Warning: this article contains spoilers for Ahsoka episode five
The moment that Ahsoka fans have been waiting for since Star Wars Rebels finally happened in the fifth episode of her show. The battle-hardened former Jedi finally got the chance to see her former master, Anakin Skywalker, again.
Dave Filoni directed this episode and he proved that he is working to save Star Wars from the train wreck many fans said it was becoming.
After being bested in battle by Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson), Ahsoka finds herself in the world between worlds. Episode four left us on a major cliffhanger with Ahsoka turning around to see her old master standing in front of her.
Return of Anakin
Fans went crazy over the reveal. We all knew that Hayden Christensen was reprising his role as Anakin Skywalker, but seeing it happen felt surreal.
Christensen had appeared in Disney’s Kenobi series, but he mostly played Darth Vader. Getting to see fresh content of Anakin was something many fans had only dreamed of. Alongside Anakin, we were treated to a live-action version of Captain Rex, another fan-favourite.
Using the world between worlds as a chance for Anakin to teach Ahsoka one final lesson was a great decision by Filoni. It gave fans what they wanted while keeping the plot and immersion of the story intact.
Young Ahsoka makes her live-action debut
In this lesson, Anakin takes Ahsoka back to her time in the Clone Wars. Arianna Greenblatt plays young Ahsoka and, for once, viewers could see how young she truly was when she fought in the war.
Greenblatt was a fantastic cast for this role, and she grasped the essence of Ahsoka amazingly well.
And what lesson is complete without a lightsabre fight? Filoni himself has compared the fights in Ahsoka to those of Clone Wars. He understands what fans expect and manages to smash it every time.
These fights did not disappoint, both Greenblatt and Rosario Dawson giving it their all to portray Ahsoka’s unique fighting techniques.
While the fight between Anakin and Ahsoka continues, we can see flashes of Vader where Anakin walks out of the mist. Even towards the end of the fight, Anakin’s eyes can be seen changing to Sith before returning to normal.
The number of effects, costume designs, dialogue choices, and references in this episode alone would take an essay to dissect.
Pumped full of parallels, references, and flashbacks, this episode was already a huge dopamine hit. Once again, Filoni went above expectations and showed the moments after Ahsoka returns from the world between worlds.
What can we expect in Ahsoka episode six?
Since Ahsoka started airing, viewers have been clamouring to see her in her iconic white cloak from the end of Rebels. Filoni, being the generous director he is, gave us this outfit towards the end of the episode.
After her final lesson from Anakin, Ahsoka is no longer held back by her fear of becoming him.
She is more confident in her abilities as a Master, and that stoic personality we have seen until now has softened. Her white cloak represents this change, another superb choice from Filoni.
We end the episode with Ahsoka and Huyang (David Tennant) travelling in the mouth of a Purgill, hopefully to be dropped off in the same galaxy that Ezra is trapped in.
This is setting up the next episode to maybe introduce Ezra (Eman Esfandi) and Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen). We will also hopefully see more Master-Padawan interactions between Ahsoka and Sabine.
Final thoughts
Seeing Christensen getting the praise and love he deserves is heart-warming to all prequel fans. Ahsoka, and Filoni, have done him and his character justice.
You can tell how passionate everyone on the team is from this episode alone. The amount of effort and care that has been put into the show thus far is extraordinary.
Ahsoka is giving the magic of the original Star Wars movies, and long may it continue.
Featured Image Credit: @ahsokaofficial / twitter
Second year student journalist studying Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Journalism Studies.
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