“Ahsoka” is another installment of the Star Wars universe following the events of the animated shows “Clone Wars” and “Rebels”. Produced by Dave Filoni, the show is Ahsoka’s second appearance in a live action series. As a major “Clone Wars” fan, I think the show is finally showing some love to the “Clone Wars” and showing how the crew of the Ghost, the stars of “Rebels”, fit in the new era after the original trilogy. However, the show is far from perfect.
Where the show really wins me over is the nostalgia factor. Getting to see Anakin fight Ahsoka as well as the flashback cut to both of them in their “Clone Wars” outfit was a real treat to see. I also do enjoy the idea of rogue Jedi being introduced to the overall world story which makes the big bad, Admiral Thrawn, an even more looming threat. Similarly, the whole idea of using the Nightsisters’ magic to bring back dead stormtroopers was really cool to me. Ever since the death troopers book in the expanded universe where a virus basically turns a Galactic Star Destroyer’s personnel into zombies was always something I wanted to see implemented into live action. Getting to finally see all of the “Rebels” cast in live action was a treat too. I feel like this goes without saying, but Star Wars always manages to nail character designs and the world around them. Everywhere in the show always feels alien and not possible in the real world, and when you’re watching you always feel like you’re somewhere far, far away.
However, as I stated before, I do have some major gripes with the show. The first couple episodes just feel slow and super dragged out. Things just take too long to get the characters from point A to point B, which leaves the show feeling extremely slow. The same can be said for the fight choreography. Actors feel like they didn’t quite have enough time to properly practice and be trained for fight scenes. Lightsaber fights between the new characters and the crew of the Ghost feel crude and like characters are swinging around a bat instead of a lightsaber. Another big issue I have is with the implication that the New Republic is corrupt and isn’t much better than the Galactic Empire that was just overthrown. While I understand that it does make a good point that not all governments are good, it feels like it undermines the whole journey of Luke and crew in the original trilogy. I’m all for writing new stories in a part of the Star Wars timeline but not at the expense of writing off the accomplishments of the original trilogy.
While I do really enjoy the pure nostalgia factor of Episodes 5 and on with “Clone Wars” characters, the show overall just feels a little sluggish. I really do want to like this show, however with the bad choreography and the slow storytelling, I can’t give Ahsoka higher than a 6 out of 10.
