Ahsoka: S1E4: Fallen Jedi

"Fallen Jedi" is the pinnacle of perfection as the "Ahsoka" series hits an electrifying high note.

To spoil or not to spoil, that is the question.

Do I keep my excitement under wraps and just give a straight-up review of the fourth episode of the "Ahsoka" series or do I completely give in, nerd out and talk about everything? I mean, how can I talk about Sabine leaving Ahsoka and joining forces with another or talk about learning the identity of Marrock or talk about lightsaber battles - yes, plural and not give too much away. Do I talk about the big cameo or wait until later? Decisions, decisions. I’ll wait for now, but be warned – spoilers are coming.

The fourth installment is titled "Fallen Jedi" and is easily my favorite episode of any Star Wars show on Disney+, hands down. No question at all. End of discussion. I might be a bit nostalgic, but this episode was so good and I spent the rest of my night sending texts and emails begging friends and family to watch it so I didn't spoil anything for them.

Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson), Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Huyang (David Tennant) are right where we left them, stranded on a Seatos trying to fix their ship with Shin (Ivanna Sakhno), Marrock (Paul Darnell) and a small band of droid soldiers closing in on their location. We see Huyang throw hands with the other droids as Shin's tiny force circles Ahsoka's ship. I was half hoping to see Huyang pop out a lightsaber at some point and display the skills he's been teaching since almost the formation of the Jedi, but alas, that's not what we got.

Meanwhile, Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) and Baylan (Ray Stevenson) are hooking up their intergalactic GPS sphere to pinpoint the location of Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) in hopes of bringing him back and a new era of Imperial-style dominance will rule the galaxy once again.

What's curious is Baylan is helping Morgan achieve her goal, but it seems that Baylan's motivation has nothing to do with Thrawn. Earlier in the season, he refers to Thrawn as an unfortunate evil, so what will bringing the Grand Admiral back gain Baylan? We know what Morgan is searching for, but what is pushing Baylan along and what will it reveal about the fallen Jedi?

As Ahsoka and Sabine head off to find the map, Huyang requests that they stay together as, in his opinion, they "always did better that way," which brings up the question – what happened in the past to make them part ways? We get a big hint later in the episode when Baylan and Sabine are speaking, and he acknowledges a tragic moment in her past involving her family and Ahsoka's role in their fate.

As they make their way toward the henge, they are intercepted by Shin and Marrock and quickly, the quad begins to battle. But as the battle starts, they go their separate ways and we soon learn why Huyang wants them to stay together. The fight scene between Ahsoka and Marrock plays almost identical to the Kenobi vs. Maul duel from "Twin Suns" from season three of "Rebels." And after weeks of theories, we finally learn the identity of Marrock and I guarantee it's not who you think it is.

With Sabine and Shin still battling in the forest, Ahsoka finds Baylan protecting the map and we get some of the best lightsaber battles in the Disney era of Star Wars. I wasn't a big fan of anything in the sequel trilogy, as they lacked any passion or creativity and never amounted to much. I didn't mind the lightsaber battles in the "Kenobi" series, but I felt they could have had a much more emotional impact. Christensen's performance is the only reason everyone talks about the final duel between Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) and Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) in that series. Anakin's visage peeking out from behind the broken Vader mask was enough to excite everyone, but the actual fighting was standard.

Now, we have masters battling it out with their apprentices doing the same. The duel between Baylan and Ahsoka is excellent because it feels like the prequel era fighting, which I've been longing for. It's a measured style punctuated by moments of exciting precision that feels fresh yet nostalgic.

The scenes at the henge are great. In addition to the lightsaber fight, we get a lot of story and character development with Baylan digging up the painful pasts of both Ahsoka and Sabine and using them to his advantage. When the dust settles, Ahsoka has been knocked off the cliff of the henge, her fate unknown, and Sabine makes a decision that will only grow the divide between her and her master.

We now come to my favorite moments of the episode, series and the entire Disney Star Wars era and it only took two words. We find Ahsoka waking up in the World Between Worlds, trying to get her bearings and then she hears the voice of her former master, Anakin Skywalker, call out to her – "Hello, Snips." That was on my wishlist of things to happen in this series and I'm so happy we get to hear Anakin refer to his former padawan by her nickname. It's a sweet moment between the two, but if you pay attention to the music that ends the episode, I have a feeling this might not be the Anakin we think it is.

It's so great to see fans embracing Christensen once more. He deserves all the love he's getting and I'm hoping that Filoni has something special in store for him in this series. I don't want it to be a quick cameo and then done. I want something with substance that will get the fans excited and talk about the saga positively again. It's long overdue.

This episode is perfect. Everything about it, from the complexity of the characters, the music, the fight choreography – it's all beautifully Star Wars. I'll never give up on the saga, but I will admit I've not been as excited as I used to be with the new material. I’ve liked and even loved a lot of stuff, but the excitement level just hasn’t been there. But Filoni has reignited my passion with this series, and I haven't been this jazzed about Star Wars in a long time.

Am I saying that Dave Filoni’s the savior of Star Wars. Actually, yes, I am. Having learned from Star Wars creator George Lucas himself, Filoni understands the universe and how it works. I know I've said that before, but I'm hoping if I say it often enough, someone at Disney might pay some attention and put the entire franchise in his hands, then sit back and enjoy the ride. Something like that needs to happen to unite fans and get the saga back on track.

"Fallen Jedi" is the pinnacle of perfection as the "Ahsoka" series hits an electrifying high note that will leave fans buzzing with excitement and anticipation.