Summary
Warning: This review contains spoilers forAhsokaepisode 4.
Ahsokais now halfway through its first season, and “Part Four: Fallen Jedi” finally picks up the pace and raises the stakes of a frustratingly slow-moving narrative. Ahsoka and Sabine come face-to-face with Jedi-turned-mercenary Baylan Skoll and his forces in a delightfully action-packed episode. Hera remains separated from the main action in the first half of the episode, but she gets some fun mother-son moments with Jacen as her co-pilot. The roguish general finally comes back into the A-plot towards the end of the episode when she ignores orders and brings a fleet of X-wings to help Ahsoka and Sabine (complete with a fan-pleasing cameo appearance byThe Mandalorian’s Carson Teva).
“Fallen Jedi” doesn’t have the instant actionpromised by last week’s cliffhanger. Since the previous episode ended with Ahsoka and Sabine stranded in a forest and Skoll sending his best foot-soldiers to find them, this episode was supposed to open with a manhunt. But it takes a little while to get going as Ahsoka and Sabine get some exposition out of the way and Huyang tries to repair the ship before they’re even spotted by Skoll’s men. Still, when the bad guys do manage to track down the heroes, the explosive standoff is worth the wait. This set-piece has an abundance of inventive action beats. Ahsoka uses the Force to move one henchman into another henchman’s line of fire. Huyang shows off his rarely-seen badass side in a brutal fist fight with a fellow droid.
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There’s a ton of great action peppered throughout the episode. Ahsoka’s duel with Skoll – the first half of it, anyway – plays like a civilized samurai duel froma Kurosawa film. Her duel with the former Inquisitor Marrok is a dazzling display as he comes at her with his double-bladed lightsaber, twirling it like a baton, and she effortlessly slashes through the twirl and into his torso. Creator Dave Filoni continues to treat audiences toStar Warsaction they’ve never seen before. The surge of power from the villains’ hyperspace ring knocks Hera’s backup X-wing fleet off-course and the starfighters all start crashing into each other. That’s not the same space battle that’s been rehashed inStar Warsmedia for half a century; that’s brand-new.
Rosario Dawson continues to anchor the series with a spectacular lead performance as Ahsoka, although it would be even better if she was given more to do than crossing her arms and delivering one-liners.The late, great Ray Stevensongets to do some villainous monologuing and lightsaber swinging in his biggest role yet as Skoll. David Tennant brings plenty of personality to Huyang and Natasha Liu Bordizzo is doing a fantastic job of playing a conflicted Sabine who’s increasingly unsure of herself.
Director of photography Eric Steelberg continues to deliver some of the most gorgeous cinematography of anyStar Warsshow. Just because it’s TV, it doesn’t mean it has to look bad. Steelberg makes beautiful use of color in every shot, finding a nice balance between bright, vibrant colors and softer, more subdued colors. Like all the bestStar Warscinematographers, Steelberg uses lightsabers as a light source, which works wonderfully during duels in a gloomy environment, like a dark forest.Ahsokadoes a much better job of hidingthe presence of The Volumethan the otherStar Warsshows. The actors are clearly restricted to a limited space in all the big set-pieces, butAhsokauses in-universe elements like a star-map dome to make sense of it.
Rebelscomposer Kevin Kiner continues to provide the series with an awesome musical score that tiesAhsokato its animated counterpart’s lighthearted, escapist tone. Kiner’s music, much like John Williams’ music before him, uses hummable tunes to underscore the spectacle. Tangible melodies have been largely missing from film and television music for the past couple of decades, as scoring has fallen into a bland, generic house style. But all the best film and TV composers – Williams,Danny Elfman, Ennio Morricone – score scenes with real tunes that the audience can tap their feet to, and Kiner follows in that tradition.
One thing thatAhsokahas been doing really well is ending its episodes on a tantalizing cliffhanger that drums up excitement for the next installment. Last week’s episode ended with Skoll launching a manhunt for Ahsoka and Sabine and this week’s episode ends with a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one. After being knocked off a cliff and into the choppy waters of the ocean below, Ahsoka awakens in a kind of Force limbo, where she meets none other than Anakin Skywalker. It’s a joy to seeHayden Christensen in all his gloryafter he was hidden in the Darth Vader suit for most ofObi-Wan Kenobi’s run. Now that Snips and Skyguy have finally been reunited in live-action form, the stage is set forAhsoka’s first season to have an even more exciting second half.
