Warning! This article contains minor spoilers for Ahsoka episode 7.
Ahsoka episode 7 “Part Seven: Dreams and Madness” has completed Dave Filoni’s Anakin Skywalker retcon – one that has been 15 years in the making. The Star Wars prequel movies had a tough balance to strike when it was decided that Star Wars’ second trilogy would depict the tragic rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker. Anakin needed to be sympathetic, someone the audience could root for, someone no one would ever want to see fall to the dark side, despite already knowing his fate. The prequels fell somewhat short of this objective, leaning too heavily into Anakin’s already brewing darkness rather than giving him the chance to become a character the audience could truly relate to.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars, on the other hand, which showrunner Dave Filoni spearheaded under George Lucas’ guidance, changed the audience’s perception of Anakin Skywalker entirely. Together, The Clone Wars and the prequel trilogy tell the complete tragedy of Anakin Skywalker’s transformation into Darth Vader. It wasn’t until the Ahsoka show, however, that these two versions of Anakin truly became one – not only in the audience’s eyes, but in Ahsoka’s, as well.
Anakin’s Fall Was Signposted Too Strongly In The Prequel Trilogy
The prequel trilogy made it abundantly clear that Anakin was destined to fall to the dark side. Audiences were already aware that he would become Darth Vader, but there was very little suspense where Anakin’s narrative was concerned. In Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, he viciously murdered an entire tribe of Tusken Raiders because of his mother’s death, and his obsessive infatuation with Padmé Amidala was everything the Jedi Order warned against. While viewers knew Anakin was destined to fall, there was no ambiguity there at all. From the beginning, Anakin’s darkness was apparent, and he was given very little chance to show a different side of himself – until Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
By chronicling the time between Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, The Clone Wars allowed itself to explore who Anakin was between each of his pivotal traumatic experiences. Instead of brief glimpses here and there, as shown in the prequel trilogy, audiences were given entire episodes that featured Anakin’s caring nature, showcased his friendships with Obi-Wan Kenobi, Captain Rex, and, of course, Ahsoka, and proved he really could have been one of the greatest, most heroic Jedi the Order had ever seen. The Clone Wars made Anakin Skywalker’s fall more than just his destiny – it truly made it a tragedy in every sense of the word.
Once she discovered Darth Vader’s true identity, Ahsoka had a hard time remembering both sides of Anakin Skywalker. All she could see was Vader and the darkness he embodied. She couldn’t look back on her experiences as a Padawan with Anakin during the Clone Wars with any sort of genuine fondness or nostalgia because she couldn’t understand how she had failed to see what was happening to him. She was worried she shouldn’t have left him when she left the Order, the guilt threatening to overwhelm her at every turn. Much like the audience before The Clone Wars aired, Ahsoka could only see the darkness in Anakin and how she had failed him – until now.
Ahsoka’s Experience In The World Between Worlds Has Changed Her View On Anakin
In Ahsoka episode 5 “Shadow Warrior,” Ahsoka sees Anakin again in the World Between Worlds – a separate Force-related dimension that connects all time and space – for the first time since the final days of the Clone Wars. To her surprise, he looks like the Anakin she knew, not the embodiment of darkness he became. As they revisit some of Ahsoka’s pivotal moments from the Clone Wars, Anakin tries to teach her one last lesson, and the message finally becomes clear – the capacity for darkness was just as much a part of who he was as his kind, friendly, and protective nature. Above all, he was a flawed hero, and Ahsoka had a hard time believing that before.
She blamed herself for leaving him, for not noticing the signs, but it was never truly her fault. Her experiences with Anakin in the World Between Worlds proved to her that Anakin’s fall to the dark side was a consequence of his own choices as much as it was Emperor Palpatine’s will. Leaving the Order and, by extension, Anakin, was the right choice for her to make, and now that she’s been able to truly see the connection between both sides of her old Jedi Master for the first time, she no longer needs to live with regret.
Ahsoka (& Star Wars) Can Now Acknowledge That Anakin Was A Good Master
Both Ahsoka and the Star Wars franchise overall can now finally acknowledge that Anakin Skywalker was a good Jedi Master, despite his flaws. Ahsoka even says so herself in Ahsoka episode 7; he made training holos that she still uses to practice, a thoughtful gesture that she can now enjoy and remember him fondly by. He prepared her for the danger he believed might be on her path. He was her friend and confidant – he treated her like an equal and gave her the space to become whom she was always meant to be.
Anakin was disappointed to see Ahsoka go when she left the Jedi Order. And yet, he never stopped believing in her, and he proved this time and time again. He fought for her when no one else would when she was falsely accused of murder, and he made the effort to fix and keep her lightsabers safe after she left him and her life with the Order behind.
Was his training all that it could have been? Arguably, no – he trained her to be a warrior above all else, not truly a Jedi. Then again, she was growing up in the middle of a war, pushed to command an army while she was just a teenager. What other skills was he going to teach her at that time? In the end, he gave her the tools to survive during the Order 66 ambush, as evidenced by Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi. That was his ultimate lesson, and it kept her alive long enough to become a beacon of hope for the galaxy and an integral member of the Rebellion.
All in all, Anakin did the best he could with the time they had together. Ahsoka is now finally in a place where she can recognize all he did for her, while also acknowledging his faults and tragic turn to the dark side. As such, the Ahsoka show has completed Anakin’s full character transformation that was started with Star Wars: The Clone Wars, marrying the two sides of such a tragic and complicated figure into one well-rounded character.
Ahsoka releases new episodes Tuesdays at 6 pm PT / 9 pm ET on Disney+.
