Ahsoka and The Shadow Warrior

 

Since it was released on September 12th of 2023, it has become a tradition of mine to replay each year Ahsoka’s fifth episode from the First Season. Titled Shadow Warrior, the anticipated return of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, after shocking our minds with the Obi-Wan Kenobi Limited series, resulted in a memorable and beautiful moment with leading actress Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano.

It was a tough call to decide my G.O.A.T Episode, due to being heavily into Chapter 16: The Rescue from The Mandalorian Season 2 where Luke Skywalker made a big entrance followed by Djarin letting go of Grogu so he can go train in the jedi arts. How to forget all the excitement and my crying, especially when Djarin takes off his helmet to reveal his face to his kid.

Another was the latest from Andor Season 2 titled Who Are You? This is the one with the Gorman Massacre and when Syril discovers that everything he being fighting for since his disgraced from Preox-Morlana resulted in vain due to Dedra’s deception and Andor’s discrediting of his existence. Yes, this episode was too much to handle but I have to lower the bar for something that felt so personal as Ahsoka’s Shadow Warrior.

After all, my podcast is called Bokken Order after Baylan Skoll referred to Ezra Bridger as a Bokken Jedi for being trained outside the traditional Jedi Order. The recap from previous episodes is very helpful to get into the main reunion between Anakin and Ahsoka. In true life, Hayden and Rosario were school classmates in acting and they co-star in the 2003 film Shattered Glass. Therefore, it took them almost 20 years to reunite in very similar fashion as their main characters.

It is important to note that Ahsoka is considered our Rebels’ Fifth Season and with good reason. If by chance you saw the animated series you will understand at some degree because Ahsoka’s story goes way back to 2008 with the first animated movie simply referred as The Clone Wars; followed then by seven seasons.

Indeed, Ahsoka Tano have become a very important part of my life, after following his journey for seventeen years and what still awaits with Season 2 arriving next year. I confessed that I hated the idea of Anakin having an apprentice, at such degree of ignoring her existente until it became one of my favorites. To say that I screamed with excitement when she made his live debut in The Mandalorian.

The emotions that Hayden and Rosario bring to their characters in this World Between Worlds faceoff felt very complex, nostalgic and intriguing. Every dialogue and action were pure gold and all thanks to Dave Filoni’s sublime direction. Love him or hate him, the man knows a lot about Star Wars. In a way, it helped him to be personally chosen and trained by George Lucas. It is difficult to transition from animation to live action, and Dave have done well thanks to Rian Johnson and Jon Favreau.

The framing, the cuts, the editing, the special effects and cinematography went beyond the Volume’s limitations because Shadow Warrior turned out to be a masterful archiving in film editing. Also, it gave Hayden and Rosario’s their greatest performance in the Star Wars Saga. Every scene and dialogue nailed to perfection, wheter alone or together.

This was the opportunity for Hayden to shine as Anakin Skywalker and he went all the way to even improvise the exciting line of “I’ve heard that before”, responding to Ahsoka refusal to fight him just like Luke and Obi-Wan did it to him in the past. Indeed, Hayden did his homework by watching the animated series to insert that layer of complexity in his character making him more completed and experienced in the dark and light ways of the Force.

Exactly what Ahsoka needed to transition from Ahsoka The Grey to Ahsoka The White. After struggling with his identity due to Anakin’s dark legacy, Ahsoka is afraid to make the same mistakes as his master and that is why deep inside she prefers to simply let go and die, but how could she when she still have a lesson to learned, and a hard one that helped me to process a difficult time.

Truly, one is never too old to learn and that is why every year, near my birthday, I watch and rewatch this episode to remind myself of all it took me to transitioned from darkness to lightness. It is therapeutic to relive my past through Ahsoka’s eyes. In a sense, I understand her confrontation with Anakin, it is not about suppressing our feelings and fears but to accept that within us there is light and darkness and we must learn to not only live with it but to balance it to achieve the best version of ourselves.

I share Ahsoka's final decision on the phrase: “I choose to live”, because this is a episode about life and hope, and for Ahsoka there is still hope after learning her lesson, and not an easy one after having to revive her childhood during the early and final stages of the Clone Wars. Seeing our Skyguy and Snips transition from animated to live action was masterful and emotional as also their references to certain events from the animated series.

What a gift it was for the fans to witness something so real and human from a Galaxy Far Far Away. It is worth mentioning that Kevin Kliner’s score deserved a lot of recognition, especially in the final act where Ahsoka communicates with the purrgil in order to reach Peridea and save Sabine and Ezra. It is stirring how the music hits a crescendo and suddenly leaves us speechless.

It was also enjoyable seeing Hera, Jacen, Chopper, Teva and Huyang searching for Ahsoka and Sabine whereabouts. Loved the Kanan reference as Mom Mothma cameo. Obviously, the involvement of the New Republic is getting into my nerves due to their awful and nonsense politics. Either way, their sudden arrival as the space whales were about to depart ended being an unforgettable moment that, along with the rest of the content of this fifth episode, I treasure to this day.

Thanks for reading and may the force be with you, always.

P.S.

What a scene!!! The lighting and silhouettes speak volumes about this episode, serving as a connecting thread for both the series and films in this saga.