Another Disney+ series fails to stick the landing due to poor writing and low tension. I will preface, I have enjoyed this show for the most part. It's not the second coming of Star Wars, but episodes 1-7 were ok to pretty good.
This episode had a lot to unpack. I was more disappointed than anything. The story beats were quite awkward, and honestly I felt little to no tension. There were also a few plot contrivances that usually I would let slide, but they just bothered me so much.
First: why were they traveling so slow with the turtle people?? A GALAXY LEVEL THREAT IS ABOUT TO RETURN TO THE MAIN GALAXY AND YOU'RE TRAVELING 5 MILES AN HOUR. I know Ezra was making his lightsaber, but didn't he make it a point last episode that the force is his ally and he doesn't need one?? I will admit however, there was a cool conversation about Kanan.
Second: WHY DIDN'T THEY RUN UP THE STAIRS after the zombies were trapped? Literally nothing is stopping you. But for some reason they acted like all of them needed to be annihilated before they could confront Thrawn.
Third: WHY DOES EZRA NOT PUSH SABINE ON HOW EXACTLY SHE GOT TO THE PLANET? He's just like hey Sabine! I'm ready to go home! And that was the extent. No further questioning.
Fourth: Not necessarily a plot contrivance, but the way Sabine harnessed the force was unceremonious and dull. I felt nothing when it happened. Maybe part of it is that I don't like the idea that just anyone can use the force. (I like the idea of it being in every being however) Furthermore, when she pushed Ezra a clear 100 FEET after she just unlocked the force was pretty dumb. But I guess plot convenience.
Another plot convenience: of course when Thrawn rained fire, NONE of the shots hit Ahsoka, Sabine or Ezra. And to be clear, this went on for a solid 10 seconds. And I wonder why I don't have any fear for these characters dying.
The zombie troopers were a nice touch, but they were a little wonky in execution.
The best part of the show (Baylan) was only in this episode for 10 seconds! Basically the whole time I was yelling "Where is Baylan??" Seeing the statues of The Ones was pretty cool though. I'm hyped for that, but what are they going to do about the passing of Ray Stevenson?
The good:
Scene where Ezra made his lightsaber
I still liked Thrawn
Morgan's nightsister intro was good
The choreography was good
Having Hayden at the end was a nice touch
Like I said earlier: the intrigue of the Baylan situation will be cool to unpack
So in summary, I was more annoyed than excited about this episode. I left with more of a "meh". It looks like a season 2 will happen, so I'll be cautiously optimistic.