Ahsoka, in so many ways, is a show with an identity crisis. It holds a confusing place in the Star Wars saga, and though it promised a lot, its first season barely delivered. Showrunner Dave Filoni wanted to continue the story he spent decades building out in the animated Clone Wars and Rebels, but he also wanted to use those animated characters to fill the vacuum between the original trilogy and the poorly received sequels. Most glaringly, though, Ahsoka was meant to be a character study of its title heroine, played by Rosario Dawson. After cameos in The Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett, Dawson seemed like the perfect choice to bring such a beloved character into live-action. But whatever magic she and Filoni brought to those shows, they seemed to forget it in Ahsoka.
Dawson’s take on the former Jedi felt like a 180 pivot from her introduction in The Mandalorian. The “new” version of Ahsoka was stilted and subdued, a far cry from the Ahsoka fans know and love. As Ahsoka is much older than she was in her early adventures, no one fully expected a return of the teen some called “Snips” — but Dawson’s portrayal in Ahsoka felt like a different character entirely, one who barely reacted to the world around her. Her performance was further weighed down by the sluggish pace of the show itself, leading some to wonder why Filoni had stretched such an uneventful story across eight mismatched episodes.
