Disney’s journey towards sifting through and streamlining the Star Wars expanded universe continues with Ahsoka. Since the very beginning of their tenure in the galaxy far, far away, Disney has found ways to re-introduce concepts from the yesteryears of Star Wars lore. While many of these have happened in the sequel trilogy, a good bulk of it is usually seen in the Disney+ shows, most of which under the auspices of Dave Filoni.
Filoni continues his storytelling trends with Ahsoka, slamming right into Rebels territory within minutes of the pilot. Predictions of Ahsoka being a live-action fifth season of Rebels are almost instantly proven right, without any attempt to even mask the show as anything else. Not that this is a bad thing in any way–after all, Rebels is easily one of the more universally loved Star Wars entries of the Disney era. However, it does carry a sense of the story starting in the middle and may be somewhat confusing for those unfamiliar with the animated series.
While this can be easily written off as an idiosyncrasy of larger shared universes, it doesn’t help that Ahsoka’s opening plot is not only built off a decade-old show but almost directly continues from the events of The Mandalorian’s second season.
So, fair warning, be prepared to do some homework if you find yourself a little lost amidst the sea of supposedly familiar characters.
Nevertheless, Filoni’s now-familiar footwork, perfectly in sync with Rosario Dawson’s return to the live-action Ahsoka, is seamless. In many ways, Ahsoka echoes the best fanfic characters in existence–largely due to her unique status of having been forged by both a fan as well as George Lucas himself. Her deepening roots and significance to the overall Star Wars lore have only sealed her place as a mainstay of equal significance to the Skywalkers and any of their affiliated kin.
Dawson’s portrayal of the originally animated character is matched almost effortlessly by Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Natasha Liu Bordizzo’s Hera Syndulla and Sabine Wren, respectively. Both actors deliver performances not unlike their animated counterparts while still lending their own talents to maturing the characters. Without spoiling Rebels, it can be safely said that the toll of the last season’s events continues to cast a pall over the crew, with each of their approaches to coming to terms with the new post-Empire status serving as a peek into their future.
But it’s not all about returning characters and fan favourites with Ahsoka. The late Ray Stevenson’s Baylan Skoll, a fallen Jedi Knight and survivor of Order 66, is an imposing presence reminiscent of Darth Vader’s earlier characterisation. His conflicted view of the New Republic and the future of the galaxy promise to form an interesting crux for the series–perhaps even forming a necessary juxtaposition against Ahsoka’s grey Jedi ways, and Thrawn’s need for absolute order.
Skoll is accompanied by Shin Hati, played by Ivanna Sakhno, a foil to Sabine’s own journey as a lightsaber-wielding Mandalorian–one who may not see the shades of greys as her master does, and potentially poses a threat to more than just the good guys. Her pairing with the returning Morgan Elsbeth, with Diana Lee Inosanto resuming her role from The Mandalorian, could potentially go where every Dathomir fan has been wanting.
Sprinkled with references harkening to the likes of the New Jedi Order novels and even the Knights of the Old Republic games, it seems like Ahsoka is building the Star Wars universe back to what some consider its heyday. Unfortunately, this also serves to further stress the necessity of staying abreast of every nook and cranny of this rapidly expanding universe (see what I did there?).
It was one thing when the likes of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Andor required some mandatory watching of the mainline content. But Ahsoka, like the later seasons of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, doesn’t leave much choice for the viewer: it’s either you watch it all, or you end up missing out on key details.
This isn’t so much a flaw within the scope of Ahsoka’s storytelling. But it is beginning to seem like Star Wars content is doomed to share the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s conundrum. With only 12 movies under its belt–and a handful of canon shows–it’s concerning that the story pillars of Star Wars are now rivalling the MCU’s tedious stable of content. Shared universes, long-form storytelling, and character intricacies are all great and fun, but not so much when it begins to form a barrier to audience induction and bears strong semblances to degree courses on classical myth.
Nevertheless, with the prodigal daughter of the galaxy far, far away returned to screens, at least the next few weeks promise to be a good time for Star Wars fans.
Ahsoka drops on Disney+ today with a double-episode premiere and will follow with new episodes weekly.