Ahsoka is a show fans have been anticipating and eagerly awaiting for some time now. It is the first time that fan-favourite, Ahsoka Tano, will be the star of the show and with her character’s creator, Dave Filoni, helming the show, fans have good reason to look forward to it. I can say that, while not perfect, the first two episodes do not disappoint. It’s basically Star Wars Rebels Season 5 because it picks up right where they left off and that is not a bad thing. If the rest of the episodes are as good as the first two, Ahsoka could be Filoni’s best work yet.

The casting, as per usual for these Star Wars projects, is on point yet again. Rosario Dawson and Mary Elizabeth Winstead bring Ahsoka Tano and Hera Syndulla to life, straight from the animation in the best possible way. However, the biggest standout for me was unquestionably Natasha Liu Bordizzo. Sabine Wren has been one of my favourite Star Wars characters introduced in the Disney era and not only does Bordizzo do the character justice, but she steals every scene she is in. I can’t help but be captivated by this character all over again as we follow her epic journey. I’m so happy she’s a lead in this series and we’ll be seeing more of her. The late Ray Stevenson also plays a chilling antagonist in Baylan Skoll that helps tie everything together. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen Lars Mikkelsen’s live-action portrayal of Grand Admiral Thrawn, a fan favourite character who is finally making the leap from books to animation to live-action, but rest assured, he’s probably going to kill it like he did in Rebels. Overall, Filoni and the team did a fantastic job with the cast here and everyone is excellent.

The story picks up right where Rebels leaves off and it trades fast-paced storytelling for world development and character study, albeit at a slower pace. Some may not enjoy this change, but I think it’s exactly what this show needed so that fans could have the time to catch up with characters they haven’t seen in a while. Ahsoka allows us to reacquaint ourselves with the trio of Ahsoka, Sabine, and Hera while developing a new story around them. The result is a story that’s cinematic in scope but also extremely engaging for the viewer. I will say, it helps to watch Star Wars Rebels beforehand but if you haven’t, you won’t be too affected or confused (other than missing out on some of the best Star Wars content ever made), because Filoni made sure to take this into account. Overall, great stuff in the story department and I’m excited to see where it goes.

The score is my second favourite part of this series. Filoni enlists the help of The Clone Wars and Rebels composer Kevin Kiner to deliver a score that’s very Star Wars-y and evokes the legendary John Williams scores. His themes for each character are distinct and finely curated and overall, he has produced and excellent Star Wars score.

Ahsoka is what Rebels fans have been waiting for. Led by commanding performances from Rosario Dawson and Natasha Liu Bordizzo and good storytelling, Filoni does what he does best. He explores the Star Wars mythos in a fun and lively way that is sure to entertain and satisfy fans and make some new ones along the way.