Ahsoka Episode 8: The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord Review – A Valiant Attempt

The season finale of Ahsoka has come out and, well, it’s good. Not the best, it was a bit of a mixed bag. I had several gripes with the events that happened. Several things in the episode just weren’t at the same level that I know the show is capable of because I’ve seen it in previous episodes. However, it was definitely better than Episode 7: Dreams and Madness because Thrawn actually succeeds in his plan to escape Peridea. This means we’ll need a season 2 if Disney plans on resolving Ahsoka’s journey. But, I’m jumping the gun, so first let’s take a look at what happened during the finale and where the show had its faults. 

If you haven’t already, you can watch all seven episodes of Ahsoka on Disney+ right now. You can also check out my previous reviews on the show if you want to read my thoughts on those.

• Episode 1: Master and Apprentice
• Episode 2: Toil and Trouble
• Episode 3: Time To Fly
• Episode 4: Fallen Jedi
• Episode 5: Shadow Warrior
• Episode 6: Far, Far Away
• Episode 7: Dreams and Madness

Spoiler alert for those who have not watched Ahsoka Episode 8: The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord.

Story – Finale

The finale begins on Thrawn’s Imperial cruiser, The Chimaera. Thrawn, Morgan, and Captain Enoch convene after completing the cargo transfer that has been taking place since Episode 6: Far, Far Away. Captain Enoch informs Thrawn they have the location of Ahsoka’s ship and Thrawn orders two TIE fighters to take it down if possible. Thrawn then references his defeat at the hands of Ezra Bridger when telling Morgan not to be overconfident. He thanks the Nightsisters for their allegiance and they reward Morgan for her efforts by essentially giving her a power upgrade and the Sword of Talzin. 

This is a good opening scene, nothing too exciting, but the power granted to Morgan makes her more of formidable antagonist. It was also a nice touch to reference Mother Talzin who was a recurring antagonist in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The sword that was gifted to Morgan is an excellent tool for fighting Jedi because it has the capability of deflecting lightsabers, something we saw when Mother Talzin dueled against Jedi Master Mace Windu.

Thrawn and Enoch prepare their battle plan

After the opening stinger, We watch Ezra as he constructs a new lightsaber. There’s a humorous exchange between him and Huyang, one that reminds me of how obsessive my wife can be about the organization of our garage, but I digress. In leads into a conversation that reveals the true reason why Ahsoka stopped mentoring Sabine. Her family was killed in the purge of Mandalore, and Ahsoka was afraid that Sabine could use her training as a means to seek revenge. It’s a crucial piece of information that explains why Sabine resented Ahsoka in the beginning of the show. 

Ahsoka and Sabine then have a conversation about the events of Episode 4: Fallen Jedi, when Sabine deliberately gave up the map to Thrawn. Sabine tries to apologize, but Ahsoka says it’s okay. She references in Clone Wars when she was being framed for the bombing at the Jedi Temple, Anakin never doubted her innocence and stood by her. She wants to do the same for Sabine as her master. It’s a wonderful moment of growth and further enforces the impact Anakin had on her life. She then tells Sabine she needs to do more to train her in confidence of the Force.

Ezra constructs his new lightsaber

Suddenly, they’re attacked by the TIE fighters that were launched earlier by the enemy. Ahsoka and Ezra jump under the ship to keep it up with the Force because the stabilizers were damaged. Sabine hops into the cockpit and does a kamikaze maneuver to take out both TIE fighters with the wings of Ahsoka’s ship. The ship then flies over a hill and crashes. Sabine and Huyang are both fine, but our heroes now have no ship to catch up to Thrawn. This is simply to add another obstacle for our heroes, fotunately, they have Howlers they can ride while Huyang works on the ship with the Noti. 

Thrawn prepares for any attempt our heroes might make by asking a group of his soldiers to delay the enemy while they make their escape. Again, showing Thrawn’s coldness by being willing to abandon his men, but also showing that his men truly revere him and are willing to be stranded for his victory. As our heroes approach the Nightsisters tower, the Imperial cruiser rains lasers down on them. They all extend their hands and use the Force to keep the gate open long enough, although, I’m not sure how much Sabine is contributing given she hasn’t interacted with the Force besides connecting with Ahsoka when she called in the last episode.

Thrawn commands as if he is playing chess

It seems that group willing to stay behind for Thrawn was for naught because they are quickly dispatched by our heroes at the gate. After they dispatch the group, Thrawn says it is time for the Nightsisters to do their part and they use their Dark Magick to raise all the Night Troopers our heroes defeated. I was unimpressed when the troopers were taken out so quickly, but it made more sense when the Nightsisters came into play. This is one instance where Disney owning the rights to Star Wars becomes a detriment. An easy solution to this problem would be decapitating or even dismembering the Night Troopers as they slowly approach, but Disney is a family-friendly product and so the heroes wave their lightsabers at them with no effect.

As our heroes race to the top, they are interrupted by an awaiting Morgan who is willing to sacrifice her ability to escape the planet for Thrawn. Ahsoka tells Sabine and Ezra to continue while she takes care of Morgan. A duel ensues and we get a great bit of choreography between the two. This is also a subtle callback to their encounter in The Mandalorian where Ahsoka’s journey in the Mando-verse began. Ahsoka is briefly distracted as The Chimaera begins the process of departure. The clock to stop Thrawn is short and it lends well to making the latter half of the episode more gripping.

A Death Trooper after Sabine shot its jaw

Meanwhile, Sabine and Ezra are disarmed by a couple Death Troopers and are on the defensive. One Death Trooper manages to get Sabine in a choke against a pillar. Her lightsaber is just out of reach so she tries to use the Force. The show drags out the suspense, but she eventually is able to Force pull her lightsaber and briefly ignite it into the Death Trooper’s head (reinforcing my comment that decapitation is the easiest way to kill them). The show finally pays off the thread of Sabine having a connection with the Force. It was nice, and although it was a little anti-climatic, it closes a loop for her character. 

After helping Ezra to Force jump onto the Imperial cruiser, Sabine faces a choice to either help Ahsoka with Morgan or help Ezra take down Thrawn. At first, it seems she chose to listen to Ahsoka and take down Thrawn. But when Morgan taunts Ahsoka it’s revealed she stayed behind. I felt it would’ve been a stronger moment if she helped from the start instead of waiting and having an unnecessary reveal. It also came off clunky because she’s technically just waiting there until Morgan sets her up for the reveal line.

Ahsoka and Sabine deflect blasters from Night Troopers

After Sabine helps take out some Night Troopers, Ahsoka and Morgan have another nice combination that sets up an awesome moment when Ahsoka steals the Sword of Talzin and uses it in tandem with her lightsaber to slice Morgan. They then jump off the tower and land on the top of Ahsoka’s ship as it races to catch The Chimaera before it leaves the planet. As they close, Thrawn attempts to play mind games with Ahsoka. He mentions knowing Anakin and that in turn allowing him to predict her moves. The Chimaera then jumps into hyperspace, Thrawn has succeeded. 

As the show wraps up, we finally get our first glimpses of Shin and Baylan since the previous episode. It seems they both decided to stay behind. Shin seems to want to lead the bandits and Baylan is still in search of the mysterious power he believes lies in Peridea as he poses on a mountain with The Father and The Son carved into it. Thrawn is setting up on Dathomir, and Ezra was able to steal a ship to reunite with Hera. Ahsoka and Sabine reconcile with their defeat, and we end on a tender moment as the camera pans out to show Anakin’s force ghost, watching over Ahsoka and Sabine.

Anakin’s Force ghost watches over Ahsoka and Sabine

Baylan posing on the mountain with The Father and The Son is a curious shot. We know Ahsoka has the spirit of The Daughter in her from Clone Wars, so maybe those spirits will come into play if they make another season. How Baylan would play into that is even more curious because, unfortunately, Ray Stevenson’s death means they need to recast the character or drop him entirely. 

Characters and Performance – Only So Much They Can Do 

This was a semi-successful finale in my opinion. Most of the negatives I have come from the writing and production rather than any one characters performance. In fact, I thought everyone did a fantastic job. Save for those who weren’t primarily involved with the result of the episode such as Baylan, Shin, and Hera. These characters were given peanuts in terms of screen time and I found it to be a severe letdown. There is the tragic real life death of Ray Stevenson that is likely affecting the direction of his character and it’s a shame he won’t be able to expand on what he did because he was one of the most compelling parts of the show.

Baylan stands on a statue of The Father and The Son

Cinematography and Sound – Don’t Fix What Isn’t Broken

The cinematography was the same as it has been for the past several episodes. It shows they’re consistent with each planet having a unique feel, color, and terrain. They also had some great camera angles for certain shots. This episode had several moments where sounds elevated my experience. Kevin Kiner did his usual terrific job while also blending the iconic John Williams’ Star Wars scores. One particular instance that gave me goosebumps was when the TIE fighters roared past Thrawn in the beginning scene. A good example of nostalgia elevating a scene. 

Editing and Pace – Not Consistent Enough

I’m not sure which episode it was when things started went wrong, but at some point the editing started to take a severe downturn. If you read my previous reviews you can see me singing the show’s praises for its excellent editing and camerawork. This episode had several moments where it did achieve that same standard I’m looking for, but it wasn’t there consistently enough for me to praise it. I’m not asking the show to have John Wick levels of choreography but I do ask it stay at the standard they set in the first four episodes of the show.