At the end of The Mandalorian's "Chapter 12: The Heiress," Bo-Katan Kryze teased
the impending appearance of a long-awaited character, guiding Mando to a meetup with
Ahsoka Tano. In the fifth episode of the season, "Chapter 13: The Jedi," Ahsoka finally showed up.
"Ahsoka Tano! Bo-Katan sent me."
Rosario Dawson brought Ahsoka to life in the episode,
capably bringing the beloved character to live-action for the first time.
Having Ahsoka join the live-action side of the Star Wars universe was every bit
as amazing as fans hoped it would be, with the former Jedi Padawan revealing to Mando
the truth about Baby Yoda, and the pair storming the city of Calodan on Corvus.
One of the most intriguing elements of Ahsoka's appearance in The Mandalorian of which there are
many comes about during her standoff with the Imperial Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth,
who offered Mando a beskar spear in exchange for killing Ahsoka.
"Kill the Jedi, and it's yours."
As the two prepare to duke it out, Ahsoka brandishes two white lightsabers.
Seeing a white lightsaber anywhere in the Star Wars galaxy is unique
and would certainly raise some questions, but having a pair of them pop up in The Mandalorian
has sparked up a lot of conversation amongst the series' fans. Let's take a dive into Star
Wars lore and Ahsoka's backstory to break down what her white sabers really mean.
When she was first introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars,
the former Jedi had green lightsabers, but she's been on a significant journey since then.
Ahsoka began as the apprentice of Anakin Skywalker, the powerful Jedi Knight whose story
turns grim when he betrays everything he once stood for to become the insidious Darth Vader.
There's a lot that happens between the two as Anakin grows increasingly toward the dark side,
and Ahsoka becomes alienated from the Jedi path. In the fifth season of The Clone Wars,
Ahsoka winds up framed for a deadly explosion at the Jedi Temple,
causing her to leave the Jedi Order, though she's later exonerated.
At the end of The Clone Wars, Vader picks up one of the blue lightsabers he gifted
to Ahsoka amongst the remains of the crashed Star Destroyer and
lights it up before walking away, believing that Ahsoka is dead.
Of course, she's still alive, and when Ahsoka appears in Star Wars: Rebels,
she wields different sabers the same white ones seen in The Mandalorian.
Ahsoka is unique in the Star Wars universe because while she no longer
identifies as a Jedi, she also hasn't turned to the dark side.
As Clone Wars executive producer and Mandalorian director Dave Filoni previously explained,
Ahsoka's white lightsabers are meant to show that she is neither a Jedi nor a Sith.
"Revenge is not the Jedi way."
"I am no Jedi."
While there's a clear element of metaphor at play with Ahsoka's lightsabers,
there's also a definitive reason why her twin weapons are white.
In E.K. Johnston's 2016 novel Ahsoka,
the author fills in the gap between The Clone Wars and Rebels.
Prior to reappearing in Rebels, Ahsoka defeats an Inquisitor and takes his lightsaber crystals.
Because he is a Sith, his crystals were corrupted, but Ahsoka heals them and realigns
them with the Force. This turns them white – a symbol not only of their restored purity,
but also of Ahsoka leaving the Order behind to fight for good in her own way.
While The Mandalorian marked her first live-action appearance in the franchise,
Ahsoka has been hugely influential in the world of Star Wars for years.
Not only is she the first major female Jedi audiences spent time with on screen,
she's also a fan-favorite whose decision to turn her back on the Order but not on
fighting against evil makes her a uniquely complex trailblazer within the world of the franchise.
In an April 2020 interview with Vanity Fair, Dave Filoni explained
the significance of Ahsoka's choice to separate from the Order, saying,
"She's not a Jedi. Not because she couldn't be, but because she chose a different path.
Ahsoka choosing to leave the Jedi Order was one of the most powerful moments of The Clone Wars
series, and I think is one of the most important stories in all of Star Wars.
She left the Order, but she didn't stop helping people. She went her own way
and helped take down the Empire. So I wouldn't call her a Jedi or a padawan. She's a hero."
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