Star Wars' Carson Teva Feels Like He's Been Around Since The OG Trilogy, But Has He?
This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of "Ahsoka."
It's as quintessentially "Star Wars" as it gets. You're off on some grand adventure with some of the biggest heroes in the galaxy when Some Guy™ walks in, acts like he's been there all along, and is quickly integrated into the story on a recurring basis. The franchise's particular sense of world-building is sprawling and expansive enough to allow for minor characters to progressively take on roles of major significance over time. And should the live-action material not have enough time to fully flesh out their backstories, you can safely bet your kid's college fund that Wookieepedia has listed some random comic or now-defunct Expanded Universe tale that took the time to fill in all the details you could ever need.
This is one particular tradition that "Star Wars" guru and "Ahsoka" creator Dave Filoni has maintained (with the help of "The Mandalorian" creator Jon Favreau) through the prominence of New Republic pilot Carson Teva. Played by fan-favorite character actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (whom you've definitely seen before), Teva has become a familiar face with a built-in sense of history that seems to date back to the days of the Rebellion. But as much as his bearing and attire purposefully hearken back to the original trilogy, casual viewers should be aware that the character only made his debut in season 2 of "The Mandalorian." Since then, he's popped up at various moments in "The Book of Boba Fett" and now "Ahsoka," with the latest episode, "Shadow Warrior," giving him some of his most significant screen time yet.
If you watched him in "Ahsoka" and found yourself wondering what his whole deal actually is, here's why it feels like Carson Teva's been around a lot longer than he actually has.
Roots in the Rebellion
An ace pilot, a master with a blaster, and a genuinely decent fella on top of it all? With that killer combination, it makes a certain amount of sense that Carson Teva traces his roots all the way back to a famous member of franchise royalty: Leia Organa. When first introduced in "The Mandalorian," Teva was little more than a space cop for the New Republic who chases down Pedro Pascal's Din Djarin after the latter fails to show his license and registration. (This may be a slight oversimplification on my part.) But after he lets the bounty hunter go out of a sense of mutual respect and admiration, we eventually learn that Teva served as part of the Rebel Alliance right around the time that Leia's home planet of Alderaan was destroyed by the Death Star during the events of 1977's "Star Wars." Although little else is known about his actions during that time (i.e. whether he personally knew Leia or not), we choose to believe he learned from the best!
His loyalty to the good guys continued even after the end of the Galactic Civil War and the disbandment of the Rebel Alliance. As the New Republic came to power, Teva became a captain in the Starfighter Corps where he roved the galaxy for signs that the former Empire might attempt to rise from the ashes once again. After his run-in with Din Djarin, Teva's suspicions of Imperial remnant activity only grew over time. In season 3 of "The Mandalorian," we catch a glimpse of what the Rangers of the New Republic spin-off could've been when he responds to Greef Karga's (Carl Weathers) distress call about pirates. Disillusioned by the New Republic, this sets him up for when we encounter him in "Ahsoka."
Breaking the rules
Maybe a large part of the reason why it feels like Captain Teva has been around in "Star Wars" lore forever comes from how eager he is to thumb his nose at authority — when appropriate, of course. Despite appearing in only a handful of total episodes spread between the various Disney+ shows, those who've followed along have actually witnessed him undergo a pretty substantial arc. The pilot has come a long way from pulling bounty hunters over and giving them grief over a lack of transponder signals, having come face-to-face with some of the most illustrious members of the franchise in the time since and developed a healthy skepticism of the New Republic's lackadaisical approach to rooting out the leftovers of the Empire and restoring justice to the galaxy.
We see that come to bear in this latest episode of "Ahsoka," when he reluctantly follows General Hera Syndulla's (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) orders to go rogue on an unsanctioned mission to help their friends Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) and Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) on the planet Seatos. Although they fail to stop the Eye of Scion from jumping to another galaxy in their quest to return Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) from exile, Carson proves his worth by stalling the angry New Republic fleet from interfering with Ahsoka's plan to hitch a ride with the majestic space-whales known as purrgils. In his most overt defiance of authority yet, the good captain risks demotion and suspension from service altogether.
Some things are more important than self-preservation, which feels like the main lesson any good "Star Wars" character ought to learn. There's still plenty of time for more of Carson Teva's heroics in the remaining episodes of "Ahsoka." Stay tuned every Tuesday night on Disney+ to learn more.