Ahsoka Part 6 finally brings us to a new galaxy and introduces its main villain. Was it worth the wait?
Unfortunately, no.
The episode is full of sweeping, atmospheric, and haunting vistas of Peridea. But like the planet’s landscape, this episode is rather empty. Style over substance. Pretty pictures over storytelling. And paint-by-numbers plots stenciled from past Star Wars storylines are commonplace on Ahsoka.
After the grand arrival of Grand Admiral Thrawn, Ahsoka Part 6 disintegrates into a derivative, banal slog through a barren world that is an incredible letdown after the hype built over traveling to a new galaxy.
Worse still, the environments, the characters, and the events in this episode are very familiar.
Here we are on a new planet, the first world we’ve seen in this new galaxy, but all I’m feeling is deja vu.
Peridea reminds me of Lord of the Rings by way of MacBeth but set on Tatooine.
The three witches that consult Thrawn are reminiscent of the three witches consulted by MacBeth. Will Thrawn meet his end like MacBeth did?
That rat-horse-wolf thing Sabine rides looks like a warg from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
What about the similarities to Star Wars’ most famous desert location? Peridea isn’t covered in sand like Tatooine. However, both planets are barren worlds with a large expanse of flat terrain that stretches toward the horizon.
We’re introduced to two indigenous peoples that remind me of Tatooine’s two nomadic species. The bandits, who wear full body garb and cover their faces with masks, rob and kill travelers. Apart from the different clothing styles, these bandits are nothing more than Tusken Raiders.
Then there are the Notis, who look like bipedal turtles. But let’s face it, their small stature and their language is very similar to Jawas.
This is the same ole’ feeling I’ve had with Ahsoka from the beginning: homages that feel like bad karaoke. It seems Filoni is trying to deconstruct Star Wars into the ingredients that made it work for George Lucas and just dressing them up differently and hoping no one notices.
This isn’t the Dave Filoni who created The Clone Wars and Rebels. Where has he gone?
There was so much excitement, innovation, and originality in both animated series. It never felt like a repeat of the original or prequel trilogies, and yet it still felt like Star Wars. More importantly, The Clone Wars and Rebels expanded Star Wars lore and mythology.
Lucas was an expert on using ideas from myths and movies and making them his own. Filoni seemed to have learned that trick too on Clone Wars. But in Ahsoka, he directly copies other myths and movies, throws them all together, and slaps the label Star Wars on the final product.
Filoni admits that George Lucas oversaw seasons 1 and 2 of The Clone Wars, and in later seasons, Filoni developed Star Wars lore from ideas in Lucas’ notebooks. Did Lucas’ ideas also extend to Rebels?
Clearly, something has changed on Ahsoka. Is it George’s absence? Was Lucas’s ideas the key to Filoni’s success all along? What about writers Henry Gilroy and Simon Kinberg who helped shepherd The Clone Wars? Many creatives involved in The Clone Wars and Rebels are not working on Ahsoka. And it shows.
The episode does introduce one memorable character though. Lars Mikkelsen is in fine form as Grand Admiral Thrawn. Like his brother Mads, Lars elevates everything he’s in. Here’s another example of a male actor with a European accent upstaging everyone else in Star Wars.
Let’s not forget that Thrawn is Timothy Zahn’s creation. The author has written three trilogies focused on the character. He was also a consultant on Rebels.
With Zahn and Lucas not involved in Ahsoka, there is a question mark over Filoni’s creative input in Star Wars.
Filoni’s storytelling is going to have to improve considerably because he is far from being the “savior of Star Wars” that many fans believe.