Ahsoka, Episode 4: we NEED to talk about that ending!

Beware: This article contains SPOILERS about Ahsoka, Episode 4: Fallen Jedi. Don’t read on without watching the episode first.

«Hello, Snips.»

Oh God. Be still, my heart. My mind starts racing: «Was that...? Isn’t that...? Surely they’re not going to...?» Ahsoka’s shocked face tells me she’s thinking the same thing.

«Master?»

Okay, it’s happening. For real. The reunion we’ve all been waiting for. My eyes start to fill with tears. And there he is, standing in front of her. In the flesh.

Anakin Skywalker.

If you’ve googled Ahsoka or searched for it on X (formerly Twitter) in the last few hours, you too will have sensed the disturbance in the Force. After all, this is the first time live-action Anakin has met live-action Ahsoka. A momentous occasion. Especially for long-time fans of The Clone Wars and Rebels.

Allow me to explain.

Is this real? Where are they? What’s going on?

First off, Hayden Christensen slipping back into the role of Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One who brings balance to the Force, really isn’t that much of a surprise. Rumours of his comeback were already being circulated a year ago. I wrote about them here:

Now, he really is back. Not as Darth Vader, but as Anakin. Ahsoka’s Master, brother in arms and friend. She last saw him right before the Siege of Mandalore depicted in the Clone Wars series. It was here they parted ways, when Anakin and Obi-Wan had to rush back to Coruscant to rescue Chancellor Palpatine, who’d been kidnapped. This rescue mission forms the opening sequence of Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Anakin was then seduced by the Emperor, going on to become Darth Vadar. It’d be years before he’d see Ahsoka again.

Officially, Anakin Skywalker, hero of the Galactic Republic, was declared dead. Only the Emperor and a handful of initiated Sith Inquisitors knew that he’d actually hunt down the remaining Jedi as Darth Vader. Obi-Wan, Anakin’s Master and best friend, didn’t learn the truth until years later. Ahsoka, too, didn’t hear of Anakin’s fate until Rebels, Season 2 – Episode 4, about 15 years after the Clone Wars. In a battle to the death, Anakin’s former apprentice faced the Dark Lord – and lost.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Months later, in Rebels, Season 4 – Episode 13, Ezra Bridger finds a way into the World Between Worlds. From there, he travels through time into the past to save Ahsoka’s life.

If we compare the scene in Ahsoka with the scene above from Rebels, it quickly becomes clear where Ahsoka is right now. Yep, you guessed it: the World Between Worlds.

The World Between Worlds

If you’re not a fan of The Clone Wars or Rebels, I imagine this is all a bit much for you right now. Time travel? The World Between Worlds? Is there really a place for any of that stuff in the Star Wars universe?

Believe me, as a fan of the animated series, I can assure you there have been way crazier deep dives into the mysteries of the Force. Think Mortis, where Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka encounter divine manifestations of the Light and Dark Sides of the Force. Or the Whills, the ancient, immortal, practically omnipotent beings who teach Jedi Master Yoda to manifest after death as a Force Ghost. It’s a technique they’d also taught Qui-Gon Jinn before him.

However, the World Between Worlds is undoubtedly one of the most difficult Star Wars concepts to understand. Nobody really gets it. Not yet. Maybe Ahsoka will reveal more about the nature of this mystical place. All we know so far is that the World Between Worlds is both a physical and a metaphysical plane. A manifestation of the Force itself. An infinite realm of bridges and pathways, where past and future events all unfold at once.

Getting a headache yet? As Obi-Wan once said about the Force, «It surrounds us. It permeates us. It binds the galaxy together.» This is exactly what the World Worlds is meant to represent. A realm outside of space and time where everything is connected. Maybe even the afterlife.

So, is this an Anakin Skywalker from another time?

Hard to say. Dave Filoni, creator of The Clone Wars and Rebels and Ahsoka showrunner, explained the Rebels scene in the picture above in an interview with CinemaBlend a few years ago:

«I don’t really think of it as time travel. It’s not really a thing where you go through one door and out another in a different time. The world between worlds is really about knowledge and gaining knowledge. You can gain knowledge of the future or futures that may happen, and you can see things that happened in the past. You can at times choose to alter them, but it’s perilous to do so and when you alter something you don’t know if that’s not the way it always happened.»

So, the World Between Worlds is still a largely unexplained concept. Why Ezra, of all people, was destined to enter the World Between Worlds is never explained in Rebels. Nor do we get to find out why the Emperor never managed to find the realm, despite searching for it. But that’s how the Force is. It often works in unfathomable ways.

Whatever the case, in Ahsoka, Anakin’s former Padawan seems to have entered the mystical plane by dying. Or by nearly dying, anyway – we don’t know yet if she survives the fall after her duel with Baylan. And Anakin? Some people think that he’s only appeared to Ahsoka as a Force Ghost. Personally, I’m not so sure about that. First of all, he doesn’t have the characteristic blue glow that surrounds other Force Ghosts. Not only that, but he’s carrying Darth Vader’s lightsaber – not his own. And then there’s the ominous Darth Vader theme that was playing at the end of the episode. What was that trying to tell us? Can we not trust this Anakin at all?

If you ask me, all this points away from Anakin being a morally reformed Force Ghost.

So what are we seeing here?

If it isn’t Anakin’s Force Ghost, does that mean it’s a past version of Anakin who’s made his way into the World Between Worlds to meet Ahsoka? I think this is pretty unlikely as well. If that were true, he’d still be carrying the lightsaber later presented to Luke by Obi-Wan. Anakin only loses «his» lightsaber after his duel with Obi-Wan on Mustafar, which left him mutilated and burned beyond recognition. Since he’s already carrying Darth Vadar’s lightsaber, this theory doesn’t make any sense.

Perhaps this is a different manifestation of Anakin that’s come to terms with his dark side? Or is Ahsoka simply imagining Anakin?

Beats me. I can only speculate. That being said, there are some unconfirmed leaks about what’s going to happen next. They’re even supposed to be very credible – especially in the wake of this episode. But I haven’t read up on them. I wouldn’t want to spoil that thrilling sense of anticipation. I’d rather wait until Episode 5 comes out next Wednesday.

In the meantime, if you want to catch up on anything you’ve missed or learn more about the fantastical, puzzling mysteries of the Force, I recommend you take a look at my special list of The Clone Wars and Rebels episodes. The Rebels episodes mentioned there are especially worth checking out before you watch Ahsoka.