Like many Star Wars fans even though I was eagerly anticipating Ashoka, that anticipation was tempered with a healthy dose of trepidation. Afterall the Star Wars television series have kind of been hit and miss, and unlike other shows Ashoka holds a special place in the hearts of fans of the franchise.

Beginning as possibly one of the most hated characters in all of Star Wars to someone that truly deserves her own series is an impressive feat. Ashoka as a character shows that if something does not work it does not mean we should needlessly throw it aside, but perhaps sometimes it is best to find a way to make it work. So with that lets take a dive into this latest gem from the house of mouse.

If you are unfamiliar with Ashoka, let me take you back to the Clone Wars. Yes, that little off hand comment made during Star Wars: A New Hope that spawned quite a lot of Media. And this is where the controversy truly begins, back in 2003 Genndy Tartakovsky was riding high with the success of Samurai Jack, so he was brought on to create a series of shorts that were dubbed the Clone Wars. These were set between the second and third films of the prequel franchise. They were universally adored and the eyes of many fans were near perfect. Then came 2008…

While many of us were still wondering “What about the droid attack on The Wookies”, George Lucas was wondering “What can I do about the Clone Wars”. In 2008 Cartoon network had plans to launch their own Computer Animated series and to kick this one off with a BANG, Lucas had the idea of combining the first few episodes together into a movie and releasing it in cinemas. What we got was painfully disjointed and to put it mildly, the day I saw this the cinema had to be evacuated due to flooding and I was not disappointed. When people tell me that The Last Jedi is the worst Star Wars film, I simply tell them to watch the Clone Wars (I’d suggest the Christmas Special or second Ewoks movie but I know at least one person that would punch me for the latter). Yet for fans who stuck with the Clone Wars it rapidly improved. And as the series improved so did Ashoka, she was introduced as Anakin’s as yet unseen apprentice and though it was a rough start, her time with him would become crucial in his fall to the dark side. When The Clone Wars ended its six-season run the fans were saddened to see Ashoka go but she would soon return in the Rebels Tv series where it is revealed that she was one of the Rebellion’s first major leaders. Rebels even let her have a showdown with Darth Vader – which to this day is still one of Star Wars best duels. And finally Disney decided to bring Clone Wars back for one final season, one set during the events of Revenge of the Sith, thus tying everything together – this was a truly exceptional piece of television and definitely is worth a watch.

For many of us we thought that would be the end of Ashoka but then the internet demanded that Rosario Dawson, of KIDS – Clerks 2 AND Josie and the Pussycats fame, get thrown into the mix. It would seem that Disney had their live action Ashoka, so she made a few appearances in The Mandalorian and the Book of Boba Fett, as well as an origin story in Tales of the Jedi, Ashoka was ready for her full series. And this series was everything the fans needed.

Set after the fall of The Empire Ashoka (the series) sees our heroine on a hunt for her missing comrade and also her enemy from Star Wars: Rebels, Ezra Bridger and Commander Thrawn respectively. Long story short Ezra sacrificed himself at the end of Rebels to stop Thrawn. And he does so in the most insane way possible, if I told you, it would just sound stupid, but it makes sense in the story itself.

To me this is the first series that truly feels like old Star Wars. From the opening shot of a Republic ship coming into screen, to the outfits of all the cast this truly feels like a follow up to the original films. Only one with a touch of refinement. In this series Dave Filoni has taken the World George Lucas built and has added something wonderful to it. Like adding on a conservatory to a house, only this one has orange lightsabre’s, David Tennant voicing a droid and the Witches of Dathomir.

And if you are confused by all that well folks this series has some serious deep cuts. But it does not do so many that it turns off new viewers who are not in on the lingo. In two episodes Ashoke took everything that was great about Star Wars and distilled it into a beautiful little package.

Not only that but it found ways to modernize the franchise. Let’s take Sabine Wren – her hair is modern and the music it played while she was on her speeder bike was most definitely not John Williams. These little touches are minor but help keep the franchise fresh. Another refreshing aspect is that it the series is a female lead cast, one that is not predominantly white. And what makes it even better is there was no fanfare over this, it was just done and so far so good.

Currently I don’t have anything bad to say about the performances, it is early days but so far so good. I don’t think I have seen enough of our leads but the villains are definitely interesting. They seem like something different than we have seen before.

Chopper definitely was a highlight and I cannot wait to see more of this little adorable sociopath.

In the end I really can’t wait to see what’s coming next week. This show has reminded me why I loved the world of Star Wars so much.