In the upcoming series Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan is going to see Anakin again – and this will undoubtedly remind him of their time as Jedi master and padawan. For Anakin, the relationship between them may also bring up memories of his time as Ahsoka Tano’s teacher. To present a more rounded picture of Anakin’s journey from the light side to the dark, the series should cast a younger version of his padawan to appear in flashbacks, especially since The Mandalorian recently introduced an older live-action Ahsoka to a wider audience.
The Obi-Wan and Anakin relationship was marked by a difference in temperament. Anakin tended to react with emotion and a sense of dismissiveness towards impending danger. Anakin initially brought this flaw/virtue to his friendship with Ahsoka, prompting her to say “…the word ‘reckless’ comes to mind” when he asked what she thought he’d been doing all day. That was a light, humorous moment from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but it could be warped into a darker scene in hindsight. Ahsoka turned out to be more prescient later in the movie when she reminded Anakin that “old sins cast long shadows.”
The upcoming Star Wars series is sure to explore the devastating emotional fallout of Anakin’s fall to the dark side, and Obi-Wan’s own regrets for not doing more to stop it. Though flashbacks Obi-Wan could revisit his guilt at not supporting Ahsoka more when she was erroneously accused of murder, which in turn could lead him to wonder if not supporting Anakin enough was what made him join the Sith. For Anakin, the Jedi Council’s false condemnation of Ahsoka was a nail in the coffin of his Jedi faith. As she decided to leave both him and the Jedi Order behind, he told her, “More than you realize, I understand wanting to walk away from the Order.” Ahsoka was such an important figure in Anakin’s life that Obi-Wan would be missing a major piece of the puzzle if it left her out entirely.
Finding an actress who reminds the audience of a younger Rosario Dawson will be a challenge. Unfortunately, because the flashback scenes would take place during the events of The Clone Wars – almost 30 years before The Mandalorian, Rosario wouldn’t be in the age-range and neither would Ashley Eckstein, the actress who voices Ahsoka in her animated appearances. This is a case where working for Disney is a stroke of luck because they have the Midas Touch when it comes to finding young talent.
In The Clone Wars season 7, Ahsoka told Darth Maul that his “vision is flawed” when he envisioned Anakin as Darth Sidious’ apprentice. She believed with all of her being that Anakin could never abandon the light side of the Force. Unfortunately it was Ahsoka’s vision that was flawed. Her love for Anakin blinded her to his potential for darkness, just like Obi-Wan’s did. If the live-action Obi-Wan Kenobi series includes Ahsoka, then the episodes can spotlight those moments before her trust in Anakin was shattered, to remind audiences of the tragedy of Darth Vader’s downfall. Flashbacks with Ahsoka could also amplify the key moments in which Anakin lost his faith in the Jedi, bringing more context and nuance to an already rich universe.
