Ahsoka Season 1 Episode 8 Review: Part Eight: The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord

While the final episode of this series brings the drama and gives us something worth watching, Ahsoka Season 1 Episode 8, “Part Eight: The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord,” still fails to deliver a meaningful conclusion for all the loose threads.

It’s evident from the ending that the door is being left open for a possible second season, should there be one. However, that doesn’t account for all the messy parts with no real ending.

A major one pertains to the character of Baylan Skoll and his apprentice, Shin.

What is the Purpose of Baylan and Shin?

One of the biggest disappointments with Ahsoka is the lack of follow-through with the motivations and purpose of Baylan and his apprentice, Shin. The series starts strong by making them a major antagonist, but throughout the first three episodes, that strength starts to peter out and die.

As many viewers know, the actor who portrays Baylan passed away suddenly, which some might think accounts for this lack of direction. However, Ray Stevenson passed after production was finished for the series.

So, what is the excuse for Baylan failing to impress once the focus turned to finding Thrawn and defeating him? It’s simple.

The show tries to create a big bad from the start and felt they could morph it into two big bads once Thrawn becomes a real threat again. 

Unfortunately, that rarely works because there isn’t enough time to develop both sets of characters alongside a detailed account of their motivations. Therefore, Baylan suddenly became this former Jedi who might be for the Empire returning or not; there is no way to tell.

It’s a massive disservice to the talents of Stevenson to have Baylan fade into the background as nothing more than a short-lived nuisance. If the writers had intended for him to remain underdeveloped this whole series, he should have never been billed as more than a temporary setback for Ahsoka’s goals.

Then there is Shin. This seemingly complicated apprentice had so much potential to threaten Sabine’s progress and training. And yet, it’s as if the writers said, “Let’s make a Jedi adjacent character who has anger issues and past trauma but never explore it.”

By refusing to develop these antagonists properly, they turn into a bit of a joke. There is no real threat from them, so we no longer care what happens to them or where they end up. 

This feeling is increased by their lack of presence on this episode. 

The Issue With Sabine’s Talent

The whole season, Ahsoka has relied heavily on the fact that Sabine could be an extraordinary Jedi if she put more effort into her training. Then, she is thrust into all these situations where her Force sensitivity is tested and continually fails.

There is no indication that outside these high-stakes moments, she is practicing — at least not after she splits off from Ahsoka. And yet, during the most critical moment of the story, she can suddenly throw an entire human being using the Force.

Only moments before had she been able to use the Force to compel her lightsaber back into her hand. That talent is terrific and something to be commended.

However, the center of gravity and the effort needed to move a lightsaber is much lower than that of Ezra Bridger. And while I will suspend disbelief for many things within the Star Wars universe, that sudden extreme strength and focus for the Force isn’t plausible.

Sabine has shown all season long that she lacks drive, motivation, and focus. These aren’t skills she can suddenly wake up one day reunited with her friend and have within her wheelhouse. It takes time and training to achieve that level of focus. 

No amount of Ahsoka telling her, “Trust the Force,” will flip that switch so suddenly and accurately. Especially considering how far she had to launch Ezra through the air.

I’m all for Sabine Wren being an extremely powerful Force wielder; it’s been in the writing on the wall for ages. However, the whole process to get her there seems rushed and inconsistent.

The Thrawn of it All

One of the biggest disservices this series has done is to the integrity and threat of Grand Admiral Thrawn. There could have been the coolest face-off between Thrawn, Sabine, and Ahsoka.

Instead, he stays out of reach the entire time and squeaks through all their efforts simply by saying he’s known Ahsoka’s every move because he knew Anakin.

To me, that’s the biggest cop-out in the book. Sure, there could be a reason for holding off on the big showdown, but there should have been some kind of follow-up interaction between Thrawn and Sabine at the very least.

By not having him engage in direct battle, the writers have diminished his threat level and written him as more of a manipulative coward. He used Morgan and his night troopers more than taking up a weapon himself.

Sure, he escaped, but have we seen anything from him that equals the threat he established in other Star Wars material? The answer is a resounding no.

Stray Thoughts:

• I definitely didn’t have zombie night troopers on my Bingo card for this series.
• “How old are you?” “Old enough to know the relationship between a Master and an apprentice is as challenging as it is meaningful.” – This quote sums up the whole series.
• It’s time to move on — does this mean Ahsoka and Sabine aren’t going to continue being Jedis?
• Does this mean Shin is going to pull an Anakin and kill an entire village of innocent natives?
• Just shadows in the starlight…way to use the Anakin hologram once more.

 

 

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

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

Ahsoka Season 1 is now streaming on Disney+.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

Danny Glover Is Santa Claus in Disney Channel and Disney+’s ‘The Naughty Nine’