[7.7/10] I’ll admit that I’ve found Ahsoka a little on the stoic side since this show started. I put it down as her having been through some things since we last saw her in Rebels, that would cause anyone to shut down a little bit. You could see it as her emulating the centered Jedi masters whom she knew in her time in the Order. I just kind of accepted it as her having evolved as a character, which is fair, even if I missed the more wry and playful version of the character.
“Shadow Warrior” is a breath of fresh air, then, because it shows us that Ahsoka isn’t stoic. She was haunted. And with the guidance of her old master, she’s able to find some peace, and in the process, bring back the more open-hearted Jedi we all grew attached to so long ago.
That’s right! We’re doing a wild vision quest episode, baby! I am a sucker for these, from the Mortis arc in The Clone Wars, to Ezra and Kanan’s Jedi Temple experiences on Lothal in Rebels, to Rey’s Sith temple vision in The Last Jedi, to Anakin’s haunting view of his future in the 2D Clone Wars, to Luke’s journey through the cave in The Empire Strikes Back.
What sets Star Wars apart from most other mainstream space-based franchises is that there’s a spiritual element. Leaning into that, with inventive, impressionistic sequences that use the more imaginative side of filmmaking to convey big interior journeys is one of the Galaxy Far Far Away’s finest features. The one in “Shadow Warrior” is no exception.
Some of that is the simple pleasure of seeing memorable moments from The Clone Wars rendered in live action for the first time. It is a thrill to see none other than Hayden Christensen decked out in the Clone Wars costume, teamed up with Ahsoka as we knew her through the battles against the Separatists. My wife pointed out that this is an affirmation of those adventures, something that confirms them as canon and part of the overarching saga, even for folks who think animation is beneath them for whatever reason. The flesh-and-blood Anakin recreating those moments, even in a liminal space, helps make them real for some folks.
And by god, it’s also just plain cool. Seeing live action (if somewhat fanciful) renditions of the early Clone Wars battles, the Siege of Mandalore, Ahsoka herself in her days as a Padawan has is exciting as all hell. The lightsaber fights are well done, with echoes of past battles for each of the combatants. And most of all, the use of fog as a motif, with flashes of Vader in Anakin’s presence and gait helps sell the themes at play here beyond the pure cool factor.
That theme is simple, but powerful -- is Ahsoka a product of her master, a mere weapon of war, or is there something more to her? Over and over again, Anakin tells Ahsoka to fight: for a cause, for her safety, for her life. He offers excuses and justifications for the need to stop being keepers of the peace and begin to become warriors in battle. He tempts her, to give into the idea that Baylan Skoll was right, and hers is a legacy of death and destruction.
And you can understand why that’s the haunting thought she labors under. Much of Rebels grappled with her guilt over what happened to her master. But “Shadow Warrior” is about her guilt over what her master has done, what she might have inherited from him, if she is fit to pass on what she’s learned, as Yoda once instructed Luke, or if she is fruit of a poisonous free, better to shrivel and die than plant seeds for another generation.
Ultimately, Anakin’s lesson is a rebuke of that idea. His invitations are a feint, something meant to test Ahsoka, not tempt her. He encourages her to fight, to kill, to give into the darker instincts that once overwhelmed him. Instead she stops, given every opportunity to take out years of ill-feelings on a man who’s caused such a mix of joy and pain. It is a tribute to what Yoda once said to his last student, that the Force is for knowledge and defense, never for attack.
And most importantly, it allows Ahsoka to reconcile her memory of her master, to recognize that there is both good and bad in him, and thus both good and bad in her. Dave Filoni himself once remarked that the Dark Side and the Light are not something one simply becomes or turns to; it’s something you must choose to be every day. Through this quest, taking her through the past and the dark thoughts of the mistakes she’s made and the man destined to become a monster she learned under, Ahsoka is able to make peace with what she’s done and what she’s taken from him, and to choose the Light once more.
I love the way it opens up something in her. I love the way she smiles and embraces Jacen. I love the way she jokes around with Huyang in a way we haven't seen so far in this show. I love how, rather than hunting down relics and slicing up droids and fighting other Force-users, Ahsoka figures a way to her pupil through communing with creatures who represent the natural world. I love the wry way she responds to Huyang’s question of how she knows the purrgils will take her to Sabine with a dry, “No idea” and a coy smile, a sign of the whimsy and recklessness that she also shared with her master. This is a different Ahsoka than the one we’ve seen to date, one more lively, more warm, more free.
My only gripe is that the business apart from Ahsoka isn’t nearly as good. It’s nice that Jacen can hear the World Between Worlds or whatever liminal space Ahsoka is in, and particularly nice that Hera trusts and listens to him. But man, I am so over children inheriting Force powers from their parents in this franchise, especially when their parents are legacy characters.
Likewise, it’s nice that Hera continues to search for her dear friends, but the trajectory of the hunt is predictable, and much of the conversations among those who are searching for Ahsoka and Sabine are pretty flat. The “New Republic Government is a bunch of wusses who don’t get what we’re doing” routine is already a little tiresome. (Hello Aftermath fans!) And while there’s a little fun to be had from Carson putting off the Fleet Commander who comes to take Hera in, it feels a little perfunctory as a distraction from Ahsoka’s space whale routine.
Still, I’m on board with it all, if only because it buttresses the most touching and thoughtful episode of Ahsoka we’ve had so far. This is a story of a child soldier wondering if she’s irrevocably broken, if the darkness that infected her master has been passed down to her, if there’s hope for a future she could help shape. What she finds is that she, and he, and those who might come after, have more of the light in him than Ahsoka knew, and now it’s okay for her to let it out.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2023-09-14T02:58:16Z
[7.7/10] I’ll admit that I’ve found Ahsoka a little on the stoic side since this show started. I put it down as her having been through some things since we last saw her in Rebels, that would cause anyone to shut down a little bit. You could see it as her emulating the centered Jedi masters whom she knew in her time in the Order. I just kind of accepted it as her having evolved as a character, which is fair, even if I missed the more wry and playful version of the character.
“Shadow Warrior” is a breath of fresh air, then, because it shows us that Ahsoka isn’t stoic. She was haunted. And with the guidance of her old master, she’s able to find some peace, and in the process, bring back the more open-hearted Jedi we all grew attached to so long ago.
That’s right! We’re doing a wild vision quest episode, baby! I am a sucker for these, from the Mortis arc in The Clone Wars, to Ezra and Kanan’s Jedi Temple experiences on Lothal in Rebels, to Rey’s Sith temple vision in The Last Jedi, to Anakin’s haunting view of his future in the 2D Clone Wars, to Luke’s journey through the cave in The Empire Strikes Back.
What sets Star Wars apart from most other mainstream space-based franchises is that there’s a spiritual element. Leaning into that, with inventive, impressionistic sequences that use the more imaginative side of filmmaking to convey big interior journeys is one of the Galaxy Far Far Away’s finest features. The one in “Shadow Warrior” is no exception.
Some of that is the simple pleasure of seeing memorable moments from The Clone Wars rendered in live action for the first time. It is a thrill to see none other than Hayden Christensen decked out in the Clone Wars costume, teamed up with Ahsoka as we knew her through the battles against the Separatists. My wife pointed out that this is an affirmation of those adventures, something that confirms them as canon and part of the overarching saga, even for folks who think animation is beneath them for whatever reason. The flesh-and-blood Anakin recreating those moments, even in a liminal space, helps make them real for some folks.
And by god, it’s also just plain cool. Seeing live action (if somewhat fanciful) renditions of the early Clone Wars battles, the Siege of Mandalore, Ahsoka herself in her days as a Padawan has is exciting as all hell. The lightsaber fights are well done, with echoes of past battles for each of the combatants. And most of all, the use of fog as a motif, with flashes of Vader in Anakin’s presence and gait helps sell the themes at play here beyond the pure cool factor.
That theme is simple, but powerful -- is Ahsoka a product of her master, a mere weapon of war, or is there something more to her? Over and over again, Anakin tells Ahsoka to fight: for a cause, for her safety, for her life. He offers excuses and justifications for the need to stop being keepers of the peace and begin to become warriors in battle. He tempts her, to give into the idea that Baylan Skoll was right, and hers is a legacy of death and destruction.
And you can understand why that’s the haunting thought she labors under. Much of Rebels grappled with her guilt over what happened to her master. But “Shadow Warrior” is about her guilt over what her master has done, what she might have inherited from him, if she is fit to pass on what she’s learned, as Yoda once instructed Luke, or if she is fruit of a poisonous free, better to shrivel and die than plant seeds for another generation.
Ultimately, Anakin’s lesson is a rebuke of that idea. His invitations are a feint, something meant to test Ahsoka, not tempt her. He encourages her to fight, to kill, to give into the darker instincts that once overwhelmed him. Instead she stops, given every opportunity to take out years of ill-feelings on a man who’s caused such a mix of joy and pain. It is a tribute to what Yoda once said to his last student, that the Force is for knowledge and defense, never for attack.
And most importantly, it allows Ahsoka to reconcile her memory of her master, to recognize that there is both good and bad in him, and thus both good and bad in her. Dave Filoni himself once remarked that the Dark Side and the Light are not something one simply becomes or turns to; it’s something you must choose to be every day. Through this quest, taking her through the past and the dark thoughts of the mistakes she’s made and the man destined to become a monster she learned under, Ahsoka is able to make peace with what she’s done and what she’s taken from him, and to choose the Light once more.
I love the way it opens up something in her. I love the way she smiles and embraces Jacen. I love the way she jokes around with Huyang in a way we haven't seen so far in this show. I love how, rather than hunting down relics and slicing up droids and fighting other Force-users, Ahsoka figures a way to her pupil through communing with creatures who represent the natural world. I love the wry way she responds to Huyang’s question of how she knows the purrgils will take her to Sabine with a dry, “No idea” and a coy smile, a sign of the whimsy and recklessness that she also shared with her master. This is a different Ahsoka than the one we’ve seen to date, one more lively, more warm, more free.
My only gripe is that the business apart from Ahsoka isn’t nearly as good. It’s nice that Jacen can hear the World Between Worlds or whatever liminal space Ahsoka is in, and particularly nice that Hera trusts and listens to him. But man, I am so over children inheriting Force powers from their parents in this franchise, especially when their parents are legacy characters.
Likewise, it’s nice that Hera continues to search for her dear friends, but the trajectory of the hunt is predictable, and much of the conversations among those who are searching for Ahsoka and Sabine are pretty flat. The “New Republic Government is a bunch of wusses who don’t get what we’re doing” routine is already a little tiresome. (Hello Aftermath fans!) And while there’s a little fun to be had from Carson putting off the Fleet Commander who comes to take Hera in, it feels a little perfunctory as a distraction from Ahsoka’s space whale routine.
Still, I’m on board with it all, if only because it buttresses the most touching and thoughtful episode of Ahsoka we’ve had so far. This is a story of a child soldier wondering if she’s irrevocably broken, if the darkness that infected her master has been passed down to her, if there’s hope for a future she could help shape. What she finds is that she, and he, and those who might come after, have more of the light in him than Ahsoka knew, and now it’s okay for her to let it out.