Summary
- Ahsoka undergoes a powerful transformation inspired by Gandalf, becoming Ahsoka the White in her Star Wars story.
- Ahsoka’s struggle revolves around her identity and the fate of Anakin Skywalker, her mentor turned evil.
- The transformation allows Ahsoka to come to terms with who she is and become a helpful force for good, much like Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings.
Ahsoka season 1 featured the titular Jedi’s transition into Ahsoka the White, with showrunner Dave Filoni opening up about his obvious inspirations for this plot point. By the end of Ahsoka episode 5, Ahsoka’s white Star Wars costume was presented in all its glory after being teased in Star Wars Rebels. This solidified the major character change that Ahsoka underwent in her solo show, something that will undoubtedly continue into the story of Ahsoka season 2 and even Dave Filoni’s Mandalorian-era movie.
In an interview on the Dagobah Dispatch podcast, Filoni was asked about Ahsoka the White. Concerning the filmmaker’s evident Lord of the Rings inspirations, Filoni revealed all about one of Ahsoka‘s best character arcs:
“It was very interesting – the transformative nature of Gandalf, from being the kind of Ronin wanderer that he was, helping people, but somewhat unsure of himself, the transformation to becoming Gandalf the White. Somebody that he wasn’t ready to become, but needed to be for everybody else and for himself… I was really fascinated with that… by Gandalf and what makes him tick.”
Furthering these comments, Filoni went on to explain how he wished to apply this Gandalf story to Ahsoka. In doing so, he tied this transformation into Ahsoka’s biggest struggle, that being the fate of Anakin Skywalker:
“I really wanted Ahsoka to be a wanderer, a ronin… and her struggle is really that of: Who is she really meant to be… now that, you know… her whole world collapsed… not just that the Jedi Order fell apart, but that her mentor became one of the most evil people in the galaxy… And I never showed her deal with that. So, understanding that she would have these second thoughts about herself or hesitations that she should be a mentor, I thought, this is kind of like Gandalf; he’s not fully committed to the task. He thinks he is, but he’s not. And so I wanted a character that we could watch have that transformation, where she fully accepts, not just what she was, but what her path was about.”
Ahsoka’s Transformation Is A Powerful Moment In Her Star Wars Story
These comments from Filoni make it clear that, above all else, Ahsoka’s Gandalf-inspired transformation is one of the most powerful moments in her entire Star Wars story. Not only does Ahsoka come to terms with who she is as a person, Jedi, and mentor, but she comes to terms with what her Master was not. Realizing Anakin was, in the end, a helpful force for good allowed her to become the same not only to the galaxy but to people like Sabine who depended on her, just as Gandalf did to Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings.
This was very well realized in Ahsoka, especially through the differences in writing and performance for the character before and after Ahsoka episode 5. Rosario Dawson portrayed Ahsoka as a person much more at ease after her transformation, someone who is sure about who she is and what lies ahead. This was much different from the more closed-off, downtrodden Ahsoka of the first four episodes. How this journey continues in Ahsoka remains to be seen, but it is clear Filoni’s story will continue to be inspired by fantasy works of the past like Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
Source: Dagobah Dispatch
