We have officially finished The Clone Wars! We actually finished it over the weekend, but with some minor article planning this one wasn’t planned until today, whether we had finished it or not. I am going to discuss the end of The Clone Wars in a separate article, primarily the last four episodes, but this one will focus solely on one of my new favorite characters, Ahsoka Tano.

We first meet Ahsoka in The Clone Wars movie, which if you watch in chronological order if not actually the first thing you should watch. Again, the whole not in chronological order is something I don’t understand, but that is not something I can really change about the series. Ahsoka has been sent to work with Anakin as his Padawan, which is a surprise to him. The two challenge each other early on and much like Anakin is with Obi-Wan, Ahsoka often questions her Master’s plans or training decisions. As a Padawan in the Clone Wars she is immediately put into the battlefield and is even given troops and missions of her own. Her training is much more tied to battle than what Anakin had previously experienced. She is a strong commander and works to protect the forces under her command. We also see her putting herself actively in danger when it can help others. Ahsoka thinks of how what she does will impact others and she wants to ensure she can do whatever she can to help as many people as she can.

The moment that changes everything for Ahsoka is when she is framed for murder and thought to be part of a larger plan that involved blowing up the Jedi Temple. She insists she is being framed, but Anakin is the only one that believes her. She chooses to run and try to find a way to prove her innocence. This leads to her working with Asajj Ventress briefly, which doesn’t help her look any less guilty. Padme is trying to help her to make it through the trial before the Senate while Anakin leaves to try and figure out what Ventress has done. The thought is that she is responsible for all of this and has blamed Ahsoka. What he learns though is that someone far closer to his Padawan has made her the fallperson. While Ahsoka is found innocent and the Jedi offer to allow her back into the order, these events have led her to realize that she wants to find her own path. She leaves the Jedi and we don’t see Ahsoka for a while.

When she does come back to the series she is trying to make her own way without the privilege of being a Jedi. This leads her to teaming up with two sisters in a few dangerous situations and then ultimately working with The Night Owls and Bo-Katan. During this time Ahsoka is still able to use the force, but she does not have her lightsabers. By the final four episodes of the final season she has had her lightsabers returned, though Anakin has been working on them and the blades are no longer green, but she will not keep these for long. After surviving Order 66 she leaves her sabers behind, presumably to protect her from being targeted by troopers that have been activated. We do know she has lightsabers in Rebels and also in her The Mandalorian appearance so I very much look forward to seeing her using her new blades.

Throughout her story arc I fell more and more in love with Ahsoka’s character. She has ultimately decided she cannot be a Jedi, even prior to that choice possibly meaning her death, but she still uses her training for the good of others. She wants to ensure peace comes to the galaxy and even if it means she might have to team up with people whose beliefs do not align with hers, she is willing to make that sacrifice for the greater good. Ahsoka is a strong character who has been allowed to grow and find her way in the Star Wars universe in a more detailed and evolved way to other female characters. She has always been a fighter and through the skills she learned with the Jedi she is able to be her own person and fight for the good of all people.