Ahsoka episode 3, Time to Fly, was a fun ride from start to finish. There were a few bits of nostalgia calling back to Star Wars: A New Hope, there was fight training, and then there were ship battles with a twist. And in between, we got to see Ahsoka and Sabine continue to work on their relationship.
Sabine
Sabine had an attitude in this episode, which was off-putting at first. It does make sense though, given all she’d gone through in her life by this point. Child soldier and mercenary, the loss of friends and family, and a missing brother-like friend. Throw in an earlier failed attempt at Jedi training and it adds up to her attitude in this episode.
Now that I think about it, Ahsoka got a lot of “child soldier” commentary during this series, but what about Sabine? Just because Mandalorians weren’t ever raised to believe they were peacekeepers doesn’t make that amount of killing and loss okay, psychologically.
Her Mandalorian background is front and center in the fight sequence at the start, which I loved. She seemed to be average against Huyang but did better than I could do once blinded. I’d be so frustrated by that entire sequence, there’d be no hope I’d connect to the Force, much less use it. A detail I loved was she would defend after being tapped, even though she couldn’t see, which is very disciplined. Sabine did seem to connect at least a little bit, exchanging blows a few times with Ahsoka, who she couldn’t see. This entire exchange reminds us of Obi Wan training Luke on the Millennium Falcon in A New Hope.
The argument for/against Sabine having the Force or becoming a Jedi is also interesting. The Force is in all living things, so she has the Force. But as Huyang notes, the Jedi Order would not have accepted her. Ahsoka points to a balance between the extremes of no Force and Jedi Order rules with one of my favorite quotes, “I don’t need Sabine to be a Jedi. I need her to be herself.”
I’d also like to count the ship fight once Sabine took control of the shuttle as a win against Shin. Shin had defeated her somewhat easily with a lightsaber in the first episode, but can’t keep up or find Sabine as she darts through and around the Purrgil. Two dark side users are unable to match the Mandalorian with at least some skill in the light side, although I think she had some help from the Purrgil themselves. It isn’t surprising Sabine is not as skilled with the lightsaber, but it is surprising to me that Shin and Marrok lost her amidst the space whales.
Ahsoka
Ahsoka bounced between a preachy teacher and a solid supporting mentor in this episode. In the starting training sequence, I didn’t think she was all that helpful with her verbal guidance of Sabine. The Force comes off as some mystery with no directions, but the Jedi had to have had a way to explain it to the Younglings.
On the other hand, she defended Sabine to Huyang, noting that the Jedi Order’s rules eventually led to their failure. She told Sabine she’d done well that day, encouraged her after missing during the space battle, and told her, “good work,” when she downs an enemy. That sequence also reminded me of A New Hope, when Luke takes down a tie fighter. Han wasn’t quite as good at mentoring and told him not to get cocky. Ahsoka also showed empathy to Sabine after seeing the Purrgils for the first time since Ezra vanished with them and Thrawn.
They had their moments at the start of that battle, though, until Huyang pushed Ahsoka towards teamwork. Ahsoka relented and allowed Sabine to develop their plans. She also let Sabine keep the controls when escaping Shin and Marrok.
This episode also had one of the coolest bits in a space battle when Ahsoka suited up and went out in magnetic boots on the wing to take on three ships with her lightsabers. Did it make sense she could change this fast? Absolutely not, but the rule of cool made this a joy to watch.
Politics
I must admit, I’m just not all that into Star Wars politics. There aren’t enough laser swords, especially for that guy Xiono.
Hera is always a joy though, and this episode was no different. I loved meeting her son Jacen, who “wants to be a Jedi.” Like his father. I can’t wait to see where his story leads.
Bad Guys
I’ll end with the bad guys, as Baylan was the final shot of the show. Looking awesome, I might add.
The tension between Morgan and Shin in this episode was less obvious than the tension between Ahsoka and Sabine, but no less dramatic. Shin appeared to have some serious issues with witches during this season of Ahsoka, but no explanation was given. Are there other witches in the Star Wars universe that she’d been exposed to? Or had she run into witches from Dathomir previously? I hope we find out more in later seasons or media.
Morgan was entirely too confident in this episode and really the whole season for fighting someone who has defeated her once already. She was overconfident in the Mandalorian too, but you’d think she’d learn. Thrawn does not have the same issue in later episodes and chides her for underestimating the Jedi. This makes me wonder if or how much Morgan had seen of the Jedi earlier, if she really had any clue who or what she might be up against.
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