Throughout the history of Star Wars, the lines between good and evil have been quite distinct, as Jedi are the heroes and Sith are the villains. One of the biggest outliers to this formula, however, is Ahsoka Tano, who voluntarily left the Jedi Order during the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars. In the most recent episode of The Mandalorian, “Chapter 13: The Jedi,” Ahsoka’s allegiances have been called into question, leaving many audiences to wonder if she really is a Jedi. In some regards, the question has a simple answer, which is that she isn’t a Jedi, but exploring her history comes with come complicated history.
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During most of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Ahsoka was Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan, joining him on a number of missions in hopes of bringing peace to the galaxy. In Season Five of the series, however, Ahsoka is wrongly accused of a crime, with the Jedi Order putting her on trial. Ahsoka becomes so disillusioned with the Jedi Order and their actions that she deems corrupt, turning her back on the organization, and going so far as to forfeit her green lightsabers.
With Ahsoka’s abandonment of the Jedi Order happening only shortly before the cancellation of Clone Wars, fans didn’t learn more about the character until she made a surprise appearance in the animated Star Wars Rebels, which took place years after the preceding series. While Ahsoka once again wielded lightsabers, the blades were white in color, displaying that she doesn’t align herself with the Jedi or the Sith. In Rebels, she even proclaims, “I am no Jedi.”
Chronologically speaking, between her denouncement of the Jedi Order in Rebels and her use of white lightsabers in The Mandalorian, as well as her failure to declare her allegiances to any side in the live-action series, we’re left to surmise that Ahsoka remains neither a Jedi nor a Sith. While we doubt that this is the last we’ll be seeing of Ahsoka, we won’t be surprised if those struggles with her connection to the Force are explored in her future adventures. In this regard, she would appear to be in a similar state as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, though he was so much more adamant about disconnecting from the Jedi that he even withheld his own connections with the Force.
Throughout both The Clone Wars and Rebels, as well as in a vocal cameo in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, actress Ashley Eckstein has performed Ahsoka. Earlier this year, Eckstein offered her input on the debate, noting that the character might not categorically be a Jedi, but she was still guided by those ideals.
“Truly this is just my opinion, but, in my opinion, Ahsoka was trained in the Jedi Temple, Jedi are supposed to be keepers of the peace, peacekeepers, and they’re supposed to help people and do good and bring hope and Ahsoka takes that very seriously,” Eckstein shared with ComicBook.com. “She walked away from the Jedi Order because her trust was broken and she no longer believed and, she knew what she believed, but she no longer believed that they stood for that after what happened to her.”
She added, “I think Ahsoka is probably one of the most pure, at its core, Jedi because I think she never strayed from what she was taught.”
Stay tuned for details on Ahsoka’s future.
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Star Wars. Courtesy of Disney
