Ahsoka Isn’t a Jedi, and That’s a Good Thing

Excitement is building for Ahsoka, the next Star Wars series to premiere on Disney Plus, with fans eagerly anticipating the return of Rosario Dawson as fan-favorite hero Ahsoka Tano. The series’ marketing has played up Ahsoka’s status as a Jedi, likely to intrigue potential viewers who were not as interested in Andor or the recent seasons of The Bad Batch and The Mandalorian, which featured minimal use of the Jedi and Force mythologies. There’s just one problem with this, Ahsoka isn’t actually a Jedi — at least not right now. One of the most crucial aspects of the character’s story is her decision to separate herself from the Jedi Order, a decision she has still yet to reverse. In order to provide the best possible portrayal of the character, it’s imperative that the new series realizes why this decision was justified and how it makes Ahsoka a unique character in the Star Wars canon.

Ahsoka first appeared in the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars and continued to appear as a main character in the subsequent television series of the same name, voiced in both projects by Ashley Eckstein. The film introduces the character as a teenage Jedi Padawan, assigned to serve as Anakin Skywalker’s (Matt Lanter) apprentice, much to the surprise of both Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor). Anakin is at first resistant to having an apprentice, and his and Ahsoka’s respective strong personalities initially cause the pair to dislike each other. However, throughout the course of the Clone Wars, they ultimately develop a strong bond and learn a lot from one another.

Why Does Ahsoka Leave the Jedi Order?

Many of Ahsoka’s storylines highlight how Anakin’s influence and that of her other non-Jedi mentors like Padmé Amidala (Catherine Taber) and Satine Kryze (Anna Graves), as well as her experiences in the war, cause her to develop ideals and beliefs different from those of the Jedi Order, which is shown as becoming increasingly arrogant and separated from its original purposes. The tension between her and the Order comes to a head in the final story arc of the series’ fifth season.

In those episodes, the Jedi temple on Coruscant is bombed and Ahsoka is framed for the attack. In light of the false evidence, the Jedi Council expel Ahsoka from the Order, a decision Obi-Wan protests against. Ahsoka is tried in a Republic military trial, but before a verdict can be passed, Anakin discovers Ahsoka’s friend and fellow Padawan Barriss Offee (Meredith Salenger) is actually the bomber. Anakin apprehends Barriss and brings her before the court, after which the Council apologizes and offers to bring Ahsoka back into the Order as a Jedi Knight. But to the surprise of fans and heartbreak of Anakin, she declines the offer and walks away from the Order, citing their lack of trust in her.

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The Clone Wars’ seventh and final season shows how the lack of trust between Ahsoka and the Order plays a role in Anakin’s transformation into Vader and the downfall of the Republic. Most of the final story arc, “The Siege of Mandalore,” occurs concurrently with the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. After Satine’s sister, Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff), informs Ahsoka that Darth Maul (Sam Witwer) has again conquered her home planet of Mandalore, Ahsoka brings the news to the army of the Republic, leading to an emotional reunion with Anakin and Obi-Wan. The Jedi are initially going to help liberate the planet, and Anakin gifts Ahsoka with the new, upgraded lightsabers. However, when Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) stages his own kidnapping at the hands of Count Dooku (Sir Christopher Lee), Obi-Wan insists that he and Anakin prioritize his rescue over the Mandalore mission.

On Mandalore, Ahsoka confronts Maul individually, with the Sith attempting to join forces by warning her about Darth Sidious’ plan to conquer the Republic. Maul admits that he planned to kill Anakin, revealing that the Jedi General had been manipulated by Sidious and would soon betray and destroy the Jedi. Ahsoka refuses to believe this and manages to defeat Maul in a duel, taking him into custody as he screams warnings about the impending disaster facing the galaxy. She then informs a grateful Jedi Council of Maul’s capture, but remains firm that she is not returning to the Order. After the meeting ends, Yoda (Tom Kane) asks if she wants to relay any messages to Anakin, who has been absent. Ahsoka is tempted to reveal Maul’s warning to Yoda but, still distrustful of the Council, ultimately does not, and unwittingly relinquishes her last chance to stop Anakin’s turn to the Dark Side.

What Does Ahsoka Do After Leaving the Jedi Order?

Ahsoka makes further appearances as a high-ranking member of the Rebel Alliance, code-named “Fulcrum” in The Clone Wars’ sequel series Star Wars: Rebels, which is set during the Galactic Civil War a few years before the events of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. She appears However, despite selflessly fighting to free the galaxy from the Empire, wielding a pair of gray lightsabers, and offering advice to the young Jedi duo of Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray), she remains adamant that she is not a Jedi, directly stating as much to Vader before a fateful duel with him.

Despite her continued insistence on separating herself from the Jedi, Ahsoka is one of the few characters who acts in accordance with the most pure versions of the Order’s ideals, without being corrupted by its involvement in politics or its arrogance. Like Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) before her and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) after, she is an example of what a Jedi should be, and it seems likely that part of her story in any future appearances will be realizing this and accepting it.

That said, even she has some work to do before she’s fully separated herself from the harmful influence of the old Order’s dogma. In her appearance in The Mandalorian, where Dawson first brought the character to live-action, Ahsoka refuses to train Grogu as a Jedi, citing his connection to Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal, Brendan Wayne, and Lateef Crowder) as the reason why. She elaborates that she’s seen the kind of disaster that can come from making a Force-sensitive child leave those they are connected to — an obvious reference to Anakin — but while this adds a little more nuance to her reasoning, her decision still comes across as more similar to the old Order’s “Jedi shouldn’t have attachments” idea than viewers would expect from the more enlightened character.

Luke also repeats the mistakes of his Jedi predecessors while handling Grogu. In The Book of Boba Fett, he’s taken the young creature on as a Padawan at his developing Jedi academy, but ultimately makes Grogu choose between continuing his studies or staying in contact with Din, so the youngster leaves to return to his surrogate father. As in Ahsoka’s case, this feels somewhat out of character because previous stories implied that Luke recognized the flaws in some of the old Order’s teachings, although it is understandable that he’s not a particularly good teacher yet given how short a time he’s been a Jedi at this point.

How Ahsoka Can Continue to Affect The Jedi in ‘Star Wars’

Fortunately, there’s some evidence the creators realize this and are going to make it happen, at least in Ahsoka’s case. The series’ marketing has revealed that at some point between Rebels and the time of The Mandalorian-era series, Ahsoka takes on Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) as an apprentice, but leaves her before her training is complete. The trailers and promos suggest the pair will come back together for a mission, which likely leads to Ahsoka realizing that she needs to resume teaching Sabine, and possibly accept that she herself is a Jedi of the best kind. It would make sense if after this, she is the character to start a new Jedi code that carries on the Order’s legacy while fixing its mistakes, such as allowing Jedi to have attachments. Given her history with his father, Obi-Wan, and Yoda, Luke would likely to look to Ahsoka as a role model and could move forward with his academy incorporating her more balanced views of the Force.

While the sequel trilogy shows that Luke’s academy doesn’t last long, he does have one apprentice who could continue following his and Ahsoka’s lead in the future. It was recently confirmed that Daisy Ridley will reprise her role as Rey Skywalker in a new Star Wars film set after the sequel trilogy, in which the character works to establish a new Jedi Order. In order to do something new with the franchise, it’s important this film emphasize that although she might take some lessons from the original Order, Rey’s Jedi way is more balanced and healthy. The best way to do that is to show her following in the footsteps of more open-minded Jedi like Luke, and especially Ahsoka.