Star Wars: Ahsoka Episode 7 is entertaining but has nothing to say

The penultimate episode of Star Wars: Ahsoka has landed on Disney+. After an epic journey to a galaxy far, far away, Ahsoka Tano finally clashes with Grand Admiral Thrawn’s forces as she seeks to reunite with her friends Sabine Wren and Ezra Bridger. It should be one for the history books, but unfortunately Ahsoka continues to struggle to bring much meaning to it all.

SPOILERS ahead for “Part Seven: Dreams and Madness.”

Ahsoka Episode 7 review: “Dreams and Madness”

What a weird journey it’s been to watch Ahsoka. When this series debuted, I was of the opinion that it was one of the most exciting Star Wars shows we’d yet gotten on Disney+, with the potential to stand alongside hits like The Mandalorian and Andor. But with last week’s episode “Far, Far Away,” Ahsoka took such a jarring turn downhill.

Episode 7 is better than “Far, Far Away.” It’s at least more entertaining, and most of what happens makes sense and is exciting to watch. But the show still isn’t coming anywhere near the highs it hit early in the season, and there’s one main culprit: the writing. The word I keep coming back to when I think about the past two episodes is “weightless.” Ahsoka is paying off huge emotional beats with gorgeous effects and excellent performances, but seems like it has absolutely nothing to say about any of it. Instead, it’s shoehorning in nonsensical contrivances to keep things moving along, and at this point it’s become clear that the only thing keeping the ship going is vibes and nostalgia.

Take the opening scene, where Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is brought before the New Republic congress to answer for the crime of going to help Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) fight the bad guys on Seatos. A New Republic politician who I don’t even think has been named onscreen takes issue with Hera going against orders, because it’s the New Republic and they have rules. This person is so distraught that when C-3P0 arrives to bail out Hera by saying General Leia Organa (you know, from the movies) approved her mission, he declares that such evidence can’t be submitted by a “mere droid.”

And look, fine. Star Wars: Ahsoka needed some tension in the New Republic and it’s trying to set up the rise of the First Order by showing that the new government is ineffectual. I get why they’re doing this, but there’s just zero logic to it. This nameless Republic politician is calling out C-3P0, an interstellar treasure who was instrumental in overthrowing the Empire? And second guessing Leia Organa? Just so that another cameo character, Mon Mothma (played wonderfully by Geneve O’Reilly) can ask Hera if Thrawn is actually a threat, and Hera can respond with a generic line that sounds cryptic but actually doesn’t mean anything?

What. Was. The. Point? If Hera has had a character arc this season, I’m having a hard time understanding what it was.

Ahsoka makes the least of a great set up

The majority of “Dreams and Madness” follows the big clash on Peridea, where Ahsoka arrives just in time to help Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) fight off Thrawn’s forces. There’s a lot to enjoy here. The extended action sequence where Sabine and Ezra fight off a bunch of raiders and stormtroopers with help from the crab person caravan is fun and easy to watch. Ahsoka and Huyang (David Tennant) have some great back and forth before the Jedi outcast enters the fray, and the bad guys are properly menacing.

But that weighlessness I mentioned is always there. Whenever Ahsoka has the opportunity to dig a little deeper, it opts for surface level interactions or half-hearted easter eggs. The first real conversation between Ezra and Sabine is a good example. This reunion is very meaningful for fans of Star Wars Rebels, but even if you didn’t see that show it should still feel like an important part of Ahsoka.

Instead, Sabine lamely avoids saying anything to Ezra about how she ended up on the planet, and Ezra just kind of talks about how he met some crab people. When I say they don’t really say anything, I mean it literally; the conversation just very awkwardly trails off in a way that seems like it was supposed to feel natural but doesn’t. And as much as I enjoyed Bordizzo in the first half of the season, the strain of how awkward it all is can’t help but come through in her performance. She’s doing her best with the material, but the show just isn’t giving her much to work with at this point.

“Dreams and Madness” has all the ingredients of a great episode of Star Wars TV. It has solid performances from its actors, special effects that would put many movies to shame, and beloved characters reuniting for the first time in years. It’s even directed by Geeta Vassant Patel, the same director who helmed King Viserys’ walk to the Iron Throne in House of the Dragon. On paper, this should have been a top-notch episode of Ahsoka.

Instead, I found myself caring less about the show than ever before, because it doesn’t seem like Ahsoka cares all that much about telling a good story. It got its Anakin Skywalker cameos in, and since then it’s kind of just been limping along unsure of how to make its final few episodes interesting.

Ahsoka Bullet Points

• Speaking of Anakin, we got another cameo from Hayden Christensen in this episode when Ahsoka trains with a hologram of him on her ship. While I loved Christensen’s first appearance in the show, this one felt unnecessary.
• Am I the only one who was confused about Ahsoka Tano jumping off a spaceship only to land directly in front of Baylan Skoll? Did she not look where she was jumping?
• Eman Esfandi gave a very fun performance as Ezra Bridger. Ahsoka may feel like it’s flagging, but Esfandi looks like he’s having a grand time and that helped me enjoy this episode. “The Force is my ally!” You do you, guy!

Verdict

“Dreams and Madness” was an improvement over last week’s episode, but Ahsoka is still flagging hard in the back half of its season. Despite a lot of great elements, the series just doesn’t seem to have much of a drive to do anything with its big payoffs. It feels disappointingly lifeless considering how well it started.

Episode Grade: C+

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