#ahsoka meta

[sticks-and-souls]

Anakin & Letting Go

I always found it to be a little skeptical that Anakin could become a force ghost after it took Yoda, Qui Gon, and Obi-Wan learning and training how to do it, and I always thought “really? Anakin? Finding that level of peace and letting go?” But after this episode, seeing the care and lesson that he imparts upon Ahsoka that he learned so painfully, I understand it from him so much better. Vader was so stuck in his complete self-hatred that he allowed nobody who had known him before as Anakin to reach him (most notably Obi-Wan and Ahsoka) because of the overwhelming extent of his shame. It took his son, who had never known him and yet who still stood before him and believed in him, loved him, sacrificed himself for him, to call Anakin back from the depths of Vader. And this Anakin, let everything go to save his son and to allow his son to save him.

And it felt so impactful to get to see this mature post-Vader Anakin reaching out to Ahsoka to teach her this very hard-earned lesson that he took the very hard road to get. Because she has Vader in her. She is everything Anakin taught her, and we saw the behaviors that led Anakin to becoming Vader—the fear of losing his most cherished relationships—reaching out of Anakin very early in the clone wars (and before) and the two of them are both very aware that he imparted those lessons on her. And then we've seen across this season—and overtly in her clone wars flashbacks—that she believes she is inextricable from these traits.

I’ve always loved Anakin as a fictional character, getting to see his earnestness, his flawedness, and his intensity (to borrow Huyang’s very accurate adjective), but this episode brought a level of humanity to him that has moved me so deeply. Life is HARD, loss gets forced on all of us no matter what, and the lessons that we learn through mistakes that we made can be extremely painful because acknowledging and taking responsibility for hurting people is actually really painful for humans (not owning up to our actions is the emotionally easier choice and George Lucas has stated time and again that the Dark Side is about taking the short-term easier choices). But it ultimately means that learning from your mistakes is an actual choice you have to MAKE. And this is the core of Anakin’s lesson. He is teaching Ahsoka that she has to choose which lessons he has taught her that she will live by, but more than that, that she is empowered to be able to choose. Yes, she has everything that he taught her—the good and the bad—but she is not condemned to live out all of the lessons. 

And the beauty of it isn't just the lesson, but that Anakin gets to be the one to teach it to her. The betrayal that she experienced in discovering his fall, the taintedness that she has been portraying that she feels about herself, gets specifically addressed because if he figured it out, then she definitely can too. If he is more than just Vader, then she is too. And THAT is what the "Is that what this is about?" line is actually about. It's so so important that we get to see pre-Vader, Vader, and post-Vader across her vision because the point is that yes, Vader is a part of him, and that brilliant shot of the two of them glaring Sith eyes across the blade at each other did it's job in conveying that Ahsoka is capable of that darkness too, but you are not only the darkness. You get to choose. ("You're more than [death and destruction] because I'm more than that"). And more to the point, you have to choose. Because if you don't specifically choose to fight the dark, then you're ultimately choosing to fall into it. "Fight or die."

So for Anakin to be able to reach out to her one more time, to be able to love her the way he, as Vader, had refused to the last time when they met on Malachor, and to open with “you’re never too old to learn”, because god if he didn’t learn that the hard way too. And to be able to pass on to Ahsoka how to actually let go because he himself had only just finally been able to learn it as well, feels so powerful and poignant.

And that look of pride and wistful sadness that he gives her at the end? That both she and Luke were able to learn so quickly what took him so long? And that maybe, he may have helped save her from the worst traits that he imbued upon her? That’s him having let go of his own shame. He feels grief, he feels guilt—we can see it on his face—but what has happened has happened and he has accepted that, and finally learned that letting go doesn't mean it didn't happen, it means it doesn't have to define your actions going forward.

And finally, it’s also him letting go of ahsoka. By teaching her that she will choose her destiny, he has to accept that he cannot control it either. And he has. “There’s hope for you yet.” 

So yeah, Anakin learned to let go, and getting to see him here, in this headspace of acceptance and peace, practicing and understanding what it means to be a Jedi, was so unexpectedly cathartic and revelatory for me as viewer. 

[illuminatedquill]

The Measure

A Sabine Wren Analysis

Natasha Liu Bordizzo, the actress for Sabine Wren, recently gave an interview discussing Sabine’s narrative arc towards becoming a Jedi (snippets of which can be found here).

I’m not going to discuss the argument whether Sabine should or shouldn’t be a Jedi although, speaking for myself, I’m absolutely for it even though, yes, I’m frustrated as to not knowing the reason why she wants to be one. What I am discussing in this post is the interesting commentary that Natasha provides on Sabine’s battle with the bandits she encounters while on Peridea:

"During the interview, Bordizzo also said the fight with the bandits was a key moment because Sabine started out trying to fight like she always did, and she almost lost. It wasn't until after she drew her lightsaber and had to try to focus on the person she wanted to become that she was able to make a connection. This is not only a great metaphor for life, but it is also true to Sabine's character and honors her history. After all, learning to use the Force through battle is such a Mandalorian way to grow in the Force."

This is a level of nuance that I hadn't noticed before in the fight scenes with Sabine so, naturally, I had to go back and re-watch all of them to see if the narrative arc rings true.

And it does. There's a deeper context to those scenes now that I'd like to analyze and what that means for Sabine's ongoing narrative arc for her character, not only in this season but, potentially, in the next one. For Sabine, it isn't so much the ongoing struggle with touching the Force that is driving her inner conflict - it's the reconciliation between the two natures within her: the inherent Mandalorian nature she was raised on and the newly emerging Jedi nature that Ahsoka is trying to instill.

Let's go to the first one in Ahsoka 1x01, where Sabine duels against Shin.

Sabine's first big fight in the Ahsoka series sees her do something strange: she doesn't pick up her Mandalorian armor or blasters. It's a far cry from the Sabine we know in Rebels who wouldn't be caught dead without her usual armament, especially since it would be specifically useful in a duel like this against a lightsaber wielder.

Sabine grabs her lightsaber first. This is important to note. She effectively eschews her Mandalorian upbringing in favor of the Jedi training, believing it to be the best choice in this situation.

It's a definite sign that things are different for her this time around; Sabine is trying something new. The recent visit from Ahsoka and the promise of finally being able to find her old friend, Ezra Bridger, has reignited a desire within her - to be something else.

To be something more. The classic call to adventure that every hero feels before going on their journey.

But, as we all know now, this battle doesn't end well for Sabine. Shin is well-trained and stronger in her capabilities than she is. Sabine is left on the cusp of death, saved only by the intervention of her master, Ahsoka Tano. It puts quite the dent in Sabine's confidence and she struggles to make up for it in the battles to follow. Matters aren't helped by Ahsoka, either, who continues to show a reticence in furthering her training.

It's Huyang who breaks through Sabine's excuses for why she continues to fail with this simple line:

Huyang: The only time you are wasting is your own.

With Ezra's life on the line, Sabine has to decide, once and for all, who she wants to be. There's no more time to waste, no more excuses to be had. She accepts the lightsaber back, but her confidence is still shaken from her duel with Shin.

So, she falls back on old ways. She finds her Mandalorian armor and equipment and wears it once again.

Her reunion with Ahsoka later on is the first time we see the former Jedi Knight express something else other than disappointment with her former Padawan. Which connects to how Ahsoka sees Sabine and her issues, as revealed later on in Ahsoka 1x06 during a conversation with Huyang:

Ahsoka: I don't need Sabine to be a Jedi. I need her to be herself.

Sabine has always been an interesting character because she is simultaneously focused and driven, yet fractured, unsure of herself and her innermost feelings. It's an aspect of her character that was shown during Rebels - especially in the standout Trials of the Darksaber episode - but in Ahsoka we really see her issues stand out in stark relief. Struggling with her training as a Jedi, Sabine's flaws become detrimental to any further progress. This wasn't an issue during her time with the Ghost crew since they operated as a team, with each member covering for the other's weaknesses. But now she only has herself and Ahsoka to rely on, with the latter still not finding it easy to trust her.

Ahsoka hones in on Sabine's true problem: she feels as though Sabine is trying to be something she's not. Not in the sense that Ahsoka doesn't believe that Sabine shouldn't be a Jedi - rather that Sabine is trying to follow in what she perceives to be how a Jedi should fight and act (presumably based upon her experiences fighting alongside Kanan and Ezra), which clashes against her Mandalorian nature.

To be a Jedi is to be in tune with your feelings and yourself. It's not necessarily following some Code but in understanding your place in the wider universe and how you can best contribute to it. And that is something Sabine seems to be searching for during this post-war period: her sense of purpose, her sense of self that goes beyond what she knows. It heavily implies to me that Sabine is dissatisfied with how she currently is and seeks to attain the best possible version of herself.

The problem, as pointed out succinctly by Ahsoka, is Sabine's trying to do that in the wrong way. She's cherry picking parts of herself and the Jedi path, trying to see what works and what doesn't. What Sabine needs to do is embrace all of herself, even the parts she doesn't particularly like.

She needs to be herself. All of herself.

Even with reaffirming her Mandalorian identity and answering the call to adventure, Sabine continues to grapple with balancing her Mandalorian side with the Jedi side. As we reach the climatic events of Ahsoka 1x04, we see that struggle continue with her second duel with Shin - only this time, it's better balanced. Her Mandalorian armor and weapons make up for the gap in skills between the two combatants and Sabine fights the mercenary to a draw this time.

This is pure speculation on my part but it's not a stretch that Ahsoka had always been aware of Sabine's deep feelings towards Ezra (regardless of whether or not you think they're romantic, what Sabine feels towards him is still substantial considering what she did to find him). She approaches Sabine the wrong way in trying to get across how dire the situation is, suggesting that if the outcome is fixed then the best they can do is destroy the map, thus stranding Thrawn - and Ezra - in another galaxy, permanently.

Even though Ahsoka understands Sabine's issues and how she's struggling to find herself in the midst of this new path, the former Jedi Knight doesn't see how this approach is wrong. In not counseling and guiding Sabine through setting aside her personal feelings for Ezra, it made her vulnerable to them. It's a mistake long in the making since she found out Vader's true identity; the Jedi do not forbid emotions or feelings for others - they only forbid the attachments that come with them. Sabine's feelings towards Ezra should have been viewed as a strength, not a weakness.

It's an integral part of being herself, just like Ahsoka needs her to be. But she didn't figure that out until it was too late. Sabine handed over the map to Baylon, and the galaxy's future spun onto darker paths. She's arguably at her lowest point, not only within the series narrative but also her life. And Sabine knows it.

So, what changes for Sabine? How does she come to reconcile the two conflicting natures within her and become fully open to the Force by the series end?

She reunites with Ezra.

I've written before how finding Ezra changes many things for Sabine; how it restores her in so many ways that are hugely beneficial to herself and the path she now walks. He's a part of her that was missing for so long and having him back, alive and well, brings her not only back to her old self but also gives her the confidence and determination to truly step forward in her Jedi training.

There's a lot of expectations that have always been heaped upon Sabine; whether through her family, Clan Wren, or via Ahsoka, her Jedi Master. All of them had a specific version of her that they wanted to see realized. But only one person has ever seen and accepted Sabine for who she truly is, with no expectations placed upon her in return.

Ezra Bridger.

Rewind to the Battle of Lothal's conclusion; Ezra and Thrawn disappearing into a galaxy far, far away. Sabine and Hera watching his final farewell message to him, listening to what he's asking but not really understanding until later. And then Sabine, with Ezra's private message to her and her alone, realizing what he is truly asking: to find and bring him home.

Reuniting with Ezra in the present, I suspect, helped Sabine remember who she is and allows her to finally embrace the final missing part of herself, literally. Because Ezra Bridger did not ask Sabine Wren the Jedi to come find him. He had no way of knowing the path she would undertake in his absence.

No, Ezra Bridger trusted above all else, Sabine Wren - his closest friend and partner. He asked her to do the impossible, just as she was. He wouldn't have asked her to become a Jedi on his behalf to find him. He didn't need her to have Force powers or know how to properly wield a lightsaber.

He just needed Sabine to be herself and nothing else. That's who he trusted.

And that's who came to find him. Sabine Wren, his friend and partner - as herself.

When Shin and her bandits come to strike at the reunited pair, this growth in Sabine is immediately evident; she's much more confident in this fight, not struggling with the bandits at all in contrast to her first encounter with them. She smoothly switches from her blasters to the lightsaber when the situation demands it.

And then there's this fun scene:

Now that's a Mandalorian Jedi, if I've ever seen one.

The combination of Ezra's Force pull along with Sabine's use of the flamethrower to fend off Shin fully shows how she's combining both the Jedi and Mandalorian natures within her. They're no longer clashing - they're working in tandem to give her an edge in the fight. And she doesn't even have the Force yet.

The past and the future come to a head when Ahsoka arrives, at last. With her renewed faith in herself and in her Padawan, Sabine is finally given the final boost she needs to achieve what was previously thought impossible:

Ezra Bridger and Ahsoka Tano are, arguably, the two most important people in her life at this moment, much like how Kanan and Sabine were to Ezra during Rebels. Both represent different sides of her identity: Ezra, knowing her as the Mandalorian, and Ahsoka, knowing her as the Jedi padawan. When they're brought together and reaffirm their faith in her - Ezra's never wavering during his exile and Ahsoka renewing hers - Sabine can genuinely be herself. And that is what she needed the most to continue with her journey.

Sabine doesn't need to focus on being a successful Jedi or a Mandalorian. That's not the point of her journey. It never was.

She just needs to succeed at being herself. And with Ezra and Ahsoka having faith in her (you know Ezra would be understanding of what she did), then Sabine is more than ready to face the trials ahead and become the best possible version of herself; not strictly Mandalorian or Jedi.

Just as Sabine Wren, whoever she decides that is.

"Everyone fails at who they're supposed to be. A measure of a person, of a hero, is how well they succeed at being who they are." - Frigga, Avengers: Endgame

[azurecanary]

At any given moment i am thinking about the Togruta Jedi Wayseeker former child soldier and agent of the Rebellion Ahsoka Tano

How she started out as a 14 year old excited to start her Jedi training, only to be dragged into war, which became her way of life; who lost a squadron of soldiers during her first time commanding a mission; how she was killed and brought back to life at 15; how at 16 was betrayed by her closest friend (not for the last time); losing her entire Order and family at 17; joining the Rebellion at 18 and helping to organise it; finding, for the first time, more Jedi that survived at 33, the same year she discovered her master was the one who killed everyone she loved, the same year she fought both him and his master.

And then she discovers her master and her mentor had a son and daughter, who embodied the best of their parents; and Ahsoka's faith in herself as a Jedi is restored

But she will never get back Plo, or Yoda, or Padme, or Barriss, or Sinube; her last encounter with Obi-Wan devoid of the affection they once had with each other. Left with the knowledge that her master turned to the light for the son he barely knew, but not for her, the sister he did. Knowing and acknowledging that every moment she has the potential to become the worst of her master, but every moment choosing to be good

Ahsoka Tano, who fought to survive every day since she was 14, who had to learn, through trial by fire, to live for the ones she lost

[girlvader]

i love how the juxtaposition of Obi-Wan's guilt about Anakin and Ahsoka's fear of becoming him reaches across the two shows. Like "I am what you made me" is paraphrased and said once more by Anakin to Ahsoka, that she has all of what he is inside of her. She is what *he* made, like he was of his Master. But instead of being contemptuous Anakin says it earnestly, that this is what a lineage is, knowledge passed down through a linear family tree. We get such an interesting insight into how differently both of them dealt with Vader's conception and when we see a split second of Anakin's face as Ahsoka reflects back to him what he became it's the lineage's chance to come full circle ("what have you become?" "I am what you made me") but Ahsoka proves that the cyclical grief of their line can be broken. Arguably Luke did this by bringing Vader back to the light (which is a whole other meta discussion about Anakin's personal view of family) but imo Ahsoka was the first Skywalker child (not in name or by blood OBVIOUSLY, don't come for me) so this particular break of the ouroboros is so special. This is Anakin and his first born to me. Anyway

[jedimandalorian]

Ahsoka Episode 8 “The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord”: The Story, the Symbolism, and the Score Part Four

If you missed Part One of this analysis, it can be found here:

Part Two can be found here:

Part Three is here:

Epilogue I

The first epilogue begins as the Noti pack up their pods. The Noti seem happy to see Ahsoka and Sabine, who arrive at their camp on the howlers. Listen for Ahsoka’s theme played by a trumpet, and also listen for a fragmented version of Sabine’s theme during this scene. A wooden flute presents Ahsoka’s theme once more when Ahsoka’s convor owl, Morai, makes her brief cameo.

We hear themes for Shin, who ignites her saber near the red bandits’ encampment to signal her desire to join them, and for Baylan, who stands on a rocky promontory gazing at a distant mountain peak illuminated by a mysterious glow. We then see that the rocky outcropping he’s walking upon is the arm of a gigantic statue of the Father of the three gods of Mortis. In a long shot it is revealed that the Father is pointing toward a distant glowing mountain peak. Next to him is a giant statue of the Son, who represents the dark side of the Force. There is a crevasse where the statue of the Daughter once stood. She represents the light side of the Force, and her essence dwells within Ahsoka. Perhaps the Force has been out of balance since the Daughter saved Ahsoka’s life so many years before, and Ahsoka’s mission on this planet is to restore that balance.

The enormous statues of the Mortis gods are yet another visual tribute to The Lord of the Rings. They are reminiscent of the Argonath, the awesome monuments to the kings of Gondor, Isildur and Anárion, which marked the kingdom’s northern border. The statues, whose left hands are raised in a gesture of warning to the kingdom’s enemies, stand guard on either side of the banks of the Anduin River.

A piano plays a mysterious theme as Baylan gazes at the distant glowing mountain peak. This music continues as the Eye of Sion approaches Dathomir. The Chimaera arrives with its enormous cargo of coffin-like crates which may contain the bodies of long-dead Nightsisters awaiting resurrection. Thrawn’s theme is heard during this scene.

Epilogue II

The shuttle that once belonged to Baylan Skoll approaches Home One amidst the New Republic defense fleet. When it docks, Hera, Chopper, and several officers and soldiers assemble to greet or confront whoever is aboard. In the first scene of the first episode of Ahsoka, many members of the New Republic defense force were slaughtered by the former occupants of that shuttle. This time they are more cautious and have their weapons drawn, ready for an attack.

A man dressed in a zombie stormtrooper’s uniform exits the ship with his hands raised, showing that he is unarmed. Chopper chatters and rolls forward, and like Odysseus’s faithful dog Argos, Chopper recognizes the armored man before anyone else does. The man in the stormtrooper armor touches the droid’s head gently as the two recognize each other. Soft synthesizer music accompanies this scene. The man removes his helmet, revealing the face of Ezra Bridger. Some of the New Republic officers and soldiers lower their weapons, including Hera, who recognizes him.

“Ezra?”

“Hi, Hera,” he says. “I’m home.” Hera’s theme plays softly as he approaches her.

It is nighttime back at the Noti camp as Sabine helps them pack. She looks at Ahsoka who is staring at the night sky. A fragmented rendition of Sabine’s theme is heard as she walks toward her.

“You did well,” Ahsoka tells her. The closed captioning explains that emotional music accompanies this scene. Listen to the stringed basses playing Ahsoka’s theme under the dialogue here.

Ahsoka: “And thanks to you, Ezra got home.”

Sabine: “I hope.”

Ahsoka: “He did. Ezra is where he needs to be and so are we.”

Sabine smiles at the Noti and at Ahsoka.

Ahsoka: “It’s time to move on.”

Sadly, Sabine stares off into the distance.

Ahsoka: “What is it?”

There is a highly significant but brief, subtle musical reference to John Williams’ “Across the Stars,” the love theme for Anakin and Padme’ from Star Wars Episode II: The Attack of the Clones here, which is followed immediately by Sabine’s theme. (To hear the “Across the Stars” fragment, listen to the Ahsoka Soundtrack Vol. 2, Epilogue II from 2:34-2:39. I included the recording at the end of this blog post.)

Sabine: “I felt like…Nothing. Just shadows in the starlight.”

Did Sabine sense the presence of Anakin’s Force ghost? I think the brief musical quotation of “Across the Stars” may indicate that, but it is also foreshadowing Sabine’s romantic arc in this series. Anakin’s possessive desire for Padme’ and his inability to accept death as part of life ultimately led to his fall to the dark side. Sabine’s love for Ezra is about letting go of her obsession with him, which will hopefully lead to a healthy, fulfilling relationship between the two of them. I have been saying all along that these two are “star-crossed” would-be lovers. When Sabine and Ezra finally admit to how they feel about each other the relationship will feel as if it has been truly earned.

My theory is that Ahsoka will find her ultimate destiny on Peridea, but Sabine will stay there, perhaps to learn how a Jedi can be in a romantic relationship without falling to the dark side the way Anakin did, and then she will return home to be with Ezra.

We hear Ahsoka’s theme as the episode concludes, and Anakin’s Force ghost appears onscreen. The music we hear is a new arrangement of “Where the Sun Sails and the Moon Walks,” an unused track from the season 2 finale of Rebels, written to accompany the main characters’ reaction to Ahsoka’s apparent “death” in her duel with Darth Vader, the tragedy of Kanan’s blindness, and Ezra’s temptation to open the Sith holocron and possibly turn to the dark side. The new arrangement of this beautiful music at the end of this episode may be a foreshadowing of Ahsoka’s “death” or an irreversible transformation into something greater, taking the Daughter’s place as the goddess of the Light Side of the Force.

The title of this unused track is yet another reference to J. R. R. Tolkien. This time, it is a quotation from The Hobbit:

“Farewell," they cried, "Wherever you fare till your eyries receive you at the journey's end!" That is the polite thing to say among eagles.

"May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks," answered Gandalf, who knew the correct reply.

I wrote about Ezra as the Sun and Sabine as the Moon in my analysis of Ahsoka Episode 6 “Far, Far Away.”

With regards to the title of that beautiful unused musical track, the Sun has indeed sailed (Ezra has crossed the void between galaxies to return home) and the Moon does indeed walk (Sabine is still with Ahsoka, walking or riding, as a nomad on the surface of Peridea). I think Sabine will eventually make it home, perhaps by means of a hidden path of secret gate. Could that be the World Between Worlds?

The new orchestration of “Where the Sun Sails and the Moon Walks” replaces the beginning of the Ahsoka end credits music. It replaces both the Ronin theme and Sabine’s theme. The end credits music from the previous episodes resumes with the Purrgil theme, Ahsoka’s theme, and concludes with Hera’s theme.

I hope you all enjoyed going on this musical and mythological journey through the Ahsoka series with me. Please leave a comment and tell me what you think of my musings. Thank you for all of the positive feedback and encouragement you have given me along the way!

[sparkplug02]

Ahsoka Episode 6 Spoilers

Apparently, I'm making this a regular thing now. Not that I'm complaining.

~

So this scene. It hit me, and not for the obvious reasons (though I'm sure I'm not the first to notice it).

"Always a plan, never a good one."

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?"

He pauses for a moment, and when Sabine doesn't answer right away, he asks again:

"Didn't it?"

Us, as the audience, might have gone to "well, yes, Sabine found you, but Thrawn is also preparing to jump back to the Star Wars galaxy and wreck havoc, so ehhhh...."

Which is all well and good, but I don't think that's what Ezra meant.

I think Ezra has been dreaming, or hallucinating, or having visions. He's seen Sabine (and maybe others) before, but they've never actually been there until now. When Sabine tells him "It worked," that's the confirmation he needed. That's when the hug happened.

Go back and listen to the second 'didn't it,' and you might hear what I mean. It's in his voice. It's a little rushed, a little nervous, and if you watch his body language, you can see it too. He's bantering about the 'never a good one' quip, remembering how it feels to talk to someone that isn't a space-turtle from home again, but then he freezes and he asks again.

The camera cuts to Sabine, but if we got a close-up of his face before she answered, I'm 100% sure we would have seen a glimpse of panic. He finally thought this time, this time, it's real, this time she's actually here, but then he second-guessed himself because what if? What if it wasn't real this time either? What if he's actually starting to go insane? What if Ezra reaches out and she's not there? And if she's not there, will it destroy the last shred of hope he has left?

But he doesn't have to find out, because Sabine sighs, says 'it worked,' shakes her head, and laughs.

So everything is okay.

[florafaunaandeldritchhorrors]

What is the point of Shin Hati's character in the story?? (she is not involved in the plot, nor is her character connected to the protagonists or villains(Thrawn,Morgan.

...

so first off: in what way is Shin not involved in the plot? she's been in almost every fight in the show. sure, she's not the main protagonist or antagonist, she's not the one pushing the story in the directions it's going the way that Ahsoka or Thrawn are, but she's been a cool minion so far and a story needs cool minions. they can fail in places the main antagonists can't fail without making Thrawn or Baylan look lame.

second, considering we're Filoni-led movie to wrap up this era, with Thrawn very likely the villain, I suspect Baylan is the guy that Ahsoka & pals actually get to defeat in the season 1 finale of this show. This makes Shin, as his apprentice, deeply connected to the main villain.

finally, Shin is thematically connected to our protagonists, even though she doesn't have much history with them. most obviously, Shin has the Force to make Sabine feel worse about not having it. Shin wants to be a Jedi even though she doesn't totally understand what that means, whereas Ahsoka knows what it means but has gone back and forth about whether she wants to be one. Baylan has just walked away from Shin, in a way that resembles Ahsoka walking away from Sabine in the past.

[thousand-winters]

Coincidentially, I've also been thinking a lot about what it means for the Daughter to be gone when balance is, in a sense, back after Anakin's return to the Light and Palpatine's death.

The whole concept of Mortis is... strange. Those are deities, but they could be killed. They could be tamed by a mortal too (well, a demigod if we want to be picky). Those are not usual god rules, so in a sense they were just extremely powerful Force users and yet... they did bear some unnatural control over life and death, over the force.

But would they need to be restored as well in order for the Force to be truly balanced? Who knows?

Let's assume the answer is yes. If I recall correctly, all of them are gone, but the Daughter is unique because she gave her life to restore a life. She lives in Ahsoka and in Morai.

Would that life need to be given back for the Daughter to be restored? Would any life that has presence in the light side Force would do?

I doubt very much Ahsoka will end up dying. But Shin... Shin, whose master seems attuned to the Father. Shin, who could end up going lightside as the series progress. Shin... the Daughter.

[mimi-noelle]

So I just need to scream into the void for a second…

Thoughts in no particular order:

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!

EZRA!!!!!

THRAWN!!!!!

NIGHTSISTERS!!!!!

NEW GALAXY!!!!

DOGGO!!!!!

SABINE WINS A 10 TO 1 FIGHT!!!! GLAD SHE HAS THAT ARMOR!!!!!

BAYLAN BACKSTORY!!!!

BEING REMINDED THAT SABINE/SHIN SHIP IS A THING!!!!!

THE CHIMERA!!!! I LEGIT FORGOT THAT THERE WERE ALSO MANY IMPERIALS ON THAT STAR DESTROYER WHEN IT LEFT!!!!

SHIN AND BAYLAN TALKING!!!!

BOKKEN JEDI?!?! THERE’S A NAME FOR THAT ERA OF JEDI?!?!

REBEL SYMBOL ACROSS THE VOID!!!! THE LITTLE ROCK PEOPLE!!!!

THE HUG!!!!

SABINE YOU NEED TO TELL HIM WHATS GOING ON!!!! THIS IS CRUCIAL INFORMATION!!!!

AHSOKA AND HUYANG IN THE PURRGIL!!!!

“A LONG TIME AGO IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY…” AAAAHHHH!!!!!

THE GOLD UPDATES!!!!

WATER MEANS PEOPLE ARE NEARBY!!!! OR LIVING BEINGS OF SOME KIND!!!!

NIGHTMOTHER SNITCHES!!!!!

WHO WILL DIE?!?! WHO WILL BE LEFT TO ROT?!?!

PURRGIL RIDE BACK HOME HOPEFULLY!!!!

OR COMMANDEERING THE SHIP HYPERSPACE RING!!!!

AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!

Whew…

Okay, I’m done for now. Glad to get that out of my system.

[thesernotthedroidsurlooking4]

Final Ahsoka thoughts

I… okay. That was okay. But it was kind of just okay. I… hoo boy this might be unpopular. But.

… Live action Ahsoka never started being Ahsoka to me. She just isn’t it. The low voice, the stony delivery. While perhaps it wasn’t a total miss—sometimes a mannerism hit, like a smirk, or a flicker of body language—those glimpses of true Ahsoka only made me realize how excited/invested I would be if that was her consistent, constant portrayal. And, thus, how disengaged I really feel without seeing Ahsoka through the screen. It’s like a split-second glimpse of color in a black-and-white world—it only makes you thirst more for that world of color you can’t have. And I long for animated Ahsoka and Ashley Eckstein so, so, badly it hurts. I tried to get into Rosario Dawson, I really did. I just… can’t do it. The spark is missing. And without that spark of excitement, the show just couldn’t hit for me.

I don’t think it’s even just the actor’s portrayal, though—this might be controversial, but I don’t see where the arc or development is. Sure, there was an attempt at one, that I can vaguely pick out: Ahsoka is angsty and sad over Anakin. She’s chasing Thrawn. Ahsoka tries to take on her own padawan and finds it difficult, digging up her own fraught feelings over her apprenticeship. Ahsoka goes through a Force vision, reckons with her past, gains peace, and ends up, according to her, where she needs to be.

Except… all of this falls apart upon further probing. It’s all so vague, so blurry, and lacking proper framing. Unless you’ve really done your Star Wars homework and are willing to do the analytic heavy lifting through the force of your own sheer nerd-dom… is the audience really shown her motivations? Her deeper feelings?

Why is Ahsoka shown that intense Force vision at that moment, in episode 5? What induced it? She didn’t seem to stumble across a powerful Force artifact that caused it, did she? Then the only answer is for her to be at such an intense crossroads, such a deep internal conflict, that she had to work it out via the Force. Except… what crisis, what turning point? All we’ve seen at that point is some general my-master-went-darkside angst, and a momentary defeat (but considering the sheer amount of fights Ahsoka has been in, that isn’t special.) So why? Why then? What was the driving need or purpose of the Force vision sequence?

…why, to introduce the casual fans to her backstory and Skywalker connection, and to appeal to nostalgia for the Clone Wars fans. That’s it. For all the meta we can write about the light side/dark side struggle, about her relationship to Anakin, to the order, to the war, et cetera—it’s nothing new. It’s all been done before, and when Ahsoka comes out in the white cloak Gandalf/style, as if she’s been enlightened… I couldn’t buy it, because what enlightenment? Where was the epiphany? What did she truly face that she hasn’t already? What meaning did she really make out of all that jumble? Heck, we aren’t even shown if that vision’s Anakin had anything of real, Force Ghost Anakin in him or not, and it seems like we’ll never know. It’s all so vague. And sure, maybe vague and light-handed is the more delicate way to handle some stories, but there needs to be more framing in order to make the subtlety work. I just didn’t see it.

And why, exactly, does barely-Force-sensitive Sabine want to be a Jedi? We aren’t told. Why did Ahsoka agree to train her in the first place? Since when is Sabine Force-sensitive to any degree at all? Or did she develop the sensitivity through rigorous training? What is Ahsoka’s interest in training such a non-traditional Jedi? This could be fascinating to explore, if we were shown it. A lot of us could get excited about an Ashoka-style non-traditional Jedi order, about her pioneering a different way of how to go about using the Force. But all we can do is extrapolate. Forcing Sabine, the Mandalorian square peg into a Jedi-shaped round hole, just ended up as it started: a dubiously plausible retcon meant only for some cheap Master-Apprentice parallels.

The ending, too… why is that galaxy where Ahsoka needs to be? What does she mean by telling Sabine to let it go (implying she’s letting go, too)? Is she letting go from fighting, because she’s used violence for too long? Some of that theme was there, sure—but to what end? How are the two of them supposed to do anything on that planet? Why is Ezra supposed to have just left them behind?

anyways, less eloquently, because I’m getting tired of typing: Ezra is the best, I love him, best damn part of this show by a kriffing mile, and Sabine was great when she wasn’t being forced to be a Jedi. I loved seeing Anakin soooo much, but honestly, it’s probably just the nostalgia talking. that’s it that’s what I got out of this show

[gffa]

#JUST ABSOLUTELY LOST MY MIND ABOUT THIS #NOT ONLY DID WE GET HAYDEN!ANAKIN #BUT THE FLICKERING BETWEEN ANAKIN AND VADER #BECAUSE AHSOKA IS THE ONE HAUNTED BY HIM AND THIS IS HER VISION #SHE CAN FORGET FOR A LITTLE WHILE #SHE CAN CHASE AFTER HIM AS SHE REMEMBERS HIM FROM THE CLONE WARS #BUT VADER'S SPECTRE STILL HANGS OVER HER #SHE COULDN'T GET THROUGH THIS VISION WITHOUT CONFRONTING HIM #BECAUSE VADER IS WHAT TRULY HAUNTS HER #THIS IS WHAT AHSOKA IS TRULY AFRAID OF #THAT SHE LOVED HER MASTER AND HE BECAME THIS #THAT ALL THE GOOD IN ANAKIN STILL BECAME THIS #IT'S SO IMPORTANT THAT IT'S NOT JUST VADER #BUT THAT IT FLICKERS BACK AND FORTH #BECAUSE HE IS BOTH TO HER IN THIS MOMENT #THE LAST TIME SHE SAW HIM THAT WE KNOW OF THIS IS WHO HE WAS #HER MEMORIES OF HIM AS SHE KNEW HIM CLASHING WITH HER KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT HE BECAME #ALL WRAPPED UP IN THE TERRIFYING HAUNTING FLICKERING BETWEEN BOTH #BECAUSE ANAKIN SKYWALKER IS DARTH VADER #AND THAT'S FUCKING TERRIFYING

[illuminatedquill]

Sabine Wren & Ahsoka Tano (Quick Analysis)

Fear is The Path

Alright, let's get into it.

For this post we're going to take a look into the Master/Apprentice relationship between Ahsoka Tano and Sabine Wren. Specifically, I'm going to be looking into why Ahsoka felt it necessary to walk away from Sabine's training as a Jedi.

In Ahsoka, we're pointed to a major historical event known as the Great Purge of Mandalore being the catalyst; the Empire carpet bombing the planet surface, killing millions of Mandalorians, scattering the remaining survivors to the stars and, for Sabine, causing the loss of her entire family: Alrich Wren (father), Countess Ursa Wren (mother), and Tristan Wren (brother).

Ahsoka, for reasons only known to herself, abandoned Sabine's Jedi training shortly after this event. We're given some insight via Huyang in Ahsoka 1x08, however:

Huyang: Ahsoka became afraid that Sabine was training to be a Jedi for the wrong reasons after what happened on Mandalore. Ezra: Which was? Huyang: At the end of the war, the Empire purged the entire surface of the planet, killing hundreds of thousands. Ezra: Her family? Huyang: Were all lost, sadly. At the time, Ahsoka felt that if Sabine unlocked her potential, she would become dangerous.

However, it's clear that Huyang doesn't have the full picture of the fallout between Ahsoka and Sabine. Sabine herself only has her own warped view of why Ahsoka left, as evidenced by Baylan's manipulation in Ahsoka 1x04:

Baylan: I know you feel that Ezra Bridger is the only family you have left. Your family died on Mandalore . . . because your Master didn't trust you.

Piecing together the, admittedly, few clues we have paints the picture that Ahsoka prevented Sabine from helping her family during the Purge - which led to their deaths.

It's understandable that Sabine would have been outraged; both at the loss of her family, her people, her way of life and also at her Master who, for whatever reason, did not want Sabine present on Mandalore to save her family.

Until Dave Filoni reveals the exact details of what happened during that event, we're left with speculation. My personal take is simply this: Ahsoka did not want Sabine to die alongside her family. It's what makes the most amount of sense to me.

Ahsoka cares about Sabine, like any Master would do for their student.

So - Sabine loses everything and begins to take steps towards a turn to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering, as Master Yoda says. Ahsoka, sensing this dark rage bloom in her student, decides to stop the training out of fear that Sabine becomes another Vader.

Except. That doesn't make any sense to me.

Because Ahsoka Tano is who she is.

Ahsoka survived her own Purge. The fall of the Jedi Order, her home, and the institution that she pledged most of her life to, the only family she had ever known.

Ahsoka knows this pain. She is, arguably, the best suited to steer Sabine away from a potential turn to the Dark Side after her student loses everything in the same way that she did.

Actress Rosario Dawson - and backed up by the hat man himself - has stated that Ahsoka has had plenty of opportunities to turn to the Dark Side. She's fought through two Galactic Civil Wars, seen everyone she loved die, and has been betrayed by the people she fought so hard to protect.

And, yet, Ahsoka Tano never turned. She stayed on her path, long and winding as it may be, and continued to serve the Light in the best way she knew how.

At some point, she takes on Sabine as a Padawan, seeing echoes of Anakin in her. Yes, there's the anger and the recklessness there that makes Ahsoka uneasy, but that's always been a part of Sabine's character. It's nothing new. She decided to take Sabine Wren as her apprentice, anyway, and it worked fine until the Purge.

So, what happened? What changed? What was the growing darkness in her Padawan that convinced Ahsoka Tano that the best course of action was to abandon the Jedi training - abandon Sabine entirely - at a time when she needed counseling the most?

Attachment. Sabine's attachment to Ezra.

Dave Filoni and the actress for Sabine Wren, the fantastic Natasha Liu Bordizzo, have both pointed out that there are echoes of Anakin in Sabine. In separate interviews, both spoke about the anger and recklessness in Sabine - but, more interesting, they did not acknowledge the major factor in Anakin's downfall.

Anakin's attachment to his loved ones. His inability to let go.

It's bizarre that they didn't talk about this and I suspect that it's on purpose. Because that is arguably the biggest reason why Anakin fell to the Dark Side. The anger and the recklessness were all symptoms of this larger issue for Anakin Skywalker.

And Ahsoka Tano sensed the same in Sabine Wren.

Let's look at evidence from another Filoni series, The Mandalorian. From episode 2x05, The Jedi, when Ahsoka is re-introduced into the Star Wars universe.

There's a pivotal moment when she meets Grogu and Force communes with him to get a sense of his history.

She senses "great fear and anger" in him at the beginning; it makes her wary, of course, but it doesn't seem to perturb her.

However, when Din asks if she can teach him, Ahsoka flatly rejects the idea for this reason:

What she says is vitally important:

Ahsoka: His attachment to you makes him vulnerable to his fears. His anger. Din: All the more reason to train him. Ahsoka: No. I've seen what such feelings can do to a fully trained Jedi Knight. To the best of us.

That's where Ahsoka draws the line in the sand; it's not the anger that scares her - it's Grogu's attachment to Din.

And, mind you, the timeline of this episode occurs after Ahsoka and Sabine had their split. So, even though she's clearly referencing Anakin here, I don't doubt that Sabine is also on her mind.

Think about it. Sabine has just lost everything - except for Ezra. The anger is something Ahsoka can deal with, but Sabine's attachment to Ezra is not; she knows it's the primary reason for Anakin's downfall and she was powerless to stop it.

That's what drives Ahsoka away. That is what scares her. She couldn't be there for Anakin, was blind to what was happening; and now, it's happening with Sabine.

The only path Ahsoka can see forward is to leave Sabine; prevent her Padawan from reaching full potential. It's an awful course to take and it leaves Sabine stranded, feeling alone, at a time when she needed mentorship and guidance the most.

But it's all Ahsoka can think of. She cares about Sabine and is too blinded by her own fears to believe in her own ability to stop Sabine from falling into the same darkness that took Anakin.

Sabine only has Ezra now with Ahsoka gone. He's the only one she can save now, the only one she can do anything for. The loss of her family has caused her attachment, her feelings for Ezra, to sharpen into something deadly: possessiveness. The exact feeling that Jedi warned against.

Why didn't Ahsoka stop this from happening earlier?

Because this is Sabine and Ezra; we know Sabine and Ezra were close, as did Ahsoka. It's probable that Sabine's feelings were gradually heading in this direction and the Purge just gave it a decisive push to the inevitable conclusion.

Ahsoka, also, presumably knew how Sabine felt the entire time and didn't want to have an honest talk with her Padawan about it.

Because it's Sabine and Ahsoka herself was still operating under the influence of Anakin's legacy as Vader; she was scared to bring it out into the open, because she didn't know what to do if her fears were confirmed about Sabine's feelings.

I mean, it's obvious that this isn't the first time they've probably talked about this, as evidenced by this scene in Ahsoka 1x04:

Ahsoka knows. She comes the closest in this scene, out of everyone else in Sabine's life, to directly confront Sabine about her true feelings for her old friend.

She knows that there's more going on underneath the surface of Sabine regarding her feelings towards Ezra. It's not a conversation she wants to have in this moment (just look at the body language), but there's no other choice - not with the stakes this high.

There is no way that this is the first time Ahsoka has broached the subject about Ezra with her Padawan and, knowing Sabine, she probably walked away from every attempt a little more worried.

But Ahsoka refused to really have that open conversation with Sabine, settling only for these half-hearted comments and, in doing so, set up her student for failure. Sabine was unprepared; had no way of being vigilant towards her worst enemy - herself.

Ahsoka's actions, caused by fear of herself and Anakin's legacy, left Sabine vulnerable to her feelings.

They had been growing all this time and now, with no one to temper them, were allowed to become something more - something dangerous.

The Purge happened. Sabine's family died. Her people died. Mandalore was lost.

After that, Sabine had nothing left to lose. Her attachment to Ezra, her love for him - it made her vulnerable to her fear. Just as Ahsoka feared it would.

Sabine couldn't lose Ezra. Her love for him - her fear of losing him, like her family - dictated that no sacrifice was too great; no cost, too high.

And Baylan used it as the perfect weapon against her. "Do it. For Ezra."

We know the rest.

Sabine gambled. The galaxy lost.

Fear won.

[azurecanary]

While i respect the idea that Ahsoka is not a perfectly written character that has many flaws in recent writing; due to my undying love for her character, I'd like to share some of my viewpoints.

Disclaimer: Yes, i am probably biased. And yes, there's a good chance I'm projecting here.

My main idea of Ahsoka as a character stems from her being a traumatised child soldier. During TCW, she was 14-16/17. To me, this has clearly left an impact on how she views herself and the Jedi.

She also had to experience, at the hands of her best friend, having essentially had her faith wrenched away from her by someone she held dearly (yeah this is also from my experience).

And because she spent her most formative years in war (and her entire adult life), she basically grew a dependency on it. Which informs her actions in SoM (Siege of Mandalore). Wherein she desperately fights to insert herself into this conflict that she has no part in, all to feel like herself again. A Jedi Commander. She even willingly uses Obi-Wan's own feelings and morality against him. All because she is a 17 year old who feels useless and thus purposeless.

Even in the Ahsoka novel, she can't shake her strategic thinking and military mindset, amplified more by her idea that she can't be a Jedi anymore. But her journey throughout the book leads her closer and closer to the Order. Even Bail and Kaeden call her out on it. Where Bail sees Ahsoka as a remnant of the Jedi way and calls her on it, and Ahsoka ends up fulfilling Kaeden's fantasy of what the Jedi is. And by Mandalorian, she's referred to as a Jedi both in and out of universe; called a Jedi by Bo and Din, referred to as one by the episode in which she returns, and by the trailer for her show.

All in all, i don't think Ahsoka was at all thinking rationally in TCW S7, or that she is against the Jedi. Her story as always been about returning to her roots, just on her own terms. And tbh, i really hope her show gives us flashbacks on what drew her back. Maybe it had something to do with Huyang, or the Jedi ship she recovered prior to the Rebels epilogue. Maybe it was seeing Ezra or Luke restore her confidence in the Order that Barriss had shaken all those years ago. It's clear in Rebels that Ahsoka still doesn't see herself as a Jedi, given her words to Ezra, so something or someone got through to her between then and Mando (and I'll bet my paycheck it was her nephew).

[revanisadumbass]

thinking about names as they relate to the jedi post-genocide.

ben kenobi has one foot in tatooine and another still in that old life. his mission may have changed, but he is still a jedi. he still has a job to do.

ahsoka tano stopped thinking of herself as a jedi long before the empire rose. yet her name seems to doom her--ahsoka tano is a jedi, to the clones, to other survivors. maybe that is why when she hides, she hides with parts of herself--ashla as a reminder of the friends she lost, fulcrum as an understanding of the role she must play in a galaxy without jedi.

cal kestis does not try to hide, cannot try to hide because cal kestis will always be a scared child clutching a too-big lightsaber, falling through the sky.

kanan jarrus buries caleb dume as deep as he can--hides his name, hides his instincts and everything he was taught to be. tries to become the opposite. except a jedi by any other name is still a jedi. call him cowboy, gunslinger, spectre, but underneath all that is still a heart of kyber.

[mimi-noelle]

That’s a very interesting theory! I really like the idea that it took Sabine relieving an emotional blockage as well as her having this connection to Ezra and a desire to help him to unlock her ability to connect with the Force.

I like that a lot because we’ve definitely seen the Force get a little wonky when someone is in a conflicted emotional state. In this case, Sabine’s emotional blockage was preventing her from connecting at all. And we’ve also seen that protecting others can lead to a boost in Force ability as well. The same could apply here too. What an interesting idea!

I like to think…

That is the only reason why Sabine’s force abilities got so much stronger all of a sudden was because of Ezra. Not only did it give her some clarity but it probably cleared up the blockage she had with the connection and also because of Ezra himself.

You can take this romantically or platonically. She connected with Ahsoka, and helped with the door (sorta) grabbed her lightsaber, and pushed him up onto the star-destroyed when she was with him. No matter how many times in the season when her life was in danger she didn't have any connection but now suddenly when she’s with Ezra it just grows stronger!

You can also say, that her powers were a lot more intense when Ezra’s life was in danger, and maybe the next time we see her she won’t be as strong with the force because Ezra isn't there.

Now. I'm not trying to see all of Sabine’s character is about Ezra but he does bring a huge impact in on her life just like she is to him.

-Vaeh

[prahacat]

when the horrors catch up and you take an evening off to batch-process