The newest live-action Star Wars show on Disney+ is Ahsoka, named for Ahsoka Tano – a former Jedi who fought in the Clone Wars and was once an apprentice to Anakin Skywalker.
Folks who have strictly stuck to live-action Star Wars content didn’t meet Ahsoka until she popped up in Season 2 of The Mandalorian. As he tries to reunite Grogu with other Jedi, Din Djarin finds Ahsoka (played by Rosario Dawson) on the planet of Corvus where she’s fighting Imperial remnants and trying to pin down the location of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Viewers saw Ahsoka once more in live-action – in The Book of Boba Fett – where she watches Luke Skywalker begin to build a new Jedi Temple.
But fans of the animated Star Wars shows, The Clone Wars and Rebels, have known Ahsoka for quite a while. Ahsoka was created by Dave Filoni and George Lucas as they were working together on the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the television show that followed and ran from 2008 through 2020, and she is voiced by the great Ashley Eckstein.
While Ahsoka makes her first appearance in the animated Clone Wars film, it’s not required viewing; it’s The Clone Wars show – and later, its successor Rebels – where fans see her character fully fleshed out and developed. Over the course of these two animated shows, viewers see Ahsoka grow up, wield a pair of lightsabers, befriend Clone Troopers, join a band of rebels, follow and lead, and clash with foes both big and small, familiar and unfamiliar.
Before you watch Ahsoka – or perhaps while you’re watching it – here are the essential episodes of The Clone Wars and Rebels you should check out to get to know who Ahsoka Tano is and what she’s been through.
The Clone Wars: Episode 44 – Lethal Trap
The Clone Wars: 105 to 108 – The Wrong Jedi
Much of The Clone Wars is told through mini-arcs, where three-to-four consecutive episodes focus on one storyline. In this set of four at the end of Season 5, Ahsoka is accused of murder, fights to prove her innocence and then teams up with Asajj Ventress. It begins on Cato Neimoidia, where she saves Anakin’s life. In the end, Ahsoka makes a choice that changes her relationship with Anakin and dramatically alters her path to becoming a Jedi Knight.
The Clone Wars: 130 to 133 – Victory and Death
The final three episodes of this arc run along the same timeline as the events of Revenge of the Sith. It begins with Bo-Katan asking for Ahsoka for help after Darth Maul (yes, to the folks who have stuck to live-action, he’s alive) seizes the throne on Mandalore. Ahsoka then asks Obi-Wan and Anakin for help, but they quickly become busy after hearing General Grievous has attacked Coruscant. Ahsoka travels to Mandalore with Captain Rex and the 501st Legion, confronts Maul and an awesome duel ensues. Later, Ahsoka and Rex have to grapple with Order 66 and navigate an escape.
Rebels: Season 1, Episode 15 – Fire Across the Galaxy
This is Ahsoka’s first appearance in Rebels and she is older and wiser. It’s where she first meets the Ghost Crew, many of whom – from Sabine Wren to Hera Syndulla – are expected to play big roles in the live-action Ahsoka series.
Rebels, Season 2, Episodes 1 and 2 – The Siege of Lothal
This is the beginning of Season 2 of Rebels, the season in which Ahsoka and Darth Vader are the most involved in. In this pair of episodes, we see the Ghost Crew battle with Vader, and then we see Vader come to the realization that Ahsoka is alive and was not killed during Order 66.
“The apprentice lives.”
Rebels, Season 2, Episode 18 – Shroud of Darkness
Ezra, Kanan and Ahsoka visit a Jedi Temple on Lothal. Ahsoka then comes to grips with the real identity of Darth Vader – her former master, Anakin Skywalker.
“Do you know what I’ve become?”
Rebels, Season 2, Episodes 21 and 22 – Twilight of the Apprentice
Ahsoka, Ezra and Kanan arrive on the forbidden world of Malachor, the home of a Sith Temple. Waiting for them are Inquisitors and Maul. Vader shows up too, and after toying a bit with Ezra, has an all-time clash with Ahsoka.
“I am no Jedi.”
Rebels, Season 4, Episode 13 – A World Between Worlds
While exploring a Jedi Temple, Ezra stumbles into a void between space and time. During this, he sees Ahsoka’s battle with Vader, reaches out and brings her through a portal, changing her fate. The two wind up getting separated in the void, but both make it out. In the final episode of Rebels, we see Ahsoka meet up with Sabine Wren – a scene we’ve glimpses of in live-action in the trailers for Ahsoka.
I’m still not really sure what the World Between Worlds is. I’ll let its creator explain:
Bonus: Tales of the Jedi – Episodes 1, 5 and 6
The first season of this animated anthology series created by Dave Filoni was released in October 2022. It really focuses on two characters who eventually left the Jedi Order: Dooku and Ahsoka. The three episodes focused on Ahsoka show her at very different stages of her life. One is on her childhood, the second is about her tutelage under Anakin, and the third is about her life between Order 66 and meeting the Ghost Crew.
