Warning! This article contains spoilers for Ahsoka.
Ahsoka‘s season finale must feature the return of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker one last time under a specific condition. Before the release of Ahsoka, many expected Anakin to have a presence in the show given that he was her Jedi Master during Star Wars: The Clone Wars. That said, it was unknown to what capacity Anakin’s presence would be felt in the show be it through flashback appearances or simply multiple references to the character.
Ahsoka episode 4 proved that Anakin’s appearance would be much bigger than first thought, with the cliffhanger ending leading into a full episode of Anakin and Ahsoka’s adventures. By the time of Ahsoka episode 7’s ending, Christensen had marked another appearance in the show. Despite being present in three different episodes, Anakin Skywalker must appear one final time in Ahsoka‘s finale under one specific condition.
Hayden Christensen Should Appear In Ahsoka’s Finale As Anakin’s True Force Ghost
The condition in question is Anakin’s appearance as a true Force ghost. Christensen’s first appearance in Ahsoka throughout episodes 4 and 5 came through the World Between Worlds, begging the question of whether he was simply a figment of Ahsoka’s imagination given much of the journey was shrouded in mystery. With Anakin’s most recent appearance in Ahsoka episode 7, the character appeared as a training hologram that he had recorded for Ahsoka during the time of the Clone Wars.
As such, Ahsoka episode 8 is perfectly poised for a true Force ghost appearance from Anakin. Given the mysterious circumstances of the World Between Worlds, an appearance from Force ghost Anakin to guide Ahsoka would feel much more rewarding. This way, the two would be properly interacting rather than having the unclear nature of his appearance in the World Between Worlds looming over the meeting or the obvious presence of a hologram.
Also, Star Wars characters’ stories have often been shown to end with appearances from their Masters as Force ghosts. In Return of the Jedi‘s ending, Luke Skywalker saw Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin himself as Force ghosts. In the more recent Obi-Wan Kenobi, the titular character finally convened with Qui-Gon Jinn. Furthermore, the ending of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker showed Rey seeing Leia and Luke’s Force ghosts on Tatooine. As such, Ahsoka seeing Anakin as a Force ghost carries on Star Wars’ storytelling language as George Lucas once said: it is like poetry, it rhymes.
Anakin’s Force Ghost In Ahsoka’s Season 1 Finale Is Quite Likely
From a more meta standpoint, it remains the case that Anakin’s Force ghost appearance in Ahsoka‘s finale is likely. His appearance as a Force ghost to congratulate Ahsoka on moving past her drawbacks earlier in the season and fully completing her transformation would definitely fit with Ahsoka‘s story and overall thematic elements. Also, it is clear that Star Wars projects are keen to see the return of Hayden Christensen at any given moment. This makes his return as Anakin in Ahsoka episode 8 all the more likely as the story of the first season centering on his Padawan ends its journey.
New episodes of Ahsoka release Tuesdays at 6pm PT / 9pm ET on Disney+.
