The sixth episode of Ahsoka, "Far, Far Away" gave me the exactly feeling I was hoping for.
As Morgan Elsbeth's ship flies into the atmosphere of a strange, new planet, they zip past some ancient stone-carved statues as they fly across a desolate land.
They're not in Kansas anymore.
For weeks now, the build-up to visiting a new galaxy got me hyped to see all-new things in Star Wars. Though we didn't seen much (and probably won't see much more), the feeling of not belonging, of the unfamiliar, of not knowing where we were, and not being close to home, were all heavy and palpable. We came across a couple of strange, new creatures. Though Peridea, the desolate planet we visited, was less than exciting to look, it felt exciting to enter a foreign planet. Props to the directing in this one; the camerawork contributed to a constant feel of unease.
Even the travel felt different. I loved the new look of space during their intergalactic hyperspace travel. The sort of glowing, electromagnetic-looking colors surrounding them could not be more different than the usual blue, cold look of travel at hyperspeed (was Morgan's ship still traveling at lightspeed, or is there an even faster travel method now?)
One thing that felt familiar was the grand entrance of a certain character we've been waiting to see this whole time. The camera pans over the Nightsisters' tower as a Star Destroyer fills the wide-angle view. We see that this Star Destroyer's exterior has been patched up - the Purgill used their tentacles, grabbed it, and brought the ship to this galaxy in the first place. A camera shot then pans underneath, showing familiar markings.
This is the Chimaera.
This is Grand Admiral Thrawn's ship.
His entrance was bold, grand, and had the same pageantry that Vader and Palpatine received when they entered the Death Star in the Original Trilogy (except the music, which is more ominous in tone). That epic feel of seeing how important this guy is never gets old. If anyone else is worthy of an entrance like that, it's Thrawn.
And right away, you see why. Thrawn makes it apparent he is the smartest guy wherever he goes. He immediately deduces why Baylan brought Sabine as a prisoner. He plays chess with Sabine, setting her up to lead them to Ezra, clearly a hint of vengeance in Thrawn's plan (a motivation Thrawn usually doesn't need).
I cannot tell you how impressed and giddy I got hearing actor Lars Mikkelsen play the character. The way he sounds and paces his dialogue is impeccably accurate to the Rebels character. Looks-wise, he doesn't quite fit the mold. The animated version was far sleeker and leaner, but Lars looks enough of the part to not bother me too much.
Reunited, and it feels so good
The debut of the other character we've been dying to see all season could not be more opposite in tone and feel. Ezra clearly is a nomad, constantly needing to hide away to survive Thrawn's ever-looming presence. There's so much more of a personal relief and attachment when Sabine finally lays eyes on Ezra and share a long-awaited embrace. Ezra is far less impressive than Thrawn, wearing worn-out robes and sporting that scruffy, unshaved look.
While we don't know yet what all he's been doing this whole time, we do know he's figured out some things to survive. Obviously he knows he can't stay in one place too long. He's learned how to communicate with the rock-turtle creatures. Most importantly, he knows that Thrawn is hunting him. But what I really want to know is how Ezra has grown with the Force as a Jedi. A lot of future Jedi stories could revolve around Ezra. Does he know more about the World Between Worlds that Ahsoka has now seen? Will Ezra and Luke Skywalker ever meet? That would be cool. Will Ezra be capable of training potential younglings, such as Hera's son, Jason? Or maybe he finishes Sabine's training. Ezra and Sabine have an interesting relationship. It wasn't romantic, but that doesn't mean it can't turn into that, which, of course, would add some intrigue - and perhaps some contention - to the Jedi way. Sabine already has made one poor decision because she chose her friend over the safety of the entire galaxy (I'm not convinced Morgan Elsbeth wouldn't have found a way to get to the new galaxy, anyway).
An even longer time ago?
Are we getting introduced to details about the original state of the Star Wars universe?
When Morgan Elsbeth and her crew first drop out of intergalactic hyperspace travel, she mentions Peridea, the first planet we see in this new galaxy. Her ancestors, the Dathomiri, made this their home planet - we later see why Morgan is such a key character in finding this galaxy when we meet the three Nightsisters who talked about communicating with her through a dream. Morgan mentions that her people were the first to harness and ride the purgill back when time wasn't even counted.
That's bonkers to me! How ancient a time are we talking about?
Earlier in the episode, Huyang mentions telling Ahsoka a story called "History of the Galaxy, Part 1-3". It's funny that we now have to ask to which galaxy he refers, but Wonder if they're hinting at the origin of the Force? One of the future Star Wars movies is supposed to talk about the discovery of the Force and the very first Jedi in the universe. I wonder how much of that history is even known by current Star Wars characters, particularly Huyang, who apparently knows a lot. It was great that he used the "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" intro for his story (the episode is also fittingly titled "Far, far away").
When the most recent batch of Star Wars movies got announced (the first one is supposed to release in 2026), we didn't get any titles, but we did get timelines. Of the three movies, one will be around the era the current Disney+ shows, which makes a lot of sense (probably will be Thrawn's movie). Another is rumored to be later than even the sequel trilogies.
And the third is supposedly set 25,000 years before anything we've ever seen in the Star Wars universe. The story is supposedly about the very first discovery of the Force and will introduce the first Jedi ever. It's perhaps a bit ironic that Ahsoka, which is setting up so much stuff for the future of the Star Wars timeline, is getting me just as hyped for looking back at the beginning of the entire Star Wars universe as we know it.
Sith Talking
What further reinforces my theory is the interesting conversation between Baylan and Shin Hati. Baylan is turning into a fascinating character. While at the top of the Nightsisters' tower, he and Shin are overlooking the planet when he starts talking about watching the Jedi Temple burn (at the end of Revenge of the Sith). Baylan was younger when that happened, so he was naturally in shock, but now that he's older, he realizes it's all a part of a game. A viscious cycle. Fall of the Jedi. Rise of the Empire.
Then we get an interesting nugget. Baylan says he is searching for "The beginning" so he bring that cycle to the end. He believes this "beginning" is on Dathomir, another reason to think there are ancient Jedi powers to be discovered, perhaps in future Star Wars projects that are set in ancient times.
On that note, it's very sad to think that the actor playing Baylan passed away. If they had big plans for that character, they'll either need to change it up or recast, the latter of which sucks because of strong performance by the late Ray Stevenson.
Jedi in waiting?
The viewers got trolled once again into thinking Sabine was successfully using the Force. She tried breaking out of her prison cell, but the rock doors started shaking from Thrawn's ship flying overhead, as we quickly see it wasn't her making that happen.
What's more annoying, though, is the Nightsisters' reaction to Sabine. Saying she "reeks of Jedi" further cements the notion that Sabine, at some point, will learn how to use the Force, even though she is not a Jedi or has not successfully trained. Maybe Ezra will unlock something in her? Hopefully not, but I'm already preparing myself for being upset about Sabine suddenly be a Force expert.
The actress playing Sabine - Natasha Bordizzo - turned in an incredibly uneven performance. She was over the top when Sabine got angry, and she was awkward when she was trying to be light-hearted and funny when interacting with those creatures. She just doesn't have the right vibe to be a Jedi, which makes me all the more hopeful that they don't try to go that route with her story.
Notes:
-I'm not a fan of the witch stuff. I thought it was a little much in The Clone Wars, especially since it's an animated show geared towards kids. But I'm okay with how they're presenting them so far. I'm curious how Thrawn wants them to use their dark magic in the next episode, though.