I have been somewhat of an Ahsoka skeptic so far, halfway through the series. But here in episode 4? Yeah, things turned a corner for me, and this was easily the best episode of the series so far.
Why was it so good? A lot of reasons. Spoilers follow:
Marrok Theories Go Up In Smoke – Last week I said that the best answer to who was under Marrok’s mask would be no one, as I thought all the reveal ideas like Starkiller or Cal Kestis or Ezra were stupid. Well, it was revealed he was literally no one, an entire warrior created out of nothing but smoke, which appears to be Nightsister magic. They can make a whole-ass lightsaber fighting guy out of nothing? Wow, that’s power.
Sabine versus Shin Hati Round 2 – This was a much better fight than the first one, given that Sabine now has access to her full armor and weapon kit, not just her lightsaber. Great moment where she “fails” to use the force, then shoots a wrist rocket at Shin instead. I actually laughed out loud. I also love how much Shin Hati hates her now.
Ahsoka versus Baylan Skoll – This reminded me of old school lightsaber fights from the OG trilogy mixed with new era flashy ones. I absolutely loved the difference “stances” that each of them had before they clashed, and the pure power style of Baylan is unlike much we’ve seen before in the series. Reminds me of old school Vader. Then later, after he chucks Ahsoka off the cliff, him blocking Sabine’s shots was excellent. I absolutely love Baylan and Shin Hati in this show, two of the best villains I’ve seen in this Disney-era universe so far.
Sabine Sells Out – Sabine actually did it, she traded potentially the entire galaxy and the lives of millions just for the chance to see Ezra again. Though in theory, I’m not sure her shooting that map with a blaster would have even done anything (it took extended lightsaber damage to full destroy it), nor do I believe Baylan couldn’t have just force frozen her to prevent her from doing that in the first place. I think he wanted to make it seem like it was her choice, and he may have bigger plans for her. Anyway, she’s off to the other galaxy now, and it appears we may have to be looking at a burned map in Ahsoka’s hand for them to navigate to catch her.
The Jump – This was an underrated part of the episode for me, as you could feel the sheer power and scale of what it takes for this massive craft to spool up and make the jump to another galaxy, which has never been done before in this series. Incredible sequence here.
Hello There – And lastly, the cameo. Ahsoka is in Undead Force Land (the “World Between Worlds” from Rebels) and now we are not just getting Anakin voice cameos, we actually see Hayden Christensen return in full as Anakin, complete with long hair and scar, the way she last remembers him. We heard him in the trailer, and this version appears to be a blend between his prequel performance and the voice acting from Clone Wars. It’s unclear exactly who this version of Anakin is, friendly force ghost or evil spirit, and the Vader theme playing at the end makes me suspicious. Still, cool moment and cliffhanger.
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