The “Star Wars” fanbase is famously unhappy and there is very little it can agree on other than some form of reverence for the original trilogy and contempt for the quality of the prequels — though those who grew up with the latter (like me) have learned to love them despite their flaws. 

That same sentiment is generally true of “Star Wars” critics and professional movie reviewers, who provide no shortage of hot takes. No show, especially in this franchise, is allowed to be fine anymore — if it’s any less well-made than “The Mandalorian” Season 1, it’s killing “Star Wars” and the franchise is over. With the first two episodes of “Ahsoka,” out, that show has become their new punching bag. 

A common complaint in these reviews is that “Ahsoka” is not accessible to Mr. General Audience who might only have seen the theatrical films. 

“Before Disney took over Lucasfilm, Marvel, and what feels like fandom at large, a story was just a story,” Josh Rosenberg of Esquire writes in his review of the first two episodes. “Someone who had never heard of Indiana Jones could watch Last Crusade and get the gist. Nowadays, we have homework. … The latest Star Wars series, ‘Ahsoka’ —which debuted its first two episodes Tuesday night — won’t hold your hand. It doesn’t even bother to help answer questions like, Who is Ahsoka?”

Rosenburg is incorrect in his assertion that the show doesn’t explain basic questions like who any of its characters are or what their deal is, though it does so on a very surface, introductory level. Speaking as someone who has seen “Rebels,” even longtime fans who, Jack Seale of The Guardian assume “thirstily slurp down” new installments in the franchise in full, don’t know these characters that well, because about a decade has passed since the last show. That’s brilliant in a way, because it allows those who haven’t seen “Rebels” to circumvent that show to get the gist of the burdens everyone is carrying and connect with them on a character level. 

With that being said, I do take issue with this attitude that every “Star Wars” project needs to cater to the ignorance of those who’ve seen the original “Star Wars” fans in the 1970s and 80s and haven’t engaged with any media in the franchise since. “Star Wars” has moved on from those three original films — it’s allowed to be different things than those films intended and to further develop its vast universe. 

And yes, it is allowed to have sequel shows like “Ahsoka” that do require some homework in order to fully appreciate it. We live in an age of sequels and reboots — your average Marvel film requires much more homework to fully understand than this show — and that’s fine. “Ahsoka” so far is very special for a select part of the “Star Wars” fanbase and it’s OK if you’re not in it. 

That sentiment as a whole is something I think most of the “Star Wars” fans needs to get; you’re not always the target audience, and that’s OK. Freddie Prinze Jr. of “Rebels” fame, for instance, summed up what’s behind a lot of the animosity towards new “Star Wars” projects from adult fans perfectly: 

“I did a ‘Star Wars’ cartoon, so even I get hate from the fans. Look dawg, you’re just mad the franchise isn’t aging with you. But that ain’t how it works. The first one was for f****** kids. The second three were for different  f******  kids and this one is for kids.”

I think a lot of the divisions in the fanbase stem from the prequel era, in which it went nuclear in terms of its vitriol. The prequels have their issues and it became somewhat of a fad to rip them apart, but at the end of the day, they’re films for kids and the fans went too far. The harassment and threats of creatives like Ahmed Best and Jake Lloyd was simply out of line and are unforgivable — the fanbase as a whole needs to grow up by learning to voice their displeasure and then move on with their lives. 

I encourage everyone to see “Ahsoka” for themselves and not let sensational headlines written to garner a reaction influence their decision to give the show a try. It might not be for you, and that’s OK. There is no shortage of shows to get into these days and you are certainly not obligated to watch every show in a big franchise.