Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Ahsoka episode 5.
Summary
- Ahsoka episode 5 takes viewers on a journey to pivotal events in Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker’s past, showing their adventures in live-action for the first time.
- The first battle shown in the World Between Worlds is likely the Battle of Ryloth, depicting a younger Ahsoka and Anakin in their original outfits.
- The second battle is the Siege of Mandalore, which was a turning point for Ahsoka as she became the warrior Anakin trained her to be.
Ahsoka episode 5 sees Ahsoka Tano and Anakin Skywalker visiting several key Star Wars events while in the World Between Worlds – but where exactly do they go? As Anakin’s Padawan during the Clone Wars, Ahsoka followed her master into many dangerous and heroic battles; as Jedi, it was their job to lead the clone troopers in various campaigns against Separatist forces. Their adventures are told in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but now some of their time together has been translated into live-action for the first time.
Viewers who are only familiar with live-action Star Wars have heard a lot about the relationship between Anakin and Ahsoka, but they haven’t seen it. Ahsoka episode 5 uses a mystical experience in the World Between Worlds as an opportunity to “show, not tell,” revisiting some key moments in Ahsoka’s past. Here’s where the two battles shown fit into the Star Wars timeline, in relation to the typical chronology of “BBY” (Before Battle of Yavin) and “ABY” (After Battle of Yavin).
Ahsoka & Anakin Visit The Ryloth Campaign
The first battle Ahsoka and Anakin revisit in the World Between Worlds appears to be the Battle of Ryloth. Though it is never explicitly confirmed that the Ryloth campaign is being depicted in the Ahsoka flashbacks, there are several context clues to help pinpoint which event is being recreated. Both Anakin and Ahsoka are younger; Ahsoka is wearing a version of her original outfit, and has yet to learn to use two lightsabers, while Anakin has a shorter hairstyle. The clone troopers are kitted in their Phase I armor, which was only replaced in The Clone Wars season 3. And the battle takes place in a desert environment like Ryloth, with Twi’leks – Ryloth’s inhabitants – in the background.
The Clone Wars took place between 22BBY and 19BBY, with the Battle of Ryloth occurring in 22BBY near the beginning of the conflict. The tale is told in The Clone Wars season 1, episodes 19-21. Despite her young age, Ahsoka was given command of the initial attack to break a Separatist blockade. At the time, she was overzealous and always ready for a fight, which clouded her judgment and, in the end, she was responsible for the loss of her squadron. This failure taught her an important lesson and changed the way she approached every trial in the future. This is reflected in the way she experiences the battle as her older self in Ahsoka – she can see the futility of the conflict, the tragedy of her being so young and needing to fulfill such a dangerous role in a way she couldn’t when she was still a Padawan.
Ahsoka Takes Anakin To The Siege Of Mandalore
The second battle Anakin and Ahsoka visit is the Siege of Mandalore. The Siege of Mandalore took place at the end of the Clone Wars, in 19BBY, as seen in The Clone Wars season 7, episodes 9-12. Most importantly, it took place concurrently with the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Ahsoka is right to say that she and Anakin had parted ways by this point, but the discussion is oversimplified; although Ahsoka had left the Jedi Order, she and Anakin had actually just been reunited. They’d have been working together again on Mandalore if not for Anakin’s being called back to Coruscant after the kidnapping of Chancellor Palpatine, the beginning of Revenge of the Sith.
The Siege of Mandalore was a turning point for Ahsoka. She had successfully become what Anakin always trained her to be – a soldier, a leader. But she never wanted to be part of a legacy of death and destruction. That is what her being there with Anakin in the Ahsoka show acknowledges; she may have been trained to fight, but there is more to her than that – there is more to the Jedi than that. She found her own way to be a Jedi, to help those who needed it, and the Siege of Mandalore, and the subsequent events of Order 66, allowed her to get to that point. Ahsoka and Anakin’s flashback sequence in Ahsoka helped her remember who she is, where she came from, and who she still wants to be.
Ahsoka releases new episodes Tuesdays at 6pm PT / 9pm ET on Disney+.
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