Sunday, March 13, 2011

Ahsoka Tano: Is Her Past Her Future?


The fate of Ahsoka Tano is the central mystery of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  There are a number of scenarios that have been discussed in terms of the direction her character takes in the series.  Tom of the We Talk Clones Podcast over at Solosound.Net was an early proponent of the theory that Ahsoka may leave the tutelage of Anakin Skywalker and instead studying under Jedi Master Plo Koon.

The latest episode of TCW, "Citadel Rescue," Episode 3.20 has a ton of character development for Ahsoka and some really interesting interaction between Ahsoka and Plo Koon at the end of the episode.

What casual fans may not realize is that the reason Ahsoka Tano is a Jedi at all is because of Plo Koon.  

From the Wookieepedia Biography of Ahsoka Tano: 

Ahsoka Tano was discovered by Jedi Master Plo Koon[1] at the age of three[5] during a mission to Shili,[1] and was raised in the Jedi Temple. Tano considered Master Koon to be among her oldest and dearest friends by 22 BBY and felt a large amount of gratitude to him for discovering her Force sensitivity and ensuring that she would be given a home at the Jedi Temple.[6]

 The closing scene of  "Citadel Rescue," shows Ahsoka walking off screen with Master Koon with his arm around her.  As close as two Jedi can be who are not formally master and apprentice, we have a relationship here that is like a foster parent/child.  There seems to be a great deal of affection and respect between Plo and Ahsoka.

As TCW evolves over the next few seasons could we see a move away from Ahsoka-Anakin to Ahsoka-Plo Koon?  Anakin and Obi-Wan as the most effective Jedi in the galaxy may simply become to busy or involved into to many harrowing missions for the Jedi Council to feel comfortable with a Padawan accompanying them.  Or perhaps Ahsoka and Anakin have a major falling out of some sort.  What if Ahsoka discovers the relationship between Padme and Anakin, and this drives a wedge between the two because of Anakin's disregard for the Jedi Code.  What if Ahsoka simply graduates to Knighthood and decides she would be more effective aiding Master Koon in his adventures instead of Anakin and Obi-Wan.

There are limitless possibilities, but there appears to be some heavy foreshadowing in "Citadel Rescue," and it has me wondering whether or not Ahsoka Tano's past with Plo Koon will lead her to a future with him as well.

3 comments:

  1. I don't think Ahsoka could graduate to Knighthood. For two reasons, there really isn't enough time. Obi-Wan was 25 when he graduated, and Anakin 19. So is three years really enough? And secondly, if Anakin completes her training, wouldn't he become a Jedi Master if Ahsoka becomes a Knight. That is something that they forbid in Episode III. Or perhaps that was because he was too young

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  2. I for one am prone to hypothesizing about the significance of Padawan Tano and her fate within the series.

    Yoda foreshadowed the nature of her relationship with Anakin by saying in the Clone Wars movie that Anakin must be able to let his apprentice go. This of course implies Yoda was talking about her graduation to a Jedi Knight but Star Wars is full of twisted prophecies, from anakin's restoration of Balance, to Obi-Wan's remark 'Why do I get the the feeling you're going to be the death of me?'

    I don't think its a question of will she die, I feel it is more a question of how. No doubt it will be somethign for which Anakin blames himself, perhaps even vowing to never speak of her again so strong is his guilt... a handy way to explain her lack of mentions in RotS... It would have to be at the hands of a major villain.

    Ventress: Although shown facing off against Asoka before she has always been shown more to be Kenobi's nemesis than Anakin's. If she is to kill Ahsoka then it would go against the dynamic that has been established so far.

    Grevious: Again he is more a nemesis for Kenobi. Anakin never even meets him until RotS and the attitude he had towards Grevious was one of contempt more than anger which would have been the case had Grievous killed his padawn. Also Anakin doesn't seem too bothered about persuing him in RotS. Althoguh he volunteers for the mission, he accepts the council's decision to let Obi-Wan track him down.

    Dooku: This is more likely, although it would most likely have come out during their final duel. Palpatine muses Anakin's motive for revenge as the injury Dooku inflicted in AotC. Wouldn't killing his padawan be more likely a motive? Unless of course Anakin starts referring to Asohka as his 'arm'.

    Cad Bane / Aurra Sing: I doubt a lowly bounty hunter would be allowed to kill such an important character. They are really there to make the Jedi look cool and have very little bearing on Anakin's character arc, for which Ahsoka's death would be a pivotal point.

    This leaves one major villain who is not only qualified to kill Ahsoka, but would be able to use it as a deliberate ploy to push Anakin further towards the Dark Side... the man who shortly after plays on Anakin's fear of loss and resentment for the Jedi. The man who has been pushing Anakin's buttons the whole time. Palpatine.

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  3. @ MacPherson you make a really good point that i didnt even think about. That would make things very interesting if they used that scenario of palpatine killing here but i just can't see that happening. As far as ashoka i think ideally Plo Koon would serve as a better master to ashoka then anakin. Ashoka says it herself in brain invaders to barriss offee that anaking views on things are quite radical! Plo is just so level headed and calm and i really like the dynamic that dave has built between him and ashoka. It the little nuanced things and if u really think about it most of the time when she is not twith anakin she is doing mission with plo koon. I really hope they continue to explore that relationship further and honestly i could see her leaving anakin for Plo although i dont think it would happen that way yet i still wish it to be true.

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