‘Ahsoka’ Part Four ‘Fallen Jedi’ Review: Do We Really Have to Wait Another Week?
It seems like Tuesday’s can’t come sooner enough. But after this week’s episode of Ahsoka, that statement couldn’t be more true. In this week’s episode, fans were treated to more lightsaber action, plenty of twists and turns, and a surprise reveal that came a little sooner than expected, but that’s not unwelcome.
Before getting into spoilers, I’ll say upfront that this was my favorite episode so far. Everything from the action choreography, cinematography, production design, music, and writing was exceptional. There may be a few hiccups that some could point out, but otherwise, the episode delivered. It feels now like the series is fully underway and this episode helped skyrocket it into another galaxy (literally).
SPOILERS BELOW
Jumping straight into it … Anakin Skywalker and the “World Between Worlds.” Everyone who’s been following this series knew this was coming. However, I don’t think many expected it to happen in the way that it did.
After facing off against Baylan Skoll and losing, Ahsoka mysteriously gets transported to the World Between Worlds, the mysterious realm we first met in Star Wars: Rebels that Ahsoka has already visited. After hearing a familiar voice, she turns around and finds Anakin Skywalker, played by Hayden Christensen, looking exactly like he did in Revenge of the Sith.
Having Hayden Christensen back is still an amazing gift for Star Wars and Star Wars fans. But Anakin Skywalker’s appearance in the World Between Worlds is an interesting prospect. How did he get there? Why does he look exactly like he does from Revenge of the Sith? Fans will just have to wait till next week to find out.
The second biggest surprise wasn’t a surprise, but rather, a confirmation of something we’ve kind of already known: Marrok is just Marrok. I, like many, had my theories about who Marrok could’ve been (check out our podcast SWNN Live! to see me now looking like a fool).
I’m sure the reveal — or the lack of one — will disappoint many. But I’m okay with Marrok just being Marrok (not really, of course, as it was revealed he was just a corpse brought back to life by Morgan Elsbeth’s witchcraft; he was definitely not Starkiller, though). The series itself already has a good number of villains. Morgan, Baylan, and Shin are already plenty enough, and we still haven’t even gotten to Thrawn yet. Perhaps fitting another major villain in would’ve been too much. And Marrok just being an expendable henchghost who helped get in the way of Ahsoka and Sabine for a while makes sense within the overall scope of the series.
And finally, viewers got to see The Ghost up close in all its glory. With Hera and Jacen Syndulla disobeying orders and leading a squadron to help Ahsoka and Sabine, the small group attempted to stop the Eye of Sion from leaving. But the ship jumped to hyperspace before they could reach it, leaving behind a large blast in its wake. We still don’t know where they went, but it’s possible that the World Between Worlds will help with that.
Even Sabine surrendering to Baylan and Shin was a surprise turn for her character. But as was also revealed in this episode, Sabine’s parents were killed in the Mandalorian purge, and Ahsoka somehow had a hand in keeping Sabine back. Knowing this does help explain Sabine’s decision, but it’s more than likely she’ll betray Baylan and company to try to escape at some point.
Jumping away from story spoilers to talk about other positives, the production value of the show is always impressive. The setting of the red forest with the fallen leaves is a nice evocation of classic samurai films. Likewise, the fight choreography evoking that of samurai moves is a nice touch. And the music and sound design are always on point, helping to accentuate every moment on screen.
I can see some pointing out certain contrivances with this episode (“Why doesn’t Ahsoka use two lightsabers?” “The episode should’ve been longer,” “Hera and Jacen didn’t do much”). While some of these points may be true, I think most are willing to write these off because of the large number of high moments in the episode.
It’s going to be a hard couple of days of waiting, but with the series continuing to get better and better, I have no doubt it’ll be worth it. Not to mention that Dave Filoni is up to bat with Part 5. Feel free to leave a comment below to share your thoughts on the episode. Also, feel free to check out our review of Part Three, “Time to Fly” to check out our thoughts on the previous episode. We will also be discussing the new episode in SWNN Live! on Thursday night on our YouTube channel!
Born and raised in Hawaii, Jay Goodearl runs the YouTube Gaming channel “Good Games, Dude” His channel aims to open up video games to beginners and immediate players and help them understand what makes games the art form that it is.
