Star Wars ‘Ahsoka’ Episode 3 Review - A Fast-Paced Galactic Ride

The third episode of the Star Wars live-action series follows the adventures of Ahsoka Tano and is titled “Time to Fly”, and indeed time really flies with the 30-minute episode.

The episode begins with Ahsoka training Sabine to use the Force and a lightsaber, using a technique called “Zatochi” that involves wearing a blindfolded helmet. Ahsoka tries to teach Sabine to rely on her other senses. Sabine struggles with this method. Ahsoka her that she must open her mind to wield the Force.

The scene shifts to the New Republic fleet, where Hera Syndulla, is meeting with Chancellor Mon Mothma and several senators. Hera reports on the attack on the Corellia shipyards by the remnants of the Empire in the previous episode, “Toil and Trouble”. She warns them that Grand Admiral Thrawn, a brilliant and ruthless Imperial strategist who was presumed dead, may be behind this attack. She requests a task force to investigate Thrawn’s possible return and prevent another war. Mon Mothma dismisses Hera temporarily as the senators debate on her proposal. Outside, Hera is greeted by Jacen and Chopper, her loyal astromech droid.

Back to Ahsoka and Sabine, who are flying in Ahsoka’s ship through hyperspace. Ahsoka continues to train Sabine in using the Force, telling her that everyone has the Force inside them. She says that Sabine does not need to be a Jedi; she just needs to be herself.

Hera contacts them via hologram and informs them that the Senate did not approve their mission to search for Thrawn. They exit hyperspace and are immediately attacked by Shin Hati, a former Imperial officer who works for Morgan Elsbeth, a ruthless warlord who is building a massive ship called the Eye of Sion for Thrawn.

Ahsoka and Sabine start to work as a team and manage to destroy some of their attackers. As they orbit around the planet Denab IV, they catch a glimpse of the Eye of Sion, which is a huge ring-shaped ship that can generate a hyperspace portal.

Ahsoka puts on a space suit and jumps out of the ship to fight in space. She uses her lightsaber and the Force to deflect and redirect the enemy fire. She buys enough time for Sabine to repair the ship and fly again.

They land on Seatos, a forested moon of Denab IV, and hide under some trees. Huyang reboots and shows them the data he collected from the Eye of Sion. They deduce that the Eye of Sion is capable of following the Purrgil to other galaxies, which may be Morgan Elsbeth’s plan to retrieve Thrawn from wherever he is. Meanwhile, Baylan Skoll, a bounty hunter who works for Morgan Elsbeth, sends his assassins to hunt down Ahsoka and Sabine in the forest. The episode ends with a cliffhanger.

The episode was a thrilling and engaging episode that combines action, character development, and mystery in just 30 minutes of screen time. I really loved Huyang! He is always straight to the point quite ruthlessly, and I really had a good laugh when he said ‘almost dying’ is a “standard operating procedure”. I need more of Huyang in the next episodes. I also loved Shin for the same reason.

The episode has some impressive and memorable scenes that really got me invested, such as Ahsoka’s space jump, Sabine’s blindfolded training, and Hera’s confrontation with the senators. The Purgil’s appearance was a show-stealer! It was visually stunning and well-crafted.

However, episode 3, “Time to Fly”, was a bit rushed and vague. The characters could have been more developed and consistent. The episode ended without much satisfaction or anticipation. The episode skipped some relevant details that casual viewers like me may not be familiar with. The show seems to target a very specific audience who may prefer their short episodes.

Also, the only character arc that actually exists is Sabine’s, except that we did not go much deeper into any of the characters. I would really like to dive inside into the minds of the antagonists also. The only thing we learned about the antagonists is that ‘they are very evil’.

However, if you are a hardcore Star Wars fan, you would really get nostalgic as there are numerous easter eggs and references to old movies scattered all over the episode. The series just need to fix some important things and Ahsoka might be the one to save Star Wars! May the force be with you until the next episode.

Final Score - [6/10]