Ever since A New Hope it’s seemed like the default mode for Jedi is to be smug, teasing, and condescending. Obi-Wan Kenobi set the template in 1977, but it wasn’t until the prequel era that we saw the Jedi Order at its height and realized all of them were this annoying.
It seems that old habits die hard, as Ahsoka is carrying on the tradition and then some. Early in episode three, we saw her giving Sabine some lightsaber training, which seems to involve striding around poking fun at how terrible her pupil is while jabbing her with a wooden stick. Top-class teaching.
Fans on r/StarWars have noted that Ahsoka is merely carrying on a Jedi tradition, with one fan noting:
“I love Huyang acknowledging that Ahsoka went to the Yoda School of Being A Cryptic Little Goblin to Teach”
Another points out that Sabine is suffering the consequences of a long line of unconventional teachers stretching all the way back to Yoda training Count Dooku. For those that need a reminder, that lineage in full is: Yoda to Dooku to Qui-Gon to Obi-Wan to Anakin to Ahsoka to Sabine. As one commenter put it: “I need a framed poster of them all in order.” Don’t we all.
It’s worth noting there is a good reason why Jedi teachers are so damn annoying. The entire point is to try and push their pupils into an emotionally vulnerable state, with their subsequent mistakes demonstrating why keeping a calm mind in combat is so important. Weirdly, the same tactic also works for the Sith and Dark Jedi, though their aim is to get their students to harness and exploit the rage within.
All that said, we’re hoping Ahsoka cuts the smug and detached act soon. There’s only so much standing around with her arms folded saying vaguely knowing stuff we can tolerate, so fingers crossed she gets her mojo back.