Part five of Ahsoka sees Dave Filoni return to the director’s chair for this episode that will be catnip for fans of The Clone Wars. The episode features Ahsoka in the World Between Worlds as she grapples with her past with the help of her former Master, Anakin Skywalker, played once again by Hayden Christensen. So did the episode work from a story perspective or did it lean too heavily into nostalgia?

Filoni wisely doesn’t explain what exactly the World Between Words is or how Anakin is back. I find over-explaining the Force takes away from the magic and we’re left to our own devices as to what’s going on. Some may be frustrated at this, but I relish it. Anakin returns in this nexus of space-time to complete Ahsoka’s training, largely through lightsaber battles, and in the tradition of the original trilogy, the duels are wrapped up in character turmoil, as opposed to being there for the spectacle.

Hayden, thankfully, looks good in this episode, which is in stark contrast to the slightly uncanny features he had at the end of last week’s episode. I think they may have de-aged him slightly, but if so, it’s barely noticeable. More importantly, though, the man crushes it as Anakin. In these few scenes, he vastly outshines his past performances as Anakin, which only makes me want to see more of Hayden as Anakin in the future. Live-action Clone Wars movie anyone?

Over the course of two duels and two flashbacks in time, one set at the beginning of the Clone Wars and one at the end, during the Siege of Mandalore, Anakin tries to pass on to Ahsoka the importance of becoming a warrior in a time of conflict through a choice: live or die, mirroring her will to live in the real world. I really liked how they got Hayden to look more like the animated Anakin in the first flashback, complete with shorter hair and battle armour, but we needed more time for Rex! Also, I get the visuals are supposed to be foggy memories, but I could’ve used a bit less fog. Rosario Dawson sits these scenes out in order for Ariana Greenblatt to step into the Padawan boots during the character’s formative years, which only makes the horrors of war from the perspective of a child seem that much more “intense” as she holds the hand of a dying trooper. Ahsoka ultimately decides that she wants to live and is sent back after dueling Anakin wielding his red saber, the darkness within being just that, something that was within Anakin. I also loved the lightning flash transition between Anakin, Vader and back to Anakin. That’ll just be filed away under iconic moments.

I do wonder how this episode will land for those unfamiliar with The Clone Wars animated series, who lack the much-needed context and backstory between the relationship between Anakin and Ahsoka, master and apprentice respectively. Ahsoka is never mentioned in films to date so only those who are familiar with the films may feel the nostalgia for Anakin but not the emotional payoff of having these two characters interact again. Likewise, for those who did watch Clone Wars, I do feel like this episode could’ve leaned more into Ahsoka’s guilt about leaving the Jedi Order, and thus Anakin, at the end of season five. When she learned that Anakin became Vader in Rebels, it tore Ahsoka up and I think it was a missed opportunity to get some deep therapy for Ahsoka in this section of the show. That said, I’m glad that the lessons of legacy and war did tie back thematically to Sabine at least, pushing the main plot of the show forward, despite the nostalgia. This episode was all about the main story at the end of the day and I’m sure the lessons learned here will be applied later down the road.

But her duels ultimately end up being her Balrog moment from Lord of the Rings. She fell down, literally, wearing grey robes, but returned donning white robes, intentionally mirroring the fall of Gandalf the Grey and returning as Gandalf the White, something Filoni was very aware of. She chose to live, despite the failures and losses in her life, because going somewhere is better than nowhere as she tells Huyang at the end of the episode being whisked away to destinations unknown with the Purgill. She also seems a bit more jovial and taps into nature, as opposed to the person who drew her saber first against Baylen last week, one who carried her master’s darkness with her in some capacity.

Elsewhere in the episode, Hera and company search Seatos for Ahsoka and Sabine. With the help of Jacen, who I’m starting to suspect will play a critical role in the upcoming Skeleton Crew series starring Jude Law, the crew is able to save Ahsoka once she surfaces thanks to his Force abilities. I did find these scenes broke up the pacing a bit, as seeing ships fly over water and negotiate the ethics of an unsanctioned mission could’ve used fewer scenes and allowed for more time with Anakin.

Oh and let me just throw this out, I say this all the time, but let’s give it up to composer Kevin Kiner who is stealing this show with his score. The opening samurai-inspired themes of melancholy and despair were fantastic, as was everything he did surrounding Anakin. He’s crushing it and I can’t wait to listen to this score once it releases completely.

As mentioned at the top, Filoni returns to direct the episode and it does show a bit. The animation guru still hasn’t gotten live-action quite figured out yet, with many scenes coming off as a bit stiff thanks largely to static conversations. This contrasts sharply with the much more kinetic energy of last week’s episode. Case in point, when Hera sees Huyang holding Sabine’s helmet on the cliffside, one would naturally assume bad news due to body language (thankfully, this droid can emote) and vocal tone. Hera already lost her partner Kanan during Rebels, so I would’ve liked to have seen some sort of fear or grief from her after seeing such a worrisome display. But she’s pretty composed and I just felt it was a missed chance overall.

In the end, this episode was fun and thankfully, not overly handholdy, as it dove into Ahsoka’s will to live. I do think it was a bit static and had some missed chances for high emotional stakes, but it was fun seeing Hayden again as Anakin and was an entertaining enough episode. At a surface level, I think some people may miss out on some narrative details, as there’s actually a fair bit of subtext going on here while those invested in Filoni’s work will be more rewarded thanks to years of backstory getting the ultimate payoff. Some may also be frustrated at the lack of answers, was Anakin a ghost, a manifestation by Mortis or something else? We don’t know, and I can see that vexing viewers but I’m all for not answering cosmic Force-related questions. Sometimes, leaving things a mystery only adds to the story.