Ashoka Episode 3 Receives Fan Complaints Despite Glowing…

Summary

Star Wars: Ahsoka fans are upset with the short runtime of episode 3, despite overall positive reviews for the episode.
The episode lasted only 36 minutes, much shorter than previous episodes, which disappointed fans who felt there was a lot of content to fit in.
The complaint highlights the downside of variable time slots on streaming platforms, but overall, the positive reception of the episode is encouraging, and Rosario Dawson's portrayal of Ahsoka is winning over critics.

Star Wars: Ahsoka fans have taken issue with episode 3 of the live-action series on Disney Plus despite reviews for the episode being overwhelmingly positive. The complaints come from a trend seen across the three episodes thus far.

Star Wars: Ahsoka is a live-action project that, while technically a spin-off of the space western The Mandalorian, has found eager acceptance within the fanbase as an adaptation and spiritual successor to Star Wars: Rebels and the other animated Star Wars projects. Showrunner Dave Filoni outlined Ahsoka's connection to Rebels early on, and the show’s double-episode debut bore it out in full force, instantly drawing in the large part of the fanbase that enjoyed the show and related media.

With the release of its third episode, Ahsoka has finally upset its rapidly growing loyal fanbase with one major change. Several fans who have taken to social media to laud the show’s third episode have also taken time to complain about the episode’s runtime, which by all accounts was far too short, especially for how interesting the episode proved to be to most people. Some users on social media have even gone so far as to suggest that the episode could've stood to be twice as long on Disney Plus, which has canceled the Spiderwick Chronicles series and more to focus on projects from internally owned IPs, like Star Wars: Ahsoka.

The Ahsoka episode in question, which lasted a lightning-quick 36 minutes, is shorter than both premiere episodes. The previous episode ran a satisfying 44 minutes, and the first episode of the series took up a good 56 minutes of streaming time, making episode three nearly half as long as the first installment, which many fans only watched for the first time recently. This is especially noticeable due to the sheer amount of content the show tries to fit into each episode, with it already hinting at Sam Witwer's return to Star Wars as Starkiller and setting up several plot points stemming from the animated series.

Projects should ideally have a moderate or short runtime, but with recent media made for streaming services, longer runtimes are becoming more common. Star Wars fans are experiencing the negative edge of variable time slots that come with the freedom given to creators by the streaming model, which generally allows them to ignore limitations and requirements that would usually hold them back on a regular network TV show, such as minimum episode lengths for advertising and time slot utilization.

While the complaint is valid, the otherwise overwhelmingly positive notes on the third episode are encouraging, with some prior critics of the premiere even conceding being won over by the third entry. This case of good things coming in small packages also highlights that Rosario Dawson's unlikely source of inspiration for her Ahsoka portrayal worked out better than expected and might lead the Star Wars series to a long, lore-filled run.

Star Wars: Ahsoka episodes 1-3 are now available for streaming on Disney Plus.