13. Sabine Wren
Now, let’s talk about Sabine Wren, a character who often finds herself overshadowed by the more magnetic personalities in Rebels. We don’t just see this trend repeat in Ahsoka, but it also makes her character make very obnoxious decisions in order to remain relevant in the story. The character is so unbelievably mechanic and forced (ugh this reference makes me want to weep). The live-action Sabine presents us with a retcon that challenges our suspension of disbelief. Ahsoka’s narrative insists that she has been harboring latent Force sensitivity all along, despite this aspect never seeing the light of day in the animated series. I’ve had a lot of issues with that entire subplot. It makes no sense, and it’s just plain stupid.
Ahsoka tries valiantly to inject charisma into Sabine’s character, yet it often feels as though it’s being pumped in through an airlock. Sabine’s attempts to captivate the audience come across as a painful, well-intentioned but ultimately unconvincing magic trick. It’s insanely hard to warm up to a character who seems willing to throw the entire galaxy’s fate in Thrawn’s lap, all in the name of being reunited with Ezra Bridger, and then saunters away from the wreckage without any consequences whatsoever.
Speaking of Ezra…
12. Ezra Bridger
Ezra Bridger – the character who, in Ahsoka‘s grand narrative, might leave some viewers a little confused, especially if they’ve never seen Rebels. Grand Admiral Thrawn’s debut in episode 6, “Far, Far Away”, carried an air of oh, sh*t and grandeur, which, let’s be honest, definitely fits a character of his stature. But when it comes to Ezra, well… his entrance is about as exciting as realizing my children are waking me up at 7am on a weekend – kind of annoying.
I mean, the guy has been marooned on a desolate world for a whopping decade-plus, and yet, when he finally reunites with Sabine, he looks as though he’s lounging at a beachside cantina. Was a rescue mission even necessary for him? Did Ahsoka have to turn into Finding Ezra for a chunk of episodes? Did Sabine really have to, you know, doom the entire galaxy to save someone who seems completely at home and at peace with this fate?
Their reunion, or whatever you’d call it, lacks all the emotional fireworks you’d expect. Instead, it’s a rather awkward, half-hearted, and anti-climactic 2 minutes.
It also looks like he may be part of the Wights from Game of Thrones with those weirdly glowing blue eyes.