I’m back to looking at the Ahsoka series after taking a bit of a break to review some books. We are on to episode five – “Shadow Warrior.” Here are my earlier episode reflections:
- Episode One: Master and Apprentice
- Episode Two: Toil and Trouble
- Episode Three: Time to Fly
- Episode Four: Fallen Jedi
Recap of Ahsoka Episode 5
The last episode left us with quite a problem. Sabine left with the bad guys to find Thrawn and Ezra, while Ahsoka fell off a cliff and woke up in the World Between Worlds with Anakin. Hera also had some political difficulty going, but that’s a bit less interesting!
In this episode, a lot of the focus was on Ahsoka with some nice scenes with Hera and the crew. Ahsoka started by talking to Anakin, who told her he still had things to teach her. They sparred a bit and then fell into a flashback sequence.
The first flashback is to an early battle together in the Clone Wars. The actress who played young Ahsoka is Ariana Greenblatt, and she did a stunning job. They ran into battle and then discussed the role of the Jedi in the war.
The second flashback had them on Mandalore after Ahsoka had left the Jedi. The scene turned dark when Ahsoka brought up Anakin’s dangerous end and expressed concern she was like him.
They returned to the World between Worlds and continued their fight. Ahsoka ultimately won and chose to live. She returned to the ocean and Hera’s crew saved her.
This was all interspersed with Hera’s son, Jacen, locating the sound of the battle beneath the waves and leading his mother to find Ahsoka. There were also more politics.
The New Republic showed up in time to argue with Carson before Ahsoka and Huyang took a ride with the Purrgil, hoping the giant space whales would take them to Sabine.
Thoughts on Ahsoka Episode 5
This was definitely the best episode of the whole series, if for no other reason than the great shots like the one above. Hayden was great as Anakin / Vader. I loved seeing him again.
Child Soldiers
The live-action shots of the Clone Wars highlighted just how young Ahsoka was when she joined Anakin on the front lines – 14! Imagine any fourteen you know and then imagine them not only fighting in a brutal war, but leading troops in those battles. Anakin was only 19, which is an adult, but still quite young and incredibly inexperienced to be a general. We know how PTSD can impact troops now, and the Jedi would not be immune.
I recently reviewed Rise of the Red Blade, a novel that followed a young padawan turned knight at the start of the Clone Wars. It did a great job showing the chaos within the Jedi Order at the time and how they ended up spread so thin and dependent upon Jedi who were far too young. It also shows one outcome of those decisions.
Even if Ahsoka had not been falsely accused and left the Order, even if Anakin had not turned to the Dark Side, and even if Order 66 had never happened, Ahsoka would have still faced the psychological consequences of going to war. Add the other events, and many others, all of which would have been equally problematic on their own, and it is no wonder she has some unresolved issues and feelings.
Fighting and Dying
Prior to the Clone Wars, Ahsoka had been trained to be a peacekeeper. That included training with the lightsaber in case violence was required, but violence was not the main idea. All that changed with the start of the war.
War is not always avoidable, especially in the case of individual combatants. We don’t need to look further than the current conflicts in the world to see this truth.
That doesn’t change the impact to the participants. Ahsoka went from being a peacekeeper to a warrior, soldier, and general overnight. She wonders if that’s all she’s good for; if that’s all she’ll be able to train her own padawan someday.
She also had one of the closest relationships with the man who would go on to become Darth Vader. If she carries that legacy, how much of the Dark Side is within her? Will she also fall? Will her padawan fall? We learned she feared the answer to this question in Sabine’s conversation with Baylan. Ahsoka’s fear kept her from training Sabine.
I think a natural reaction to this is the desire to stop fighting. She was exhausted from everything she’d been through and all the fear she carried.
Yet at the end of this episode, she chose to live. She made the decision to continue fighting, but also to continue living. This changed her entire perspective once she came out of the water.
Ahsoka the White
An often-mentioned comparison is the journey of Gandalf the Gray to Gandalf the White. His personality also changes after being brought back from the dead. He is a new man, and more powerful as a result.
The water also evokes the idea of baptism. Dying to oneself and emerging as a new person.
She returned to Seatos with a happier disposition, certainly. But her newfound calm and its impact on her connection to the Force is also evident in her communication with the Purrgil. Imagine force-connecting with a non-humanoid species and convincing it and its entire family to travel to a different galaxy with you.
Other Notes
I wrote down a number of things during my re-watch that don’t fall into another category.
- I feel like they could have given Hera a pocket.
- Anakin saying, “I’ve heard that before,” was a fun call back to Return of the Jedi.
- I loved Carson’s reply to Huyang’s explanation about Jacen having abilities as his father was a Jedi. “Ok.” Shrugs.
- Ahsoka knows Sabine handed over the map but doesn’t tell Hera. If Ahsoka and Sabine never return, momma-Hera doesn’t need to know the whole story.
- “You do things your way because you care. This is why people like you.” This comment to Hera from Huyang was so on point.
What are your thoughts on Ahsoka’s transformation in this episode? Let me know in the comments!
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