‘Star Wars: Ahsoka’ Episode 5 “Shadow Warrior” Comes Down to Live or Die
This week Ahsoka is reunited with one of the fandom’s favorite bad guys, and Jacen showed how much like his dad he really is.
This is one of those long-awaited episodes where lots of (but not all of) the things that we were anticipating finally happened. The plot is moving forward and all of the characters are getting a little closer to who and where they’re supposed to be. Except for Chopper- he was perfect the whole time.
As always, I can’t break down this week’s episode without revealing major plot points and spoilers. If you haven’t watched yet this week, proceed at your own risk.
Anakin Skywalker & the World Between Worlds
This was the cliffhanger we were left on last week. But after Ahsoka Tano lost her battle against Baylan and fell off the cliff and into the water, she woke up in a mysterious dark place that viewers of the animated shows would know as the World Between Worlds. We–and Ahsoka–have seen this world before and know that it’s something of a Force super highway with paths all over space and time.
Here she sees Anakin Skywalker, looking mostly how she remembered him in her youth and saying that it was time to complete her training. Which makes sense, Ahsoka never finished her training. She left the Jedi Order before her training could be finished and was sure to tell people that she “was no Jedi.” This version of Anakin asked Ahsoka simply if she wanted to live or die, and then they took a trip back in time.
The Clone Wars & the Siege of Mandalore
For fans of the animated shows, these next few scenes were a blast from the past. We see a much younger Ahsoka in her early Clone Wars outfit with her padawan lightsabers on a battlefield surrounded by the clone troopers that she commanded. And both battles we see we’ve seen before… animated.
First is the Battle of Ryloth, one of Ahsoka and Anakin’s first together, and one of her first with any command. And like many of the battles throughout the Clone Wars, it was brutal. This one in particular leaves Ahsoka with questions about her own ability to command, and we see that on screen in this live-action flashback.
Second is the Siege of Mandalore. In reality, Ahsoka should have been far older by this point as it was years after she had left the Jedi Order. But this particular battle was covered in season seven of The Clone Wars. The Siege also happens to be at the exact same moment as Order 66, the official rise of the Galactic Empire, and Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side.
Ahsoka Turning Back Into Snips
One of the bigger criticisms I’ve seen (and had) with this show is how out of character and serious Ahsoka is. Even when things are serious she’s always been a fun character; she was always full of jokes and nicknames, and even when the situation was dire, she was a vibrant personality on the screen. A lot like her master. But this Ahsoka has been all business and no fun.
Throughout the course of their ‘training session,’ Anakin transforms into Darth Vader and back a few times–either fully or partially. And while this symbolism definitely lines up with his going from being her closest friend to her greatest adversary as well as the general flow of the episode and their duels throughout his ‘lesson,’ it also mirrors Ahsoka changing and needing to change back.
By the end of this fight, Ahsoka tells Anakin that she chooses to live and is found in the water and rescued by Hera Syndulla. But from this point on in the episode, Ahsoka feels lighter and more fun and is wearing a lot more white. In fact, we see her in a cloak that’s very similar to her look from the last episode of Rebels. This shift from gray to white may also be representative of Ahsoka’s actual return to the Jedi and the light side of the force as opposed to floating around in the gray area.
Meanwhile…
While all of that was happening, Hera, Jacen, Chopper, and Huyang were looking for Ahsoka and Sabine Wren and trying to figure out what happened the night before. And it becomes very apparent very quickly that Jacen definitely has his father’s talent for the Force. It’s hard to say why he isn’t being trained at all, but even untrained his natural abilities help him see and hear things other people just can’t.
They eventually find Ahsoka, who is able to fill in some of the blanks for them. But without the galaxy leaping ship, they don’t have a way to follow after Sabine, Morgan, and Baylan. That is until Ahsoka notices a pod of familiar-looking creatures.
The Purrgil
We’ve talked about them before, so I won’t go too much into it, but the Purrgil are gigantic space whales with a natural ability to travel through hyperspace. They’re also unaware of their surroundings to the point of not-uncommonly swimming into ships and generally being a menace.
At the end of Rebels, Ezra had a Purrgil take him and Thrawn to the farthest possible reaches of space, and it looks like Ahsoka and Huyang will be doing this exact same thing. In a completely bonkers move that Anakin would be very proud of, Ahsoka had her ship flown into a Purrgil’s mouth so that they could hitch a ride to… well, she fully admits she’s not entirely sure where they’ll end up.
What did you think of this episode of Ahsoka? Do you think that was actually Anakin or a Force-created copy of him for Ahsoka’s benefit? Where do you think the Purrgil will bring us next week? Let us know in the comments!
May the Force be with you, adventurers!
