Padawan Ahsoka Tano exemplifies the best of the Jedi even if she doesn't have the title

The very last scene of the Clone Wars. It ended with Ahsoka Tano leaving
the Jedi Order. Anakin begged for her to return. But she refused. And
that is how one of the greatest Jedi stories ended.

"Snips," Anakin whispered from the wreckage of the A-Wing.

Ahsoka clenched her teeth as she heard the familiar nickname.

Internally, she counted the seconds while she mustered enough courage to reply. With a sigh, she stood with palms flat on the fuselage and lifted herself up slowly...painfully.

A small smile crept across her lips; hood masked her face. “Always in time to save your life Sky Guy,” she answered him. She felt a particular joy that only Anakin could summon. Always her Master, Anakin believed in her no matter what, and she'd come to rely upon his resolve in frightening times.

Waiting for his reply, Ahsoka became satisfied in the silence that hung between them both.

It wasn't the silence that you associate with awkwardness. It was the silence of mutual friends basking in each others presence.

This gif is from an episode where Ahsoka fights Death Watch. It's a really
cool episode. R2 hands her the lightsabers, she cuts herself free, and jumps
coming down and killing like four Death Watch in Mandalorian armor at the
same time. She just cuts their heads off (yes beheadings in a cartoon for kids).

From Wikipedia --

George Lucas stated that the character of Ahsoka was developed for the series as a means of illustrating how Anakin Skywalker develops from the brash, undisciplined Padawan in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones to the more reserved Jedi Knight in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. However, Master Yoda worries about Skywalker's personal relationships. By giving Skywalker his own Padawan, it would place the character into a paternal role where he would be forced to become more cautious and responsible. It would also give Skywalker new insight into his relationship with his own mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and explain how their relationship matured. Lucas stated that, having raised two daughters, he "knew something about the subject," and decided to make Skywalker's apprentice a young female.

My take -- Ahsoka Tano is my favorite character in the series. She just really grew on me season after season. The Star Wars movies had a vacuum of female Jedis.  Previously, I'd been intrigued by Luminara Undulee and her Padawan Barriss Offee, but these characters never got any screen time in the movies (you see them once in the Battle of Geonosis). Ahsoka, however, is a star in The Clone Wars. She's powerful, incredibly skilled, and a person that (unlike Anakin) could never go to the dark side. Her moral compass is without question as straight as the one possessed by dead Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn.

The Clone Wars ended with Ahsoka leaving the Jedi council forever because when it came down to it, the Jedi council, did not trust her (even Mace Windu and Yoda thought she might be guilty). The only one that did believe her was Anakin, and he proved this by bringing the traitor Barriss Offee to justice (Barriss had framed Ahsoka for a terrorist bombing of the Jedi Temple) even though it meant allying with a known dark side apprentice named Asajj Ventress to do so.

Disciple of the Dark Side, Asajj Ventress held the key to Ahsoka's innocence.

Maybe it's as early as this event that Anakin began to question and to hate the Jedi Order for alienating him from Ahsoka.

I hope to someday know of the fate of Ahsoka Tano. Did she survive when all the Jedi were eradicated throughout the galaxy? She had all of the skills to be a full blown Jedi Knight, but she didn't have the title. Perhaps Anakin as Darth Vader never looked for her. All I know is that when Yoda died in Return of the Jedi, he said to Luke, "When gone am I, the last of the Jedi will you be." I suppose technically that means Ahsoka could still be alive.

In the end, Padawan Ahsoka Tano exemplifies the best of the Jedi even if she doesn't have the title.

Below is a video that shows many highlights from Season 3. It will give you a feel of who Ahsoka Tano was and how the most powerful of the Jedi (Anakin) also had the most interesting padawan. They don't show it in this clip, but when Ahsoka has embraced the dark side and fights Anakin (foreshadowing anyone?) he pushes her with telekinesis and she stops herself by thrusting two lightsabers into the ground and leaving a trail of molten lava behind. I thought that was really cool.

And below is a clip that shows Ahsoka Tano battling General Grievous. For those of you who don't know, General Grievous killed Jedi during the Clone Wars and was trained by Count Dooku himself in lightsaber combat. He's a droid that even some Jedi Masters had trouble dealing with (like Kit Fisto). Ahsoka fights

him because he wants to kill younglings (those Jedi babies who are still too weak with the force to defend themselves against a truly skilled opponent). Ahsoka (because she's Anakin's padawan) is no mere student. She's very much like Obi-Wan, able to take on much more powerful foes (remember Obi-Wan fought Darth Maul while he was still a padawan of Qui-Gon Jinn).

It was a difficult choice to pick clips to show you guys. When I get to "V" in this whole A to Z challenge I'm going to talk about Asajj Ventress and show you the clip where Ahsoka fights Asajj (but it's really Barriss Offee in disguise). Barriss goes to the dark side by the end of the series and she's INCREDIBLY powerful. Her telekinetic powers are way better than Vader and in the clip I intend to show you in a week or so, you'll see that.

If you are a Star Wars fan and have never heard of the Clone Wars, I urge you to take the time to watch these videos. They are AWESOME.

moreless