Star Wars has been on a hot streak with their recent offerings. The rich new universe is the product of groundwork that Dave Filoni and his crack team of creatives spent nearly a decade laying out through the animated series, largely Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels. Relative newcomer to the silver screen, Ahsoka Tano, is one of the most beloved additions made by Filoni, and the character has a tenure in both series. While her time as a Jedi during the Clone Wars was certainly the most formative years for Ahsoka, her stint in Rebels shifts the Togruda warrior from a skilled but hotheaded young fighter into a fledgling version of the soft spoken, mature, butt-kicking badass seen in The Mandalorian.
The end of Clone Wars sees Ahsoka leave the Jedi Order after being accused of murder. Even after her name was cleared, the former Jedi couldn’t bring herself to rejoin an group she saw as corrupt and her leaving was the only thing that prevented her slaughter with so many others during the events of Order 66. With the downfall of the Republic she joined senator Bail Organa, and the two set up information networks to foster a growing rebellion. For approximately 15 years, Ahsoka and Bail worked to build small pockets of rebels, each one operating as an independent cell for fear that any captured rebels under duress or torture would identify others they knew of. Assuming the code name “Fulcrum,” Ahsoka communicated to trusted members of each cell, including Hera Syndulla, the contact for the Spectres rebel cell aboard the ship, Ghost.
It would take several months for Ahsoka to meet Ezra Bridger after the youth joined Hera’s team. Orphaned at a young age when his dissident parents were arrested by the Empire, Ezra landed on the radar of his enemies as well as his allies when he broadcast a message of hope and revolution to the people on his home planet of Lothal. Bridget’s message would be relayed across the galaxy, and amplified into a symbol of hope for rebellion.
Her time with the rebels
After seeing the message, Ahsoka revealed herself to the team, surprising all but Hera when she announced their acceptance into the wider rebellion. Realizing Ezra’s potential to inspire others to fight for freedom, Ahsoka joined the crew of the Ghost in order to help train him. His master, Kanan Jarrus, though not much younger than Ahsoka, also leaned on the Jedi for guidance. Ahsoka was able to help him work through mental blocks, restore his faith in the Order, and become a stronger master. Through her mentorship, the duo strengthened their connection to the Force, tightened their saber skills, and learned how to trust one another and in the Force.
The trio proved formidable; together they defeated several inquisitors and out played Darth Maul. All good things come to an end, and the trio would be torn apart by the nightmare-masquerading-as-a-man, Darth Vader. After the events of Order 66, Ahsoka had no idea that her former master, Anakin Skywalker, had survived. Over the months she spent with the Ghost, they encountered Darth Vader several times, and the proximity allowed Ahsoka to sense something in the man, a connection she couldn’t explain. The Sith remained a lingering question in her mind.
Death and Resurrection
When she was finally given a chance to confront Vader on planet Malachor, she took it. After discovering his true identity, Ahsoka couldn’t bring herself to leave her former master, and, ignoring Ezra’s pleas for her to run, she separated herself from her allies and faced certain death at the hands of her former friend.
Ezra and Kanan were forced to leave Ahsoka behind, and while mere moments would pass for her, it would be nearly four years before Bridger would see her again. Her loss weighed heavily on him, and he accepted the burden of her death as his own. The years were hard on Bridger, but he bore the weight of them well, even the eventual death of his master and friend, Kanan. The Force would lead Ezra to a long-forgotten Jedi temple on his home world of Lothal, and though it he accessed The World Between Worlds, a place that exists outside of time and space, and like the Force itself, prevails everywhere all at once. In this realm, Ezra followed Ahsoka’s voice to the moment just before her death. Pulling her from the past, he brought the incredibly confused Ahsoka into his present day, where the Jedi taught him one final lesson: To let go.
After saving Ahsoka, Ezra turned his attention to his fallen brother-in-arms. When they reached his moment in time, Ahsoka told Ezra to wait, and to consider why Kanan had made his choice. Seeing the wisdom in her words, Ezra realized that saving Kanan would mean dooming those he had saved. Kanan had chosen his fate to save those he loved; his loss meant the others would survive to fight another day.
Ezra learned the lesson well, choosing to follow in both of his teachers’ steps. When Lothal faced destruction at the hands of Grand Admiral Thrawn, Ezra used purrgil to pull the fleet away from his home, sending the flagship, Thrawn, and himself to the deep unknown recesses of space. Ahsoka would go on to fight with the other rebels until the war was finished, but she never forgot her absent friend. After the Battle for Endor, she would return to Lothal to assemble a crew to go and locate the missing Bridger, and presumably has been searching for him for the last 10 years.
