On top of being a live-action Rebels Season 5 and semi-heir to the Empire retelling, Ahsoka wants to position itself as another link between Star Wars' original series and the sequel trilogy -- a way to explore how the New Republic's filings blinded them to Imperial schemes under their watch and laid the groundwork for the First Order's rise, presumably aided in part by Grand Admiral Thrawn's return. Of course, that new war is at least a decade away, and, at just over half an hour, "Part Three: Time to Fly" struggles to convey all this detail in a neat package. But it makes up for that with some classic Star Wars dogfighting and the return of many familiar faces.
As a B-plot, the New Republic scenes only make up a fraction of "Time to Fly," but these conversations remain deliberately unnerving. Hera, now convinced that Thrawn is still alive, attempts to present her Corellian shipyard discoveries to Chancellor Mon Mothma (a returning Genevieve O'Reilly) in hopes of providing Ahsoka and Sabine with military backup. Unfortunately, this is stymied by Mothma's senators -- including Hamato Xiono (Nelson Lee), the father of Star Wars Resistance protagonist Kazuda Xiono -- who view this as mere overreaction. These bureaucrats fail to grasp the danger a strategist like Thrawn poses to the New Republic's stability because they haven't seen Thrawn in action and because the New Republic seems convinced the Empire cannot return. It's an arrogant move that echoes the New Republic's dismissive treatment of "rehabilitated" ex-Imperial officers like Dr. Pershing in The Mandalorian.
Ahsoka and Sabine's journey, meanwhile, is all about reconnecting. At times, their story has the feel of a bottle episode, primarily constraining itself to Ahsoka's ship as they venture to Seatos in hopes of tracking down Morgan Elsbeth and the hyperdrive she stole from Corellia. "Time to Fly" opens with Ahsoka observing a training session between Sabine and Huyang, the latter making adequate progress in her forms, but as Huyang puts it, "Not bad. But not good." Ahsoka's solution? Make Sabine fight her blind, allowing her to tap into some well of Force awareness and predict Ahsoka's movements like Ben Kenobi taught Luke Skywalker in A New Hope. The original Star Wars homages don't stop there. The episode's back half involves a space dogfight against Shin Hati, Marrok, and Elsbeth's goods, with Sabine operating the gunner seat, much like Luke and Han shooting down TIE Fighters.
If there's an issue with the training session scene, it's the omission of Kanan Jarus. For all its overt Rebel callbacks, Ahsoka has yet to acknowledge the former Jedi and deceased Ghost member's role in Sabine and Hera's lives, despite including a quick live-action cameo of his and Hera's now-adolescent son Jacen Syndulla (Evan Whitten). After all, Sabine knows Kanan was blinded in Rebels but gradually learned to "see" without the use of his eyes. Plus, he was responsible for Sabine's early Darksaber training, an arc that built upon the Darksaber's Mandalorian/Jedi lore central to The Mandalorian's later seasons. It's not essential to namedrop Kanan, but given Ahsoka's existing Lucasfilm Animation/live-action tie-in moments, a quick mention wouldn't hurt.
Thankfully, Ahsoka hasn't lost its sense of humor. Much of it, once again, comes from Huyang as a cross between a snarky professor and a Scottish butler, from bluntly acknowledging Sabine's lack of Force sensitivity to pointing out how, like her, Ahsoka hails from "a long line of non-traditional Jedi." Even Sabine gets a few funny moments as she deals with her frustrations with a charming sense of humor.
Even as Ahsoka explores familiar ground, the show finds ways to add something new. Fans had never seen a live-action Jedi fight in outer space until Ahsoka Tano puts on a spacesuit and singlehandedly fends off Shin's aerial armada. It's yet another testament to Ahsoka's skillset as a former Jedi, one who, much like her former Master, can make unorthodox plans work to her advantage.
Then again, this tightrope between accessibility and long-term Clone Wars/Rebels awareness seems to be where critics and audiences remain polarized over Ahsoka's success. "Time to Fly" still straddles this line, especially with the sudden arrival of some key Rebels aliens whose hyperspace migration powers directly tie into Elsbeth's ultimate plan to rescue Thrawn. It's a very out-there sci-fi premise, but one based on information established in Dave Filoni's animated series. All of which could prove incredibly exciting or confounding, depending on the audience's level of modern Star Wars awareness.
At least Ahsoka has a goal in mind, building up hype toward Thrawn's live-action reveal and whatever role he'll play in rallying the Imperial fleet in Filoni's Star Wars timeline. Given its short runtime, "Time to Fly" ends just when fans might expect the third act to begin. It's anyone's guess where the series will go as it progresses, but it seems to be heading in a promising direction.
New Episodes of Ahsoka stream at 9 pm EST/6 pm PST on Disney+.