Written by Amanda Clark
If you haven’t watched Star Wars Rebels yet, stop what you’re doing, don’t start Ahsoka just yet, and queue up Star Wars Rebels because so far, the first two episodes of Ahsoka are basically a continuation of the animated show and it’s safe to assume the entire show will be.
In order to truly appreciate everything and everyone in Ahsoka, watching Star Wars Rebels is a must — and you will be praising this show.
Two of the main characters from Star Wars Rebels, Sabine Wren and Hera Syndulla (played by Natasha Liu Bordizzo and Mary Elizabeth Winstead respectively), are two of the main supporting characters to Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson), while another character, Ezra Bridger, keeps getting name-dropped and we even see an old hologram video of of him. The main villain everyone thinks of when thinking of Rebels is Grand Admiral Thrawn, voiced by Lars Mikkelsen, and as it’s seen in the trailer for this series, Thrawn will be the main villain of this plot as well. Fans also get to see beloved rebel droid Chopper back in action with his entire personality back as well.
Now, if watching every season Star Wars Rebels is too time-consuming (which it can be, but it’s worth it), then YouTube has some recaps that should get the job done.
To make this feel more like the movies that fans are obsessed with (cough, cough, the prequels and original trilogy), Ahsoka has the iconic opening crawl but in red. This makes it the first show to have an opening crawl, and it also hints at this being a darker show with the color choice.
Episode 1, ‘Master and Apprentice’ sets up the continued storyline that viewers got a small taste of in the second season of The Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 5 and it couldn’t be set up without the way Star Wars Rebels ended. As mentioned, Ahsoka is on the hunt for Thrawn, and viewers get to see her back in action, determined to execute her mission where she just got something that should help her.
Unlike previous Disney+ shows, the pacing in the first episode is just as it should be. This episode is the perfect beginning as it reveals where those characters who came back from Star Wars Rebels ended up and how they are coming back together.
New characters are introduced as well, including a dark side master (Ray Stevenson and Ivanna Sahnko) and apprentice, which is the first time Star Wars fans get to see a live-action dark side master and apprentice fight side by side, even though there have been those dark side duos seen before. And it wouldn’t be a complete episode without the spotting of an Inquisitor who gets a bigger part in the next episode. This only builds up the intensity of the show and how difficult it will be for Ahsoka and her team to make sure the New Republic doesn’t get destroyed by The Empire.
Each character everyone will be seeing throughout the show is introduced with enough background information that it does not take away from the main plot by adding in numerous personal struggles or steering the attention away from Ahsoka herself. After all, the show is titled Ahsoka, so that’s where the main focus should be — and it is. Although some could argue it’s more of a Star Wars Rebels show, it still feels like Ahsoka will shine through.
Episode 2, ‘Toil and Trouble’ unravels more of what episode one set up by bringing in more twists and turns for the heroes of the show while keeping up with the quality of the first episode. Viewers also got to see a member of the Dathomir witches show off her powers, which is the perfect call back to Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
This episode just feels like an extension of the first episode where if someone watches them back-to-back, they blend together so well Disney could have made these episodes be one one-hour-long episode. But for those who don’t have endless amounts of time for one sitting that’s more than an hour long, the way the two episodes are divided is well done.
Episode two further sets up the droid Huyang (voiced by David Tennant, Good Omens) to replace K-2SO or IG-11 as one of the new fan-favorite droids. With Huyang having the most screen time compared to the other droids in this show, Chopper has some competition.
For any Star Wars fan, Ahsoka is the show to watch and have it become the new obsession. Unfortunately, this show isn’t bingable yet, seeing how it’s a weekly episode release, but once every episode is out, it’ll be the perfect show to spend hours in one sitting on. But to give a better idea of how good the first two episodes are, this glowing review doesn’t do Ahsoka justice.
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