It’s terribly tragic that we lost Ray, and his character was the best new character in the show, IMO. But there are probably more than a dozen actors who are capable of gravitas, and have the physical size and grizzled appearance that Ray had, so if they want to recast (and I hope they do since the character was so interesting) I’m confident they can find a worthy successor to Ray.
There’s some castings that I always wanted to see, but the timings just never worked out. I’ve been re-watching Black Sails this week, and thought that Tom Hopper, who played Billy Bones, could do a good replacement job. Alas, he’s just too young for this role, and I don’t imagine anyone would want to wait 20 years for him to age into it.
I also have that issue with Aron Eisenberg. When I saw him as Nog on Deep Space 9, I thought he’d be perfect to play the role of Miles Vorkosigan. But then he aged out of that possibility. I’m not sure who else could have played that role both as a good actor, and a near-perfect physical fit to the character. We missed an opportunity, here.
Liev Schreiber is the closest match I can think off.
Another thing I just thought to mention: the casting for Ezra. The very brief shot we had of him in the first episode, the holorecording, kind of left me cold. I didn’t think the actor really worked for the role. But then, in the later episodes, he grew on me. Maybe it was the addition of the beard?
Anyways, it will be interesting to see if they keep the beard.
Well Ahsoka did go through something pretty transformational between the last time she spoke to Sabine and the next time she saw her. Near death experiences can change a person quite a bit.
Well resolution when we know chapter 2 is coming isn’t the same as resolution for a series finale, or for a stand alone movie where the story is over. I think of this as the end of chapter one and I’m excited to see what happens in chapter 2. The drama of whether or not Thrawn will return from exile, and whether or not Ahsoka and friends will make it back at the same time were both resolved. I don’t think its accurate to say there was “no resolution” at all at the end of episode 8. Unsatisfying or incomplete, sure I could see why some feel that way, but the whole arc of the season is will they stop Thrawn from returning from exile or not. That arc was resolved when he jumped into hyperspace at the end.
Also, thank you as well for the discussion. These days it can get so toxic in internet comment sections talking about stuff like this, so I always appreciate a friendly disagreement.
I agree with the general consensus of the thread. I loved seeing these characters again and in live action, the new characters were intriguing as well but in general, the story just seemed be one big set up for whatever is coming next. Some of the conflict seemed unneeded, like Ahsoka and Sabine as well as Syndulla and the council. I’m interested in seeing what happens with Shin Hati and, of course, I’ll miss ray Stevenson.
A good story told well… That is not too much to ask.
But there was no drama to it at all. We knew who it was. If it had been Enoch…and blew up the cruiser…That’s a surprise and that’s drama.
This wasn’t that. There was certainly a way to build tension but the show chose NOT to do it.
Not to harsh anyone’s fan buzz, but that’s how he came across to me in the EU too.
That’s pretty much entirely subjective though. If good story told well was an objective thing, then there would be no need for ratings or reviews or even debates like these.
I think Thrawn is a master manipulator – meaning that he’s great at convincing everyone around him to trust him and do what he wants them to do – but he’s not a master strategist. He’s just an okay strategist – better than most Imperial officers, but still not great.
…literally we are sharing our opinions.
True enough. I guess I was referring to those who present their opinions as if they are objective fact.
::shrug:: You’re right of course. I think that’s just how communication happens online. Like "no one’ wants to hedge or couch their opinions with “Well, for me…” It’s easier to just say. THIS IS DUMB AND THE WORST THING!
Having said that… Ahsoka is OBJECTIVELY dumb and the worst thing. 
Well I personally, objectively, enjoyed watching it. So there haha
Fair point! And this is why I like discussion! It gives me a chance to pause and reflect. I can get behind the idea that Sabine’s choice after Ahsoka is in the World Between Worlds might let Ahsoka accept what Sabine did.
I’m curious then what changed in her after that experience? I know the old EU had gray Jedi but don’t know if the movies allow for it. If this was her moment of “picking a side” it wasn’t well explained to me but maybe more conversation will help!
Well, as of today, my google searches tell me we don’t know about an s2 yet.
I have a tough time agreeing with what you say.
If I say that Ahsoka is the main character, then yes, I guess what you say is correct. Ahsoka was worried about Thrawn and his potential return. I think it’s not clear who the villain was. Thrawn didn’t even show up until episode six. That’s pretty late for a villain. Morgan would have been a better villain using the time to develop her, tell us more about the witches of Dathomir, and Morgan’s interactions with the sisters in the other galaxy. I also think Morgan should have lived so they could develop her more. I think having the question of Thrawn being there or not to be a better ending for the season, maybe only showing up via a holo message at the end for some ambiguity.
Now I’m not sure if have just argued myself to wanting those 22 episodes so we could have five or six on the bureaucrats at the shipyards and other places where Morgan got parts for the hyperspace engine. Did we see Morgan get captured or just taken into custody? That could have been shown more. Maybe allow Hera to have some wins during this time to show why she is a general. Maybe have five episodes on the Purrgil, how they taught the early republic about hyperspace, and then showed us another way to galaxy hop?
I’m saying that with eight episodes, I would have preferred it more focused, develop the characters we see, and lay the groundwork going forward. If they know they are getting an s2, make it ambiguous about Thrawn in this season and focus on Morgan. If not, sure, show Thrawn as happened.
This doesn’t even address Baylan or the Ezra elements but that’s the sort of setup for their own series. If only we hadn’t lost Ray. 
Thank you as well! I hope I have shown I am listening to you and you have good points. I do like a civil conversation even if we disagree.
Including in Zahn’s Thrawn books? I mean, I read those so long ago and didn’t know a lot about military tactics, so the ideas presented of his genius were cool to me. I thought it fit the Star Wars universe, with how aliens were (are?) a monoculture. Now, maybe it means accepting what Zahn wrote and we do like to discuss those things. In those books, Thrawn wins with far inferior numbers except against Luke. He didn’t have one or two plans but four? I don’t remember but I thought he never placed victory on one thing but many.
Speaking of the Zahn books, I also thought the idea that the Emperor was controlling the whole fleet and keeping track of them most of the time was a brilliant way to explain why something in front of him defeated him. That’s me, though. /tangent
Thanks for the discussion!
I’m talking about this Thrawn, which is a bit different than Zahn’s Thrawn. This Thrawn built a cult of personality on Perdida among his forces, and they obviously trust him implicitly. But he didn’t find and defeat Ezra, he didn’t conquer the Noti or other factions on the planet; he didn’t really seem to do much at all except make an alliance with the witches and keep his forces alive and still capable of fighting (not that that’s necessary an easy task).
Maybe her journey wasn’t about picking a side, but just realizing that all she had to do was be the best Ahsoka she can be, and let herself be the master Sabine always needed. She seems to have been holding herself back from that, but the encounter with her old master in the world between worlds was what she needed to break through. Her personal journey and growth needn’t align perfectly with any other Jedi’s or former Jedi’s path. This is just my guess. As I mentioned before I never watched Clone Wars (save for a few epidodes) and none of Rebels.
I watched it assuming there would be more story to come after these 8 episodes. Whether that ends up happening or not I have no idea. I guess if this is the end of the Ahsoka show, then I will just end up forgetting all about it and it will be another in a long line of shows that were cancelled before they could finish the story.
I’m not arguing the show was a perfect example of screenwriting and story execution, just that I had a good time watching it each week for the 35-45 minutes each episode lasted. I’m a Star Wars fan since childhood, but I can’t say that I’ve consumed everything Star Trek since then. I’ve watched all the movies, of course. Most of them many times. I played a number of the different video games over the years, and now I’m watching the Disney plus shows. I’ve never watched the animated shows or read any of the novels. Maybe if I had, I’d have more complaints and more ideas like yours on how it could have been done better.
The concept was kind of silly: Thrawn looks at Starry Night, Whistler’s Mother, The Great Wave off Kanagawa and Dogs Playing Poker, and declares “Ah-ha, now I know how to militarily defeat the humans!”
Both fair. For current Thrawn, I wonder if it’s tough to show strategy, other than winning? I mean, I know that there are names to the various maneuvers that planes (x-wings?) make and used to know some, thanks to good guidebooks with PC games. I don’t know that they worked or that I executed them well. I certainly wouldn’t recognize them! Maybe that’s why we have Thrawn as more of a cult of personality.
I guess this is my thought on monolithic aliens. Their art is all similar, not like humans. It also represents how they think, including how they would attack. Is it silly? Well, yes, but I could see it working with how aliens in the Star Wars universe were set up. Again, I read the books as they came out and was young enough or uneducated enough in things that it worked for me. That’s me talking about me and why the books worked, not a comment on anyone else.
On these points, we agree! I’m just the type that I overthink all things and so I like to discuss it. I appreciate the responses!
Thanks for the discussion!
I remember that was a cool bit of lore introduced in the Zahn books. And I think we’ll actually see that implemented in this story. I think the Zombie troopers do rely on the Nightsisters coordinating them on some level. The zombie troopers just standing around while Ahsoka dueled with…whats-her-name…Elsbeth?..was possibly this show being dumb again…or it might have hinted that theres a bit of psychic command by the sisters. I think she releaed her hold to focus on the duel.