[Review] STAR WARS: AHSOKA (2023, Disney+) Episode 8 Ends on a Cliffhanger, Delivers all the Feels, Pure Star Wars

The Grue-Crew review AHSOKA (2023, Disney ) Season 1 Episode 8 on Gruesome Magazine episode 471. Award-winning filmmaker Christopher G. Moore, the Slattman – Christopher Slattery, Vanessa “Doctor Who,” and Doc Rotten share their thoughts well-nigh this week’s Heroes and Droids adventure!

Warning: possible spoilers without the initial impressions!

AHSOKA (2023, Disney ) Season 1 Episode 8

Episode 8 – Part Eight: The Jedi, The Witch, and the Warlord – October 3, 2023
The heroes race to prevent Grand Admiral Thrawn’s escape.

• Directed by: Rick Famuyiwa
• Written by: Dave Filoni
• Based on: Star Wars by George Lucas
• Cast: Rosario Dawson, Natasha Lui Bordizzo, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ray Stevenson, Ivanna Sakhno, Diana Lee Inosanto, David Tennant, Hayden Christensen, Genevieve O’Reilly, Lars Mikkelsen, Eman Esfandi

Okay, so, her home galaxy’s doomsday is imminent because she and her friends failed, and her reaction to this outcome is, “It’s time to move on?” Her zen demeanor is, to be fair, completely on-brand, particularly since she gained her newfound, unbreakable faith in the Force following her inter-dimensional heart-to-heart with Anakin a few episodes ago. But shouldn’t we be shown someone—anyone—reacting in panic and horror to literally the worst case scenario unfolding before their eyes? Thrawn is back, but why should we care if none of the characters do? We don’t even get to see Hera’s reaction to Thrawn’s impending return. It’s what her entire story arc revolved around! Where’s the drama?

Looking back at the season, this is precisely the core element the show was in desperate need of: high drama. The friction between Ahsoka and Sabine never reached a boiling point, Ezra’s return was tepid at best, Baylan and Shin’s split was abrupt and confoundingly amicable, and Thrawn’s Imperial march toward intergalactic domination with a literal zombie army and the most powerful witches in the galaxy doesn’t feel as frightening and dire as it should.

Maybe the only stirring thing about the episode was Morgan Elsbeth’s ascension into the Nightsisterhood and subsequent sacrifice in the name of Dathomir. Her story’s been an afterthought over the last couple of episodes, but this payoff was great. She met her demise on the best day of her life, and she died protecting the thing she loved most. 

This death really meant something. It was also preceded by some seriously awesome action. The gauntlet Ahsoka, Sabine, and Ezra had to fight through to get to Thrawn’s ship was inventive, exciting, breathless, and damn fun to watch. Their explosive high-speed approach to the fortress was a brisk way to kick things off, and the zombie trooper melee that followed was a perfect change of pace. The way the horde of undead was hunting the heroes as they climbed up the tower was a brilliant touch and lent the sequence a much-appreciated sense of urgency. I kept waiting to see an even a greater number of them—a sea of zombie Night Troopers climbing over each other to rip the fleeing good guys to shreds, World War Z style. Still, what we got was excellent.

One of the very early scenes was pretty great, too. Ezra arguing with Huyang over lightsaber construction only to receive the most touching, sentimental lightsaber part imaginable from the ol’ droid was heartwarming stuff. It’d be nice to spend an entire episode with just Ezra—Eman Esfandi is pitch-perfect in the role—to really get to know him again and see how years of being stranded on a witch planet far from home has affected him or changed who he is. Maybe in a future season, or perhaps in showrunner Dave Filoni’s upcoming movie?