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

I'm sorry, but none of this is IN the scene. It's great the fans are willing to imagine what's going on in their own heads when none of that is actually SHOWN on screen.

The scene could be great if it had this kind of complexity. It would also have been great if they just did something obvious and clear like hug. But it does not do either.

They could have, for instance, had the two characters just about to embrace, or embrace, and then Hera asks Ezra, Wait, what about Ahsoka and Sabine? Then we cut after Ezra conveys the disappointing news.

When will fans learn that coming up with explanations for badness does not make the badness less bad?

 

Um, it IS the scene. Ezra exits a shuttle - one used by renegade Jedi in the first scene of the show - by himself. Hera is at first shocked to see him. Then a smile comes through. And then she clearly has a questioning look on her face, and Ezra’s sad expression says it all: Ahsoka and Sabine didn’t make it. The only thing left open is Hera knowing if they’re dead, or stranded. This was all perfectly conveyed with only two words of dialogue, and facial expressions - great acting by both. It’s the essence of a show don’t tell moment. The audience knows what happened, so we don’t need to hear the conversation between them about what happened. But we can see that they’ve communicated with each other non verbally.

A great final scene on the GFFA side of the story that would’ve been less great with a hug and a chat.

 

You are literally inserting a scene into the show that doesn't exist.

After Hera's "questioning look", we never see a close up of Ezra again, just a wide shot of him walking towards Hera in which we can not make out a facial expression.

Last shot of Ezra's face in the show is him smiling, period.

 

It’s astounding how much literalism is demanded for genre cinema.

Ezra isn’t sporting a big old goofy grin when he sees Hera. It’s clear something’s wrong. So he’s not “smiling, period.” The actor added clear layers to that smile. He’s saying not all is well.

Not to mention the staging, which also communicates information to the audience. Ezra’s the only one on that enemy shuttle, and he’s wearing crazy stormtrooper armor. It’s clear that Hera knows there’s something seriously off. Which is exactly the case. The scene conveys precisely enough. There’s warmth in them seeing each other, but fear, worry and uncertainty in their faces. No need for any additional dialogue or schmaltzy emotional manipulation to obscure that sense of disorientation.
The scene called for something like this. Filoni played it subtly, and well. Shows how well he’s coming into his own as a director.

 

I felt the same way. The last two episodes, for me, did not match the quality of the rest of the series. I felt the epilogue was pretty underwhelming. It was all so predictable, which has been Mandalorian's problem too recently. None of the setbacks had any consequences: Asohka's ship crashed - but got repaired very quickly. The stormtroopers became zombies - but were taken care of just as easily as before. Morgan became a Nightsister, but was killed soon after. Thrawn was supposed to be a master tactician, but was actually made to look pretty useless. There were some cool moments, for sure, but I was never on the edge of my seat as it was like watching someone play a video game on easy level.

Episodes 1-6 I gave 10/10. Ep 7 I awarded a 9. Gotta say, I expected more from the finale, so this would have to be a 6 or 7. The only moment where I felt emotion was when Ezra was reunited with Hera. The rest of the episode was really just going through the motions.

Lastly, the rest of the series bar eps 7 and 8 felt cinematic - they felt like a brand new SW movie. As has been said above, this episode in particular felt like a Saturday afternoon TV show. Something was off. However, this has, overall, been a fantastic achievement and I look forward to season 2!

 

None of that in episode 8 had to do with Famuyiwa. His direction was excellent. It all had to do with the writing, and how the story was resolved. I enjoyed it, and thought it was a major step above episode 7, but landings are the hardest things to get right, and I understand why it didn’t satisfy for all. But there was nothing at all amateurish about Famuyiwa’s direction.

 

I’m not an expert on the matter but I’ve heard it has to do with negotiations for compensation. Easier to underpay people if they can’t prove just how big of a hit they helped create. For PR purposes I imagine the ability to cover up major bombs is appealing as well.

 

Way back when, I gave a brief impression on the episode (and rated it a 9), and now I've finally put more thoughts together. At least TBB hasn't quite kicked off yet.

I like Morgan getting the full-Nightsister culmination, having been a survivor for many years and now willing to die for Dathomir, also getting an impressive bookend fight with Ahsoka. The ritual vows being verbatim from TCW (though fittingly divided into three parts) is a nice touch.

The first scene with Ezra is fun, but also provides him with a fresh connection to Kanan, and more catch-up for him in a way that shows Sabine's lingering unease.

I love Sabine and Ahsoka's chat making amends, one of a good number of parallels and contrasts with Part 4; in this case they're speaking from a literally different perspective in a brighter setting. Ahsoka's stated commitment to supporting Sabine is marked with the same music cue used when Sabine looked at her drawings aboard the ship (Part 1), beautifully conveying that Sabine now feels more at ease around Ahsoka and in the Padawan role. This leads to her breakthrough moment with the Force (and as in Part 4, it's a turn that happens at a henge).

To me, that moment works because it's about acceptance, resolving what Sabine had struggled with throughout the season. In Part 2 she denied the lightsaber being hers and framed the circumstances, in multiple ways, around Ahsoka. In Part 4 her attempt with the Force was a push against Shin rather than a pull of the dropped saber (another contrast with the finale). In Part 6 she found and reconnected with Ezra only after being open to new connections. And in Part 7 she tried returning the saber to Ezra.

Getting back to the finale, I do have a gripe with the first part of the fortress raid. I think the heroes could've had a little more urgency after the initial trooper fight, without losing the eeriness of the reanimation. I think there is, interestingly, a nice bit of tension with Thrawn's parting message to Ahsoka (props to Mikkelsen, Dawson, and Kiner).

The last several minutes are still very evocative, and remind me of how much I love this mythos. I like that there's been a succession of characters finding new understanding and purpose, from Kanan to Ezra to Sabine and now Ahsoka. To me, this season is a great success, even on its own, though I'm very glad there's another in the works.