Ahsoka review: Episode 7, much like the show itself, is a bridge

WARNING: This post contains SPOILERS for Ahsoka Season 1, Episode 7.

At this point in Star Wars TV, bringing animated characters into live-action is still a risk. It was easy with Bo-Katan Kryze (since she’s human, and played by the same actor). They nailed it with Zeb. Ahsoka overall has done a stellar job with its Rebels characters. Everything in this show looks phenomenal. I have very few complaints, seven episodes in.

But I do wonder: Where are we going with all this?

I am not one to judge a story before it ends, especially side-by-side with other entries into the canon like it. I just have this feeling — like this show was once this whole, complete, beautiful thing, and someone had to pull it apart and only put some of the pieces back together so it would fit into a Disney+-sized slot.

Thrawn was absolutely perfect in this episode, and the nod to Timothy Zahn’s canon novels was a delightful touch. This is among the extremely well-done character transitions from animation to live-action in this series — he is everything you’d expect Thrawn to be in this situation. Always knowing more than everyone else in the room. Always calculating. Always unaware of his most fatal weaknesses.

I’ve said it before — I will continue to reserve judgment for the series as a whole until it’s over (next week!). We still do not know for certain how all the pieces fit together. I sincerely want to believe that this is one of those finales where everything makes total sense at the end. I love this show and I’m having a great time with it. Right now, however, I’m struggling to see this story as nothing more than a bridge from one point in the larger Star Wars timeline to the next. I don’t love the feeling that gives me.

I want these shows to both connect to each other in meaningful ways and enrich the overarching story as contained units at the same time. Ahsoka, as a series, is very clearly setting something up, paving the way for a future show or movie or whatever is supposed to be happening next. And that in itself is fine. But every episode has that “on to the next thing” aftertaste to it that somehow makes each individual chapter feel a bit hollow.

The writing and directing is on point. The show is beautiful and the actors are bringing their all. This is a series that deserves praise on many fronts. But I desperately hope the ending at last defines this show’s purpose beyond “is this a Rebels sequel?”

Star Wars is entertainment — I am entertained and I look forward to each new episode as it approaches. But peeling back the layers, I just hope the story is consequential in a big, but not tragic, way.

New episodes of Star Wars: Ahsoka drop Tuesdays exclusively on Disney+.

Make sure to check Dork Side of the Force after Ahsoka season 1 episode 7 releases for updates and news about the series!