The Jedi, Witch and Warlord

It’s mind-blowing to think Ahsoka is already over. Fans waited years to see how the character’s story would continue and now, a mere eight episodes later, a major piece of that story has come to its end.

The season has seen its ups and downs, from a slow-paced, slightly unfocused first few episodes, to some immensely rewarding, mythology-heavy later entries. The finale saw almost every storyline from this season reach some sort of conclusion. Many of those were satisfying, several were not, but it’s where we’ll leave Ahsoka, Sabine, Ezra, Hera, Thrawn, Shin, Baylan, and others for the next however many years, until we hopefully see them again.

The eighth and final episode of Ahsoka season one was called “The Jedi, the Witch and the Warlord.” Which makes more sense at the beginning of the episode than at the end of it. Obviously, we know who the Jedi and warlord are —Ahsoka and Thrawn—and, after the pre-title sequence, the witch was pretty obvious too.

Thrawn and Morgan are preparing to leave Peridea when he’s told his forces have located Ahsoka. The warlord sends in two TIE fighters to attempt to wipe them out, a decision Morgan questions. She doesn’t see Ahsoka as a threat anymore, but Thrawn explains that making assumptions about your enemies can be a massive mistake, one the Empire made with the Rebellion and one he made with Ezra Bridger. Never again.

As a reward for her service though, Morgan is offered a chance to pledge her life to the Nightsisters, an offer she eagerly accepts. The Nightsisters perform what looks like an awfully painful ritual, seemingly giving Morgan new abilities and a fresh new weapon called the Blade of Talzin, which has those same dark magick properties. She is now their sister and, clearly, the “witch” of the title. But her overall importance in the episode does not seem as crucial as the other two because, well, we’ll get to it.

Elsewhere on Peridea, Ahsoka and Huyang have finally joined up with Sabine, Ezra, and the Noti. Since Ezra does not have a weapon, he’s in Ahsoka’s ship trying to build a lightsaber. Huyang doesn’t like his methods and asks how he even knows how to do this. Sabine interjects that it was his master, Kanan Jarrus, who Huyang then reveals he trained. This stuns both of the Rebels as they consider the scope of Huyang’s knowledge, which Huyang confirms by giving Ezra one final piece to the saber, an emitter Huyang was holding on just in case he saw Kanan again. He feels it’s only right for Ezra to have it.

Armed with a brand new saber, Ezra asks Huyang one of the many lingering questions that have been hovering over the show. What exactly happened between Sabine and Ahsoka? Huyang explains that after accepting Sabine as her apprentice, Ahsoka left the relationship out of fear Sabine was only training to get revenge against the Empire for her family dying in the Purge of Mandalore (a horrific incident we saw briefly in The Mandalorian, when hundreds of thousands of Mandlalorians died). She felt that, if their training continued, Sabine could become dangerous.

So that’s one big mystery the finale finally solved. The second was a little less clear and rewarding. For a few episodes, we’d wondered what consequences there would be for Sabine’s decision with Baylan and the map, gambling the fate of the galaxy for her friend Ezra. Ahsoka acknowledges that she knows about it, and the gamble paid off, but she isn’t mad about it. She explains that a good master, like Anakin, stands by their apprentice no matter what decisions they make, and that she’ll always do that for Sabine too. And so, there are no consequences. (Of note here is that Anakin didn’t always do that for Ahsoka. His lack of full, unwavering support was a big factor in her leaving the Jedi Order, but it seems recent interactions between them, and Darth Vader’s death, have shifted a bit of that perspective.)

As the talk between master and apprentice continues, and Ahsoka stresses that mind and body training is more important than lightsaber training, those TIE fighters Thrawn ordered arrive. Despite their typically awful aim, they manage to take out the ship’s stabilizers, so Ezra and Ahsoka run under the ship and do their best to keep it airborne with the Force. They do it just long enough so Sabine can set the ship up for one crazy maneuver. She slingshots it into the air destroying both TIE fighters simultaneously—but does so at the expense of their ship, which is now in shambles. “This is gonna slow us down a bit,” Ezra says. Which isn’t exactly true because he, Sabine, and Ahsoka grab a couple of Howlers and head toward Thrawn that way instead.

Thrawn, learning of all this, knows the Jedi are coming on the ground and recruits a group of Night Troopers to make the ultimate sacrifice and stay on Peredia in order to keep Ahsoka, Sabine, and Ezra off his Star Destroyer. The battle begins quickly, with the Star Destroyer firing downward at the Howlers as they race toward the entrance. The door is closed though and Ezra, with Sabine’s help, uses the Force in order to open it. What’s waiting inside? Those Night Troopers, and we get a very nice payoff shot of Ahsoka, Sabine, and Ezra, all with their lightsabers blazing.

That of course sets up a fairly massive saber battle that, honestly, didn’t look all that great. The choreography was a bit slow? Rosario Dawson doesn’t look very comfortable with two sabers? Either way, the intent was there but the execution was a bit off in terms of what we’ve seen from other Star Wars lightsaber battles. That’s partially why it was such a relief when Ahsoka gave Sabine the okay to use her blasters, which she’s much better with. The trio triumph but the Nightsisters decide to use some of that dark magick. They resurrect the troopers and turn them into zombies.

It’s the first time zombies have made it into live-action Star Wars, though the Nightsistesr did employ them in various ways across The Clone Wars. The zombies pose a real threat to the Jedi and so they basically run away. Upstairs, away from the action, Morgan tells Thrawn the ship is ready to leave but he’s worried the Jedi are too close. He requires more time and, without even saying it, he heavily implies he wants Morgan to sacrifice herself to hold them off so he can leave. “For the Empire,” Thrawn says to her. But Morgan has her own reasons. “For Dathomir,” she whispers once he walks away, revealing her true allegiance is to her witchy sisters.

Morgan confronts Ahsoka, Sabine, and Ezra, but Ahsoka decides she’ll take her on solo so the others can stop Thrawn, which is smart because he’s begun to take the ship out. Sabine and Ezra are hot on his tail when they run into two almost boss Night Troopers. These guys don’t die when you stab them with a lightsaber, and a broken helmet reveals they too are undead underneath. One even gets Sabine up against a wall, choking the life out of her, which forces her to attempt the impossible. She reaches out and with every ounce of her being uses the Force to pull her lightsaber towards her. It works, and she stabs him in the temple. Ezra does the same with his saber, pulling it toward him and decapitating his foe. It’s a huge moment for Sabine though as she finally realizes her full potential that’s been teased since the first episode.

Sabine and Ezra keep up their pursuit only to realize the ship is already gone. They’ll have to jump, which seems impossible, except if you use the Force. So Ezra runs, jumps, and when he gets to the end of his arc, Sabine uses the Force to push him almost all the way back up. He catches the ledge, jumps up, dispatches a few troopers and he’s on board. One down, one to go.

It’s Sabine’s turn to jump but she notices something behind her. The zombie troopers have caught up to Ahsoka and she’s continued to run away from them. She’s now on the same platform as Sabine and Sabine once again has a choice: Ezra or Ahsoka? Morgan arrives behind her troopers and, with Thrawn’s ship now out of reach, tells Ahsoka she’s going to die on this planet alone. “Not alone,” says Sabine, who decides to stay back. The two furiously attack the zombies and Ahsoka finally delivers a death blow on Morgan. The Nightsisters feel it and alert Thrawn that she’s dead, which was basically his plan anyway. With only Ahsoka, Sabine, and a bunch of zombies at the base, Thrawn opens fire on it, hoping to bring the whole thing down. Ahsoka and Sabine jump and are saved by Huyang who has repaired their ship. Now it’s time to go home.

Ahsoka pushes her ship to the max but does not seem to be able to catch up to the Star Destroyer, which is when Thrawn decides to open up a line of communications. He commends Ahsoka on her efforts and expresses regret they may never get to meet in person. Thrawn then reveals that he knew her master (in fact, they actually met on Batuu) and assumed she would fight as he did. He then adds that he wonders if maybe there are similarities too, a not-so-veiled hint he thinks she’s susceptible to the Dark Side. He ends by saying “Today, victory is mine. Long live the Empire” before jumping into intergalactic hyperspace in front of them, leaving Ahsoka, Sabine, and Huyang behind in a galaxy far, far away.

Ahsoka and Sabine return to Peredia where the Noti are happy to see them. They also seem suitably content considering they’re completely stranded in another galaxy. Just then, Ahsoka sees a bird in the distance. It’s a convor, a species that holds a special place in the Force, and it makes Ahsoka think about some things.

Which is exactly when we realized that this entire final episode of the season has so far COMPLETELY IGNORED THE BEST TWO CHARACTERS ON THE ENTIRE SHOW! Yes, I’m not ashamed to admit that I was so wrapped up in Ahsoka’s journey, I almost forgot about Shin Hati and Baylan Skoll. And, in fact, the show very much pushes them to the side too. We’re reminded that they are also both stranded on Peredia now and Shin decides to team up with the bandits while her master finds himself somewhere else entirely. He’s standing on two statues that might not mean something to everyone watching, but they mean something to fans of Star Wars animation.

Baylan’s cliffhanger (almost literally) is him standing on statues of what appear to be the Father and Son, two of the Mortis Gods, And, since the third God, the Daughter, was often a Convor, maybe that’s who Ahsoka saw too. Either way, while we still don’t know Baylan’s full plan, standing with these physical representations of the Force itself suggests it’s fairly major. And, off in the distance, barely visible even on television, a beacon blinks on and off.

Back in the regular Star Wars galaxy, Thrawn arrives at Dathomir, the home planet of the Nightsisters to, presumably, start his next reign of terror. And over among the New Republic, an Imperial shuttle enters one of their docking bays. Hera leads a group to inspect it, cautious as ever because this is an Imperial ship. A lone Stormtrooper walks down with his hands in the air. Hera and her team draw their weapons but one member of the group runs towards the trooper. It’s Chopper who seems to recognize him. The trooper pets the droid and takes off his helmet. Hera can’t believe her eyes. “I’m home,” says Ezra Bridger, as the screen cuts back to show Hera, Chopper, Ezra, and the Ghost. This too, like Ezra reuniting with Sabine and Ahsoka, was a very emotional moment for Rebels fans because Hera is kind of Ezra’s mom in a way. Having them back together is very good news.

Finally, on Peredia, Sabine and Ahsoka discuss their situation. The goal of keeping Thrawn from escaping failed but they did get Ezra home. And so, Ahsoka says, Ezra is where he needs to be and so are they. Is she referring to the fact the Mortis Gods have a presence here? Is it because now they can train without distraction? It’s unclear. But Sabine senses something nearby and Ahsoka sees what it is. It’s the Force Ghost of Anakin Skywalker, watching over his former apprentice, and her new apprentice.

And so, “The Jedi, The Witch and the Warlord” ended, with the middle piece not playing a particularly important role other than stalling the characters. But, as a result, Ahsoka and Sabine literally failed their number one objective of stopping Thrawn. It could spell the end for the New Republic (we know it won’t, but they don’t). They did, however, save their good friend Ezra and his return to the galaxy will be a huge boost to the New Republic. Plus, there is more to explore on Peredia, and Ahsoka and Sabine will have time to do just that.

While we didn’t love that Shin and Baylan became throwaway tangents, and some of the action sequences left much to be desired, the season one finale of Ahsoka did its job. It wasn’t a totally happy ending but Ahsoka and Sabine have become comfortable with their roles, Ezra has returned, Thrawn is back on the field, and the New Republic will hopefully have some idea of what’s in store. When might we see these characters again? A second season of Ahsoka? Dave Filoni’s Star Wars movie? Time will tell. But in the end, if you were a fan of Star Wars Rebels, Ahsoka gave you the satisfaction you have been waiting over five years for. If you didn’t watch that show, hopefully, you saw enough cool new Star Wars stuff—zombies, other galaxies, etc.–to keep you interested too. Either way, we’ll have a long time to talk about it.

Stream all episodes of Ahsoka, including the finale, on Disney+.

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