Ahsoka
OK, I know what you're thinking. Ahsoka Tano didn't get her start in books, she made her first appearance in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, an animated film that came out in 2008. And you know what, I'm not denying that. That is 100% the truth. But here's the thing, there is a rather famous character on her show that got their start in literature. I'm talking about Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn first appeared in the retconned 1991 book Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn before being brought back into the official canon during the third season of Star Wars Rebels, another Dave Filoni creation. Since then Zahn has been brought back to write canonical Thrawn books, but the original Thrawn Trilogy holds a special place in my heart. Heir to the Empire is the book that made me a reader. Yes, there were other books I loved before Heir to the Empire, and authors who are to this day favorites, but nothing galvanized my love of reading like Heir to the Empire. It took my obsessive love of Star Wars to a whole new level. And the villain trying to take control in the power vacuum left by the destruction of the Empire was Thrawn. Therefore to finally see him in live action was a dream come true. And to have him played by one of the Mikkelsens? Damn. And yes, I know he did the voice in the cartoon, but he didn't just have the voice, he had the look, so to bring him back was perfect. So for me, Ahsoka was about bringing my love of Star Wars back to the beginning. And that's how the show feels to me. It feels like a true Star Wars story. I should make it clear, that unlike some people in the fandom, I have loved all the live action shows for one reason or another, but this, this had the magic I felt back when I was addicted to the MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies. The atmosphere of this big and glorious universe to explore with the swoosh of a lightsaber every so often. I really was content just wandering the worlds of that game as a tourist and miss the ability to do so greatly. But Ahsoka has filled that void. Just a little. Though I can see the complaints people have that it feels like they've been dropped into season five of a long-running show, because technically that is the truth. They hit the big plot points, but to get everything you need to watch six season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and four seasons of Star Wars Rebels. Which I'm sure some people are hesitant to do. Especially if they are those people who look down on animation. But for me, all this show needed to do was keep my love of Star Wars alive, and it did more than that. It deepened it. Those shots of Anakin/Darth Vader in the World Between Worlds was a defining moment for all of Star Wars. It is an image that will live rent free in my head. Forever. As will many other moments, from finally seeing the Witches of Dathomir in live action, to Eman Esfandi being so perfect as Ezra that you could see in a moment why someone would undertake a dangerous journey just to rescue him, to that spirit of adventure that Lucas embraced in the eighties coming back into his oeuvre, and finally, to Ray Stevenson standing on the statue of the Mortis Gods in a very Tolkienesque moment. But in the end, all I have to say is more! I want to see what happens next. I need to know what role Anakin has to play. I need some Witch battles. I need it all.
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