Ahsoka Part Three: Time to Fly Thoughts
Ahsoka hits its stride in Part Three as the former Rebels face the unknown alone.
“Time to Fly” is the best episode of Ahsoka in every regard: acting, pacing, narrative, action, and direction. Steph Green is close to Rick Famuyiwa in directing action scenes on the ground and in space, but we still have some heavy hitters coming.
A Lesson in Anticipation and Clone Wars Nostalgia
Green’s second episode picks up where her last one left off, with Ahsoka, Sabine, and Huyang heading to the Denab system in hyperspace. Huyang is training Sabine in fight basics when Ahsoka takes a different approach. She gives Sabine a Jedi training helmet, impairing her vision and enhancing her hearing and other senses in a neat sequence that is the most engaging fight we have gotten (The technique is called Zatochi).
Sabine struggles but responds to that lesson better than Huyang’s snarky remarks on her lack of Jedi abilities. They are still vague about Sabine’s non-Force sensitivity (Ahsoka frames her Force abilities as talent). The conversation walks a fine line between what the Force is and how it works, which is a precious topic for many Star Wars fans. Can Sabine really learn to start moving objects with the Force? It certainly would cause a lot of raised eyebrows.
But Ahsoka is also correct in saying she doesn’t need Sabine to be a Jedi. She needs Sabine to be herself, a brilliant weapons engineer and a capable pilot. She is also a trained Mandalorian fighter who learned how to fight with the Darksaber, though that has been deemphasized so far.
The lesson in anticipation does come full circle, from the training session to a dog fight with Shin, Marrok, and Morgan. A squadron led by Shin immediately attacks Ahsoka’s ship when it comes out of hyperspace. They take out some red shirts, but part of the ship and Huyang get temporarily taken out while trying to get a full scan of the hyperspace ring (Eye of Sion).
Ahsoka puts on an eye-catching blue suit that perfectly matches her lekku and braves space to distract the enemy squadron while Sabine repairs the ship. There is a slight suspension of disbelief that two Force-sensitives could not shoot down her ship just floating in space, but Ahsoka has plot armor.
This episode is almost perfect and reminds me of the best of The Clone Wars with a “lesson of the episode” format. It was the basis for Ahsoka’s growth from an impatient Padawan to the calm and collected former Jedi we see here.
Hera Makes a Plea and Takes a Back Seat
The one lacking part of this episode revolves around the brief B storyline. General Hera Syndulla meets with Chancellor Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly returning) and a few Senators, including Hamada Xiono (as in the father of Kaz Xiono from the animated series Star Wars Resistance). As a fan of the two-season animated show during the Sequel Trilogy, this reference is refreshing as Resistance often feels like the forgotten Star Wars series. Kaz is much more personable than his father, Hamato, who plays a minor antagonist, accusing Hera of trying to pull New Republic resources to search for a dead Grand Admiral. He recommends denying her request for a task force and, to add insult to injury, says Ezra Bridger likely died with Thrawn. Ouch.
This grounds Hera and prevents her from participating in the action in this episode, which is understandable since Ahsoka and Sabine need time for their development. However, it hints at a potential issue regarding Hera: her relegation to playing a Mom of the Rebel crew and her son, Jacen. Many Rebels fans will no doubt be excited to see Jacen Syndulla, the son of Hera and Jedi Kanan Jarrus, although I am not sure why. Jacen’s parentage is the most anyone knows of him because you only see two seconds of him at the end of Rebels. Outside of being the son of two fan-favorite characters, Jacen has no identity, so it is hard to get hyped from a few sentences of dialogue (and the child actor does little to make an impression).
I look forward to potentially eating my words, but for now, I am not that interested in the character.
Who Needs An Asteroid Field When You Have Purrgils
But let’s discuss the true stars of the episode! A great payoff to the silhouettes in The Mandalorian and the sounds in “Toil and Trouble,” the Purrgil (aka Space Whales) have arrived and have translated beautifully from animation. And what a set piece to introduce them! Ahsoka and Sabine have to dodge blaster fire and whales as they make their way through the atmosphere of Seatos. Sabine makes the connection (for non- Rebel watchers) that the Purrgil were involved in Thrawn and Ezra’s disappearance. At the same time, Huyang (awake from his involuntary nap) tells them that the Eye of Sion could have the power to jump galaxies like the Purrgils. All hope is not lost as the hyperspace ring is not yet complete, which might give the team enough time to rally another fight, even though we will see Thrawn and Ezra.
But yeah, the Purrgil look fantastic. Now, we just need to see them jump to hyperspace.
Let’s Talk Marrok for a Second
There is a lot of speculation about this character and who could be behind the mask, from former Jedi Padawan Barriss Offee (which makes little sense) to former Rebel Ezra Bridger (which makes less sense). I want Marrok to be a big, fat nobody we know. But, oddly, he is always in his mask. Only a few Inquisitors remained masked in canon (e.g., the Eighth Brother), so what are the chances we never see his face? The longer we go without seeing who is under the mask, the more I am inclined to think it IS someone from Filoni’s animation universe. Although, never seeing his face would also be fine with me.
Morgan: “I’m surprised you let them get this far.”
Shin: “Morgan, congratulations. You almost gone them.”
Star Wars shade at its best. Baylan Skoll was largely absent this episode, but expect him to play a large part in the next episode (the halfway point) as he tracks down Ahsoka and Sabine on Seatos.
Filoni will make us all wait for Sabine to put that helmet on for as long as possible, won’t he?
Originally published at http://creditsandcanon.com on August 30, 2023.
