Ahsoka, out now on Disney+ Hotstar, might come across as a saving grace to those who were left famished by the Togruta Jedi’s brief appearance in The Mandalorian season 2, hoping to see where she’d be headed next. As one of the most complex characters from the galaxy far, far away — having survived Order 66 and all — it’s surprising to see that it took so long for creator Dave Filoni to kickstart a live-action show based on her exploits. The eight-episode series sees Rosario Dawson reprising her role as the titular Ahsoka Tano, as she heads out on a quest to save the fragile New Republic from the resurgence of Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen).
Although, who is Thrawn and why is his return posing such a massive threat to the galaxy? These are questions that only Star Wars veterans can answer, which is why I’m concerned about whether Ahsoka would be able to condense its past events from the animated Star Wars Rebels show into this short runtime, while simultaneously carving a new arc for the Torguta. The show also has the added responsibility of introducing the Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), who was abandoned by Ahsoka midway through their training, so expect some family drama along those lines. I, for one, am keener on learning how she lost possession of the fabled Darksaber to Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) — hopefully, they touch on that.
Sadly, only two episodes of Ahsoka are available to stream right now, and some of you might need some other great suggestions to keep you engaged. As we await its week-by-week release to unfold the story, we thought now’s a great time to revisit the best Star Wars shows (best to worst).
Andor
Despite bearing the Star Wars branding in its name, Andor is best described as a spy thriller — a twisted take that feels more grown-up than anything we’ve seen before in the franchise. Set five years before the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the series revisits the familiar rebel thief Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), as he wages war against the oppressive Galactic Empire, by planning a small-scale infiltration mission to leak intel, and eventually steal plans to the Death Star. Unlike the Felicity Jones-led movie, Andor has a hint of realism, becoming the first modern-day Star Wars project to forgo the StageCraft tech, which relies on giant digital LED screens to project backgrounds. Filming was done on real-world locations and across larger-than-life set pieces that were built to make its cast of characters appear tiny and helpless.
On his mission to uproot the Empire from within, Andor runs into the mysterious Luther Rael (Stellan Skarsgård), who’s been observing the young thief for a while now and recruits him into the Rebellion. Much of it has to do with Andor’s casual resolve, where he conveys the infiltration process in three easy steps — you need a uniform, some dirty hands, and an Imperial toolkit. All that’s left is to just walk into the enemy territory like you belong — as if you’ve always worked there. Created by Tony Gilroy (the Bourne trilogy), the 12-episode series also stars Genevieve O’Reilly as the senator Mon Mothma, Adria Arjona as his romantic interest Bix Caleen, and Denise Gough as the high-ranking Imperial officer Dedra Meero.
Andor Season 1 Review
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