Ahsoka Echoes An Offensive Move In The Last Jedi That Most Star Wars Fans Love
Contains spoilers for "Ahsoka" Season 1, Episode 4 – "Part Four: Fallen Jedi"
"Ahsoka" Episode 4, "Fallen Jedi," had a little bit of everything, including great fights, incredible plot development, and even a massive "Star Wars" cameo that means way more than you think. However, one moment took audiences back to "The Last Jedi," but hopefully, without the divisiveness.
Near the end of Episode 4, Hera (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and a small fleet of New Republic fighters arrive at Seatos, attempting to stop Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) from jumping into hyperspace. Unfortunately, they're unsuccessful as the Nightsister escapes to Thrawn's (Lars Mikkelsen) location, causing a fair bit of destruction on her way out. However, as "The Last Jedi" showed audiences, the New Republic got off easy despite the few casualties.
In "The Last Jedi," Admiral Holda (Laura Dern) performs a similar hyperspace jump, sacrificing herself and slicing through the First Order's fleet at lightspeed. Despite being a heavily divisive movie – to this day, audiences are split on "The Last Jedi" – most "Star Wars" fans applauded the scene, showcasing a hyperdrive's unique offensive capabilities. It's evident "Ahsoka" took inspiration from the film's moment, but thankfully, it came with much less destruction, as Hera, Jacen (Evan Whitten), and others could've been casualties.
Why was this hyperspace jump different?
Although "Ahsoka" Episode 4 will undoubtedly draw comparisons to "The Last Jedi," one key difference is that the Disney+ series' hyperspace jump was considerably less destructive despite the New Republic suffering a few casualties. While fans could chalk this up to plot armor, there are a few reasons why the hyperspace jumps differed.
First and foremost, in "The Last Jedi," Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern) intended to cause as much destruction as possible, sacrificing herself to save Leia (Carrie Fisher) and the Resistance. In "Ahsoka," Morgan Elsbeth's (Diana Lee Inosanto) primary goal was to escape from the New Republic, and if she killed a few of them on the way out, so be it. Her primary goal is reaching Thrawn, not sacrificing herself to take down a few New Republic ships.
Interestingly, the Eye of Sion's shape may have played a significant role in saving the lives of Hera (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Jacen (Evan Whitten), Chopper, and the surviving New Republic fighters. A few times in the first four episodes of "Ahsoka," characters mention that Morgan Elsbeth's state-of-the-art galaxy-jumping spaceship resembles the hyperspace transport rings featured in the prequel era of "Star Wars." While there is likely a lore-backed reasoning for the Eye of Sion to be ring-shaped, its circular design allowed the New Republic ships to pass through it as it jumped to hyperspace. If the Eye of Sion had a more traditional design, it would've crashed through the New Republic fighters, likely destroying all of them and killing most onboard.