Spoilers for The Mandalorian’s Chapter 13 “The Jedi” & Star Wars Rebels
The most insane episode of The Mandalorian just debuted. Chapter 13: “The Jedi” premiered on Disney+ on Black Friday and it’s arguably the most fan-fulfilling episode yet, especially for fans of Ahsoka Tano of course. Ahsoka Tano made her live-action debut, Baby Yoda was given a name, and that character was referenced. We all saw Ahsoka coming, but we had no idea how she would be handled. Who would have ever thought that Ahsoka Tano would ever appear in a live-action Star Wars project. When the character of Ahsoka Tano debuted in The Clone Wars (2008) film, she wasn’t received with open arms. Since then, she has become a core character in the universe and especially a fan favorite.
“The Jedi” marks the first time Ahsoka Tano is seen in live-action. She might have looked a bit off in her live-action look, but that’s okay. I can totally understand why adjustments had to be made to the character’s montrals (horns) to support the actor/stunt double for the action sequences. Hey, if the worst complaint is how a character looks, that says a lot about the episode itself. Also, Rosario Dawson deserves all the praise she is receiving. It’s a literal fancast come true! I thought Dawson portrayed the character extremely well and she did a fantastic job catching some of the mannerisms Ahsoka would do in The Clone Wars & Star Wars Rebels. It seems however, that we have stumbled upon a darker, and grittier Ahsoka Tano.
Mando finallys gets to his destination this season–the Jedi. However, there were some complications and now we are headed in an entirely new direction. Tonally, Ahsoka feels different. Not different to the point where you would start blaming the writer(s) for failing to understand the character, but something has definitely changed. I don’t even think it’s fair to criticize the writer in this case because the episode was written and directed by Dave Filoni–the man that made the character what she is today! The last time we saw Ahsoka was in the fourth and final season of Star Wars Rebels in 2018. The fourth season answered the question if Ahsoka had truly been killed by the hands of her former master, Darth Vader.
As we learned, Ahsoka is saved at the last minute by Ezra Bridger, before Vader could strike her down. Ezra saved Ahsoka through a “Force portal” that allowed him to briefly enter the past and save her. Then almost immediately the pair had to face a new threat together, giving her no time to react to what just happened. Ahsoka Tano just faced her old master–who she believed was dead for almost 20 years–and as it turns out, her master not only died in the Jedi Purge, but became Darth Vader. We never got to see her grieve or react to the event. The Ahsoka Tano we meet in “The Jedi” could be the result of her almost fatal encounter with Darth Vader.
While I was totally stunned with the Ahsoka feature, I was taken aback at the treatment of the famous Baby Yoda. It feels like this episode demystified his character a lot. Now he has a name: Grogu. I’m not sure that I am fond of the name, but it’s definitely growing on me. Though the Child is fifty years old and is considered young for his species, I felt this episode aged him a lot. You mean to tell me that he was in fact receiving Jedi training before the Jedi Purge? Not to mention that the incredibly rare species that he is, there were four of his kind in one place, at the same time? Definitely going to have to digest that for a while
Last but not least, Grand Admiral Thrawn. As expected, Ahsoka would be in this episode but Ahsoka name dropping Thrawn was the biggest surprise in the episode for me. In one of the final scenes of the series finale of Star Wars Rebels, Thrawn and Ezra vanish into the unknown. In the epilogue of the series, Ahsoka appears to Sabine Wren and travel somewhere together–seemingly on their way to find their missing friend, Ezra Bridger. Well wherever Thrawn is, Ezra is there too. The fact that Ahsoka was questioning the “Magistrate” on Thrawn’s whereabouts is extremely exciting and confusing at the same time. I’m pretty sure we’ll connect all the pieces together sooner rather than later. Hopefully the rumored Star Wars Rebels sequel series is released within the next five years because I can’t wait any longer!
There are three episodes left of The Mandalorian this season. So much has happened so far, and I am not quite sure what surprises remain. All I know is that I am ready for whatever is to come.