Ahsoka Thoughts

 Finished up 'Ahsoka', season 1, on Disney+.

Overall:  I liked it, but you do need some preparation.  And I fear it opened questions that will not be answered.

Spoiler Thoughts after the break:

I am not the Star Wars fan that I used to be.  But I've still watched a lot of Star Wars- the entire nine movie series, the Mandalorian, Andor, Obi-Wan.  I've read the 'Heir to the Empire' trilogy and watched several of the cartoons.  This isn't to brag- it's to establish that I know a lot of the Lore.

And I still found Ahsoka confusing.

I know who Ahsoka is (to get the best understand, watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars).  I know who Ezra, Sabine, Hera and Clutter are (Star Wars: Rebels).  I know who Grand Admiral Thrawn is (read the Heir to the Empire trilogy)

But Baylan Skoll?  Shin Hati?  Morgan Elsworth?  The Nightsisters of Dathomir?  Not a clue.  And they all play important parts.

Grand Admiral Thrawn becomes a MacGuffin- everyone is trying to find him, to either bring him back or stop that, but no one really explains why.  I know from the books he's a brilliant strategist, and they try to portray it- but he barely escapes a trio of heroes, with only one trained Jedi among them, despite his overwhelming force.  

There are too many questions that do not get answered at the end of the eight episodes- and currently there is no announcement on season 2.  (It doesn't help that Ray Stevenson, who was brilliant at Baylan Skoll, died last year.)

This isn't on the acting, which I thought was excellent.  Everyone did a great job.  But the show tried to cram 2 (or more) seasons into eight episodes.

Some other thoughts:

- For people who loved Rebels, it was awesome to see live-action versions of the cartoons.  But the cartoon had several seasons to build the characters.  The show assumes you already know them

- I am getting very tired of the Star Wars trope combination that 'the Jedi are always right' and 'no one listens to the Jedi'.  It showed up here as well.

- I'll go one step further; Star Wars is a far more interesting Universe without the Force.  If someone wants to make a future series, I would make one where people can longer use the Force.