Let's Talk About THE MANDALORIAN Chapter 13 "The Jedi" Which Features Ahsoka Tano in Action!
The moment that Star Wars fans have been waiting for in The Mandalorian has arrived! Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano made her big live-action debut and she did not disappoint! The opening scene of her running around in the foggy woods taking out bad guys like a ninja was quite an awesome introduction! I couldn’t have asked for a better intro.
Chapter 13 “The Jedi” was written and directed by Dave Filoni and it sees Mando and the Child finally arriving on the planet where they can find the Jedi Ahsoka. His first stop is the town of Calodan, which is where Ahsoka is looking to infiltrate to get some information from the Magistrate, a.k.a Morgan Elsbeth. She is looking for the Magistrate’s master. It’s here where Mando is hired by the Magistrate to kill the Jedi in exchange for a spear made of pure Baskar.
Mando appears to have excepted the job then goes on the hunt for her. It isn’t hard as he finds her quickly and, after a little scuff, mentions that they need to talk and that he was sent to find her by Bo-Katan. She sees the Child and says that she hopes it’s about him.
Ahsoka and the Child have a conversation with their minds. It’s explained that they can feel each other’s thoughts and at this point, Ahsoka reveals that the Child’s name is Grogu. We then finally learn some backstory on the little character, which is another thing fans have been waiting for.
Grogu was raised at the Jedi temple at Coruscant. At the end of The Clone Wars when the Empire rose to power, he was hidden. Someone took him from the temple, and that is where his memory becomes dark. It’s explained that he seemed lost and alone.
Ahsoka goes on to tell Mando that she’s known one other being like this, a wise Jedi master named Yoda. I love that we finally got the Yoda name drop! Ahsoka then asks if Grogu can still wield the Force, which Mando only knows as his powers, so Ahsoka explains that his powers come from the Force and then tells Mando what the Force is and how it works.
The Mandalorian goes on to tell Ahsoka that he was tasked with bringing Grogu to the Jedi, but Ahsoka says that the Jedi order fell a long time ago. Mando says that the Empire also fell, but it still hunts him and proceeds to tell her that he needs her help. After a long pause, she says that she’s going to test Grogu in the morning.
During the simple test of floating rocks, Ahsoka senses that there’s a fear in Groku and explains that he has hidden his abilities to survive over the years. Ahsoka then tries to use Mando to ask Grogu to lift the stone with the Force to see if he will listen to him. Grogu does once Mando pulls out the knob from the Razor Crest that he likes playing with. The Mandalorian is excited to see Grogu accomplish the feat.
Ahsoka proceeds to tell Mando that she can’t train him because his attachment to the Mandalorian makes him vulnerable to his fears and his anger. Mando isn’t understanding why she can’t train him, and it’s at this point she brings up her past, saying that she’s seen what such feelings can do to a fully trained Jedi Knight. She’s obviously talking about Anakin. She does not want to start the Child down that path, but Mando says that the Magistrate sent him to kill her, but that he didn’t agree and explained that he’d help her with her problem if she saw to it that Grogu is properly trained.
Ahsoka explains that Morgan saw her people massacred during the Clone Wars and that her anger fueled an industry which helped build the Imperial Starfleet, and she has plundered worlds.
The two then form a plan where they team up to infiltrate the town so that they can rescue those being held against their will and so that Ahsoka can get the information she’s looking for. This is where we get to see more Ahsoka action, and it’s so wonderfully satisfying. When facing off with the Magistrate and her little army, Ahsoka throws down some of the Baskar armor, telling them that she’s taken out the Mandalorian they hired. She then asks the Magistrate where her master is. As she gets some resistance, Ahsoka goes on the run, and the Magistrate orders her group to kill the prisoners and the townspeople, and that’s when Mando jumps into action.
While Mando is keeping the security squad busy, Ahsoda comes face to face with the Magistrate to fight her. This is a great Samurai showdown scene as Ahsoka fights with her lightsabers, and the Magistrate fights back with the Baskar spear. It’s actually a fierce fight.
While this is going down, Mando is having a little confrontation with the Magistrate’s head right-hand man, Lang, who is played by Michael Biehn, and Mando takes him out with a quick draw. It was fun seeing Biehn in the series, and with the western vibes we get from the series and his character, I couldn’t help but think of his character Johnny Ringo from Tombstone.
It’s at this point that we learn Ahsoka wins, and she asks the Magistrate where she can find her master… Grand Admiral Thrawn! This opens up a whole new storyline that fans are hoping to see play out! I imagine this is just the start of the Ahsoka spinoff series that is currently in development.
Ahsoka gives Mando the Baskar spear and then heads back to the ship to get the Child to bring him back to Ahsoka. But Ahsoka once again doubles down that she can’t train him. The Mandalorian is like a father to him. She then tells Mando that there is one possibility, and she tells him to go to the planet Tython, where he will find the ancient ruins of a temple that has a strong connection to the force. He is told to place Grogu on the seeing stone at the top of the mountain, which is where Grogu can choose his path. If he reaches out through the Force there’s a chance a Jedi may sense his presence and come searching for him. But there aren’t many Jedi left.
Tython is the ice planet where Darth Vader and Doctor Aphra traveled to at one point. It was believed to be the home of one of the first Jedi temples. It makes me wonder if this could actually lead to introducing Luke Skywalker in the series. This series is set in the time when Luke is also searching the galaxy or Jedi knowledge, temples, and artifacts. At this point… anything is possible.
As Mando continues on his journey, Ahsoka says, “May the Force be with you,” and they part ways.
I loved the Japanese and western styles and themes of this episode. There are some great visuals reminiscent of the classic Samurai films that I’ve enjoyed watching over the years. There was this great freakin’ moment where Ahsoka was facing off with the Magistrate in a Japanese setting and at the same time, Mando and Lang were having a showdown in a western setting. It was the best of both genres!
I also loved the story and all of the different storylines that this episode set up. This was a damn fine episode. I have to say that Filoni’s direction of this episode was masterful. He did such an incredible job telling this story as a writer and director. The visuals and shots he used in “The Jedi” were stunning!
I don’t think we’ll see Ahsoka again this season of The Mandalorian, but I can’t wait to see her story continue in the spinoff series that she’s getting! What are some things that you caught in this latest chapter of The Mandalorian?