While the story didn't advance quite as far I was hoping it would, the seventh episode of Ahsoka, titled "Dreams and Madness" had some of the best action scenes in all of Star Wars since Disney bought Lucasfilm, and it sets up quite a ride for next week's finale.
I'll start at the end with this one. We were left with Ahsoka reunited with Ezra and Sabine, but they apparently have no ride back to their galaxy after Ahsoka's pack of purrgil flew off. They may need to crash Thrawn's party and hitch a ride back on his Star Destroyer. Or maybe Ezra will know how to call the purrgil back; after all, he was the one who communicated with them to send Thrawn (and himself) into this galaxy in the first place.
Speaking of the red-eyed blue Chiss leader, Thrawn's entire scheme in the episode was to buy time while he completed the cargo transfer (seriously, why didn't he have this transfer ready by now?), and he's fine just stranding the Rebels on Peridea if his forces fail to kill them, so long as he gets off this desolate planet. I assume that Thrawn will make his grand return to the main galaxy in the finale, but with just one episode left, it's a bummer they probably won't have enough time to do much more. Will word of his return get out? Will he quickly reunite the remnants of the Empire? For audiences new to Thrawn, they need to see why the New Republic fears him so much. For fans who already know, we're left wondering what tricks he'll have up his sleeve this time around. Has Thrawn made any discoveries during his exile that will help him take back control of the galaxy? In the now-Legends books, Thrawn made use of these creatures called the ysalamari, who were immune to the Force. Even in Ahsoka, and certainly throughout Rebels, Thrawn never underestimated the Jedi, so would he know that his best chance to fight against them is to harness the power of these creatures? There's a lot to be revealed about Thrawn and the long-term plans Disney has with the character, but I'm hoping we get even a taste of what's to come in the finale.
We got a cameo from Hayden Christensen in the form of a brief recording, but during the playback, Anakin name drops a character who has yet to make the jump to live action: Asajj Ventress. Asajj was Count Dooku's apprentice, but eventually ditched the Sith and worked on her own, encountering many high-profile characters along the way. I don't believe the mention of Asajj was just a nugget for Clone Wars fans. Asajj is one of the coolest characters in all of Star Wars, and she absolutely deserves her time in the sun. She died in The Clone Wars, though, so bringing her back would be hard; maybe the Nightsisters would have something to do with it? If Asajj doesn't come back, whatever cargo it is that Thrawn is moving needs to be a game changer.
The action scenes pick up pretty early in the episode as Ahsoka arrives in the new galaxy and flies out of the purrgil's mouth. The visuals were outstanding here; it's easy to overlook, but I truly appreciate when directors give a sense of on-screen depth (especially in space, when there isn't much to work with). The minefield, the fighters attacking Ahsoka's ship through the burial ring surrounding the planet, it all made for quite the visually impressive scene.
The action rolled along throughout the episode. We got a lightsaber duel rematch between Ahsoka and Baylan, which was my favorite lightsaber duel of the season. Ezra and Sabine fought off Shin Hati and two squads of Thrawn's minions; Ezra uses the Force in fun ways, which gets me excited for his confidence in his abilities to use the Force. The action was varied and well shot, and it all hit climactic beats and had strong pacing much in the same way most Star Wars movies come together in the final act. This show definitely has captured that feeling throughout the season. Even the music was energetic in all the right spots.
Baylan's departure was a bit anti-climactic as he parted ways with Shin. There seemed to be such a beautiful story unfolding between the pair. There had to be a personal reason he trained her and connected so well with her, but now we may never truly find out. I felt like they even had a bit of an emotional attachment - it's not like a father-daughter level of connection, but it felt similar - so it was a bit of bummer to see how easily they went their separate ways, though Shin did seem to let shock seep through in her reaction.
Having said that, I could not be more excited to see what Baylan is off to discover. The calling he hears, who could that be? There are so many possibilities! We could be getting a lead into the Mortis story arc from The Clone Wars. Or, one of my favorite theories out there involves a deep cut from the Fate of the Jedi Legends book series (I only read like one or two of those books), which introduces Abeloth, a powerful Force entity of sorts who earned the nickname "The Bringer of Chaos." Dave Filoni could be introducing us to the next big bad in Star Wars (aside from Thrawn) much in the same way Thanos got introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I'm so pumped to see what Baylan discovers on Peridea! Or, who knows, maybe he won't find anything and I'm setting my expectations way too high. What's concerning is knowing that Ray Stevenson, the actor who played Baylan, passed away earlier this year. Sad as that is in real life, it's also sad to think the character may become defunct. Or maybe they'll recast? Who knows.
Meanwhile, for Shin, she had an interesting moment after she went on her own path. She leads an attack on Ezra and Sabine, but Ahsoka shows up to turn the tide in their favor. Then, Ahsoka actually offers Shin a chance to come with them, and for a moment, it seemed like Shin actually considered going with the Rebels. Even when she ran, the look in her face suggested she was running out of fear and the realization of loneliness than it was anger or anything else. I'll be curious to see where Shin goes from here (assuming she survives in next week's finale). I already felt like Baylan, a former Jedi, still had some good in him, and now I wonder if Shin will eventually ditch the bad guys. I hope they keep using her in future Star Wars projects, and I bet they will. As she leaves Baylan, he tells her one final piece of advice: "Impatience for victory will guarantee defeat." That's a good line for Shin to keep in her pocket should she choose to hope that Baylan returns, especially after their talks in last week's episode about the gaining of power.
Back home, Hera is dealing with the political ramifications of her decisions. We got to see a fun shot of Coruscant with the New Republic icon. C-3PO made a fun cameo! And we got a nice name drop when 3PO mentioned that Leia "approved" of Hera's mission. The funniest part was Chopper's reaction to a senator calling 3PO a "mere droid." So "droidist" of him!
Notes:
-When Ezra was recapping all that Sabine told him had happened while he disappeared, he asks if Palpatine is truly dead. Sabine said "That's what people say," as if it isn't clear and obvious. Surely there's no chance they're going to say Palpatine is alive now, right? I know he came back in Rise of Skywalker, but that comes much later. With all the evil science stuff that's been going on in The Mandalorian, and the fact that Palpatine returned in Rise of Skywalker, I worry that Disney is trying to justify that storyline by showing how the Empire could've brought him back. The Nightsisters certainly seem to have the capability to "reanimate," so who knows how far Disney will take that idea.
-When Ahsoka uses the Force to find where Sabine is, I actually liked that Sabine heard it and knew what was going on. This happens a lot in Star Wars, right? Like when Luke calls out to Leia at the end of Empire Strikes Back to come pick up before he falls to his death after his bout with Vader. Ezra mentioned that Sabine trained with him at some point (I don't remember that in Rebels), so it still seems possible they will turn Sabine into a Jedi or at least Force-sensitive person.
-Thrawn finding out that Anakin was Ahsoka's master definitely opened up opportunities to show his unusual methods and understanding of tactics. No doubt he'll bring that up should he confront her in the finale.