Star Wars: Ahsoka Season 1 Episode 6 Review

Star Wars: Ahsoka‘s™ sixth episode, “Part Six: Far, Far Away,” provides a duo of delightful live-action debuts with Grand Admiral Thrawn™ and Ezra Bridger™. I’ve been waiting for this. I’m glad we reunited with Ezra now and not at the end of the series. This episode isn’t as introspective and analytical as its predecessor. However, it’s still packed with lightsaber™ action, gorgeous visuals, new creatures, a nuanced performance from the late Ray Stevenson, and an emotional reunion.

Ray Stevenson brings so much to Baylan Skoll™, and I’m glad we learn more about him here. I love seeing more Force-sensitive characters who aren’t blatantly good and evil in the live-action shows. Not that Baylan’s a hero by any means, but he’s also not your stereotypical mustache-twirling antagonist. I’d dig a Baylan Skoll origin story. At the very least, I hope we discover how he met and took Shin Hati™ under his wing before the show concludes.

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Part Six: Far, Far Away

We open with the purrgil™ traveling through hyperspace. It looks pretty trippy. Ahsoka Tano™ and Huyang™ are chilling inside the mouth of the Purrgil Ultra. Ahsoka informs Huyang that she omitted certain information when telling Hera Syndulla™ about Sabine Wren’s™ whereabouts. By holding the map to Grand Admiral Thrawn’s location, Ahsoka saw flashbacks from what transpired after Baylan Skoll pushed her off the cliff. That’s when she learned Sabine followed Baylan, Shin, and Morgan Elsbeth™ of her own volition.

Ahsoka wonders what this means for Sabine — did she willingly go for selfish reasons or for the good of the galaxy? Naturally, this worries her as Sabine’s Master. Ahsoka then asks Huyang to regale her with a story while en route to their destination. Hey, it’s either that or they play “Punch Purrgil,” the galaxy’s version of “Punch Buggy.”

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“We Had a Deal.”

Speaking of Sabine, she’s confined to a cell on the Eye of Sion™ as it travels to Thrawn’s location. Baylan pays her a visit. She’s unsure why she’s being held as a prisoner when they had a deal. Baylan hoped the small space would grant her the opportunity for reflection. But who likes reflecting on their choices?

Baylan reunites with Shin and Morgan. He reassures Morgan that Sabine’s presence will be a boon to their operation. They approach Peridea™, a lone planet in a distant galaxy. It’s also the ancient homeworld of Morgan’s ancestors, the Dathomiri™. Baylan reveals his connection to Peridea: he heard stories about it while training as a Jedi™. Peridea is the end of the purrgil migration route as the star whales travel between galaxies. As the Eye of Sion enters Peridea’s orbit, we see a celestial graveyard of purrgil bones. I’ve never seen a galactic cemetery before. It’s spooky.

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There Be Witches

Later, Morgan, Baylan, Shin, and Sabine land on the planet. Morgan approaches a trio of Nightsisters™. This is their live-action debut, and they look pretty dang cool. They inform Morgan that Thrawn will arrive soon, so they must wait for him. The witches sense Sabine is a Jedi. They entrap her with magick and throw her into another cell. Well, that’s not very nice.

While waiting for Thrawn, Shin and Baylan chat about the fables surrounding Peridea. It feels like a fairytale. We get insight into Baylan’s backstory as he reveals he survived the Great Jedi Purge™. Shin wonders aloud if their alliance with Thrawn will bring them true power. Baylan, however, doesn’t seek that kind of power. He searches for “the beginning” to “bring this cycle to an end.” How cryptic.

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Thrawn’s Grand Arrival

Next, Sabine tries to use the Force to open her cell door. She hears a rumbling from behind her. We see a massive Imperial-class Star Destroyer™ fly slowly toward Morgan, Baylan, Shin, and the Nightsisters. They board the ship to find a fleet of troopers waiting at attention, led by Captain Enoch™. Fun Fact: The Expanse‘s Wes Chatham plays Enoch. Chatham is no stranger to sci-fi spectacle. Anyway, we see Thrawn stroll between the rows of troopers toward Morgan. Here he is, in all his blue glory. I love that Lars Mikkelsen reprises his role for this.

Thrawn welcomes his rescuers. He learns about Sabine’s presence and echoes Baylan’s sentiment about her being a great help to them. Fun Fact Number Two: The runes etched in Thrawn’s ship are the same ones from Ahsoka‘s end credits. It’s a language with Sith roots, illustrating a map of various Star Wars™ planets.

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Walk Freely

Soon enough, Thrawn reunites with Sabine herself. Naturally, she looks less than enthused to see him again.

Thrawn endeavors to uphold his end of the bargain, just as Baylan promised. He claims he’ll give Sabine a mount, provisions, and weaponry to hunt for Ezra Bridger alone. Yes, he’s going to let her walk away. Why? Because she’s responsible for breaking him out of confinement. Enoch sets her up with a Howler™. This creature is also making its live-action debut from a video game predating 2005. They remind me more of dogs/wolves and don’t look as reptilian as described.

Anyway, Enoch warns Sabine about the wastelands beyond this ship. The nomads therein are merciless. They kill frequently to stay alive. He wishes she “die well” after arming her with a few weapons. Then, Sabine rides off to find Ezra. Thrawn claims Baylan and Shin can kill Sabine and Ezra once she locates the latter. Shin appears shocked that Baylan would backtrack on his promise to Sabine.

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Beset by Nomads

Meanwhile, Sabine finds herself surrounded by nomads. Her Howler flees the scene while she fends them off. Naturally, my girl’s a badass, and she swiftly eradicates the threat. On Thrawn’s ship, the Grand Admiral orders Enoch to send two squads into the wasteland to assist Baylan and Shin. His resources have dwindled during his time on Peridea, and he’s still essentially emptying his storage lockers before they can make a beeline for our galaxy. He can only offer the mercenaries so much help. Plus, he tells Morgan that it doesn’t matter whether Baylan and Shin survive. Thrawn’s mission is much bigger than that.

Later, Sabine walks on foot to search for Ezra. The Howler trots behind her. He looks ashamed for abandoning her in her time of need. Sabine scolds him but welcomes him back as long as he doesn’t flee again. Aw, I want a Howler. Unfortunately, my dog thinks (knows) he’s the star of the show, so that wouldn’t work out. But I digress.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Noti

Then, the Howler leads Sabine, who believes the creature might know where Ezra is. However, he was simply thirsty. Suddenly, they’re surprised to find a creature lurking under a shell, one that skitters away from them. Even though it looks like a snail, I immediately blurted out, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle!” when I first saw it, so there’s that. It possesses turtle-like qualities, though.

Sabine chats with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Noti™, who looks (and sounds) terrified of the salivating Howler behind her. The Noti points to the Rebel Alliance Starbird™ on Sabine’s Mandalorian™ armor. It gestures to the necklace around its neck, which bears the same symbol. She asks if it knows Ezra. A group of Noti approaches her, leading her and the Howler to their encampment.

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Examining the Aftermath

Meanwhile, Baylan and Shin examine the aftermath of Sabine’s skirmish with the nomads. They also ride Howlers. Shin asks Baylan questions regarding his time in the Jedi Order™. Earlier in the episode, Thrawn addressed Baylan as a general. He knows Baylan had a high ranking in the Order. Baylan reveals he doesn’t so much miss the Order itself but the idea of it. I love that Baylan doesn’t dismiss Shin’s questions — he welcomes them and answers them honestly. He’s such a fascinating character.

Shin wonders if Baylan sees a “future” in this wasteland. She believes they should consider fleeing. She just doesn’t possess his vision! Before getting too philosophical, they spot more nomads in the distance. Baylan thinks they can make friends with them, if anything, to learn about Sabine’s location.

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An Emotional Reunion

Next, the Noti lead Sabine and her Howler to their camp, where we peek into their daily lives. Sabine marvels at their little operation. Suddenly, a voice calls out to her. She whirls around to see none other than Ezra leaning against a tent with his arms crossed. Admittedly, the beard is working for me. Keep it, please. Anyway, they embrace. I’m not crying; you are. He asks if his plan to rid the galaxy of Thrawn worked. She lies, claiming it did. Ezra also asks how she got to Peridea. Sabine suggests they save that kind of talk for later. She wants to savor this moment.

However, there’s no time for relaxing. Ezra asks Sabine to pitch in as the Noti pack their tents and prepare to move elsewhere. They’re a nomadic race, after all.

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There’s Another on the Way

The trio of Nightsisters approach Thrawn with unsettling news: Another Jedi is en route to Peridea. He guesses it’s the “recently deceased” Ahsoka Tano. Morgan claims that Baylan insisted she was dead. Well, Baylan should’ve stuck around to ensure the job was done correctly. Thrawn’s not a fan of this development. He asks Morgan to dive headfirst into research, unearthing anything and everything on Ahsoka. Then, he turns to the witches, urging them to implement their dark magick once more. It’s about to get, well, dark. 

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Do you think Baylan and Shin will track down Sabine and Ezra? What will come of Thrawn’s inevitable battle with Ahsoka? Become one with the Force and connect with other fans at side.show/geekgroup or in the Sideshow Social Network, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!