The eyes have it in this, colorful, new Star Wars spinoff which starts off slow in the first 2 episodes, but shows more promising energy in the third. Even though created, written and directed by Dave Filoni, (Star Wars: Rebels) it’s female centric, with former Jedi Knight, Ahsoka Tano, (Rosario Dawson) ice blue eyes and all, in the lead. Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) is her headstrong Padawan, Jedi apprentice. She looks like a weak waif, but she’s very determined.
General Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is colorful with neon green eyes and dark red/orange lips. She is a staunch ally of Ashoka who seems to have it all together. Winstead plays the character with confidence well. It’s very different from anything we’ve seen her in before. She add to the three bad-ass females that helm this series.
But Ahsoka senses an emerging threat from the defeated Empire, namely elusive Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) and his minions. Most notable is another tough female villain, the blonde Shin Hate (Ivanna Sakhno) who is more than ready to take on Asoka and Hera. Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) is working with General Thrawn to defeat The Republic after her people were massacred. Her role is expanding.
Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka is an alien species who is all business. Her white eye brows, and distinctive cheek symbols on her red skin framed by flowing head tails add to her stern, stoic, angular face. Much of her history comes the animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Rebels. Her voice is soft, deep and calming. Her words always measured. Ahsoka calls on her Jedi roots to guide her decisions. Scenes where she cracks a smile are rare. But Ahsoka does have a compassionate streak to go along with her strong sense of justice.
Sabine acquires the MacGuffin of this story, a little globe that unlocks a map showing where Admiral Thrown can be found, but it falls into the possession of villainous warriors Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) and Shin Hati who dress and wield light sabres like Jedi. Ahsoka and General Syndulla team up to recover the globe holding the map that could, in the wrong hands, doom The Republic.
Filoni relies again on Droids on comedy and to help carry the story. C3PO, R2D2 are back, but there’s a new Droid emerges. Huyang (voiced by David Tennant) is loyal, smart and comical with a lot of attitude. He was a long time Droid professor who taught a thousand generations of young Jedi. Huyang is not afraid to voice his opinion and is a fun addition.
The visual cues used in presenting the story, especially the slow wipes to make transitions with the very grainy texture of the film harkens back to original techniques of the George Lucas franchise that will please longtime fans. The music, shot selection, and deliberate pacing are sure to make satisfying storytelling for those who have been following all of the Star Wars threads and characters. But if you haven’t been following the many various stories through all the platforms, (The Mandalorian or The Book of Boba Fett) this may not hold your attention.
Director Filoni lays the groundwork in the first 2 episodes, but the action escalates in the third as the characters prepare for battles. The director embues Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka with a strong presence in this female centric series. But if you haven’t followed all the threads and characters in former live action and animated Star Wars productions, The Force may be strong here, but not enough to keep you coming back.
Disney+. 8 Episodes. TV-14
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