Ladies and gents, this is the moment you’ve waited for.
There isn’t a single Star Wars fan who hasn’t anticipated this moment for years.
I’ll forever stand by the assertion that Twilight of the Apprentice is one of the greatest pieces of SW media ever created. It’s an intense, emotionally driven turning point of Rebels at the halfway mark, foreshadowing the tragic ending that the Ghost crew will one day face. But, so much more than that, it also gives us the long-awaited confrontation between Ahsoka and Vader. The music, the lighting, the dialogue – it’s truly a perfect two episodes.
And Ahsoka episode 5 echoes that climactic duel perfectly.
It’s more than fanservice, more than the joy of seeing Hayden Christensen as Anakin once more, more than the return to the World Between Worlds. This is us being reminded what Star Wars is truly capable of and diving into a poignant, climactic reunion that’s been well-deserved since 2016.
Who is Anakin?
There has been debate as to who exactly this Anakin is – is he a sort of Force ghost, appearing to Ahsoka one last time, or is he a figment of her memories and only a catalyst to her own arc?
The emphasis on his appearance, though, is more impactful on Ahsoka’s story than his own. Anakin has suffered through his story already, falling and rising in before finally being redeemed. And while Ahsoka might’ve learned of his fate from Luke, she was never witness to the intricacies of Anakin’s return to the light.
All that to say: while I do believe that this really was Anakin whom Ahsoka was interacting with, the truth doesn’t matter much. Ahsoka needed to confront her former master and that is what she did.
My belief that this is Anakin – the real Anakin, not just Ahsoka’s Skyguy – stems from the fact that Ahsoka isn’t in control of his actions. As the time periods progress, with Ahsoka being thrown back into different events of her and Anakin’s past, Anakin challenges her at every turn.
When Ahsoka first sees her old master, she doesn’t call him Skyguy. She calls him Anakin.
Ahsoka telling Anakin she won’t fight him and Anakin responding with “I’ve heard that before” – oh man, my heart. I wasn’t expecting a ROTJ reference like this. And this isn’t the first time that a parallel has been drawn between Ahsoka and Luke when it comes to Anakin. In TCW season 5, when Ahsoka is on the run from the Jedi, Anakin reaches out to her and asks her to come with him. But Ahsoka jumps down instead, just like Luke in ESB. Anakin’s progeny have always been strong-willed.
But back to Ahsoka.
In this episode, Anakin always answers who Ahsoka expects him to be. When she first sees him, he’s the old friend she lost long ago. They duel, echoing Anakin’s fight with Obi-Wan in his actions, but ultimately Ahsoka and Anakin remain in their casual friendliness. It’s when Anakin throws them back to the Battle of Ryloth that this dynamic shifts.
In their flashback, Ahsoka is forced to acknowledge the brutality of the war she entered. Ariana Greenblatt, who portrayed a young Gamora in Infinity War, gives a heartbreaking representation of just how young Ahsoka was at the dawn of the Clone Wars. Here, Ahsoka sees Anakin as she once needed him. He is the protective older brother and focused teacher whom she used to rely on so heavily. Ahsoka asks in disbelief how he can act cavalier when they’re surrounded by death and destruction, and Anakin’s demeanor changes. His attitude was what kept Ahsoka afloat during the Clone Wars, after all. But here, if Ahsoka wants Anakin to be serious, then he’ll be serious for her.
Ahsoka asking about training her own Padawan one day is a lovely flash between her past and future. When Anakin becomes more stern with Ahsoka, telling her that he needs to train her as a warrior for her survival, she asks if she can ever stop fighting. Bluntly, Anakin tells her that if she does, she’ll die. He reenters the battle, starting to become Vader.
“I don’t understand,” Ahsoka says. “That’s your problem,” Anakin responds, echoing Yoda’s sentiments from ESB. When Luke says “I don’t believe it,” Yoda tells him “That is why you fail.” Like the “I won’t fight you” line from the episode’s beginning, Ahsoka is again mirroring Luke.
Who is Vader?
Anakin witnessing Ahsoka’s part in the Siege of Mandalore was fantastic – after all, he never saw this fight himself. Anakin tries reaching out to Ahsoka again, telling her that she holds the legacies of all the Jedi who came before her. But instead of focusing forward, on her own Jedi status and her Padawan, Ahsoka turns back to Anakin. She asks him if that means she’s doomed to suffer the dark side the way he did.
Anakin becomes frustrated that Ahsoka is still focusing on him – and not just him, but Vader too. Is that all she still sees him as, all she thinks he has left to give her?
So Anakin becomes what she expects. He spars with her again, letting Vader entirely take over. From the style of his fighting to his red lightsaber – not to mention the mechanical breathing and the Imperial March – he’s not Skyguy anymore. I could be wrong, and it might just be the participants of the duel, but some of their moves here reminded me of their last battle at Malachor.
In a way, Malachor was Ahsoka “redeeming” herself for walking away. I put that word in quotes because it wasn’t something she needed to really atone for. But Malachor is where she makes her stand against Vader, knowing he was once Anakin, and she doesn’t leave him. Not this time.
But their story was still left unfinished. Ahsoka stood, but she never reached the turning point of that duel. Ezra pulled her away before it could be completed. That battle, like Ahsoka’s last interaction with Anakin, was left unfinished.
That is what the moment between Ahsoka and Anakin represents here. Ahsoka gaining the upper hand and holding Anakin’s lightsaber to his throat is the unfinished final blow from Malachor. What will Ahsoka choose?
Briefly, Ahsoka’s eyes flash with the dark side. But it’s not a signal about her own dark tendencies – she’s never been lured to turn from the light. Like all her actions in this episode, everything she does is in relation to Anakin.
Anakin was Vader. She won’t be him.
And when Ahsoka throws away his lightsaber and makes her choice, Anakin changes. His eyes lose their yellow intensity.
This whole time, Ahsoka has been seeing Anakin however she wants. Friend or enemy, mentor or ally, master or monster – Skyguy or Vader. But in his last moments, she sees him as he truly is. He’s Anakin Skywalker, and he’s succeeded in teaching her. Anakin is the name Ahsoka says upon waking.
(I really wish, though, that Ahsoka had hugged Anakin after getting rid of the lightsaber and before saying she chooses to live. It’s not just my broken heart that loves their doomed bond – it would’ve added a lot to that final scene. In a way, this episode – and that scene in particular – was about Ahsoka accepting Anakin at last. Her hugging him would’ve been about her physically letting him go, but still showing that she never stopped loving him.)
Live in the present or die in the past
It feels unfair for me to criticize this episode for being vague, especially when my previous complaints have been that this show’s dialogue is too on the nose. But this is what we’ve been working towards, to dive deeper into the heart of Anakin and Ahsoka’s confrontation. So far, this episode is the crowning jewel of the series.
The balance of emotion and action was beautiful. As I’ve said before, I’m always a fan of a good lightsaber battle, especially when the participants were once friends. In this episode, it wasn’t the first time Anakin dueled with someone he viewed as a sibling. But when he had the chance, Anakin tried to kill Obi-Wan, only to be defeated himself. Now, when Ahsoka held that same possibility, she made a different choice. Obi-Wan destroyed both himself and Anakin when he fought his former apprentice. Ahsoka didn’t take the same path. Not this time.
I found Anakin’s “live or die” challenge to Ahsoka to be especially mysterious, considering everything the two of them go through together in this episode. Given that the build-up led to Ahsoka not killing Anakin, I thought a line like “kill or be killed” or “destroy or be destroyed” might be more accurate. Then Ahsoka’s choice to spare Anakin but survive herself would have more emphasis on her refusing a dichotomy. But “live or die” leaves more room for interpretation and growth as Ahsoka moves forward.
I was left wondering: when has Ahsoka chosen death? At first, I thought this line was unfair, as Ahsoka has always fought to live, from leaving the Jedi all the way to Order 66. But there’s one instance where that wasn’t the case – and it’s the last time that Anakin saw Ahsoka.
In a way, Ahsoka chose to die on Malachor. She stayed with Vader against Ezra’s pleas, sealing them together in the crumbling temple. Ahsoka was determined to save Anakin or kill Vader – and she would’ve died there if Ezra hadn’t saved her.
Viewing this episode more directly as a follow-up to Twilight of the Apprentice, Anakin’s “live or die” line makes more sense. Ahsoka chose the latter when she last faced Anakin – what will she choose now?
The impossibility of dark Ahsoka
I do wish, though, when we’re talking about the dark side, if this show had leaned a little more into Ahsoka harboring it. She’s never done so before, but that would make it all the more devastating to hint at now. Imagine if that was why Ahsoka left Sabine – not because she wasn’t Anakin, but because she was scared of becoming Vader. Then Ahsoka could lean into more dark side techniques when she fights, maybe even avoiding using a lightsaber because of that. We got a brief glimpse of Ahsoka maybe being dark when she attacked Shin in the last episode, but that was born more of panic than anger.
If Ahsoka was truly scared of becoming Vader as she grew older, then her confrontation with Vader here would have held even more weight. Her fears would be more valid, and there would be a more solid sense of something being earned from their encounter. As it stands, the episode is more of a confirmation of what we already believed – Ahsoka will never fall to the dark side. That’s not to say nothing was gained, though. Clearly, Ahsoka has been greatly affected by seeing Anakin. But her change as it currently stands doesn’t seem significant enough from her demeanor and behaviors at the beginning of the show.
Return of the main plot
Oh yeah, other stuff happened in this episode.
The focus on Anakin and Ahsoka was, obviously, the most important part. But that’s not to say nothing of import occurred outside of the World Between Worlds. I love Hera and little Jacen so very much. Getting to see Jacen utilizing his Force-sensitivity – and having Kanan be explicitly mentioned as his father – was what I’d been anticipating since the finale of Rebels. I liked the significant role Jacen was able to play here, and the confirmation of his close friendship with Ahsoka was fantastic. Also, Huyang telling Hera why people like her was so lovely. Hera’s one of my all-time favorite SW characters, and I’m glad she’s properly appreciated.
Well, by her friends at least. Geez, that ending. If these Senators really fire – sorry, permanently suspend General Hera Syndulla… I’m going to kill someone. Probably Kaz’s dad.
Also, it’s minor, but we technically got Rex’s first live-action appearance in this episode! And he’s voiced by Temuera Morrison! I get that this episode was for Anakin and Ahsoka, but I’d still like some Rex and Ahsoka focus at some point. Rex has been a central figure in Ahsoka’s life, and he STILL doesn’t know she’s not dead! Unless that’s been confirmed off-screen, which would be boring. I’d have just loved Ahsoka saying Rex’s name, either in surprise or longing, when she saw him in her vision.
What comes next?
I absolutely loved the return of Ahsoka the White. It’s definitely a meaningful choice in her appearance, given we haven’t seen her with this much hope since the ending of Rebels. She wore grey at the end of the Clone Wars, in The Mandalorian, and when she accepted Sabine as her apprentice again.
And the purrgil have returned! I can’t wait for the next leg of this quest to continue. I’m honestly hoping that, when Ahsoka finally finds Sabine, Sabine has slipped into the dark side. Then Ahsoka will have to summon the light side and bring her back, the way she wasn’t able to do so for Anakin. And that could be what she learned from him in this episode – the gift of salvation.
As before, here are my live thoughts on this episode!
