Ahsoka Season 1 Episode 3 Review: Part Three: Time to Fly

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Continuing the chase started during the previous episode, Ahsoka Season 1 Episode 3, “Part Three: Time to Fly,” shows Sabine learning the ropes of what it means to be Ahsoka’s padawan.

Written by Dave Filoni and directed by Steph Green, this episode dives into the battle tactic differences between Ahsoka & Sabine and Shin. These three fiercely independent females have much to teach each other about their motivations and drive.

It truly is an episode where the females do all the talking, and we only hear from their male counterparts once or twice.

Shin Plays Her Hand

One of the greatest things about “Time to Fly” is that we are given more time with Shin in the midst of a mission. She is determined to lead Marrok in a battle to prevent Ahsoka from reaching Seatos.

This is the first time since the tail end of Ahsoka Season 1 Episode 1, “Part One: Master and Apprentice,” where Shin is the focus of the story. During that episode, she is trying to kill Sabine, now her mission is to thwart Sabine and Ahsoka. 

Both times, Shin lets her weakness lay bare, which leads to setbacks for her and Baylan. Sure, she initially walked away from her battle with Sabine on Lothal with the map and Sabine injured, but her movements were able to be tracked.

Now, she fails to take down Ahsoka’s starfighter, which will lead to Ahsoka and Sabine being able to find Thrawn. All because she hesitated when the starfighter approached Morgan’s hyperspace ring.

If Shin had continued her assault, instead of allowing Morgan to take over, this chase might’ve ended much differently. Morgan only wounded the starfighter, and the delay between that and Shin resuming the assault gives Sabine and Ahsoka time to fix their ship.

There is definitely still a battle to commence within the forest of Seatos, but either way, Shin has failed.

Baylan isn’t happy that she has allowed the starfighter and its two “Jedi” pilots to land on the planet. It’ll be interesting to see how he deals with two disappointments so close together.

Sabine Proves Her Skills

While Sabine might still be struggling to make sense of The Force, she is able to fight the good fight using weaponry training she’s already adept at. It’s not enough when going up against highly-trained Jedi knights, whether they’ve turned to the dark side or not, but it’s enough to get them through their current situation.

Sabine can shoot at ships in a way that hasn’t really been seen in the galaxy in a very long time. It reminds fans why we love her so much during Star Wars Rebels. 

This is the first time we’ve really gotten a chance to see just what Sabine is made of in the face of an Imperial assault. She doesn’t back down, and once she’s on the same wavelength as Ahsoka, the two become unstoppable.

“Time to Fly” also gives viewers the chance to see Sabine at her most mechanically inclined. She manages to take a starfighter that is dead in space and not only make it functional again but also scoop up Ahsoka from open space with some clever maneuvering. 

It’s a moment when we find ourselves cheering for her. Sabine has been seeing nothing but struggle and failure ever since her training with Huyang began. 

Now, she is on top of the world.

The dynamic between Sabine and Ahsoka has miles to go before they are truly in sync, but for now, Sabine is proving to be a worthy companion.

Ahsoka the Teacher

One side of Ahsoka we haven’t been able to see much of is her educator side. She’s not naturally inclined to lead others through teaching. 

It’s evident at the start of Ahsoka Season 1 Episode 3, “Part Three: Time to Fly,” that Ahsoka is leaving the majority of Sabine’s training up to Huyang. However, when that doesn’t go well, she sees that Sabine needs a different approach and tries herself.

The two women are equally stubborn and prideful, so it’s an interesting dynamic to put into a teaching situation. Oddly enough, Ahsoka uses her own personal experience when dealing with educating Sabine on accessing the force.

Even when she falters, Huyang is there to remind her that she needs to reapproach — in his very prickly way. She even argues with Huyang’s assessment that Sabine isn’t Jedi material, proving that she believes in the young woman.

Huyang: I suppose you do come from a long line of nontraditional Jedi. In that way, she fits right in.

Ahsoka may not say, “I’m proud of you,” but she definitely knows how to show Sabine that she’s done an amazing job with the skills she does have. With comments about her quick learning and how force-yielding isn’t easy for everyone. 

Her soft, gentle tone with Sabine is the perfect balance for Sabine’s explosive frustration with the slow movement of her learning curve.

Sabine isn’t going to make her training a smooth sailing situation, but Ahsoka is already proving that, in this case, her stubbornness is an asset. The older former Jedi isn’t going to back down and let Sabine run the show.

Stray Thoughts

• Seeing Jacen is a fun little surprise! We adore Hera’s son.
• It is great to see Hera go to bat for Ahsoka and Sabine’s mission to find Thrawn, too bad the male Senators’ voices were louder than Hera’s and the Chancellor’s. 
• Huyang’s droid programming can sometimes be annoyingly frustrating, but then a beat passes, and his response to something else is completely hilarious. Love to have him around.

 

What did you think of this episode of Ahsoka? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Ahsoka airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Disney+.

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