Ahsoka

I actually enjoyed Ahsoka a lot more than I expected to. After reading all the mixed reviews I was expecting a slow moving, boring show but this was anything but. I was very entertained from the very first episode to the last. I was actually wanting more episodes when it was all ove he r. I know they're already talking about renewing this for another season so I hope they go through with that. The cast here is terrific. Obviously Rosario Dawson is great as Ahsoka but it's the supporting cast which makes this show that much better. It is extremely talented cast with Natasha Lou Bordizzo, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Wes Chatham, David Tennant, the late great Ray Stevenson, and many more. You can tell they put a lot lot of love into this because the attention to detail is very obvious. While it's I not as good as the Mandalorian or Andor, it's still a good show in its own right.

Ahsoka may not the best thing from Star Wars that I've seen but it's still worth watching. I was really looking forward to this when I first read about it and the even more so after I saw the trailers. It did not disappoint! I don't consider myself a huge Star Wars fan but I'm a normal fan who does enjoy most of them. Like by most, I really liked The Mandalorian and Andor. I thought those two are some of the best things Star Wars has put out since the original trilogy. I even thought The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi were both worth watching. I don't understand most of these negative reviews, it's like most of the people writing them didn't want to like this. What were you expecting that you didn't get? Anyway, if you're a fan of Star Wars I definitely recommend you give this a try.

Firstly, I want to say that I do enjoy the series. I don't think it deserves any awards but it's fun to watch. Nor do I think it's a "masterpiece" as some have called it. Far from it.

I like all the characters but one. Syndulla. I don't like how the show portrays this character at all. How this character became a general is a mystery. The character feels that being a general she can do whatever she wants. Being a general does afford a person a great amount of latitude in many things but you simply can't do whatever you want. She has a flippant attitude and acts like a petulant child while shirking her duty. Her childish attitude caused the death of a few pilots at Seatos. She should be arrested and charged with conduct unbecoming, disobeying orders, utilizing Republic property without authorization, dereliction of duty, and involuntary manslaughter. This character is an annoyance and detracts from an otherwise decent show.

Like some others have stated I would also like a little more backstory to the characters relationships with each other. I get that the writers want to keep an air of mystery and reveal things slowly but at a certain point I am going to stop caring about the relationship dynamics and lose interest in the show. And by the way, leaving things open to audience interpretation is lazy storytelling.

For months, I held off from watching Ahsoka. I had read the reviews, watched the snipes, gripes and story breakdowns on YouTube. I knew that the fanbase was split between diehard Filoni fans and those who've had just about enough of Disney SW. And then I set it all aside, and I watched the entire season in a two-day binge.

And the funny thing? Everybody is right about this show.

As far as negatives go, there are many. It's often stunningly poorly scripted. SW fans are usually pretty forgiving to clunky dialogue and goofy plot contrivances, but Ahsoka routinely pushes this tolerance past the limit. It feels like we're watching a hasty second draft, and not a cohesive, completed screenplay.

It's also too often poorly directed. Why would anyone allow their main actors to so often appear so lifeless, constantly folding their arms, puffing out frustrated sighs and pausing for interminably long breaks between dialogue exchanges. It's not for lack of talent - the main cast is excellent, but the direction of their work is amateurish at best.

So why a seven? Why give this sorry little show such a reasonably solid score? First, let's be honest. Disney has probably lowered our expectations. For all of Ahsoka's faults, it's light years ahead of The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mandalorian Season 3. If you love SW, these can be strange times. We get a lot of content, but not a lot of very good content.

But second - and here's perhaps the most important factor to me - Ahsoka is sincere and genuine and very Star Warsy. It's a space opera. It's optimistic. It's occasionally quite rousing and fun. And while the direction and script are flawed, the visual and sound effects and musical score are virtually flawless. This FEELS like Star Wars. The LOOKS like Star Wars. This SOUNDS like Star Wars. Filoni clearly cares about this universe, and in Ahsoka, he and his crew gently begins to expand it.

Ultimately, I enjoyed Season 1 - much, much more than I thought I would. Sometimes, an earnest attempt at something great still wins the day, star warts and all. Recommended.

After Andor showed how amazing a Star Wars show can be when competently written by people with talent, directed by people with creativity and performed by actors with passion for their roles, this show comes along to remind everyone that Andor was a one-off occurrence, an anomaly. Ahsoka exemplifies the (few) strengths and the (many) weaknesses of recent Disney Plus Star Wars shows. It wastes time, it has bland characters and it exists to remind you of better things Star Wars has done.

The plot of Ahsoka can easily be summarised as being stretched beyond belief. The story of Ahsoka and the Rebels crew trying to prevent the return of Thrawn and rescue Ezra could have easily been told in at least 3 or 4 episodes, with the other 4 being used to build to an epic battle with Thrawn. Instead it takes us 8 episodes to set up the next season or movie, instead of resolving the plotlines of this season. It moves at an agonizingly slow pace wherein it doesn't build any of its characters and just serves up meaningless action and fluff.

The characters are mostly bland and one-note. The returning Rebels characters are all far less expressive than their animated characters and the actors all look bored and confused. It's clear the direction they were given was poor since most are competent actors in other projects. Rosario Dawson is wooden as Ahsoka which is a real shame. She reacts to everything with bored indifference. Sabine is now insufferable who basically screws over the good guys more than once and is never called out on it. The only exceptions are Baylon played by Ray Stevenson, and Shin played by Ivanna Sakhno. They're dynamic is legitimately interesting but that is all there is. Interest. They're characters are given lackluster wrap-ups.

Of course this show contains all the fan-service you'd expect. It is all there to hide the clear lack of any substance in the script. The show is visually pretty great but the costumes look so cheap and bland. When the volume is used it is very obvious. Another issue is that no casual viewer can really enjoy this show without having consumed 7 seasons of Clone Wars and 4 seasons of Rebels. The show keeps telling us that Thrawn is dangerous but we are never shown this. Thrawn does barely anything in the overall plot and there is no reason to fear him.

In the end, this is another show with nothing to say. It lacks substance. Two decent characters, pretty visuals and fan service can't save this show from the pool of mediocrity/stupidity of its fellow TV show brethren. Just re-watch Andor.