@thearmageddon here with yet another Disney + Star Wars series review that you didn’t ask for.
Let’s actually talk about Bruno shall we? Beware, if you haven’t finished the show, there be spoilers here…This will probably be a long winded thesis as well, so be doubly warned.
First I will say overall I thought the show was good. If you take all aspects of acting, production/visuals, overall mood, I think this is the range TV Star Wars should live. The performances and casting overall were great. And big RIP to Ray “Titus Pollo” Stevenson. You will absolutely be missed. After seeing this I’ve come to the realization that Star Wars “should” have 3 vibes for different audiences. Andor/Empire Strikes Back/Rogue One for Old Heads like myself, Ahsoka/Mandalorian for general audiences, and Return of the Jedi/Prequels/the First Sequel for movies. Ahsoka felt good in that regard. I liked being there and enjoyed a lot about it.
For me the first four episodes were pretty engaging. I felt like there was a pretty good weaving of character as it relates to the plot. And the plot being that something big and dreadful and mysterious was on the other side of the goal. I don’t think it was perfect, but it was paced well enough for a “getting to know you” vibe. Ahsoka’s goal was to get into whatever mystery was brewing and Sabine wanted to find her friend. Their goals aligned for different reasons and that’s great storytelling. And that went all the way to the end of the Fourth Episode. And I think after that, that’s where the show started to lose me. If the first four episodes were the set up, then the last four needed to do the work and pay off, and none of it quite did it for me.
There’s a conversation out there that involves dunking on Grandpa Joe from Willy Wonka, and after thinking about it, Sabine deserves a degree of dunking on herself that the show seems to want to ignore. It seems to want to continue to cast her in a favorable light despite some absolutely terrible decisions she makes who’s end results lead to the possible great threat of Thrawn to return. It’s fine. Those things happen, my problem is everyone is all smiles, shrugs, and grins about it. I do get from Ahsoka herself that would be appropriate as her jediness would be more zen. That tracks. I do also like the angle of her not wanting to give up on Sabine lest some Dark Side of the Force scenario manifest for either of them like with Anakin. But for Sabine herself, she doesn’t seem to notice, feel, nor care about her actions. And the story presents no internal recognition of that. Even with their final fate at the end, it’s like….oh well, that happened. Even after all the stuff they went through to get there. Add to that one too many scenes of the characters looking at each other without expressing what’s at stake, Sabine finally after betraying her friend and risking everything.
In some ways I shouldn’t be surprised. Star Wars seems to be pretty invested in overlooking the genocide at the hands of one Anakin Skywalker. It lets our emotional attachment to him through watching Clone Wars in particular totally absolve him of in-universe war crimes. So much so that the universe has blessed him with eternal life while all those he killed or caused to die now burn in the fires of Jedi hell while he gets to have snugly reunions with his former padawan. (Exaggeration for effect but you get my point.)
I have no evidence to back up this thought but part of me feels like Filoni might have been a bit too close to write an emotionally true story because of being so close and attached to the characters. Nothing really tracked for me from Ep 5 onward. It’s not to say somehow he’s a hack either. I’m not saying that. I know plenty of writers who express not wanting to make their characters do or be things they don’t like. And this is a struggle for them because they know what they need to do but sometimes just can’t. And that impulse is very human and also very understandable. But in this case he presented a plot and actions that begged for that to be true. But they aren’t.
So instead let’s focus on Easter Egg #456 from Rebels Season 3 episode 9 to distract us from what’s happening RIGHT NOW.
So anyway, by the end of the series, while I do think it was enjoyable (emphasis on for myself) on a certain level it once again leaves me feeling, yeah and? And that’s exactly the way I’ve been feeling about Marvel for the past few years. Maybe my idealization and expectations are too high. I acknowledge that. I’m coming to the realization that maybe I’m just an out of touch living in the past Old Head, I’m so stuck in the high I had from 77-83 that I can’t ever realistically come down. But then again, do we tell our friends to just settle for their relationships that are just fine or tell them to just be grateful to someone, anyone bothers to like you? Kind of jokes because it’s not that serious. And I am aware this is just me, but anyway, those are my thoughts. Ahsoka ultimately was ok in the end. I might think differently about it if I knew season 2 was coming in 3 months. But with 2-3 years until the next one, I’m just feeling why bother? It ended emotionally flat (for our primary characters themselves) for what could have easily been an emotional low point and cliffhanger worthy of the wait. Ultimately it is an affair that started with great promise but in the end, it ended up not really going anywhere. And sure it will probably be coming back, but with what they gave me, the wait doesn’t quite feel worth it.
I give Ahsoka 3 spherical macguffins out of 5.
@thearmag3ddon here signing off until next time no one asks.
Podcast Version COMING SOON.