A race to prevent Grand Admiral Thrawn’s escape.

A lot happens this episode. At the same time a lot doesn’t happen. In terms of what we get, we see the relationship arcs of Sabine, Ahsoka and even Ezra find some closure. We see Morgan, Thrawn and the Great Mothers reveal what they’re prepared to sacrifice for their goals and that those sacrifices are thought through well before everyone’s aware they’ll be making them.

We see clearly the threat that Thrawn represents to the New Republic – not simply in tactical expertise but also in the allies he’s bringing with him. This leaves us well placed for the follow on shows and, ultimately, the movie.

What we don’t get is resolution to the larger mysteries introduced via Baylan Skoll and building on Rebels’ storylines. These feel at least as substantial as Thrawn’s story and the tantalising glimpses remain the biggest thing I want to see more of.

It’s worth mentioning some of the things this show has done right. Given where we are in the continuity it hasn’t always been clear to me whether Ahsoka would survive this show or whether she’d die as part of the story. This is to say that the storytelling has done a fantastic job of making decisions matter, of playing out consequences without avoiding them or pretending they haven’t happened.

With Ahsoka and Sabine stuck at the end of this series far away from where they started there’s a huge amount for them to follow up on and explore that is, now, entirely separate from Thrawn’s developing story. I like this.

For each of the many nods to fans and tie ins to earlier lore there’s also something fresh. For example, Baylan Skoll, Shin Hati, the grandmothers openly named after the Greek fates (and tied very closely to the Norns of Norse myth). The ideas of Rebels and The Clone Wars (the world between worlds, the Mortis arc) are made literal flesh and the entire live action future of Star Wars feels invigorated as a result.

If I have some gripes, they’re limited. Ahsoka is, regardless of how fresh it is, a mid-series season sandwiched between Rebels, The Clone Wars and The Mandalorian. It suffers because of that in the same way the third book of a trilogy is never as well read as the first. Which is a shame because it deserves prestige – it is beautiful to watch, cinematic in all the right ways with interesting characters and an excellent antagonist.

I’m a middle-aged dude who watched this with his entire family. My teenagers were blown away by this series – it’s their Star Wars, more than Andor, more than the sequel trilogy. Rebels, Clone Wars and now this are their shows. They’ve grown up with Ahsoka and Ezra (and goodness does Eman Esfandi play him brilliantly. His greeting to Hera at the end? Chef’s kiss.) One member of my family was crying as the credits rolled – happy to have seen Ahsoka in the flesh in a tale that belonged entirely to her. I cannot underscore how important that is for the future of the franchise but also in terms of how my family have bought into this series.

There’s a few things of less consequence to talk about. The fights were interesting and some of the best choreography I’ve seen in Star Wars – it’s been improving through the shows but this had moments where I, as someone who has some expertise in this area, actually loved watching them rather than waiting for the next wince inducing moment.

The staging, composition and structure throughout the show have been stunning. So much love for these elements.

Finally, the accompanying music has also been fantastic. Star Wars obviously has decades of motifs and themes to draw on and with Ahsoka’s connection through that timeline there were some outstanding callbacks to those moments that only served to lift the show’s soundscape. The music has told us a story of growth when the characters have seemed mired in their failures.

All of these elements have been woven together with a love and respect for the world that feels unrivalled. In that sense it’s the opposite of Andor – which was able to live almost without reference to anything going on in the wider world and thrive because of that narrative isolation.

There’s been a lot of rubbish in this space – The Book of Boba Fett being the worst – but at its best, Ahsoka reminded me of why I’ve been looking forward to waking up on a Wednesday for the last few weeks.

At the end of this I’m sad to see it go – sad it’s the last we get to see of Ray Stevenson and hopeful that this momentum can be kept into new shows and new directions.

Verdict: Ahsoka has proven that the old can live happily with the new just at a point when I was beginning to despair that Star Wars would ever take its head out of the sand on Tatooine.

Rating? 9 nazi space zombies out of 10

Stewart Hotston