Warning! This article contains spoilers for Ahsoka episode 4.
Summary
- Ahsoka and Anakin's relationship brought out the best in him, showcasing his protective side, vulnerability, Jedi skills, playful nature, and generosity.
- Ahsoka left the Jedi Order after being accused of treason and murder, questioning their true commitment to peace and feeling abandoned by those who raised and taught her.
- Ahsoka survived Order 66 thanks to Anakin's training and sensed his fall to the dark side, which ultimately led to her confrontation with Darth Vader years later.
Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano have had a deep, meaningful, yet tragic relationship throughout Star Wars history. Ahsoka’s character was first introduced in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie. She was a brash, excitable, and somewhat arrogant young Jedi, eager to learn and show off her skills. These traits made her the perfect Padawan for none other than Anakin Skywalker, who had exhibited similar characteristics throughout the Star Wars franchise during his training with Obi-Wan Kenobi and beyond.
Anakin’s relationships are a vital part of who he is and what he became. Without his connections to his mother Shmi, his wife Padmé Amidala, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka, he never would have been as susceptible to the dark side, despite those same relationships arguably making him a better person and Jedi, as well. Anakin’s relationship with Ahsoka brought out the best in him – his protective side, vulnerability, skills as a Jedi, playful nature, and generosity. Those same traits still affect Ahsoka years after their master and Padawan relationship ended, making their shared history and experiences all the more significant.
Ahsoka Was Anakin Skywalker's Apprentice During The Clone Wars
The animated movie and series Star Wars: The Clone Wars depicts the conflict between the Separatists and the Republic between Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. The Clone Wars was a difficult time for the Jedi Order. Like many before him, Anakin was knighted hastily at the beginning of the war so that there would be enough Jedi to lead the Republic’s immense Clone Army. As a Jedi Knight, Anakin could take on a Padawan, despite never having shown an inclination to do so. That’s where Ahsoka came in.
In The Clone Wars movie, Ahsoka introduced herself to Anakin and explained that it was Master Yoda’s idea for them to work together. At first, Anakin was reluctant to accept Ahsoka as his Padawan. She was eager to learn, but also overconfident and quick to action without thinking things through – just as he had always been. While Anakin had no intention of taking on an apprentice, Yoda, especially, felt that Ahsoka would be able to teach Anakin one of the most important lessons a Jedi can learn: how to let go. Anakin was always quick to bond with someone he cared about, but eventually, he would need to let Ahsoka discover her own path and become a Jedi outside of her relationship with him.
Ahsoka and Anakin worked together for over two years, saving countless lives, freeing numerous worlds, and solving plenty of mysteries. They became true friends and partners, anticipating each other’s needs and feelings. She even suspected his relationship with Padmé, but never interfered. In the end, however, Ahsoka left Anakin in a way that hurt him more than her being knighted as a Jedi ever could have, leading to his distrust of the Jedi Order and Council and taking him a step further in the direction of the dark side.
Ahsoka Left The Jedi After Being Failed By The Council
At the end of Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 5, a bombing devastated the Jedi Temple. Ahsoka was accused of treason and murder, and she ran away, hoping to find proof of her innocence. While the Jedi Council was convinced of Ahsoka’s guilt – and being forced to make hasty decisions by Republic officials who would later go on to become integral officers of the Empire – Anakin, alone, believed in her and fought to save her from a perilous fate. In the end, it turned out one of Ahsoka’s fellow Padawans was the perpetrator, and she was exonerated and invited to join the Jedi Order once more. Unfortunately, the damage was already done.
Though Ahsoka had been taught her entire life that the Jedi were peacekeepers, all she’d ever done was fight in a seemingly unending war. She questioned whether the Jedi were truly still fighting for peace and protecting the galaxy, or if they’d become so intertwined with the Republic government that it was impossible to tell them apart. Having her innocence questioned by those who had raised and taught her was too much, especially when the Republic became involved in what was, essentially, a Jedi dispute. Though she was asked to come back, Ahsoka decided to leave the Jedi Order instead, abandoning not only her training, but also Anakin.
Instead of Anakin learning to let go of Ahsoka, she instead attempted to let go of him and her attachment to the Jedi. Anakin was disappointed that Ahsoka chose to leave, feeling as though she was his failure. Yet, he was angrier with the Jedi Council and their handling of the situation, giving him another reason to distrust them, which in turn planted another seed that Palpatine could manipulate to his advantage in the long run.
Ahsoka Survived Order 66 In Part Thanks To Anakin's Training
Despite no longer being an official Jedi, Ahsoka was still targeted during Order 66. In the final arc of The Clone Wars season 7, Ahsoka found herself on Mandalore, trying to help Bo-Katan Kryze save her homeworld from Palpatine’s former apprentice Darth Maul’s clutches. She managed to defeat Maul in an epic lightsaber duel, and his forces were subdued with the help of a familiar clone trooper regiment – the one she used to command together with Anakin. After the battle was won, Ahsoka and the clones held Maul in captivity aboard a Republic Venator, only for that to be the exact moment that Order 66 was enacted. The clones who had proven to be her friends, whom she trusted with her life, turned on her.
Ahsoka managed to survive the ambush for two particular reasons. Just before the clones were given their orders to attack, Ahsoka sensed Anakin’s distress and fall to the dark side. She heard and felt the moment Anakin decided to save Palpatine from Mace Windu’s attack; the shock during the moment he became Darth Vader. This acted as a warning, of sorts. She could sense something was about to happen, and at that very moment, the clones attacked her.
Additionally, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi episode 5 “Practice Makes Perfect” showed that it was Anakin who taught Ahsoka how to survive Order 66 and the clones’ particular ambush. He made sure to improve her speed, stamina, reflexes, and agility, all so that she could fight back against numerous enemies attacking her from all angles. This made their relationship all the more tragic – Anakin’s teaching was what ultimately saved her life, and yet she couldn’t do the same for him.
Ahsoka Confronted Darth Vader, & Barely Survived
Over a decade later in Star Wars Rebels, Ahsoka served the Rebellion under the codename Fulcrum and helped fellow Order 66 survivor Kanan Jarrus and his young Padawan Ezra Bridger unravel the mysteries of the dark side and the Force. At the end of Rebels season 2, they ended up on the planet Malachor, hoping to track down knowledge of the Sith so that they could learn to fight Darth Vader’s Inquisitors and, of course, Vader himself. It was there that Ahsoka was forced to confront Vader for the first time and learned of his true identity.
Ahsoka felt an overwhelming sense of guilt when she learned what her old master had become, feeling responsible for leaving him behind. She hoped to redeem him, bring him back to the light, but it was no use. As much as Anakin Skywalker cared about Ahsoka, he was too far gone, and Return of the Jedi later proved that a different kind of love was needed to remind him of who he used to be. Vader and Ahsoka dueled, and while she held her ground, she barely survived. Ahsoka disappeared at the end of Rebels season 2, and she wouldn’t be seen again until two years later, in Rebels season 4, when Ezra Bridger saved her life in the World Between Worlds – a dimension that connects all of space and time.
At the end of Ahsoka episode 4 “Part Four: Fallen Jedi,” Ahsoka once again finds herself in the World Between Worlds. There, waiting for her, is Anakin Skywalker – or at least, someone who appears to be Anakin. Whatever the case may be, Ahsoka deserves closure; she needs to know that Anakin truly found his way back to the light so that she can finally let go of the guilt that’s been plaguing her for years throughout Star Wars’ vast history.
Ahsoka releases new episodes Tuesdays at 6pm PT / 9pm ET on Disney+.