by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
A new set of animated shorts have dropped on Disney+ exploring the respective journeys of Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku.
Seeing as Ahsoka has gradually become my favorite Star Wars character over her many TV appearances, and Dooku the Jedi is something that has not really been explored in much depth to this point, this project had my attention immediately. Given Ahsoka’s inclusion, it’s no surprise that the series is the creation of Dave Filoni — another factor that increased my excitement.
The show, which includes six shorts under 20 minutes in length, explores important moments in each character’s life. First, let’s run through each quickly.
“Life and Death”
This short covers Ahsoka’s birth, and the discovery by her Togruta community that she has force abilities at the age of one, during a hunting trip with her mother. Not only does the short give us insight into an aspect of Jedi characters we don’t get to see often (with the exception of Anakin) — them with their family before taken to the Jedi Temple — but a look at the Togruta culture as well, which hasn’t really been explored much either.
“Justice”
Dooku and apprentice Qui-Gon Jinn go on a mission to negotiate for the release of a political hostage. The atmosphere really works for me here, with the duo arriving on a dead planet on a gloomy evening. It has a very western feel, as the village dwellers shut the doors as the two Jedi arrive. It does a great job exploring corruption and taking a more nuanced view of good and evil, while also exploring the darkness within Dooku that will lead to his fall.
“Choices”
Here, Dooku and Mace Windu go to retrieve the body of a fellow Jedi who was killed. The pairing of the two masters is an interesting one in the exploration of Dooku’s conflict with the Jedi Order. Dooku wants to investigate the truth of the matter, whereas Windu (before his Jedi Council days) wants merely to complete the missions, being harsh, but steadfast in his “devotion to rules,” as Dooku puts it. It makes for a nice dichotomy. Admittedly, seeing the duo fight side by side is pretty awesome.
“The Sith Lord”
The final short in Dooku’s arc covers his final decent into a Sith Lord, overlaps with the events of The Phantom Menace,and has repercussions felt in Attack of the Clones. The way the animation is lit is gorgeous here — particularly during the evening scene on Coruscant. It’s the best episode of the arc, with a final confrontation that has quite the emotional payoff. Everything from the choreography to the music is on point here.
“Practice Makes Perfect”
Returning to Ahsoka’s story, she’s given a harsh and unforgiving challenge by Anakin, which is meant to be a “true test” for her skills. The test is brutal and painful to watch, highlighting her master’s unforgiving nature in his quest to protect her from death, where he will later fail with someone else. The way in which it wraps up surprised me, but I shouldn’t have been caught off guard given the mastery Filoni has over Ahsoka’s character.
“Resolve”
The final short takes us past The Clone Wars series. It kicks off at the very end of Revenge of the Sith, as Ahsoka attempts to flee Padme’s funeral. A touching way to start the episode, seeing how close they were during the series, and it’s a closure we never got in the final season. from the emotional opening, we get to see the beginning of Ahsoka’s attempt to find where she fits in this new world and the dangers the new regime posed for a Jedi survivor. It’s something I’ve seen the Ahsoka novel explore in greater detail, but an exploration I enjoyed nonetheless. Much like our other “finale,” this comes to a visually stunning and cathartic conclusion. My only selfish qualm is it has a one-shot villain I would have liked to see more of. Ah, well. A Star Wars tradition.
Each set of episodes explores their own themes. For Dooku, it’s the corruption that disillusions him with the order, and it will be the breaking point for the Separatists that Dooku will later use as a cover for he and his master’s Sith agenda. The life and death theme of Ahsoka’s arc isn’t quite as strong throughout. It’s more an exploration of the character at three key moments. However, I still probably enjoyed the arc as a whole slightly more, just given my affinity for the character.
Having the series explore two characters who split with the Jedi in very diverging manners makes exploring their tales a fascinating exercise. Much like the Visionsanime shorts (though those are not canon), I enjoyed that the series was a way for us to get some Star Wars appetizers, and it’s a trend that I hope continues.
It doesn’t hit the high that some of Star Wars animation at its best does, though it has its moments. While the animation throughout is solid, and there are standout frames, it’s not always at the top level that they’ve shown they can hold. In addition, some of the characters outside of our established characters are not always the strongest.
For those who are fans of the franchise, particularly the animated offerings, the series, which totals under two hours, is well worth the time investment. Even for those not invested in the franchise’s animated offshoots, I think the exploration of Dooku’s fall will be of interest.
Score: 7/10
You can follow Jake Bourgeois on Twitter and Letterboxd