Highlights
- Ahsoka refocuses on the title character in episode 7, delivering a thrilling and action-packed penultimate chapter.
- The episode features high-stakes action sequences, cross-cutting between different perspectives, and a reminder of how terrifying Thrawn is.
- Director Geeta Vasant Patel showcases her talent for character exploration, while Rosario Dawson delivers a compelling lead performance as Ahsoka.
Warning: This review contains spoilers for Ahsoka episode 7.
After taking its time establishing Thrawn as the big bad and introducing a second galaxy far, far away in last week’s episode, Ahsoka refocuses on the title character in its penultimate chapter, “Part Seven: Dreams and Madness.” The script is provided once again by the creator of the series, and the co-creator of the Ahsoka character (with none other than George Lucas), Dave Filoni. As Ahsoka’s sole writer, Filoni has spearheaded the series with a single distinctive authorial vision, and seven episodes in, he still has yet to drop the ball.
Following a brief jaunt to the A-plot, Hera has been booted back to the B-plot to answer for her insolence. A last-minute order from Senator Leia Organa (by proxy) saves Hera from being court-martialed for her unauthorized mission. Thanks to Hera’s hearing, Genevieve O’Reilly finally gets more than a blink-and-miss-it cameo appearance. She still doesn’t have as much depth as she was given in Andor, but she takes the spotlight in a full scene as she questions Hera under oath in an official capacity, then asks about the plausibility of Thrawn’s return off the record. The grave seriousness with which she mentions Thrawn is a timely reminder of just how terrifying he is.
The episode opens with this dry New Republic hearing, but it quickly brushes past the politics and dives into the action nice and early. As soon as Ahsoka and Huyang arrive in the new galaxy aboard a Purrgil pod, they find themselves in the middle of an Imperial space minefield. The Purrgil start getting blown to smithereens and disappear back into hyperspace, leaving Ahsoka to navigate the mines alone. And if that wasn’t bad enough, she’s promptly joined by a fleet of Imperial starfighters on her tail. This sequence gets the episode off to an explosive start (literally) and establishes the sky-high stakes of this new Imperial-controlled setting.
This is just the first of many rollicking set-pieces in “Dreams and Madness.” Ezra and Sabine fend off scavengers in a pew-pew Star Wars version of a classic western movie shootout on horseback, combining the kinetic thrills of a chase sequence with the visceral thrills of a firefight sequence. The episode follows the franchise tradition of cross-cutting between various different perspectives of the climactic action, all while Thrawn watches over a holographic map of the battlefield like a diabolical puppet-master. Throughout this final battle, Filoni plays around with his heroes and villains like pieces on a chessboard, with Ahsoka, Sabine, Ezra, and Huyang on one side, and Baylan Skoll, Shin Hati, and Thrawn’s legion of zombie Stormtroopers on the other side.
Ahsoka’s penultimate episode was directed by Geeta Vasant Patel. It’s delightfully ironic that Patel has directed an episode called “Dreams and Madness,” since her last directorial work was the House of the Dragon episode in which a delirious, dying Viserys babbles about Aegon the Conqueror’s dream and unwittingly complicates his own succession. Patel’s Ahsoka and House of the Dragon episodes have both demonstrated that she’s just as interested in exploring the characters as she is in the genre spectacle. As proven by her terrific work with Paddy Considine in that House of the Dragon episode, Patel is more than adept at working with actors and getting them to deliver their best work. Her Ahsoka episode provides further proof of that.
Rosario Dawson continues to anchor the series with a compelling lead performance. She conveys Ahsoka’s self-assuredness as she confidently smirks her way through every scene (even when she’s in life-threatening danger – something she’s used to at this point in her life). After his brief debut last week, Eman Esfandi settles comfortably into the role of Ezra, capturing his signature blend of unbridled recklessness and zen self-acceptance. Lars Mikkelsen proves once more that no one but him could play Thrawn, since all the character’s menace is in his calm yet intimidating voice. The late, great Ray Stevenson continues to nail every pontificating villain monologue as Baylan Skoll, and after the first few episodes forced her to play vague emotional ambiguity, Ivanna Sakhno finally gets a chance to shine as a deeply conflicted Shin Hati. She’s still not ready to abandon Skoll, but she’s not fully committed to the dark side, either – and when she is ready to abandon Skoll, she knows a kind, forgiving Ahsoka will welcome her with open arms.
Fan service is one of the many things that Filoni has nailed with this series. Ahsoka has just the right amount of fan service. There’s been plenty of fan service, especially in the past couple of episodes, but not an excessive amount – and never at the expense of real storytelling or character development. The fan service is just the cherry on top of engaging story and character beats. This episode features a fan-pleasing appearance by C-3PO (with no stupid red arm yet) and Hayden Christensen returns in a Clone Wars-era hologram recording of Anakin’s training exercises as Ahsoka brushes up on lightsaber combat. “Dreams and Madness” doesn’t just set the stage for a thrilling finale next week; it has more than enough thrills of its own.
Ahsoka
Rosario Dawson stars as Ahsoka Tano in this Disney Plus Star Wars series that brings some of the franchise's most beloved characters from the animated world into live-action. The series, created by Dave Filoni, also stars Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Sabine Wren, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera Syndulla, and the late Ray Stevenson as Baylan Skoll.