When we all watched the Clone Wars series, we thought Ahsoka would eventually suffer the same fate as the rest of the Jedi during Order 66. But at the end of Season 5, she left the Jedi Order, which gave her a potential out.
Then she showed up in Star Wars Rebels, and we knew she’d survived it. (What’s more, there’s a novel coming out October 11, Star Wars: Ahsoka, that will reveal some of what’s happened to her in the years after Order 66 and before the Rebels TV series.)
But the finale of season 2 of Rebels left her fate in doubt. She found
Here’s what we know at this point:
1. The episode itself. Ahsoka is in the collapsed temple, seen walking within it and proceeding downward. Executive Producer Dave Filoni says that he knows exactly what’s happening with Ahsoka here, whether she’s alive or dead, and what happens to her immediately after the events of the season 2 finale.
2. This bit from Amy Ratcliffe’s recap of the finale for Nerdist:
Filoni has often compared Ahsoka’s role in Rebels to that of Gandalf in Lord of the Rings. I’d like to think it means we haven’t seen the last of her. Vader was her Balrog, and maybe she’ll be back as a Force ghost or something else.
3. This line from Filoni at NYCC 2015 (as reported by i09), which bolsters the Gandalf bit:
She shows up when necessary. She’s dealing with bigger, darker problems.
4. And, later, Ashley Eckstein explaining why Ahsoka’s lightsabers are now white:
They’re white, because she’s neutral.
5. This, about the Bendu, from Dave Filoni (via Collider):
I wanted Bendu to feel like a character out of an ancient time. You don’t know much about him. He’s like a Bombadil; he’s in the story and it’s unclear what his role is or what side he’s on, what effects him, what doesn’t … he seems to not play by the rules of everyone else in the story. Beyond what the Jedi and the Sith have organized around the Force, beyond the beliefs that they have put on it as a way, there is an older way of thought.
The Force exists, and this is important, beyond the Jedi and the Sith; the Jedi and the Sith are a practice within the Force, a way of controlling, a way of thinking, but they are not the be all, end all. We got into that with the priestesses in the Yoda arc, and the Force-wielders of Mortis, where there are these being out there who are ancient and wise and look at the battle between the Jedi and the Sith and their self-importance as childish, to them. There are these older definitions, which to me come out of George Lucas’ mind. So the Force’s origin, of course, is George Lucas’ mind, so if you go back in time and you talk about ancient things in the Force, you’re talking about George’s initial thoughts. Bendu is actually derivative of the Order of Dai Bendu, which was the full name of the Jedi a long, long time ago. So that’s why Bendu seems to know a lot about them, about Kanan, that he’s a Jedi. He finds that kind of fun and cute, but of course [voice actor] Tom Baker has his own agenda. He’s fantastic at being Bendu.
6. From the Filoni interview with IGN:
I love the idea of it being an avatar! I would tell you, though, that it is absolutely not an avatar of the Dark Side … It definitely has a meaning for me, as the storyteller. It’s a subtle thing that if you know what the owl represents, then it deepens the lore of the whole thing and you go, ‘Okay, there are things at work here that are beyond our reckoning.’ In some ways, I could say that it’s a messenger, it’s an observer … I would suggest to say that whatever that thing is an avatar of has actually appeared in the animated Star Wars universe before.
7. What’s going on in Ahsoka’s head when she hears the voice of Anakin within Darth Vader?
I believe that also in that moment, she realizes that, what can she possibly do for him? Her strength as a character saying, ‘I will not leave you. Not this time. I’m not going to abandon you, I’m going to see how this plays out, here and now.’ Whatever that means, that maybe that show of kindness and strength towards her old friend helps.
8. At the very end of the “Ahsoka’s Untold Tales” panel at Star Wars Celebration Europe, Dave Filoni had this to say:
The only spoiler-iffic thing that I would say … I was very adamant after the season 2 finale that that was it for Ahsoka on Rebels. I’m not going to say what form any story would take place, but after the reaction … I don’t know … I don’t know, I might … it just might be possible … it doesn’t necessarily mean what some of us would want it to mean, maybe, but it might be possible … to see her again, she might have something to do. Maybe.
So, what does all this mean? What does it add up to? She’s either 1) dead, or 2a) alive as Ahsoka, or 2b) alive in some other form.
Well, let’s start with what Ahsoka can’t be, as of now. Dave Filoni has said that Ahsoka can’t become a Force ghost, because she didn’t have the requisite training at this point. However, Qui-Gon Jinn also didn’t have the requisite training when he died, but was able to speak as a disembodied voice, and was able to learn (yes, even after death!) how to become a Force ghost. (That comes from Season 6 of The Clone Wars and one of Yoda’s last lines from Revenge of the Sith.) So she could become a Force ghost, if she were dead. And that would still give her “something to do,” as Filoni mentioned.
But I don’t think she’s dead. At Star Wars Celebration Europe, Filoni revealed six of ten “Artist Series” Cards from the Star Wars Card Trader app, which tell metaphorically what happens to Ahsoka after her confrontation with Vader.
The first five cards correspond to what’s happened in the final episode of season 2, but the fifth card is from the reverse perspective – in the episode, we see Ahsoka from behind, but in the card, we see her from the front, walking through the triangular doorway.
The sixth card shows Ahsoka at the bottom of the stairs, with a second staircase that also leads down to where she is, on a platform where we see a white path ahead across a sea of red, and off in the distance, a convor. Whether it’s the same convor we saw in the episode, we can’t say for sure because of the color scheme of the cards, but I’d say it probably is. The convor, being owl-like, may symbolically represent a a messenger or observer as Filoni suggests. Owls in some mythologies are a good omen for battle; in others a portent of death; and in still another, guides for the soul from the physical to the spirit realm.
The seventh card shows Ahsoka on the path, but it’s water (or a liquid, at least). This is the “underworld,” as Filoni has described it, and in dream interpretation, water represents the subconscious. Wading in water usually refers to dealing with relationships, and whether things are bad or good depends on whether you’re going with the flow or against it. Here, Ahsoka looks like she’s going with it, having no struggle against it.
The eighth card shows Ahsoka proceeding further, with the convor now flying above her. It seems to be following, not leading, which is more in line with the observational nature Filoni suggested.
The ninth card shows Ahsoka having passed through another doorway, and now heading up a different flight of stairs. This would represent a return from the underworld to the regular world.
The tenth and final card depicts Ahsoka walking through a circular portal, with wolves displayed running around the ring of the portal. The circle emphasizes the repeating pattern of creation and manifestation, and the wolves – well, Filoni just likes himself some wolves, but they’re also representative of strong instinct and intuition, loyalty, wisdom, companionship, and independence.
What does all this mean? Here’s my theory: I think Ahsoka has passed through the underworld to shed the last of her loyalty and guilt over the fate of Anakin, and the fate of the Jedi in the face of Order 66. There’s nothing to indicate that she’s been injured in any way, so I don’t think that she’s dying and coming back as a Force ghost. Instead, I think she’s going to come out as an advanced neutral Force user, much like Bendu, and that the Rebellion and all its squawking aren’t going to matter much to her anymore. As Filoni has said before, her plate will be filled with bigger problems. And she’ll have come through with additional knowledge from the Sith, but as Bendu points out, it won’t corrupt her, because she is capable of making the choice to stay neutral and not be tempted to join the Sith … or the Jedi, for that matter.
What do YOU think Ahsoka’s fate is? Share your theory in the comments!
Relevant links:
Force spirit (Canon) – Wookieepedia
Force ghost (Legends) – Wookieepedia
The Bendu (Canon) – Wookieepedia
Gray Jedi (Legends) – Wookieepedia
Order of Dai Bendu (Legends) – Wookieepedia
Force Wielders (i.e., “The Ones”) from the Clone Wars 3-episode arc – Wookieepedia
Overlords (1st of 3-episode Clone Wars arc) – Wookieepedia
Altar of Mortis (2nd of 3-episode Clone Wars arc) – Wookieepedia
Ghosts of Mortis (3rd of 3-episode Clone Wars arc) – Wookieepedia
Descent into the underworld mytheme – Wikipedia
Examples of discussions and hypotheses on the meaning of the finale:
Reddit
Spoiled Blue Milk
Battlefront forums – EA
How Many Seconds in Eternity?
The Wookiee Gunner
Meanings/interpretations
Owl
First Nations Museum
What’s Your Sign
Spirit Animal Info
Wolf
First Nations Museum
What’s Your Sign
Spirit Animal Info
Anubis – Wikipedia
Permalink
the thing she has left to do is train Hedala Fardi