Holed up in the basement while isolating from the rest of the family because of stupid COVID, I have just watched the first four episodes of Ahsoka in a row. I really enjoyed the series when it first aired back in the summer, but I find I am appreciating it even more now.
The first time through, I was watching it week-to-week as each new episode came out. I think maybe that made the pacing of the show seem a little weird. There are some episode-ending cliffhangers, to be sure, but I feel like overall, the show works better as one continuous story. I am not finding the pacing to be weird at all this time as I am watching the episodes back-to-back.
I will also say that I have no time whatsoever for the meta-commentary that surrounded the show when it came out about “Will this work for people who haven’t watched Rebels?”
I watched Rebels and I loved it. Whether people who don’t know that series will like this one is not my problem and I don’t care. Moreover, I don’t think they care. I think the only people who care about this kind of stuff tend to be angry weirdos on YouTube that need to generate content and boost engagement.
I love how much time this show takes to build up the characters and how it carefully constructs its scenes and lets them breath.
Sure—there is action, but there are also long (for an action-oriented tv show, at least) sequences with two or three just talking and slowly maneuvering around one another. The scenes between Ahsoka and Sabine in this first half of the series are great; there is a real tension and unease between these two characters and the story does not rush things for the sake of plot.
Years have passed and a lot has happened—both between these two and across the galaxy—and they can’t just fall back into the relationship they once had. I love that about this show.