was going to be revealed to be Ezra, we find out that, no, Marrok wasn’t the lost Jedi. Instead, he was someone possessed by Nightsisters magick. Was he already dead, reanimated by the Nightsisters? Because of the way he revealed his double-bladed lightsaber this week, I’m going to go in on another crackpot theory I’ve seen, which is that Marrok is a resurrected Maul. For real, watch Marrok letting his lightsaber light this week and tell me that’s not a Phantom Menace Maul move. I dare you.
Even though there would’ve been a lot of fun in the Ezra as Marrok story, I’m glad that it isn’t that simple.
3. Baylan
Baylan is the outline such an interesting character thus far, as he’s clearly a fallen Jedi of some type, who values the structure of the Jedi Order (his apprentice has a rat tail for crying out loud). He’s expressed a disappointment of having to kill Ahsoka, and he seems to be less driven by hate or greed like many Sith we’ve seen. He seems like a chiller Dark Side user than we’ve ever seen.
But sadly, the show hasn’t done much to actually give us reason to care about Baylan. We care about what he represents and the paint by numbers we are doing with him, but not about him at all. He’s just been sort of…there. Ray Stevenson is clearly a talented actor who has a lot to give to this role, but thus far, it’s felt a little empty. Hopefully, getting time with Sabine in hyperspace will give him time to become something more.
4. Connecting the dots to reveal a bad picture
Carson Teva from The Mandalorian shows up as a loyal pilot alongside Hera, connecting the two series by more than just Ahsoka’s presence. Mon Mothma connects it to Andor, the prequels, Return of the Jedi, and the Aftermath novels. All of this is filling out the New Republic side of the story, but what it is revealing isn’t great. I mean that both as the story hasn’t been all that satisfying – Star Wars is lousy with bureaucrats who suck shit – and that the picture of the New Republic is a glum one.
Continued belowLet’s take Hera’s case: she’s told she can’t bring a fleet to help Ahsoka and Sabine, but she does so anyway, and loses half the fleet along the way. The NR was right to be concerned, and Hera proved that, even if it is the correct thing to do. This is half a step from being brilliant writing of how government by the people will always face challenges, but for right now, it is not quite there.
One of the great tricks of Star Wars is the undoing of myths. When we meet Obi-Wan and Luke, we think that the Jedi are the tits. When we see the full order, we are brought back to reality. When we see the Empire, we imagine the old Republic as idyllic. When we see the Republic in its heyday, we see its flaws showing. And now, the Republics are rhyming in their ineffectual leadership.
5. The World Between Worlds!
We all thought we were going to get the World Between Worlds, but I didn’t expect to see Anakin be the one who pulls Ahsoka out of a near-death experience. We don’t get much of this scene (yet), but it is fulfilling all the potential that Dave Filoni had put into the World Between Worlds in Rebels, but the presence of Hayden Christensen makes it feel even more momentous. This is, perhaps, the most out of the ordinary Star Wars idea in the modern canon, and one that seemed like a bridge too far outside of animation. But here we are, and I can’t wait to see how the folks who haven’t watched Rebels will handle this.
