Spoilers for Ahsoka “Part Three: Time to Fly”
After a two-part debut, Ahsoka returns with a third installment that started slow but satisfied with a space battle harkening to the original Star Wars. The disappointing run time of just over thirty minutes leaves fans wanting more too quickly. Sadly, it seems we’ll be taking baby steps to find Thrawn, so we may be forced to accept the handful of cartoonish antagonists in the Witch of Dathomir and her band of droids, her sinister agents, and the mysterious Inquisitor, Marrok.
Speculation the black knight, Marrok, could be Barris Offee from The Clone Wars animated series can be nixed now that we’ve finally heard “his” voice. It’s an enhanced voice that comes through a com, like Kylo Ren’s voice, but it is most certainly not female. Rumors still linger that it could be Ezra turned to the Dark Side. However, the evidence is there that Marrok is Starkiller, a secret apprentice of Lord Vader’s.
The name similarity to Galen Marek from Legends and credit to actor Sam Witwer providing “additional voices” might be just the clue we need. Witwer’s voice and likeness were used for Galen Marek, aka Starkiller, in the 2008 video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Since Ahsoka was once Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan, it would make George Lucas-like poetic sense for her to face Darth Vader’s secret apprentice in a final duel.
Moving on to Ahsoka “Part Three,” we finally get a live-action glimpse at Jacen Syndulla (Evan Whitten), the interspecies child of Hera Syndulla and the late Jedi Master, Kanan Jarrus, from the animated series Rebels. The boy is useless in the chapter, but it answers the question of whether his existence would be addressed in live-action. Hera (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is the fulcrum character here, giving Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) expositional information and context to the larger plot of the series.
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The third part begins with Ahsoka’s droid, Huyang (David Tennant), sparring with Sabine on Ahsoka’s ship as they track the stolen hyperdrive engine through hyperspace on the way to the Denab System. Following swordplay training, Sabine is fitted with fencing headgear reminiscent of Luke’s first training scene onboard the Millennium Falcon. “With the blast shield down, how am I supposed to fight?” He asked Ben Kenobi. Sabine similarly questions her new master, “I can’t see. How am I supposed to fight?” The drawn-out cut demonstrates Sabine’s frustration with her lack of progress.
Among an armada of New Republic ships, Hera faces Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) and a selection of galactic senators in a plea for resources to find Thrawn before Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto). One senator in particular, Hamato Xiono (Nelson Lee), seems strongly against this allocation, suggesting Hera is more likely on a personal quest to find Ezra Bridger since he disappeared amongst a pod of Purrgil, together with Thrawn. Could he be another Imperial loyalist? Herra has no choice but to report to Ahsoka and Sabine that she cannot join them as they head to the Denab System.
Ahsoka continues to train Sabine with encouragement as Sabine continues to doubt herself. Huyang wholeheartedly and comically agrees with Sabine’s doubt. After losing a connection with Hera, the others drop out of hyperspace and are immediately pursued by Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno), Marrok, and four expendable Clone Wars-era starfighters.
The space battle that ensues begins with a few familiar angles and echoed lines from Star Wars. We are immediately reminded of Luke’s first time in a gun turret. Instead of TIE fighters, the T-6 One-Nine-Seven-Four is fighting off Morgan Elsbeth’s goons in star fields that look as if they are the same as the ones used in 1977 as the Falcon escapes the Death Star. The apropos imagery reminds us of when the group looking for Alderaan, finds a field of debris and a space station. Our new group comes upon Elsbeth’s hyperspace ring, the Eye of Sion.
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When Ahsoka’s ship is disabled, she fights the pursuers from the hull in a spacewalk that is easily a nod to early Star Wars Marvel Comics issue 15, which had Han Solo spacewalking in a “Star Duel” with Crimson Jack. Sabine gets the ship running in time for Ahsoka to get back inside and head planet-ward through a surprise pod of live-action Purrgil, the hyperspace traveling behemoths from Rebels.
They land on Seatos in a red forest, eluding their two remaining pursuers. The T-6 One-Nine-Seven-Four sits amongst falling leaves in what might be the most gorgeous few frames of all of Star Wars. I’d hang the framed shot in my living room. Shin and Marrok drop their search and fly away. Having scanned the hyperspace ring, Huyang explains that the giant vehicle is capable of traveling intergalactically at unimaginable speed.
Ahsoka “Part Three” ends with Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) sending hunters into the forest to collect Ahsoka and Sabine. Still no sign of Thrawn. Unfortunately, our favorite blue-skinned Chiss Grand Moff remains a MacGuffin. Few mysteries have unfolded enough to satisfy curiosity yet, but the action in part three certainly made up for a slow start.
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