AUG 22 | THE AHSOKA EDITION | #11 - Read Time: 12 minutes

This is it. The official Ahsoka Primer to prepare all of you for what’s ahead for tonight’s two-episode premiere of the highly anticipated series. Ahsoka is a massive fan favorite and I consider her a top three Star Wars character of all time…I have a poster of her lightsabers behind me as I type this. It’s risky to have characters make the leap from animation to live-action, but if done correctly, the entire course of the Star Wars universe will change forever.

Let’s walk back through the lore and explain who she is, where she’s been, her impact on the greater Star Wars story and give some predictions for what we might see ahead. Ahsoka Tano is the very embodiment of what’s great about the franchise and I’m excited for everyone to experience it for the first time. Pour a new cup of coffee…let’s get to it.

Spoilers for Star Wars shows and movies ahead.

Sections:

• Who is Dave Filoni?

• Ahsoka’s story so far

• Must know characters

• Final predictions

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of writers and actors currently on strike, the movies and shows being covered here wouldn’t exist.

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The Ahsoka Primer

🌌 Who is Dave Filoni?

Dave Filoni is a master at worldbuilding and emotional storytelling through animation. He began his journey on another animated juggernaut and one of my all-time favorite series’ - Avatar: The Last Airbender - and was hand-picked by George Lucas himself to usher a new age of Star Wars into existence with The Clone Wars. He quickly became a protege and the conduit for Stars Wars knowledge and god to the fandom. Filoni fundamentally understands Star Wars to its core, so when he says or does something, you listen. Here he is explaining the Duel of The Fates and how this fight between Qui-Gon and Darth Maul was to decide the fate of the galaxy. He’s brilliant.

Alongside Dave, making the leap to live-action will be Kevin Kiner, who is doing the music for this series after being in charge of the music in all of the animated shows. He’s incredibly talented and wrote all of the scores for these characters, so the transition from animation to live-action should feel more consistent with him layering things in behind the scenes. We’re in good hands.

Dave Filoni and his team are key in making this all work. Ahsoka is an original character he created and his child whom he constantly handles with care. I wouldn’t trust anyone else on the planet with these ideas and concepts and believe if anyone can do it, he can. Dave is the perfect person to have creative control over these shows.

🌌 Ahsoka’s Story So Far

Let’s talk about the journey of Ahsoka thus far - going chronologically with the story within the Star Wars universe.

The Clone Wars

George Lucas always wanted to tell a more complex story about the Clone Wars Saga without the limitations of a 2-hour movie, so he decided to do this through an animated series, which is now regarded as one of the best pieces of storytelling to ever be done within the franchise.

The Clone Wars tell the stories of the 5 years between Episode 2 Attack of The Clones and Episode 3 The Revenge of The Sith. They expertly make you care for the clone troopers, show relationships, expand on the politics, create more internal conflict for Anakin to show his descent into darkness and provide both hilarious and heartbreaking moments.

Within this series, we see Ahsoka go from bratty tube top-wearing teen to War General - scratching, clawing and fighting to survive and protect the ones she loves along the way. She was established as the padawan of the legendary Anakin Skywalker, but after the trials and tribulations of the Clone Wars, she left the Jedi Order before she could complete her training and become an official Jedi Knight.

The Clone Wars - The Final Season

The Clone Wars was prematurely canceled once Disney bought Star Wars back in 2013 in an effort to clean up the canon. We never got the closure with Ahsoka after she walks away from the Order in the finale of S5. It was the biggest “what if” in Star Wars content history until a miracle happened nearly 7 years later.

Dave Filoni, live at Comic-Con in 2018, announced that the final season of The Clone Wars would be released to conclude the story that George and he started - which sent the fandom on fucking fire. If you’re someone who enjoys fan reactions, here’s some great footage of the initial announcement trailer live at SDCC 2018 and here is the reaction to the official S7 trailer at Star Wars Celebration 2019. I still watch these occasionally for the hype.

In the final season, we see Ahsoka slowly get brought back into the fold after leaving the order and deciding to fight with Bo Katan to save Mandalore from Darth Maul (yup, he survives). Ahsoka’s victory here was great, but it quickly spirals into darkness. She wasn’t there for Anakin when he turns to the dark side and her clone troopers turn on her, leading to her extremely narrow and harrowing escape with Rex. Had she chosen to go with Anakin instead of Bo, maybe things would have ended differently.

The final season of The Clone Wars was tragic and beautiful. It’s the perfect connective tissue that displays why we love this franchise and how everything flows together. We had seen Ahsoka later in the Star Wars timeline in Rebels at this time, but to learn how she survived Order 66 and where she was when Anakin turned and her internal conflict…incredible.

Tales of The Jedi

Tales of The Jedi is the newest animated series- a beautiful anthology that showed a couple of characters’ journeys at varying points of their lives, and three episodes focus on Ahsoka. We see her at birth and childhood, Anakin training her relentlessly to survive without him someday (foreshadowing the exact moves that she learns here are the one’s that save her life in the finale of The Clone Wars…chills) to her roaming the galaxy and rescuing those in need when she’s lost after Order 66.

We last see her sometime after Order 66 and The Clone Wars series, talking with Bail Organa and deciding that it’s time she gets back in the fight…which brings us to her time with Rebels.

Rebels

Star Wars Rebels was the first show to release after Disney bought Lucasfilm. It began as a bit more of a childish take on things but quickly shifted into the darker themes of Star Wars as the show descends into heartbreak - which seems to be a common theme with Filoni projects. We got the complete series from start to finish before we got the final season of The Clone Wars, so Filoni was left to lay down some connective tissue when Ahsoka appears in this series.

We’re introduced to the Ghost Crew and learn to love them like family. Kanan, the Jedi survivor. Ezra, the Jedi apprentice. Hera, the Rebellion leader. Sabine, the Mandalorian warrior. Zeb, the Lasat hero. Chopper, the droid war criminal. All of these characters created the perfected chosen family dynamic.

The majority of this series is based around the planet of Lothal - Ezra Bridgers's home and where the Empire - and Emperor Palpatine - had taken specific interest due to its deep connection to the force and the Jedi Temple. Later in the series, it’s revealed that the Emperor was after access to The World Between Worlds - a gateway that users can use to look back and analyze history. It’s explained that this is not a time travel mechanism, but a way to have unlimited knowledge and power. I have a feeling the World Between Worlds will play a role in Ahsoka.

For the majority of S1, the crew is operating via instructions from a faceless entity named Fulcrum. They didn’t know it yet (and neither did the audience), but Fulcrum was revealed to be Ahsoka - laying the roots and working undercover to establish the early stages of the Rebellion - the same rebellion that Han, Luke and Leia fight within the original trilogy. She grows with the Ghost Crew and helps Kanan and Ezra grow with their skills of the force while dealing with her own struggles of tragedy and loss.

It’s in this series that Ahsoka finally comes face to face with the truth that Anakin is Darth Vader - highlighted by some fantastic character moments and fight sequences. Ahsoka blames herself for leaving Anakin during the final season of The Clone Wars, so their long-awaited face-to-face held significant weight.

The series progresses and we see the Ghost Crew join the larger Rebellion forces and it eventually leads to a massive conflict vs Thrawn and the Empire. After the final battle of Lothal, where Ezra Bridger sends both himself and Thrawn to the Unknown Regions in a great sacrifice, we see an epilogue where Ahsoka returns and recruits Sabine to lead the search for Ezra.

The Mandalorian & The Book of Boba Fett.

Moving on in the chronological story, we see Ahsoka in live-action for the first time…which was a religious experience. Rosario Dawson was the perfect choice to play her in live-action. The Mandalorian is in search of the Jedi so he can reunite Grogu with his people, and that journey brings him to Bo Katan, who points him to Ahsoka.

We learn that she’s actively searching for Thrawn who went missing with Ezra in the finale of Rebels, and we also learn that she’s been in contact with Luke and helped him with his first Jedi Temple in the time before Episode 7 The Force Awakens. Anakin’s padawan being friends with his son and watching him grow into a Jedi Master is beautiful.

The story so far ends here and picks back up again with Ahsoka - where she will reunite with members of the Ghost Crew in an effort to find Ezra & Thrawn and stop the galactic threat before it’s too late. Ahsoka looks to set the stage for the major conflict between The original trilogy and the sequel trilogy.

🌌 Must Know Characters

Grand Admiral Thrawn - Brilliant military tactician rising the ranks of the Empire, member of the Chiss species. Incredible villain. Last seen with Ezra Bridger, who with the help of Purrgil (space whales, lol) sacrifices himself and launches both himself and Thrawn into the Unknown Regions. Massive threat and likely ‘big bad’ of the Mando-Verse. Played by the same actor who voiced him in the animated series.

Ezra Bridger - Lothal native, Jedi Apprentice to Kanan Jarus. Found by the Ghost Crew during a random heist, Kanan sensed his force abilities and took Ezra under his wing. Dealt with both the light side and the dark side. Currently missing in the Unkown Regions with Thrawn.

Sabine Wren - Mandalorian member of the Ghost Crew. Once wielded the Darksaber to unite her people against the Empire. Gave it to Bo Katan, who leads her people against the Empire which results in the destruction of their planet in The Great Purge. Sabine is incredibly proficient with weaponry and an overall badass. Was off-world at the time of The Great Purge.

Hera Syndulla - The leader of the Ghost Crew. Team mom. Incredibly gifted in flight and was at every major battle during the time of the Rebellion - including the Battle of Scarif (Rogue One) and Endor (Return of The Jedi). Has a son named Jacen Syndulla with Kanan, who we will likely also see in this series.

Chopper - The droid of the Ghost Crew. War Criminal who literally has a body count in the thousands. Think R2D2 but an asshole. Fan favorite.

Zeb Orrelios - Member of the Ghost Crew. Warrior Lasat species. Last seen working for the New Republic in a surprising cameo in S3 of The Mandalorian (giant purple alien). Will likely pop up in this series to unite the OG’s once again.

Huyang - Droid who has been in Star Wars media since The Clone Wars. A professor who helped guide Jedi Younglings in their journey to construct their lightsabers. Has infinite knowledge of Jedi history and thousands of generations of lightsabers.

Baylan Skoll & Shin Hati - our new Dark Jedi antagonists. Likely fallen members of the former Jedi Order who survived the purge. Seeking power. New characters, and no history from the animated shows.

🌌 Predictions

References To Kanan - Kanan is one of my favorite characters in Star Wars - I get chills watching this. Voiced by Freddie Prinze Jr., he completes his story embodying everything a Jedi Knight is supposed to be. Kanan sacrifices himself in a tragic moment in the final season of Rebels so his friends can escape, in one of the more sad and shocking moments I’ve seen in the franchise. Would love to hear him talked about in the series, because he’s the backbone of the Ghost Crew.

The Clone Wars Flashbacks - All I could ever want is to see the iconic trio of Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka wearing their armor from The Clone Wars. It’d straight up be a missed opportunity to not include this.

Captain Rex - Ahsoka and Rex managed to survive together during Order 66 but separated to survive. They’re reunited in Rebels S2 and it’s a beautiful moment knowing the history these characters have together. I would love to have a final send-off with Rex (played by Temura Morrison) here, as he’s likely close to the end of his life.

Loth-Wolves - Filoni is on record for loving wolves and tries to put them in everything he does. The Loth-Wolves are native to Lothal and help the Ghost Crew in the final season of Rebels. They have force abilities and are mystic in nature. I need to see one in live-action.

Chopper The War Criminal - Chopper has a body count of thousands, constantly blowing shit up and killing stormtroopers for the lolz. It’s likely we’ll see him as the comic relief here and I expect him to be a crowd favorite.

Hayden Returns - It’s heavily rumored that we’ll get both flashbacks and force ghost versions of Hayden as Anakin Skywalker, guiding Ahsoka on her journey. Anakin is the lynchpin of this entire story and seeing Hayden be honored in that way would just make me emotional. Master and apprentice together again.

Greater Story Implications - Thrawn is likely to be the main big bad of the story that FIloni is creating with his live-action shows. It was announced that they will be developing a movie to tie up the conclusion of the story with Ahsoka, The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, etc. I think this series will lead us directly into why Thrawn is such a massive threat and why it’s worthy of a feature film.

Wrap Up

This history and touchpoint of Ahsoka and other characters that will appear in this series will always be the animation for me. Ashley Eckstein, the voice actress for Ahsoka, is fucking brilliant and deserves her flowers for what she’s done for the franchise. My hope is that Rosario Dawson does right by her legacy and builds upon it, the same way Matt Lanter, the voice of Anakin from the animated shows, built on Hayden’s performance and became synonymous with the character.

Ahsoka's hero’s journey from annoying teen to Clone Wars general to a lone wolf Order 66 survivor to a Gandalf-inspired character is one of my favorite arcs in media. We witness all of the key moments through her eyes as she guides us through every era of storytelling - from the Clone Wars and the prequels to the time of Inquisitors, to the rebellion and the original trilogy, through the first order and beyond to the sequels. Her impact on the overall story of Star Wars is something that I hold incredibly close to my heart, and I hope reading this got you excited to dive into it with me.

In Dave Filoni we trust. I’ll see you on the other side…review on Thursday.

Warrior. Outcast. Rebel. Jedi.

‘All the gods, all the heavens, all the hells, are within you.’

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See you next Thursday!

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