40 years later, Ahsoka confirms the meaning of a pivotal lightsaber battle

The appearance of Anakin Skywalker in Ahsoka Episode 5 wasn’t a shock – Hayden Christensen’s participation had already been announced – but what he did in the episode certainly was a shock. After sending Ahsoka back to the past, he confronts her about how she turned her back on the Jedi legacy… and his legacy.

There’s an important lesson in that encounter that proves just how strong Anakin’s legacy is, and how Ahsoka can carry it on. Star Wars Podcast Beyond the sea of ​​sand dunes We recently discussed the most amazing part of Episode 5: the moment when Ahsoka throws Anakin’s lightsaber into the void.

When Anakin gives Ahsoka the choice between living and dying, they fight, only for Ahsoka to end up using Anakin’s sword against him. As the podcast points out, she threw it away, just as Luke threw away his lightsaber Return of the Jedi Instead of hitting Darth Vader after defeating him. This is the moment that proves that both Luke and Ahsoka learned from Anakin, and in a way, he learned from them as well. Although Ahsoka was raised as a warrior, fighting can only take you so far.

Just moments ago, we saw Ahsoka and Anakin face the fact that they had turned their backs on the Jedi. “You’re part of the legacy,” Anakin says. “But my part of that legacy is death and war,” Ahsoka answers. “But you are more than that, because I am more than that,” Anakin says. Ahsoka’s legacy continues her master’s legacy, just as Luke continues his father’s legacy.

In Episode 5, we see Ahsoka grappling with survivor’s guilt. She grew up in the Clone Wars, a conflict that many of her friends did not survive. Anakin, in this encounter, tells her that it’s okay to move on. She can enjoy the guilt, or she can live the life Anakin never lived, and in doing so honor all who came before her.

Anakin’s redemption saved his son, but it was too late to save his life. Now he’s saving Ahsoka’s life too, or at least getting her out of the gray zone she’s been trapped in. When Ahsoka throws her lightsaber away, she chooses to see the value of living, even if many of the people she cares about die. In doing so, she carries on the legacy of the master who taught her, who returned even when it seemed as if he could no longer save him.

Ahsoka It’s now streaming on Disney+.