Ahsoka, a spin-off series from the main Star Wars franchise, began on August 22 with the release of two pilot episodes. Directed by Dave Filoni, it is centered around Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker’s former Padawan (a Jedi Apprentice in the Star Wars universe), the series canonically fills in the latter parts of Ahsoka’s story after her efforts in assisting the Rebellion during Star Wars: Rebels. 

The series itself was highly requested and anticipated by the Star Wars fanbase, despite the main character’s rocky introduction to the franchise. Ahsoka made her first appearance as Anakin Skywalker’s new Padawan in the 2008 animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars (TCW), a precursor to the TV series of the same name. Ahsoka's  personality during her adolescence, as well as the sudden addition of her to the protagonist’s story, resulted in her being very disliked by many viewers, and this continued through the start of the TCW series. However, her character development as a Jedi during TCW, from a talented but stubborn padawan to a scarred but infinitely more wise ex-Jedi is one of the biggest successes for Star Wars in recent memory. This was capped off with her reappearance in the late, but final season of TCW in 2020.

The first few episodes of Ahsoka construct a hyper-political setting of the fledgling “New Republic”, created after the fall of the Empire in the original Star Wars trilogy. Investigations by Ahsoka lead to the discovery of Imperial remnants at a decommissioning factory, which is the beginning of the storyline for this series. As easy of a transition as this was for avid fans of the franchise, new viewers could easily get lost in the complex inter-character relationships that convey changes in personality traits of certain characters from their previous appearances. For example, understanding the relationship between Ahsoka and Sabine Wren, Hera Syndulla, and other key characters requires viewing previous Star Wars series.

A common characteristic for many spin-off series is a slow-paced, character development-based middle section of episodes. The Star Wars franchise is no stranger to this phenomenon, but Ahsoka avoids this problem using a combination of new canonical lore, engaging environments, and well-organized fight choreography to keep the audience engaged as the focal climax of the series is prepared.

This climax is the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn – another character whose background story is desperately wanted by Star Wars fans. A leading figure during the Empire, his often impeccable battle strategy and stoic demeanor quickly made him a fan favorite. He appeared as one of the key antagonists mainly in Star Wars: Rebels, but his story was cut short with his disappearance to another galaxy through the actions of Ezra Bridger, a Jedi and main character in both the Star Wars: Rebels and Ahsoka series. The process of identifying those working towards Thrawn’s return, as well as countering his strategic genius when actually confronting him, is the main struggle for the protagonists.

The season finale, released on October 3, feels more like a new beginning for the franchise. Far from a classic happy ending, the main protagonists fail to achieve their goal of preventing Thrawn’s return to their own galaxy. Furthermore, Ahsoka, Sabine, fallen Jedi Baylan Skoll, and his apprentice Shin Hati are left supposedly stranded in a different galaxy, with no way of returning home. The one silver lining is that Ezra Bridger, thought to be lost during the course of Star Wars: Rebels, does manage to return with the help of Ahsoka and Sabine. The audience can only assume that the information that Ezra brings to the New Republic will help them prepare for the worst.

Despite the return of fan-favourite characters as well as a renowned director at the head, Ahsoka had mixed reviews by fans. The portrayal of Ahsoka by actor Rosario Dawson was praised in previous Star Wars series, notably in The Mandalorian, but many felt that the character itself fell flat during her namesake series. Even those more well-versed in the character’s development arc in the franchise were confused at her demeanor during the show. Furthermore, the show felt more like an additional season to Star Wars: Rebels. It very much lacked its own identity and direction.

With a potential Season 2 of Ahsoka, as well as Dave Filoni’s untitled live-action Star Wars film in the works, fans can only wait for the answers to the undoubtedly many questions they have.