Warning: Spoilers for Episode 1 of Tales of the Jedi Ahead
What started out as a small way for Star Wars creator Dave Filoni to pass the time, has now become a six-episode mini-series. Tales of the Jedi follows two key characters from The Clone Wars, Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku. Each character has their own three episodes dedicated to stories and moments that we have never seen before. The first focuses on Ahsoka during a time when she was around one year old.
Something this episode gives us a lot of insight into is the Togruta people’s rituals and traditions. Ahsoka’s birth is celebrated by the entire clan and there is an interesting tradition that involves a mother hunting with her child once she turns one. Additionally, the clan elder has these absolutely adorable dog-like creatures that resemble Loth-Cats from Star Wars Rebels. I don’t know what they are called, but I want to find out. We don’t get to see the Togrutas a lot so I really liked this look at how they function.
Ahsoka herself doesn’t speak in the episode aside from cooing noises so we don’t get to hear Ashley Eckstein’s voice once again quite yet. That being said, Ahsoka still plays a major part in the story. While out on the hunt her mother teaches her small lessons about life and death (hence the episode title), which mirrors lessons the Jedi will one day teach her. Eventually, Ahsoka is taken away by a large saber-toothed tiger-like creature and while the village rushes to assemble and find her, she saves herself. She takes the lessons to heart and for the first time uses force, making a connection with the creature. I couldn’t help but be reminded of Ezra from Rebels as she then rides the creature back to her village where the elder declares “Ahsoka is Jedi”.
I really loved this first episode. It’s nothing that completely changes the way we see Star Wars, but it’s a pivotal moment in Ahsoka’s story, and that’s exactly the point of this episode. This look into Ahsokas’s past gives us just a little bit more about how she was shaped into who we see in The Clone Wars, Rebels, and beyond.
All six episodes of Tales of the Jedi are streaming now only on Disney+.