Ahsoka Honors One of Star Wars' Greatest Tropes (2024)

Some parts of Star Wars never go out of style. Every new project has a cute droid, for instance -- even the deadly serious Andor slipped one into the mix -- while starships and other technologies evolve from previous models earlier in the timeline. The franchise endures its ups and downs in part by adhering to those classic tropes and building Star Wars' identity in the process. Lucasfilm shepherds them very carefully for those reasons, which helps keep its galaxy thematically unified across generations of different projects.

That includes one of Star Wars' more whimsical elements: animal mounts, which have a long history in fantasy literature and find all kinds of playful permutations in the saga. They're an easy way to bring color and flavor to the heroes' adventures. Over the years, the franchise has used them to show details of planetary ecology as well -- specifically a food chain -- which adds immeasurably to Star Wars' sense of reality. Ahsoka Season 1, Episode 6, "Part Six: Far, Far Away" adds to that legacy with Sabine Wren's new best friend.

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Ahsoka's Howlers Are Fun New Creatures

"Far, Far Away" takes place in a different galaxy than the one housing the reborn Republic, where Thrawn and his forces have been hiding in exile since the Empire fell. They've had a tough time of it -- as revealed by Thrawn's battle-hardened Night Troopers -- and survived in very difficult circ*mstances. The planet Peridea, where they rendezvous with Baylan Skoll and Morgan Elsbeth, is supposedly rife with threats as well. Their mounts reflect their circ*mstances -- horse-sized canines called howlers with sinister features and abnormally large jaws. Sabine Wren gains one as part of her deal with Skoll, which she uses to travel the planet's surface as she launches her search for Ezra Bridger.

The howler proves far more dog than wolf when it cuts and runs at the first sign of trouble. The episode plays its status as a de facto pet: Sabine berates it for abandoning her, and it follows behind her groveling before she finally takes pity on it. It makes for comic relief in reasonably grim circ*mstances and ultimately proves its worth by locating Ezra for her. In the process, the mount becomes a friend and companion, which are in short supply in this new galaxy. Presumably, it will be along for the ride during the remainder of the series.

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Star Wars Mounts Have a Long History

Creatures like the howler go all the way back to Star Wars: Episode IV -- A New Hope, with Stormtroopers riding dewbacks to traverse the Tatooine desert. Franchise creator George Lucas made the dewbacks more prominent in the 1997 Special Edition, using CGI to give them more movement and life. Exotic mounts quickly became a trend, starting with the tauntauns in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back and continuing throughout the series. They include such diverse creatures as Obi-Wan's giant lizard in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, the duck-billed kaadu used by the Gungans in Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace, and, of course, the Tusken Raiders' banthas.

They work because they fulfill a lot of narrative needs in a comparatively simple package. Beyond the sheer gee-whiz factor, colorful mounts sell the idea of a thoroughly alien universe where locals have domesticated local fauna that look and act like nothing on Earth. They also demonstrate their planet's food chain and ecosystem, most graphically by the wampa attack in the opening scenes of The Empire Strikes Back. The horrors of war often claim them as well -- Obi-Wan's lizard is killed in the execution of Order 66 -- and even day-to-day life can prove fatal. Witness the bantha serving as krayt dragon bait in The Mandalorian Season 2, Episode 1, "The Marshal."

Such deaths hit hard because Star Wars invests its mounts with personality. It also helps convey the dangers of the galaxy -- and whatever endeavor the heroes are pursuing at the time -- without directly threatening name characters. All of that gets wrapped up in a single creature, bringing a huge amount of detail to the universe without spending a lot of screen time. To top it all off, they can be sold as toys and other ancillary products, ensuring that even the most joyless corporate accountant will repeatedly sign off on their use. Sabine's howler -- and, more importantly, her extended interaction with it -- is a sign that the trope will be with Star Wars for some time to come.

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Ahsoka's Howlers Show the Importance of Small Tropes

Star Wars has come so far from George Lucas's original vision that it's easy to forget how comparatively humble its roots are. Yet, the franchise still retains its essence after all these years, and while it isn't always perfect, it's never lost the details of how its galaxy works. That's often bound up in minor details that can be applied to a wide range of stories, allowing Star Wars to move forward and still occupy its own unique universe. Their simplicity and lack of specificity can be of great help.

Alien mounts are a brilliant -- and lively -- way to accomplish that goal, keeping the spirit of Lucas's original vision alive while expanding the franchise with fresh perspectives. The creators simply come up with an interesting design and plug it into whatever the narrative needs. Ahsoka ultimately centers on the Republic's future and whether threats like Thrawn are capable of overwhelming it. The howler is a simple way to explore that narrative space while still ensuring that the franchise stays connected to its past. Small details make a big difference on that front. The use of mounts -- and the resources and screen time required to bring them to life -- are an effective way to do it without dragging down the narrative. Thankfully, they also help make Star Wars a lot of fun, something Ahsoka understands implicitly.

New episodes of Ahsoka stream every Tuesday on Disney+.