Finally, she’s here! Episode Five of Season Two of The Mandalorian has delivered Ahsoka Tano in live-action in an episode full of new bites of information. Here’s our review.

SPOILERS: If you’re reading this then you’ve probably seen the episode, but if not there are spoilers ahead.

The chapter 13 episode is titled ‘The Jedi’ and based on the forest planet of Corvus. The planet has been scorched by the remnants of the Empire in a similar way to Mandalore.

We begin with a fight and a surprising early reveal of Ahsoka attacking a captured settlement single-handed. We get to see her duel white lightsabers that she wielded during Rebels. If you recall she gave up her original blade given to her by Anakin Skywalker at the end of the Clone Wars series.

Rosario Dawson looked great as the Togruta former Jedi. A relief that they nailed this, the effects were spot on. This episode was directed by Dave Filoni who is responsible for bringing the character to life in the Clone Wars series. So you knew he’d want the best for his creation.

Terminator and Aliens star Michael Biehn shows up with a cameo as a mercenary working for the Magistrate, a new character named Morgan Elsbeth. She’s presented with a backstory around the original movie trilogy.

The direction of the episode sees Ahsoka ultimately seeking information on the whereabouts of Grand Admiral Thrawn (jaw drop moment).

When Mando arrives he enters the town seeking ‘the Jedi’. People are reluctant to talk to a stranger, but is hired to hunt her by Elsbeth in return for a beskar spear.

On his hunt we get a glimpse of an owl, the creature that follows Ahsoka around during the Rebels series. We get a brief confrontation between the two before they converse. It’s at this point she spots Baby Yoda, as we still know him. We then get a whole load of back story as the two force sensitive beings converse telepathically.

All about Grogu

Baby Yoda, the child is revealed to be called Grogu. He grew up in the Jedi temple (episode title reference) and was smuggled out but someone he cant recall during the Order 66 massacre. According to the timeline he would be around the same age as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader is at this time so they likely would’ve known each other.

His memories are then sketchy and he’s hidden his ability to use the force. His connection to the force has weakened and he has formed a dangerous attachment to Din Djarin.

Jedi training

Ahsoka looks to test Grogu. We get a lot of callbacks to the kind of test that Luke went through with Yoda on Dagobah during The Empire Strikes Back. This is where the child becomes stubborn and will only respond to Mando.

Ahsoka makes reference to not being able to train him due to his fear and attachment. Immediately pointing towards what brought down Anakin Skywalker. She notes that even strong Jedi Knight’s can fall as a result of this trait. She doesn’t want to see this happen again.

The Jedi and The Mandalorian

The two form an alliance to liberate the town and we get to see Ahsoka show off her skills and breeze through the town. During this attack we even get a brief view of a loth-cat, another sneaky Rebels reference.

Mando has a stand-off with the mercenary while Ahsoka faces off with the Magistrate. It’s at this point that we hear about Thrawn. A huge hint that he might appear at some point in live-action. Does this mean Ezra Bridger is still alive? Does it mean that Ahsoka and Sabine weren’t able to track them down in the unknown regions? Or, did they and Thrawn has since escaped and is on the rise again with Moff Gideon? This simple name drop opens up so many new plot threads.

A reward

Ahsoka hands the beskar spear over to Mando once the town is free. On the return to the Razor Crest Ahsoka repeats that she can’t/wont train Grogu. She says the only other chance would be to head to ancient Jedi Temple on the planet Tython. Here if he sits at the top of the temple mountain he will form a connection with the force and any surviving Jedi (and Sith) and chose his path. Any potential force users to survive the purge could now enter the series.

A brief introduction

That’s the end of The Mandalorian season two, episode five. As Mando headed away from the planet and Ahsoka continued her search for Grand Admiral Thrawn I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. This was a great episode and I found myself wanting more Ahsoka. I did think that she would appear in tow or three episodes this season to establish her a bit more for more casual viewers. The way they wrapped this up though suggests we’re unlikely to see her again this season but that an Ahsoka spin-off series is probably more likely, just like with Bo Katan from episode three.

It’s great to have these characters dipping in but I do hope that they’re not going to just treat them like celebrity guests in a sit-com and have expanded universe characters pop in and they wave farewell just to boost ratings. It means a lot more if they’re woven into the storyline.

This was a great introduction to Ahsoka Tano for those who didn’t know her. Now I just want more.

CULTURE CROSSING SCORE 8/10

Thanks for reading our Season Two Episode Five review for The Mandalorian. Do you agree or disagree with our points or have anything to add? If so, leave us a comment below.

Read more of our Mandalorian Episode Four Review HERE.

Read IMDB information about The Mandalorian HERE.

The Mandalorian is streaming now on Disney Plus.