Re: "The Jedi" - The entire fandom just got BTFO, there's no other way to say it. Nerdgasms are happening all over the world and will continue for a very long time. Every little detail of this is going to be dissected, reviewed and just all around praised as the very best episode of this series and one of the greatest entries into all of Star Wars Media. IMO "The Jedi" should be nominated for an Emmy, several in fact. I would be kind of surprised if it wasn't, though it's sure to win other awards.
There are many Easter Eggs and references that fans of the Clone Wars series will pick up on as well as nods to the Original Trilogy. This is simply a Star Wars fan's wet dream for so many reasons. And fans of Martial Arts films will appreciate this as well; not so much for the technical prowess, but the final battle had the air of the best Samurai and Kung Fu/Wuxia movies. I only wish it lasted longer. As a bonus, the woman playing the evil magistrate, Morgan Elsbeth, was Diana Lee Inosanto, Goddaughter of Bruce Lee and whose father was a protege of Lee. Definitely a wonderful villain that I hope to see more of in the future.
Rosario Dawson was perfect casting for Ahsoka Tano. The makeup is spot on, same with the costuming. Star Wars fans would demand no less than absolute perfection for Ahsoka's first real adventure in the live action world (her lame cameo in TROS doesn't count to me). And "The Jedi" delivers this and so much more. She has the gravitas of a true Jedi, and Dawson's performance sells it flawlessly. I don't think they could have found anyone better. Tano doesn't have the Force, she's got the goddamned TURBO FORCE, and every action scene is pure adrenaline. And when she wasn't slicing everything and everyone all to hell, she walks around like a Shaolin master, like she owns the fucking planet and everything on it.
"Wake up, little buddy. It's time to say goodbye." I had a feeling that it wouldn't happen, but I still wept hard. Not only has little Grogu (cool name, but he'll always be Baby Yoda) bonded with Mando/Djarin Din, he's bonded with the audience and the thought of him leaving his surrogate father is heartbreaking. I know other scenes in Star Wars have made me shed tears, but for me, that scene of what could have been their last moments together was a real tearjerker.
Some other thoughts...I love the set piece of the courtyard they made, it's evokes that serene asian setting combined with Star Wars flair. I also loved how the magistrate answered back after Ahsoka lit up her lightsabers, by pounding her beskar spear onto the ground. It was like they were exchanging war cries. Also, like a good samurai/kung fu duel it has that "feeling out period" where the opponents are gauging one another. And the dramatic Pause, pacing around and sizing each other up some more.
Mando's own little duel at the end kept me guessing...I wasn't really sure that the dood was gonna truly surrender, but I wasn't really surprised when he didn't.
Baby Yoda wants the shiny knob again...made me LOL when he used the Force to unscrew it from the handle. I love how Mando later used it during the scene where Ahsoka was testing him.
I liked the nod to the HK-Series of hunter droids. I didn't get a good look at them, but they seem close enough to HK-47 from KOTOR. Also noticed they seemed to speak Huttese.
Grand. Admiral. Thrawn. What a name drop. I can't wait to see how this pans out. It's cool they're finally gonna bring him into the live action canon.
I took notice of Ahsoka's white "laser swords", and the handles are definitely different than the ones she had from Clone Wars. I remember when she was gifted her blue sabers, which symbolized the bond between her and Anakin. Apparently, she has let go of that bond and seemingly her bond to the Jedi Order in general. Even though she's got new lightsabers, I had to jump into Paint Shop Pro just to see what it would have looked like if she still had the ones from Clone Wars (link to image as not to shred the page formatting):
https://i.imgur.com/4UZrR62.png
Rating: 11/10