‘Ahsoka’ Episode Three Recap: “Time to Fly”

*Warning: the following article contains spoilers for episode two of Ahsoka*

After two great episodes setting the stage for what could be the best installment of the Mando-verse yet, Ahsoka continues its momentum with a short but satisfying episode that’s essentially one giant space chase between Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson)/Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo)/Huyang (David Tennant) and Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno). Ahsoka, Sabine, and Huyang have found Morgan Elsbeth’s (Diana Lee Inosanto) whereabouts and discover she is building a massive hyperspace drive to get to Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), who we still haven’t seen! I wouldn’t say I’m impatient regarding reveals, especially when we know that a certain character is showing up, but I would love to see at least a glimpse of Thrawn in live-action. Regardless of what happens, I’m hopeful Mikkelsen will deliver in live-action as much as he did through his animated iteration in Star Wars: Rebels.

Meanwhile, Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) meets with Chancellor Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) to persuade her to have the Republic send fleets to Seatos, where Hati, Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson), and Morgan are located, suspecting that Thrawn is still alive. However, Mothma and a group of senators do not believe Thrawn and Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) are alive and do not acquiesce to Hera’s request. In this scene, we also see the first appearance of Hera (and Kanan Jarrus)’ son, Jacen, in live-action form. He wants to be a Jedi, just like his father. How admirable, and potentially planting the seeds for a later appearance in another Star Wars film or TV show? Time will tell…

The rest of the episode is a massive action sequence, and it’s honestly one of the coolest things I’ve seen from Mandalorian Star Wars in a minute. The dogfight is rather conventional but harkens back to a more traditional Star Wars, where they would be the most thrilling aspects of the original films. Sakhno doesn’t speak much in this episode as Hati, but her piercing eyes (who never blink) and laser-focused goal to destroy Ahsoka’s ship are honestly more terrifying than the dull Morgan Elsbeth, who seems to be relegated to clichés in this episode than in the first two. On the other hand, Baylan Skoll only appears at the episode’s end to set up what will happen next week, which is set up to be a total banger.

Hell, the scene where Ahsoka goes INTO SPACE to destroy one of Hati’s henchmen by backflipping with zero gravity made me get up on my couch in total bewilderment. This is stuff we saw Ahsoka do all the time in The Clone Wars and Rebels, in the sense that she would consistently defy her master’s orders and battle villains with the coolest moves possible. To see Dave Filoni and director Steph Green translate that spirit in live-action honestly feels like a dream come true, and Dawson’s portrayal of the character improved from the first two episodes to this one, especially during a scene where she trains Sabine early on.

Winstead also improved her portrayal of Hera in a powerful conversation with O’Reilly’s Mothma. It’s still unclear to what extent Mothma will have a role in this series, compared to Andor, but it’s great to see the Star Wars series establishing continuity between the shows, even if Andor has attempted to distance itself from The Mandalorian. Still, we’re nowhere near the incredible performance of O’Reilly in that show, one of the biggest forces and highlights of the first season of Andor. But I can’t wait to see more of her wherever she appears next.

The next episode will see Ahsoka and Sabine confront Skoll and Hati on Seatos, with what is teased to have yet another incredible action setpiece in the show. We’re three episodes in, but it’s already leaps and bounds ahead of the last season of The Mandalorian, which was all filler and no killer, and Disney+’s last big “event” show, Secret Invasion, which I don’t want to talk about ever again. Filoni was the perfect person to translate Ahsoka Tano from animation to live-action and give her the adaptation she deserves, but once again, I have difficulty believing that non-Rebels fans will enjoy it. Maybe they will, but the core of the show will be missed.

Some will argue that television shows shouldn’t feel like “homework” to understand the next big event, and I agree. Filoni tries to make Ahsoka as accessible as possible, but there’s a limit that he unfortunately gets to as the show progresses. Still, as far as Disney+ “homeworks” goes, it’s the least egregious one (so far), so there’s that. Here’s hoping it stays that way for the following weeks.

The third episode of Ahsoka is now streaming on Disney+.