This wasn’t a bad episode of Ahsoka. Very short, though. It went by fast, like a 34 minute runtime or something like that, and believe it or not they packed a whole lot into those 34 minutes.
We’d normally call this kind of thing a setup episode, or a bridge episode. I’m okay with that, because it was a good one. Mrs. Know-It-All watched it with me, and we both came out the other side in the same place.
Sabine, the Mask, and a Whole Lot of A New Hope
This is Part Three, it’s called Time to Fly, and it picks up exactly where the last one left off. We open with Sabine on the ship, practicing. It’s very akin to A New Hope, when Luke is training on the Millennium Falcon, except nothing’s flying around pinging her. She has Huyang, who’s using these hologram sword things, and she’s having to work through the moves. It’s very Bushido. It’s got that samurai feel, and the whole scene is a very educational moment.
So what does our own Ahsoka do? She says hang on a second, you’ve got to at least try to feel it, sense stuff, and she gives her a mask. It kind of looks like a fencing mask, or a blast mask. And of course Sabine can’t see a thing. That’s so Luke Skywalker.
So obviously: do all Jedi whine like that? Well, I don’t know. When George Lucas’s adopted son writes it.
No, but it’s good. I enjoyed it.
Hera Goes Before the Senate
Aside from that really interesting scene, we go to Hera, who’s going before Chancellor Mothma and some other senator people, and especially one Senator Xiono. His name is really weird, and I tried it about three ways on camera. Ravioli was one of them.
She’s basically trying to get more resources for her little mini group to go hunt down Thrawn. And I don’t know that I like this guy. I feel like he’s a little too quick with the line that they don’t want to waste resources on this goose hunt. It seems like to them it’s all wasting resources on finding Ezra, no matter what. They blame everything on that.
But you notice the minute she says Thrawn, Mothma’s face just drops. She’s like, oh, I know that name, and I don’t like that name. Especially because it’s Grand Admiral Thrawn. It’s one of those moments where apparently not everybody at the table understands the severity of the situation, and Hera actually calls dude out on it.
Then we get to see Jacen, Hera’s son, which I thought was really interesting. It’s a fun little callback and a nod to some elements of the old shows. I’m really interested in seeing so many of these characters come to life.
The Wing, the Ring, and the Space Whales
Then they arrive at that moon, and it’s funny, a lot of this has echoes of A New Hope, and I’m okay with that. I really am. Because you want to say it. That’s no moon. For real, for real.
When they finally get around it, Shin shows up with some fighters. That little Jedi chick. She’s awesome, and she’s still evil looking.
They manage to identify the fact that there’s a thing out there, so Huyang starts scanning it as quickly as possible, trying to get as much information as he can. Meanwhile Morgan is on the thing, which from speculation I believed was a large hyperspace ring. Later on Huyang confirms that, which I thought was awesome, because who called it? We did. It looks just like that little ring I was telling you guys about.
But in the middle of the scan they get shot, and there’s this amazing moment where Ahsoka goes out there. Out there, out there. I didn’t know we had spacesuits in Star Wars. Did I miss it? If I did, shame on me. I think it’s super cool, especially because it was designed for her, with what looks like little cloth tail adapters.
Seeing her do, essentially, space Jedi fighting with a lightsaber on the wing was pretty dope. Then Sabine does a really cool move where she moves the body of the ship, because the ship rotates on its main core, and Ahsoka catches her feet and runs back in.
I’d seen Ahsoka in the blue outfit in the trailer for this episode, and I thought, oh, this is like her fighter pilot outfit. It’s actually just her spacesuit.
They have to get away from Shin and her people, so they go down into the planet, and they happen to go through some clouds. This is where we get our firsthand view of the purrgil. Space whales. Hyperspace whales. When Huyang wakes up, he actually says it: legend has it there were once these hyperspace lanes that followed the path of ancient space creatures known as purrgil. Of course the ladies already know this.
So they’re bobbing and weaving through the tails, the tentacles and whatnot, and when they finally land, Baylan sends hunters after them, because they’re hiding in the forest.
They’ve set up quite a few things very quickly. It was a very entertaining setup episode. Would I recommend someone start watching Ahsoka with this episode? Not at all. But it’s absolutely worth the watch.
Fifteen Years Is a Long Time
All week long, since the last episode, all I’ve heard online is people sort of pooh-poohing it and saying these characters feel so different from the ones we knew.
Well, first off, the ones you knew were in a show called Rebels. It was a very specific time. And it’s literally been about 15 years or so since then. A lot happens in that time frame. People grow. People change. Somebody online pointed out that Sabine is 30 and still behaving like she’s a child, and I thought that was pretty interesting.
I’ve heard a lot of other people continue to say they felt really bland, they felt this and that. I don’t really have a frame of reference, and I have no problem with how everybody’s been behaving. I’m not super buddy-buddy with somebody I haven’t seen for 15 years. You know what I mean? I may be like, oh yeah, how have you been? Okay, good, things are good for you. A lot has happened. People’s lives change.
If everybody can agree the characters have evolved, then nobody should have a problem accepting that the characters are who they are now.
The other problem I’m having with some of the criticism is that people assumed going in they had to know Rebels, and I think that put a blindfold in front of them. Well, I already don’t know what’s going on, so how am I going to enjoy this? Mrs. Know-It-All has noticed that a lot too, with some of the things we’ve been watching. She’s one who knows nothing about Rebels, and if she has a question she’ll either look it up or ask me. She’s done that maybe a couple of times, where does this person come in, and she told me flat out she would’ve been fine without that little bit.
If you were expecting a direct continuation with those characters, you have to understand what this is. I feel like everybody’s coming together and gelling well.
Sabine Already Has the Discipline
There’s a really interesting part that I liked where Ahsoka says to her, you know, most of your ability to fight comes from your Mandalorian training. Mrs. Know-It-All pointed that one out and it clicked. They have to be so disciplined and so mindful in their training that Sabine really could use that type of discipline to start wielding the Force.
Ahsoka makes a really good point, which is that the Force does permeate everyone and everything. She tells her flat out: talent does help, but you don’t have to have that. At the end of the day, what it takes is more discipline than anything. Which is what Sabine has. Absolutely she’s got discipline.
I agree 100 percent. I think she could turn that around easily. I don’t think she’s going to be flinging the Force around on people, and she’s probably not going out on the wing of a ship to fight with a lightsaber. But I do believe she could.
The test Ahsoka gives her is to start with something small, which is try to move a cup. And what did she say? “You won this round.”
All I know is, as she’s sitting there holding her hand out, all I could see was 12, 13 year old me doing the same thing. Hell, I’m sorry, 30 year old me back in the day. Forty year old me, today, at the remote control. Mrs. Know-It-All will tell you I do it all the time. I point and I point until Baby Know-It-All suddenly goes, okay.
Where I Think Filoni Is Taking This
Like I said, it feels very New Hope-ish, which I’m okay with, and I don’t mean in the regurgitated way. Not like The Force Awakens.
And can you not hear David Tennant now? We know David Tennant is doing the voice of Huyang, which apparently he also did in the animated series. I wasn’t aware of that, because Huyang came in after I stopped watching. I only watched the first three seasons of Rebels, and then life and everything.
I have a lot of thoughts moving in a lot of different directions. I think Dave Filoni is building to something. I know we’re getting a movie that’s supposed to ultimately bring together the Mandalorian threads, definitely the Ahsoka threads, because they’re all kind of living in that universe. It’s going to be something to do with the baby Yoda of it all, or whatever else there’s going to be. Oh my gosh, can we get a Grogu movie?
I feel like these things are going to come together, and I don’t believe Thrawn’s going to be resolved in this show. Unless we get Thrawn quick, like in the next episode, maybe the next two, and then you ride out the rest. But I feel like you build up to him, you have some major thing, you leave us on the equivalent of a Star Wars cliffhanger, and you go from there.
Remember, The Mandalorian ended with him on the farm, chilling, waiting for the next adventure. He’s probably teaching Grogu a little bit more stuff. Not to mention Bo-Katan is now the new leader pro tem of the Mandalorians, and now we have Sabine’s connections. All the key players are falling into place for a good movie.
That Senator Is Dirty
I know we’re not getting Hera on this adventure right now, because she said as much. I hope we get more of her later, as the Thrawn of it all shows up and begins to become part of the story.
And I believe, frankly, flat out, that Xiono is the problem. He’s dirty. If he’s not dirty, he’s got to be something.
Everybody should be suspect. Everybody should be suspicious, because of how Palpatine took over. Everybody should be paranoid beyond words. And at this point in time they’re all so tired of fighting, we just don’t have to fight anymore. I’m like, yeah, that guy shows up with a starship to screw with y’all. What are you talking about?
I know I went a little long on the discussion part. I need you to understand, I’m very much in. I’m on board.
The Verdict
Star Wars: Ahsoka Episode 3, Time to Fly, lands at an 8 out of 10 on the Know-It-All Index.
It was a nice middle of the road episode. I feel like it was a good setup, and a lot of fun things happened. I’m consistently giving this show an eight, and this one’s a nice solid eight for me.
Mrs. Know-It-All was teetering between a seven and a half and an eight. She wanted to be more entertained. Don’t get her wrong, she had a lot of fun with this, it’s a good setup episode. She went eight.
Your turn. Was there anything that stuck out for you, or anything you’re looking forward to? Does this series have echoes of Rebels for you, or does it feel like it’s not directly connected? The conversation lives in the comments on the video above. And never forget: everyone loves a know-it-all.
