The Ahsoka Fan Thread

[Cerez]

It dawned on me that in all this time I've never really openly shared my love for her character, growth, and story here. With me sitting here, working on the textures for her in-game model, this seems like a good time to divvy.

 

So here's a little tribute to one of the greatest Padawans that ever lived in the world of Star Wars, and of her journey under the close tutelage of brash but true Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker.

 

Warning: huge spoilers imminent!

 

Tribute:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpoJccvJ7n0

 

Highlights:

 

 

 

Fiery and headstrong, just as her Master, and noble at heart.

 

To me the story between Ahsoka and Anakin has been of profound value in the greater story of Star Wars. When Old Ben Kenobi speaks of Luke's father as a brave and valiant Jedi Knight, I always think of Anakin in his years with Ahsoka. And I think the mishap that caused Ahsoka's departure truly, humanly/emotionally contributed to Anakin's downfall and fall from the Jedi Order, too.

[Cerez]

https://clonecorridor.wordpress.com/2015/06/02/scene-it-ahsokas-departure/

 

Wow, this article manages to put in words what exactly emotionally transpired between Anakin and Ahsoka at her departure and explains the significance of that crucial scene from The Clone Wars. I'm sure you're with me, I've always felt this, but I've never been able to put it in words. Furthermore, it looks into the personal relationships among the Masters of the Jedi Council in this pivotal Star Wars moment. This is quite the accomplishment! Kudos to the writer!

[Onysfx]

@@Cerez

 

Just read it, wow. So true though, I guess in a way, the jedi order had what was coming to them. They were ignorant and arrogant, and unwilling to admit they were wrong.

[Cerez]

@@Onysfx

 

Yeah, but there are some very interesting personal conflicts of ideals and collapsing faith among the Jedi Council members here. It's so revealing to actually take a glimpse into the two sides -- with Mace Windu and Ki Adi Mundi embodying what the Order has become in this time of war, and Obi-Wan and Yoda what the Jedi Order had once stood for, but as living, breathing people. And in the middle we find Anakin with his defiant and alert-some but genuine virtues, following headstrong his own personal feelings and ideals.

 

There are so many intriguing personal relationships and stories to discover here, it's no wonder the first time I saw this finale, I was convinced that it was a new beginning, and that things were just starting to get interesting!

 

There's also an incredible moment here where we see Ahsoka rise above Windu with her newly gained mature insight and see through the Jedi Master's words and into his lack of conviction and personal weakness of character. She takes her first step into adulthood with an impressive leap forward.

 

Windu stands stiff with a clenched fist as she turns and leaves the chambers, and Anakin follows after her.

 

After consoling Anakin, Ahsoka leaves, but she is leaving her home and her family behind, and she walks away with tears in her eyes, feeling heartbroken -- feeling for all her friends and loved ones, her mentors who had twisted their ways, banished and abandoned her when she needed them most, and then completely repulsed her from the path of a Jedi. They stripped her from her sense of belonging, made her life's work a distasteful lie, and left her no alternative at the Order. How did it come to this? She wishes it had never happened, and she feels sorry for them. You can see the bitter question in her eyes.

 

It's incredible how much substance this one scene, these few sentences contain.

[RebelChum]

What exactly did she do after leaving the Order?

 

I feel like it would be really easy for someone who leaves the Order in this particular era, to end up falling to the dark side simply by virtue of using the Force to their own ends at the expense of others. 

 

Think about it, in the Order your daily meals and credits are supplied to you on a silver platter by the organization. What're you going to do suddenly launching yourself into the Galaxy with no real life experience in working for a living and no prior work and education experience? Makes it really easy/tempting/onlywaytosurvive to end up using the Force to either steal what you need from others or since having the Force is your only qualification you're going to be approached to do some possibly nefarious tasks.

 

Even if you roam across the galaxy as some sort of freelance "I'll defend your farm from the mean pirates" type person you're probably eventually going to lean towards the slippery slope of using your power purely for the purposes of cajoling, conquering, and otherwise putting yourself above others.

[Cerez]

That's a good point, and Wookiepedia makes a strong reference to the fact that when Jedi leave the Order, they are not exactly fit for the world around them. Their skills and experience are relevant mostly to serving the Order.

That said, I can't see Ahsoka heading down a Dark Side path after her awakening during the Barriss incident. I think she would stay with Padme for a short time, then try to find accomodations in the Coruscant underworld, where it's cheaper to live -- seeing as she had left the Order with no possessions and no money. Eventually she'd find a job as a freelancing body guard, or bounty hunter of sorts. Over time she would let her Force powers atrophy (the same way Obi-Wan let his in hiding), since she wouldn't be using them so actively on a daily basis. That is if some drastic new events didn't influence her to take a more selfish move towards the Dark Side, to then find redemption for her own actions again by the time of Rebels.

The intention of The Clone Wars team was to portray her exciting life and adventures as a skillful civilian in the underworld life of Coruscant. Think along the lines of Boba Fett's life, except on the good side and as an ex-Jedi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEbWuGMJMxA

[Cerez]

In her own words:

 

Maybe I do rely too much on my lightsaber... but that's what I'm good at!

She is also a skilled pilot, martial artist, and war strategist.

 

Due to Anakin's teachings and her natural practical aptitude, she also makes a great mechanic.

[z3filus]

All qualites of a hero; know it all, do it all.  That seems to be the key for making a memorable StarWars character.

[Cerez]

Well, considering her tutelage and experience these skills actually make sense. A normal person doesn't go flying crazy vehicles, take part in battle meetings, engage in close combat, and try to fix broken engine parts -- all in a day's worth.

 

Now repeat that at least 730 times. She would have learned something.

[RebelChum]

See, she just committed multiple hit and runs and never stopped to exchange insurance information.

 

 

DARK SIDE CONFIRMED.

[z3filus]

Luke was the original Jedi Hero, I stick with that. For a moment even Obi-Wan Kenobi held the title, but then came Anakin, and then we were introduced to Galen Marek (TFU),
and soon after, Ahsoka Tano, who's now been praised awfully a lot, but eventually they'll reveal something amazing about Ezra, that makes him greater than anyone.



The circle is endles, wouldn't you say?

[Cerez]

Indeed it is, but isn't that a good thing? At least the spirit of Star Wars is kept alive.

[z3filus]

Perhaps, but it all casts a shadow of alzheimer over the Original Trilogy;  how did tthis all begin? Who and how important is Luke and the war against the Empire?
That's what starwars is about, not Ezra and his crew, and not about Galen Marek and his sad life, nor is it about Anakins secret padawan, Ahsoka Tano.

The main storyline is the canon part, and it's getting 3 new parts (movies) ,the rest is fillers = non canon. imho. but I'll still be cheking out the TCW before xmas

[Cerez]

The main storyline is the canon part, and it's getting 3 new parts (movies) ,the rest is fillers = non canon. imho. but I'll still be cheking out the TCW before xmas

Yeah, you really have to experience it to understand. The finale captures the spirit of the original trilogy in a completely fresh take. It's awe-inspiring. And TCW has expanded on the world of Star Wars so much that I can't stop referring to it as a resource to learn about Star Wars stuff.

 

I honestly think that the new sequel films will not be worth as much as what The Clone Wars has given us. But we'll see...

 

A note for when you're watching the series: the first season is quite childish and somewhat random, and things get more and more detailed and interesting as you dive into the later seasons. So don't expect too much from Season 1.

[Cerez]

Here's a rare treat: Ashley cosplayed Ahsoka for a day!

 

 

Full article: http://geekout.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/06/jedi-trappings-complete-the-fan/

 

For those that don't know, Ashley Eckstein is the voice of Ahsoka both in The Clone Wars and in Rebels, and partially the inspiration for Ahsoka's character design (face) in The Clone Wars.

[Cerez]

Well-well-well! Guess who this little girl is (on the left)?

 

 

Formally she's not Ahsoka, but she might as well be. Her name is Ashla, and she has been the source concept and inspiration behind Ahsoka's character. In fact, the very first version of Ahsoka ever created was her, both in name and in looks:

 

It was only later on in the pre-production phase of the show's development that her facial markings and name were altered. George Lucas' proposition for Ahsoka was in fact Ashla.

 

So, in a practical sense, you could very well say she is the real-life, film version of Ahsoka, and that Ahsoka was there right from the beginning (from the prequel trilogy).

[Circa]

That's pretty cool!

[Wasa]

The Story board might retcon Ashla, considering her EU part is not canon anymore.

[Clan FJA]

I profit that this topic is centered about Cerez's prefered character to ask you a question.

 

i find your avatar picture very beautiful and I would like to know who it is. It doesn't seem to be Ashoka

[Cerez]

The Story board might retcon Ashla, considering her EU part is not canon anymore.

It hasn't happened for over a decade, and it's not likely it will happen now with Disney's shift in focus to the Rebels era. Ashla never really had any EU treatment, either, which further supports the idea that she is indeed Ahsoka in truth.

 

i find your avatar picture very beautiful and I would like to know who it is. It doesn't seem to be Ashoka

Better reserved for PMs, but it's Senator Riyo Chuchi from The Clone Wars. She's a young and initially inexperienced senator who grew much in her career, responsible for saving the Pantoran people from economic starvation and establishing Orto Plutonia's sovereign independence. She stood up with moral responsibility for the rights and well-fare of her (and other) people. She did in politics what Jedi do in every-day practice -- worked to bring balance, maintain peace, and protect everyone's well-fare, putting the needs of others before her own bravely.

 

"To die for one's people is a great sacrifice. To live for one's people, an even greater sacrifice. I choose to live for my people. What do you choose?" ―Riyo Chuchi

 

Trespass is my absolute favourite Clone Wars episode.

[Clan FJA]

Better reserved for PMs,

Oh sorry, I will do that next time.

[Cerez]

Oh sorry, I will do that next time.

No worries.

[Garyn Dakari]

Back in 2008 when the movie came out(I was actually ignorant of the upcoming show at all, I thought it was just a standalone movie), I despised Ahsoka's character, both from an in-story and out-of-story point of view. From an in-story viewpoint she was very annoying and insisted on giving everyone nicknames, and from an out-of-story viewpoint she was an obligatory kid because it was a kids movie and it broke the canon because why the heck would no one ever mention Anakin's apprentice in Episode III or beyond? And the fact that I found the character design to be somewhat sleazy wasn't helping any, either...

 

That was me in 2008 anyway, over the years I softened to the concept and realized that, with the show, there's plenty of time to remove 'trouble characters' like Anakin's and Dooku's apprentices. But even without that problem, the movie itself was so off-putting I didn't get around to giving the show a shot until...

 

2015, once it was all done and on home video - I've got to admit, over the course of five and a half seasons, Ahsoka's character really grew on me. I could admit I liked her in Season 3, though really I think I did in 2, I was just in denial because I'd disliked Season 1 and the movie so much. Any early complaints I had are completely gone, I think Ahsoka as Anakin's apprentice worked fantastically, not just from a character standpoint but from the larger saga standpoint as well. While it is a shame the show had to be cut prematurely, Ahsoka had a great outro, and the general format of the stories made it pretty believable that Episode III was simply the 6-part finale.

 

Paradoxically, because I know this couldn't happen, I wish that Ahsoka could've been in Episode III, to be killed by Anakin. Tragic, yes, but that's what Episode III is supposed to be. The way the prequel trilogy is, the only Jedi that Anakin had a real emotional connection to was Kenobi - and obviously Vader can't kill him, so instead the only ones Vader gets to kill are Mace(Whom both the audience and character barely care about, if at all) and some younglings. Imagine the emotional impact of that, vs. the hypothetical version of Episode III where he kills his own apprentice. Granted, the prequel writing and characters being what they are, that probably wouldn't have had the 'oomph' it should have, but... eh, I can dream. Basically what I'm saying is that I'd love an Episode III remake by The Clone Wars team done as an 8-part arc. Or even a season-long arc, why not.

 

But yeah, Ahsoka's pretty great. Kenobi's still my favorite Jedi(One of the few SW characters I actually like *all* incarnations of, be they prequel, original, animated or otherwise), but Ahsoka's probably in the top 5 at least. I'm also a big fan of her theme music, it's my favorite non-Williams Star Wars track.

 

Sorry about the long post, I'm prone to making those if I'm not careful. Or even if I am. Or any other time.

[Noodle]

Ahsoka is great. One of the best examples of good character development in any medium. 

[Numfast]

"So, in a practical sense, you could very well say she is the real-life, film version of Ahsoka, and that Ahsoka was there right from the beginning (from the prequel trilogy)."

Well, Ashla is half-real in the film. Face paints and lekku are digital, because children couldn't sit so long during makeup process.