The most overwhelming plot, arguably, of any Star Wars show is now responsible for underwhelming audiences across the galaxy.
Warning: Spoilers ahead, as you’d expect, Jedi!
Ahsoka has taken on the rather monumental task of basically continuing the story of Star Wars Rebels, but trying to have its some of its main characters find Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn who have, of all things, ended up in another galaxy. Star Wars hasn’t even attempted a task as major as heading over to another galaxy before. It’s a fairly big deal that Dave Filoni is even introducing the concept to the saga, much less doing so in a major Disney Plus live action series.
And so it began that the story, though lacking in serious personality, began to slowly unravel as a plot to journey to that other galaxy. From the idea of it, to the figuring out how It could be done, to the hyperdrive technology that would allow it, to the preparation of that hyperdrive and to the moment they finally blast off to the other galaxy — it’s all so well done. It takes four episodes, and then we get to see how Ahsoka could possibly follow them to that other galaxy in episode 5, only to finally be rewarded with the moment of arrival into that mysterious galaxy in episode 6.
And that’s where the underwhelming part comes in.
The ship of baddies, attached to the hyperdrive, finally arrives. It jumps out of lightspeed in front of a planet that they quickly land on and, well, they’re all just there on another planet, which really feels nothing at all like a new galaxy. It feels like they just voyaged to a different planet within their own galaxy, exactly how it’s always done in Star Wars. This was a wasted opportunity, to say the least.
Imagine how much better it would have been if they enter the other galaxy and something — anything — is actually different. Wouldn’t that also actually more sense? Maybe there are numerous suns nearby that beam an odd glow, or maybe they are in pitch black darkness with no planets in sight. A “Where are we?” moment would have been appropriate, or even some sort of “I think this was a mistake” moment. That would’ve been ideal, especially if the ship then has a technological breakdown. It would give the audience an immediate sense of this being definitely a different galaxy. I was partly expecting some of the others on board — the warriors in the employ of Morgan Elsbeth — to suffer some severe consequence from the journey and die. Maybe one also dies after the ship struggles to maintain power in the new galaxy, and maybe the ship partly crashes when they eventually find — with difficulty — the planet they seek. My point is, there are so many possibilities and, sadly, none of them were taken. They simply had no issues, and were immediately where they needed to be.
Also — and this is just a side note — I can’t stand how foolishly Star Wars depicts coming out of light speed. It’s a sudden stop, making one wonder why the people on board — none of whom ever wear seatbelts — aren’t sprung forward through the front window of their ship. No one ever eases out of light speed anymore.
Fortunately, everything else about episode 6 was excellent. One element worth noting — and whose importance may have contributed to the writers overlooking the opportunity to make this actually feel like another galaxy — is the episode’s single most important and monumental moment; Sabine Wren’s reunion with Ezra Bridger, which has been anticipated ever since the Star Wars Rebels finale over five years ago. However, the writers could’ve simply had that reunion in the following episode, and could have easily sped up what they have gifted us so far into one less episode; thus Ezra would still be in episode 6.
No matter what, though, it’s a disappointment for so much of the series to build up to this trip only to offer nothing new in its execution. It’s like getting ready to go on vacation to Paris, but you end up going to grandma’s house next door instead. What’s the point of the build up to Paris?
Décevant!
