Reunited, and it feels so good! That’s where we are at the start of Episode 7 of Ahsoka.
Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) have found each other after years apart. Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) has found Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), and they’re preparing for his return home. Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) and Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno).. well, they’ve always been together, but we’re maneuvering towards Shin vs. Sabine III. Meanwhile, Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) and Huyang (David Tennant) are taking the Space Whale Express to join the party.
General Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has been called to a disciplinary hearing on Coruscant, determining her fitness to continue as a leader of the New Republic. Is a demotion on the horizon?!
Brought before a Senate committee, Hera Syndulla looks surprisingly confident. She’s getting the hairdryer treatment from Senator Xiono, who is leading the charge. He doubts the existence of Thrawn and balks at the term Imperial Remnants. Moff Gideon gets name-dropped, but he’s dismissed as a cocky warlord. This guy is a douche.
Let’s vote on Court Marshalling.
Not so fast, d-bag! C3PO (Anthony Daniels) enters with a message from Senator Leia Organa. Leia had sanctioned Hera’s mission to Seatos, so take THAT Xiono! After a snide disparaging remark about droids, almost causing Chopper to fly across the room and murder him, Xiono accepts the order, backing down.
Leia did sanction the mission, but maybe only after Hera had already returned. Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) receives one final chilling message from Hera before they adjourn: Thrawn is coming, and they’re all screwed.
Inside a space whale, Ahsoka practices lightsaber forms while listening to the last holo-recording seminar from her master, Anakin Skywalker. She’s making some scary faces, but she seems relaxed enough. Huyang notifies Ahsoka of a decrease in whales per hour, signifying their destination is near.
The odds are not in their favor. They have no idea where they have traveled, whether Sabine and Ezra are there, nor how to return to their own galaxy. Ahsoka says, “It’ll be fiiiiiiiine.”
The purrgil exit hyperspace and are immediately confronted with a deluge of explosions. As promised, Thrawn has booby-trapped the planet, deploying a minefield. The space whales scream in pain, but casualties are relatively small. The school jumps back into hyperspace, figuratively shouting “f*ck this noise” and bouncing.
Ahsoka and Huyang, on the other hand, navigate through the minefield. Next comes a barrage of fighters dispatched from the Eye of Scion. There’s no cover aside from the space whale graveyard below them, but they have to take the risk.
On the Chimaera, Morgan Elsbeth drops Thrawn with a knowledge bomb about the Jedi, Ahsoka Tano. Thrawn’s eyes open wide with surprise as he reads her former master’s name: Anakin Skywalker. OOFF. How do you feel now, Thrawn?! Calmly, he orders the fighters to retreat, knowing that someone taught by Darth Vader could be…unpredictable. No need to take extra risks when resources are in short supply.
With the fighters falling back, Ahsoka and Huyang take refuge in the debris field, laying low while trying to contact Sabine.
Sabine and Ezra travel with the Noti (crab people). Sabine has caught Ezra up on the events leading to the fall of the Empire. Interestingly enough, she has still YET TO INFORM HIM THAT SHE HAS ENDANGERED THE GALAXY AGAIN! Whyyyyyyyyy?! Yes, it’s complicated, but it’s important!
Ahsoka, being a badass force user, reaches out and calls to Sabine using only the power of her mind. Sabine hears it, somehow, despite being terrible with the Force!
However, that link also allows Great Mother Nightsisters to lock on to Ahsoka’s position. FIRE! Thrawn’s forces open fire on Ahsoka’s position in the debris field, flushing her out. Once they are in open space, Thrawn dispatches more starfighters to take them out. Smart move again!
Baylan and Shin look like Gandalf and Eomer in The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers, mounted at the top of a ridge, looking down. The bandits behind them make up the rest of the Riders of Rohan. Their visage pauses the crab people caravan.
Baylan tells Shin that their time is up, and her time is now… to contact Thrawn and take her place beside him, telling him she’s found Bridger and Wren. HOW DARE YOU LEAVE SHIN!!! You’re all she has! He has other plans for himself, in search of the power that resides on the planet. He leaves Shin with one last nugget: “Impatience for victory will guarantee defeat.” Profound!
On Shin’s intel, Thrawn sends two gunships full of night troopers to her location. The caravan tries to bolt, but the bandits halt their progress, despite a decent effort from the crab people with slingshots and saucepans.
Ahsoka reaches the planet, spotting the crab people caravan by air, but there’s no time to land. She hands control of her ship to Huyang and gives him a veiled instruction he’s not happy with. Huyang swoops in low and opens a door, allowing Ahsoka to jump and land on the surface. It was a decent landing, considering the speed and height of the drop.
But she landed in close proximity to Bayland Skoll. LET THE REMATCH BEGIN!
Meanwhile, Sabine and Ezra prepare for the onslaught of bandits. Sabine tries to hand off Ezra’s old lightsaber, but he’s having none of it. He only needs the force, apparently. And he’s right, he space wizard’s the crap out of this fight, taking out bandits at will. Sabine, as usual, is hit by multiple blaster shots but is unharmed. They hold out until the bandits are dead, and it’s down to Shin versus Ezra and Sabine.
Shin force-slaps Ezra, throwing him against one of the crab people’s mobile homes.
Baylan and Ahsoka have a thoroughly entertaining duel. It’s 50/50 all the way. Ahsoka has no time to lose, so she abruptly ends the fight by having Huyang lay down suppressing fire. She steals Baylan’s howler and takes off towards the caravan.
The gunships have arrived, and Shin has her backup. For a villain, she’s smart, wasting little time before ordering the troopers to open fire and DESTROY THEM!
Ahsoka has other ideas, causing a distraction that allows Sabine and Ezra to thin the trooper crowd. Shin and Ahsoka have a half-hearted duel, which Shin would definitely lose.
Seeing that Baylan has deserted the fight, Thrawn has to recalculate his plan of attack. He orders the withdrawal of the gunships. The Grand Admiral explains his plan has had the desired effect. Their preparations are almost complete, and it will not be long until they can return home.
What is Shin going to do?
Shin stands before Ahsoka, Ezra and Sabine like a lost lamb, with no master and a failure on her record. She doesn’t immediately retreat with the troopers, which causes Ahsoka to offer her hand. “I can help you.” Shin runs away. It’s not time for her face-turn…yet.
Ahsoka greets Ezra like the old friend he is with a massive hug. Sabine and Ahsoka’s reunion is slightly more angsty, but they seem happy to see each other alive and well.
So? Are we going home then?
How is there only one episode left?! This season has gone by so very quickly! I don’t know if we have enough time to wrap up this series in a satisfying manner, placing a bow on all of the loose threads. Thrawn is a-Thrawning, and Baylan is searching for something weird to stop the cycle. Surely, there’s only time to take care of one of those villains? My bet is Baylan.
C3PO’s cameo was a surprising and welcome addition. His presence on behalf of Leia gave me a nice feeling in my bones. Lovely and connected. I’m not the biggest fan of 3PO, but this was great. I’m just bummed that Chopper and 3PO didn’t have a real interaction because Chopper would make him his b*tch!
Baylan and Shin’s story this season has been truly fascinating. Baylan’s reverie for the Jedi order while simultaneously having disdain for it is riveting. I want to know more about his journey, and I’m sad that, come what may, Ray Stevenson’s arc in this universe will be over after next week. Whether they continue Baylan Skoll will remain to be seen, but my bet is that it’s his story that ends with the climax of Ahsoka.
What do you think? How is Ahsoka going to end?
