Ahsoka Review: A Post-Empire Landscape Filled With Promise

Once upon a time (in a galaxy far, far away, if you like), "Star Wars" was a primarily theatrical franchise. In recent years, however, Disney has let the dam burst with endless TV shows, ranging from the disappointing and forgettable to the occasionally brilliant. "Ahsoka," a live-action platform for the fan-favorite character from "The Clone Wars," falls somewhere in the middle. Grounded in the more practical effects and visual aesthetic of the original series, "Ahsoka" feels less like a CGI hellscape than some other recent "Star Wars" shows. But it remains to be seen how well showrunner Dave Filoni and company will do at making these characters work for audiences who haven't done a deep dive into "The Clone Wars" or "Rebels." Is this destined to be a show that only appeals to diehard fans (who are, famously, some of the most obnoxiously difficult to please), or will it emotionally connect with mainstream audiences?

"Ahsoka" picks up in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the Empire, with our heroine Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) on the hunt for a mystical map that will help her track down "Rebels" fighter Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi). Those who are intimately acquainted with Filoni's "Rebels" will remember that Ezra, a budding Jedi apprentice, sacrificed himself to take out Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) of the Empire and is now presumably trapped in a distant galaxy. But Ahsoka, along with the majority of the surviving cast of "Rebels" — including Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and lovable droid Chopper — is caught in a race against time. Because while she is attempting to decipher the map to find Ezra, Sith forces (Baylan Skoll, played by the late Ray Stevenson, and Shin Hati, played by Ivanna Sakhno) are just as determined to use the same map to bring back Thrawn. Who will accomplish their objective first, and what havoc will their machinations wreak on the newly formed Republic?

The biggest open question that surrounds the quality of "Ahsoka" is whether or not the plot will mean anything to viewers who haven't seen "The Clone Wars" or "Rebels." It's difficult to tell if Filoni has done enough to introduce these long-standing cartoon characters to newbies, or whether viewers will take kindly to feeling as though they've been brought into the middle of a pre-existing story. Even audiences who have seen the prior shows may not recall all of the details that "Ahsoka" seems to assume that they'll already have floating around in their brains. 

We're given expository hints as to how they all relate to one another and a vague sense of their relationships, but it's tough to hit the ground running without really understanding the characters as people. For that matter, Ahsoka herself is a challenging character — existing in the space between the Jedi and the Sith, she has none of the self-righteousness or rage of either group and instead comes across as a placid, even-keeled figure. A great person to have around in a crisis, probably, and intriguing insofar as she reflects the evolving nature of Force-wielders, but perhaps not the most engaging character to build a show around — especially without the guarantee that audiences will already have fallen in love with her from her youthful adventures in "The Clone Wars."

If the characters don't immediately make an impression on viewers, it's clear from even just the first two episodes that the narrative itself will. The fight between light and dark to find a mystical pathway to another world, where both sides' greatest champions lay stranded, is a compelling concept. Even if audiences don't understand the importance of Ezra and Thrawn right off the bat, they will likely be drawn into this familiar conflict. The setting of "Ahsoka" is also fascinating, as we get a chance to explore the real-life politics of a formerly fascist state in transition (and often in crisis). There are clear parallels to Nazi Germany in the post-Empire society right off the bat. When Ahsoka and Hera question the loyalty of former Imperial workers on the industrial building planet of Corellia, their concerns are waved aside. Of course, the workers used to support the Empire, they say — if they got rid of everyone who worked for the Empire, industry would collapse. This new world the former rebels fought to win is a fragile thing, and there's evidence everywhere that winning the war against the Empire may have been the easy part. Attempting to govern a loosely tied together system of planets across wide stretches of space, with many inhabitants who have very real sympathies with the Empire, is more challenging than it looks.

If "Ahsoka" may have some initial struggles helping new audiences connect with its already established characters, it seems poised to overcome those fairly quickly. The narrative is engaging enough to draw viewers in, and it comes across as purposeful, whereas many other "Star Wars" spin-off shows feel as though some executive decided that they wanted a series about a legacy character and didn't give any thought about what would actually happen. The tenuous post-Empire political landscape is explored in fascinating detail since most of the characters were active in the resistance movement. And it features set and costume design choices that make it a visual successor to the original series, creating a slightly worn, lived-in environment that stands in stark contrast to some of the squeaky clean CGI from other "Star Wars" shows. Although it's early days yet, "Ahsoka" shows plenty of promise, clearing the first hurdle of a franchise that has churned out so much content that some seems doomed upon arrival.

"Ahsoka" premieres on Disney+ on August 22.

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn't exist.