Ahsoka: Star Wars Fans Have Major Complaints About The Finale's Lightsaber Battles

After eight episodes of "Ahsoka," "Star Wars" fans have been given a lot, with the inclusion of fan-favorite characters from "Star Wars Rebels" and the canonization of obscure lore, like the Mortis gods. But for some fans, there was still something to be desired, with many viewers taking to social media to complain about the fight choreography in Episode 8. 

The climactic fight has Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), and Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) take on an army of zombie stormtroopers. It sounds awesome in theory, but many people on X, formerly known as Twitter, think the fighting looks too wooden and is not something that should've been allowed in a live-action "Star Wars" series. X user @hiddenhush quoted a clip of Ahsoka deflecting blaster fire with the comment, "Why is Ahsoka of all characters so slow in live action?" Their comment is all the more palpable when comparing the finale to Ahsoka fighting in "The Clone Wars," including one moment where she decapitates four Mandalorians simultaneously. 

Granted, the character is older in "Ahsoka," but that shouldn't be any excuse for her not to be one of the most formidable Force users in the galaxy.

When looking at the history of lightsaber fights in "Star Wars," it's interesting to note how they've risen and fallen. For example, "Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope" has a lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) and Darth Vader (James Earl Jones). It's not particularly complex, but the emotions behind the battle are palpable. This leads to the prequel trilogy, notably the duel between a younger Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin (Hayden Christensen) on Mustafar, which is incredibly detailed. Now, fans think the Disney-era lightsaber fights leave something to be desired. 

X account @CanWeGetToast brought up this exact point, writing, "The downfall of lightsaber choreography from the prequels to the Disney era of Star Wars needs to be examined." 

Others tried to improve the lightsaber battle to the best of their abilities, like @firelrd_zuko, who wrote, "All the lightsaber fights from this show seem slow. I sped it up a bit." They included a sped-up clip of Ahsoka fending off blaster fire, which does make Ahsoka's fighting look more like that of a Jedi audiences are familiar with. 

It's a shame the fight was received this way, as it doesn't bode well for a prospective "Ahsoka" Season 2 or Dave Filoni's "Star Wars" movie. The finale should've gotten fans excited for the future of "Star Wars," but instead, there are comments like this from @Skyline7284: "Everything about this scene was rough. The set looks generic, the stormtroopers look like NPCs, the choreography is painfully slow." Hopefully, this criticism is taken to heart going forward so that future lightsaber fights pack the same punch as the best in the franchise.