Ahsoka Might Be My Favorite Live-Action Star Wars Show, But I Wish It Was Like Andor In One Important Way
The story of the galaxy far, far away is currently unfolding on Disney+ via Ahsoka, starring Rosario Dawson and combining story threads from The Mandalorian, The Clone Wars, and Star Wars Rebels. With a heavy focus on Jedi and The Force in the post-original trilogy era, the new show's similarities to Diego Luna's Andor are relatively few and far between, but I find myself wishing that Ahsoka was more like Andor in one key way... and that's even though Ahsoka currently might be my favorite live-action Star Wars show!
As fans likely remember, Disney+ gave Andor a huge vote of confidence well before it even premiered by giving it an order for not one but two full seasons that could tell Cassian Andor's pre-Rogue One story. Although I was late to watching Andor, I quickly became a fan once I started my binge-watch, and found myself thinking as I queued up the finale that there was no way the show would have time to tie off all its loose ends before the final credits rolled.
And it didn't! There were cliffhangers for pretty much all the surviving characters, and more questions than answers. But I wasn't too stressed in the finale, because even though it would be some time before the show returned to fill in the blanks, I knew that Season 2 was happening and I'd get another twelve episodes of Diego Luna as Cassian before his fate in Rogue One.
Similarly, as I've watched each episode of Ahsoka ever since the title character spent most of an episode hanging out in the World Between Worlds, I've been thinking more and more that there's just not enough time to tie off all – or even most – loose ends. Every time those credits roll, I find myself wishing for a surprise reveal that Season 2 is definitely, totally, 100% confirmed to be happening.
Of course, it's possible that the story of Ahsoka Tano and Co. won't be continued in a second season, but rather held until one of the upcoming Star Wars movies releases. Dave Filoni – who has written, directed, and produced across the franchise with The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, The Clone Wars, Rebels, The Bad Batch, and of course Ahsoka – is slated to helm a film that will tie the various Disney+ live-action shows together.
Given that the date for Filoni's movie is very much TBD at this point and only so much story can be told within 2-3 hours of a film, I'm crossing as many fingers as I can spare that Ahsoka gets a second season. If only Disney+ had given a two-season order out of the gate like it did for Andor!
There are many reasons why I think Andor delivered some of the best storytelling in all of live-action Star Wars. Frankly, I might have preferred it to Ahsoka based on the prison break arc alone if Ahsoka didn't include characters like Sabine, Hera, and Chopper from my favorite of the animated series set in the galaxy far, far away. The writing for Andor may have benefited from knowing that a Season 2 was happening; it remains to be seen how well Ahsoka sticks the landing in its upcoming finale.
You can find Andor, Ahsoka, and the rest of the Star Wars TV shows streaming with a Disney+ subscription now. Sadly, Ahsoka has only one episode left in the first season (which will hopefully be followed by a second), but you can find more upcoming viewing options on our 2023 TV schedule.