What to Watch Verdict
The introduction of Ahsoka Tano is the best thing 'The Mandalorian' has done so far.
Pros
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🟠Stunning cinematography from start to finish.
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🟠You can feel Dave Filoni's reverence of Ahsoka.
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🟠"The Jedi" drives the story forward in a meaningful way.
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🟠Another BIG name drop this episode.
Cons
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🟠None. Give us more of this!
This post contains spoilers for The Mandalorian.
Check out our last review here.
“The Jedi” wastes absolutely no time, and it’s the exact kind of episode The Mandalorian needed at this point in its season. There’s been some fatigue over the series’ formula – and by and large this chapter still follows that – but the entance of Ahsoka Tano is the exact kind of shakeup the season needed.
Our introduction to the Togrutan is pitch perfect. An exceptional display of complete badassery with just a dash of mystery. Bonus: Rosario Dawson could not look more perfect as the Jedi. It’s cool that she looks exactly as she should but, more importantly, it feels like she marched right out of The Clone Wars. This iteration of the character feels precisely as it should.
When they find the Jedi, Mando (Pedro Pascal) believes his quest has come to an end. While he does learn a lot about his tiny green friend, there’s still plenty of journey left between him and the Child. Ahsoka can feel fear in the youngling. Considering the fact that her former master was driven by fear and turned into literal Darth Vader, it makes sense that one of the last remaining Jedi is not leaping at the chance to train the kid.
Speaking of the kid, his name is Grogu! No one is ever going to call him that, he’s destined to be Baby Yoda for forever in the same way that Din Djarin will forever be called Mando. All the same, it’s a nice bit of trivia to store in the ol’ logic banks. Grogu was raised in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant – meaning he survived Anakin’s slaughter. He was rescued from the Temple (by who we do not know) and after the Clone Wars he was hidden. His memories are fuzzy after he was taken from the Jedi Temple, and he has hidden his powers in order to survive. The youngling is unresponsive to Ahsoka’s attempts to get him to use said powers, but he plays along when Mando reveals the ball.
“The Jedi” features another side-quest, this time so Ahsoka will train the child. While we know she won’t do that from the jump given all of her Anakin-related PTSD, Mando doesn’t have those details. The two free the city, the Jedi tells the Mandalorian once again that she will not train the child, and then he’s given another destination: take Baby Yoda to a super-charged Jedi rock and sit him on it. If he calls out via The Force, someone will be along to train him. Might sound silly, but this is Star Wars. We’ve basically just learned to roll with these things at this point.
Oh, and Ahsoka’s battle with the Magistrate who had been terrorizing the town results in a casual name drop of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Suffice to say, things are heating up on The Mandalorian.
While this week’s episode was a top-tier story, especially given series standards, it is also just downright stunning. Ahsoka’s entrance alone is an all-timer. A colorful Jedi with two bright-white lightsabers shrouded in darkness and mist and backlit by one hell of a moon as she wipes out enemy forces? Inject that into my veins. “The Jedi” is overflowing with gorgeous shots, whether it’s simply scenery or the final battle between the Jedi and the Magistrate.
We theorized last week that this would be Ahsoka’s entrance because it was Dave Filoni’s episode. Not a groundbreaking theory, given he created the character, but the reason I mention it now is because this episode is the perfect example of what happens when you let a creator take care of a character they love. Filoni’s reverence for Ahsoka is evident in every second of the episode. She’s exactly as she should be, and Dawson and Pascal have already illustrated great chemistry together after a single episode. I desperately hope this isn’t the last we see of her this season.
