14 years ago today, Star Wars: The Clone Wars explored the dark side of the Republic in one of Ahsoka’s most controversial stories. When Obi-Wan Kenobi first referred to the Republic, he seemed to see it as the galaxy’s golden age – a time of peace and prosperity. The Phantom Menace swiftly revealed that was just nostalgia, because the Old Republic was very flawed indeed. The galaxy was already out of balance, the dark side ascendant, a Sith Lord manipulating his way into ruling the Republic over a decade before the formation of the Empire.
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Most troubling of all was the fact the Republic didn’t seem to mind all that much about slavery on the Outer Rim, and nor did the Jedi. Nobody was surprised to find slavery on Tatooine, and Qui-Gon Jinn gambled for Anakin’s freedom rather than confronting slavers with the bright end of his lightsaber. Anakin dreamed of the day when he would return to free the slaves as a Jedi, but it’s notable that none of the Jedi themselves ever did this. The introduction of slavery added a shocking darkness to the Star Wars galaxy, one that eventually bubbled to the surface in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
The Clone Wars Revealed the Full Scale of Slavery in the Galaxy
Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 4, episode 12 – “Slaves of the Republic” – released exactly 14 years ago today. The second part of a three-part story, this saw Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka go undercover to infiltrate the Zygerrian slave empire. It’s a dark story, including an early scene in which a slave attempts to kill the Zygerrian queen before choosing to take her own life rather than return to processing – while Anakin looks on. Most chilling of all was the fact that Anakin, a former slave, pretended to be a slavemaster; it felt like something he would never agree to do.
Even more controversially, Ahsoka wound up playing the role of a slave. It’s important to remember that Jedi Padawans are teenagers, and that the Jedi habit of positioning such Padawans on the front lines was already controversial. But now, Ahsoka had chosen to participate in an undercover mission in which she became a slave. The original comic book version of this story gave Ahsoka a disturbing slave costume often likened to Princess Leia’s from Return of the Jedi, but the TV show at least adjusted this; oddly, Ahsoka’s final slave costume was ultimately less revealing than her standard outfit (which has been adjusted in live-action).
“Slaves of the Republic” Has a Complicated Legacy
Few Clone Wars stories have generated quite so much debate as “Slaves of the Republic.” The core problem is that it attempts to deal with a very heavy theme indeed, in the context of a children’s TV show; this resulted in something that felt oddly inconsistent, sometimes too dark and disturbing, sometimes failing to make the horrors of slavery as apparent as they should be. Making matters worse, it’s actually adapted from a comic book story that arguably handles many of these themes more effectively (while making other mistakes in objectifying Ahsoka, 14 years old in the comic).
This, ultimately, is how “Slaves of the Republic” will always be remembered: it is the story in which Ahsoka becomes a slave. Early seasons of The Clone Wars struggled to give female characters agency, and costume designs – Ahsoka’s in particular – were heavily criticized. As the show’s main female character, it’s more than a little disturbing to see the teenage Ahsoka thrown into a slave plotline, clearly evoking memories of Return of the Jedi. Anakin’s failed plan to escape is even patterned after Luke’s successful strategy on Tatooine, complete with a salute to Artoo and lightsabers propelled through the air.
All in all, the Zygerrian slaver arc is one of the strangest and most uncomfortable in the history of The Clone Wars. It deals with some pretty heavy themes, but in an inconsistent manner. It’s placed later in the Star Wars timeline, at least meaning Ahsoka is 16 rather than 14, and the costume has been changed for the better. That said, it’s hard to argue that this story lands effectively, and there have since been many better explorations of the slavery theme in Star Wars.
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