Ahsoka Ahsoka Episode 1.08 (SEASON FINALE!!!) - Discussion Thread (Spoilers Allowed)

Just do what they did with Luke in Mando.

 

Works narratively for the sequels. I am quite intrigued with what season 2 holds and Dave’s movie.

 

I can understand why some of you guys did not like this. But I felt that the episode was the best. To me, the Ahsoka miniseries built on each other like blocks, and seeing it in its entirety was helpful.

First, Thrawn was not diminished. He clearly is the Thrawn that Zahn depicted in the early 1990s, and his tactics were pretty darn good. Thrawn is not a Force-wielder, but he knows how to work with Force-wielders who know about magic like the Night Mothers. Honestly, back when Zahn depicted Grand Admiral Thrawn working with the wicked, sadistic Joruus C'baoth, I always kinda wondered why Thrawn was so desperate to trust a Dark Jedi like that to help him. But this is different. The Night Mothers and Thrawn have their own agendas, but they know how to work with each other for their own benefits. Thrawn wants the Empire to protect the galaxy, and the Night Mothers desire Dathomir and power. Makes a lot of sense. Just to be clear, the later Thrawn of the old EU wanted to have the Empire serve as a massive shield against the Yuuzhan Vong. My take on this Thrawn is that he would prefer the prequel Empire to rise again, one that would protect the galaxy. But even so, he's still totalitarian. That's the thing that always kind of amazes me pertaining to old Thrawn. He's an alien near-human who has been victimized by the Empire, and yet he sees it as the best means of defense against invaders. Clearly a complicated and unusual antagonist, but he's more neutral than anything. He's a lawful neutral antagonist who desires to use law and order against the chaos of the Far Outsiders. Interesting character.

Now, as for Baylan, I didn't see him as vague. I think he's sensing Palpatine. Plain and simple. Baylan has been tempted by the dark side, and he views the old Jedi Order as fallen, weak, and discarded. In contrast, he sees the dark side from Sidious as something that could never fall. It's a temptation that's easy to discern, but, yeah, it's temptation. It's what Palpatine excels at all the time.

Now, as for Ahsoka and Sabine, I disagree with some of you who said that Ezra's actor did better than Ahsoka's and Sabine's. But I don't think so. I mean, lez be honest, guys. If this were Captain America's actor in 2014's Winter Soldier, would you be saying that he was too stiff, guarded, or whatever? I don't think so. What Ahsoka and Sabine are is guarded and self-protective. Plain and simple. Initially, I was like, "C'mon, Rosario. Let's go." But now that I saw the whole thing, especially after her journey in the World Between Worlds, I was like, "Okay. I get it." Ahsoka's been through a lot. Sabine's been through a lot. But I respect them for their guts, their courage. They're soldiers and they are on their own journey of exile just as Yoda was. One of the things I like about how Yoda is portrayed in new canon is that he admits that the Jedi failed. But even the original Yoda in the first three films admitted that. He was embittered and sad...depressed. People have a propensity to idealize Yoda and Obi-Wan, and they shouldn't. They're Jedi who make mistakes, but they are still wonderful characters. Ahsoka and Sabine experienced what many people, including Luke, Leia, and Han would...defeat at Thrawn's hands. Obviously...different universe...different variants in the Star Wars multiverse.

I don't mind it that Sabine can use the Force. She's no different than Chirrit Inwe. He could have done the same if he had more time. This new canon idea of "Muggles" using the Force is not bad. But let's be careful with how we use the word Muggle. The Harry Potter series is not only racist against Muggles and so-called half-bloods, and it's racist against elves. It's discriminatory against people who suffer from drug addictions and alcohol addictions. And it discriminates against Jewish people, African Americans, and so on. I mean, the hero later owns a house slave as an elf. I mean, I don't like the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, but I can at least appreciate the message it was trying to send with regard to redemption and hope. To me, the Harry Potter series is just a nasty, elitist story in which Voldemort wins. Yeah, the guy is defeated by Potter, but his racist belief systems persists and...dare I say it...endures...via the discrimination against elves and other non-human beings. It's offensive, and it does not set a good example for real world people dealing with realistic issues. Similarly, while the old EU has problems, at least Karen Traviss and James Luceno tried to diversify the stories a bit, one of them created a non-straight character, and both challenged the inherent racism against aliens that we find in the EU. I mean, I like the EU characters, Jedi and Sith, but I even I cannot deny the racism of saying that all aliens of a species doing the same thing is normal. That's just offensive. Frankly, however, I'm glad that most EU others were not racist. I just don't like racism against aliens or any otherworldly being in fiction. It says a terrible example for people in the real world in terms of behavior. I'm glad the EU had much less of it than the Potter series.

So, yeah. I love Ahsoka Tano. And I found Sabine and Ezra pretty awesome, too. Sabine was my favorite character overall, but I gotta admit that Ezra was really fun, too. I wish he could have been in it more. Huyang was great. I'm glad he got to teach Ezra some things, and the callback to Kanan was wonderful. Kanan was, like, such a great Jedi master. I can see why Hera loved him. Kanan got the short end of the stick and he lived in a really, really dark time, but I'm just glad that his friends got to survive longer. Also, I liked how Hera and Mon Mothma were able to cover for Ahsoka and Sabine. That dude in the Senate is clearly a First Order spy. He's bribed heavily, I'm sure.

Anyhow, yeah. This series did Thrawn justice. I also like how Shin got to question her former master's beliefs. Shin shouldn't have been abandoned like that. What a concept. I'm glad that Ahsoka got to see Anakin as a Force ghost. Finally, Hayden got to be Anakin as a Force spirit. At long last. and he wasn't tricked into it this time. Ha ha. It was kind of poignant. He was proud of Ahsoka, and who wouldn't be? She's a tough Jedi Knight. She can see that Anakin didn't only redeem himself for Luke's sake. He regretted many things he did, and I appreciate that. I used to call Ahsoka the younger sister of Darth Vader, but I now I call her the younger sister of Anakin.

Overall, good show. In terms of music, I give it a 94. In terms of story, I give it a 89.2. In terms of acting, I give it a 97.

 

I can’t believe the usual suspects are making the “shadows in the starlight” quip to be about Abeloth when it was quite obviously Sabine sensing Anakin’s presence.

 

Wait...how about this for speculation!

Spoiler

1. Thrawn is on Dathomir...what if the mothers resurrect Malacos and he basically becomes C'Baoth??

2. Ezra trains Jacen and after they think Thrawn is defeated, the Rebels crew ride the Purgiils back to Peridea?

 

Abeloth would be an intriguing character to depict. However, she would need a lot, and I mean a lot, of buildup. Otherwise, such a portrayal would confuse and shock mainstream audiences.

Sproj, I like your speculation. That's an interesting idea.

 

At this rate, I just want a recanonized C’baoth. Malicos is long dead and probably bones or predator poop and I think should stay in the confines of being a cool game boss.

Now that the whole “Baylan Skoll is nu canon C’baoth” is thrown out the window, I think all the pieces are set in place for a pretty faithful adaptation of HTTE. Unless they go for my really crazy idea from a few years ago and resurrect Mace Windu as Maace Windu and have the chance for Sam Jackson to go full pulp fiction.

As for Baylan, they just really really need to recast and continue this story. People need to get over the idea of recasting. Everyone’s mourning the death of the second Dumbledore actor at the moment. It’s not disrespectful, in all honesty, Ray was hired to do a job, and he did it masterfully, but now it’s time to move on and complete the story with a different actor.

 

Hmm. This was decent. Clearly needs a season 2 story-wise before Filoni's movie.

Baylan and Shin were the big highlights of the show. So sad that we won't be getting more of Stevenson, but hopefully a good recast can finish Baylan's intriguing story.

 

I really need Season 2 to happen sooner, rather than later

 

First of all: I really enjoyed the episode. There wasn't an ultimate 'goosebumps moment' for me, but I was entertained throughout and liked the pacing. The focus of the episode was established quite quickly: Ahsoka, Sabine, Ezra and Huyang vs. Thrawn, Morgan, Nightsisters and Night Troopers. Shin and Baylan didn't show up at all at first, which I found a bit of a shame; however, they still got their respective previews in an epilogue-like scene - it would have been a waste of potential to burn the two of them (especially Baylan) to death right now, there's definitely something more to come in season 2. I generally liked the action-driven nature of the episode, since time was of the essence (both narratively and in-universe). I thought it was outstanding to see Sabine, Ezra and Ahsoka swinging the laser swords together. Thrawn, well, he's still the “tactic god” now - but actually only because he got away with what he did and tried. You are always a "mega strategist" as long as you are successful. Authors can of course take this into account and direct it accordingly. I didn't necessarily feel like Thrawn was overly challenged tactically in this series, so it seemed relatively easy to let him win. But who knows, maybe he'll play his entire keyboard in the Filoni film. I'm looking forward to it. The fact that Sabine ends up having to stay with Ahsoka in the other galaxy is of course bittersweet for the Sabine/Ezra relationship, but somehow also typical. I liked that she repaid Ahsoka's trust in her with loyalty and stayed with her. It was also nice to see Anakin again at the very end as a real force ghost on Peridea.

In conclusion: With Ahsoka, very fine story seeds were sown in a fairly fertile field, so that Star Wars could be in for a real blossoming phase with a possible season 2 (detached from the main events) and a Filoni film about Thrawn's return. I say: THANK YOU for this series, which isn't perfect but gets a strong 8.5/10 from me overall.

 

...you forgot to add the Din's in the mix eheheh...just wanna make sure my boy Grogu and his Dad are "safe" in the other Galaxy so That they can return after the ST
Love this idea....and of course Zeb and Kallus should be there too

 

I really want to do a Rebels rewatch now.

 

You definitely could get the Rebels crew back together with the Din clan thrown in for sure.

 

Now we know why it's in a separate galaxy rather than say the uknown regions. It was so Filoni didn't have to kill off his pet characters and that's pretty much it.
Terrible episode and terrible finale. Filoni if he had any self awareness should be ashamed of himself for writing this nonsense. How can anyone give this a 10 out of 10 or calls this good is beyond me.

2/10 and that's being generous

 

The irony of the whole season is the GFFA is now in a worst position than when it started!

At the beginning Thrawn was stuck in the GEFA (Galaxy Even Further Away) and we had Ahsoka with us. Now the GFFA has both Thrawn and the Dathomiri, while we've swapped Ahsoka for Ezra who, despite the jokes and laid back attitude, is nowhere near as Force powerful as her.

So despite all the cool things our heroes did, they've actually made matters worse. Moreover, if Thrawn's forces do reek havoc in the galaxy, then our heroes (especially Sabine) will be totally to blame for it.

 

What? Show the New Republic that the Galaxy is still a dangerous place, and that they shouldn’t be complacent? Fine by me. Prove that Senator wrong!

 

Spoiler

- Ezra?
- Hi, Hera. I'm home.

Enough said.

 

Sabine is a disgrace of human being and a truly awful character whose not been punished for what she's done.
Otoh Thrawn is so incompetent and I wouldn't worry that much. He's basically Dr Evil on this show

 

Girl this is too much


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

How cool were the zombie Death Troopers? As someone who collects Hot Toys I can't wait to finally get myself a zombie SW trooper with half its mask cut off.

 

Not sure if it was just my TV but in the scene with Ahsoka, Sabine, and Morai (just before Force Ghost appearance), does the sky flash from time to time in certain shots?

I got weirdly distracted by it thinking it was a coming storm (that never came) or some Noti background stuff - but I couldn't tell and it happened so often in specific shots I thought the Volume was glitching!

I'm going to have to watch this episode again before posting anything more substantive.

Must. Be. Balanced.

 

Oh crap, this actually made me want to rewatch the Jar Jar Binks and the Temple of Doom episode guest starring the Jinjos from Banjo Kazooie episodes of The Clone Wars

 

Episode 8, the finale:

Overall a good episode, but a somewhat unsatisfying finish to the season. Main issue is that Thrawn still hasn't done anything really impressive, hasn't really established himself as a formidable antagonist. Morgan's demise was fine for making action scenes, but the character wasn't quite developed enough to deliver drama in the end. Baylan and Shin were the much more intriguing antagonists, and sidelining them for the finish deflates the season's back end.

But the protagonists kept their momentum all the way through imo, and I like that they're foreshadowing Sabine's vulnerability to the dark side. The dark side isn't more powerful than the light, but it's quicker, easier. Ezra is the late entry mvp this season, Eman brings much needed energy to close things out. The Mortiss gods . . . a great cliffhanger, but also a cop out. Filoni could have and should have developed the story another few beats.

I suspect this will all go down poorly with the fandom, particularly because the WGA strike stopped production and we're not looking at any immediate followup to keep the "Filoni-verse" going. These kinds of shows can't take a break when they meander the longest way to the climaxes, which apparently will be movies? And that feels like a long ways away.

The loss of Ray Stevens feels devastating, he was a great Jedi Master on par with Neeson, McGregro and Alec Guinness. He was the best part of this show, frankly, and him taking a backseat in the last episode is terribly disappointing knowing it will be his final performance, but that's just what it is.

This was still my favorite live-action show so far. It doesn't finish as strong as it starts, but I loved it.

 

I'm not a girl and no it's not. She basically brought back a galaxy threat that will probably kill millions and why ??? She wanted to see a friend!!