First introduced in the Clone Wars television movie, Ahsoka Tano was Anakin’s teenage padawan, assigned by the Jedi Council in an attempt to teach the hot-headed young Jedi Knight responsibility and temper him a little bit (obviously it didn’t work). Originally hated by the fans, Ahsoka is now one of the most popular Star Wars characters (and she has her own live-action series to prove it). Ahsoka has a storied legacy all her own, with multiple death or near-death experiences. It can be tricky to keep track of all her adventures, so let’s dig into Ahsoka’s multiple deaths, how they happened, and whether she actually stays that way.
Ahsoka’s first death
Ahsoka died for the first time in The Clone Wars TV series, during the Son of Mortis story arc that first introduced us to the Mortis Gods (a powerful family of Force-wielders who represent each side of the force: Son/dark, Daughter/light, and Father/balance between them) and the World Between Worlds. In one of the first attempts to corrupt Anakin, the Son used his abilities to infect the 16-year-old Ahsoka with part of his soul, twisting her into a creature of the dark side. Once infected, Ahsoka served his purpose by luring Anakin to the Son. The Son then drained her life force, killing her instantly, before attempting to use the Mortis Dagger to kill his Father. However, the Daughter stepped between the two of them, taking the killing blow instead. As she was dying, she allowed Anakin to transfer her life force to Ahsoka instead, bringing the apprentice back to life and imbuing her with part of the Daughter’s spirit. Possessing part of a Mortis God’s spirit has clearly altered Ahsoka’s own nature as a force user—her relationships with the Morai bird and the World Between Worlds make that clear—and may have implications that impact not just her, but the rest of the galaxy and the force itself.
Ahsoka’s second death
Ahsoka died for the second time, or at least appeared to die, during the season finale of Rebels season two in a duel with her former master, Darth Vader. Though her death didn’t play out on screen, it’s implied that Vader had killed her, and perhaps he had. Later, Ezra Bridger was able to use the World Between Worlds to travel back through time and rescue Ahsoka from death for the second time.
Ahsoka’s third death?
We know, or at least, we think know (because Star Wars loves a surprise resurrection), that Ahsoka was already dead by the time of Rey and Kylo/Ben’s final showdown with Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker. Ahsoka’s voice made up part of the dead Jedi chorus that encouraged Rey to keep on fighting instead of giving up during the battle, which should be confirmation that she is in fact dead. Especially given her high-risk lifestyle and the fact that she’d have been about 75 by the time that conflict took place. At the same time, based on Ahsoka’s relationship with the Mortis Gods and the World Between Worlds, it’s entirely possible that she’s going to come back somehow despite all of this.
All that said, if Ahsoka truly is dead by the time of the sequel trilogy, we have no information on how, or why, it happened. It’s entirely possible that we’ll find out as the events of Ahsoka unfold. It already seems like she’s not going to survive to the end of this season. Because if there’s one thing this franchise loves, it’s setting up a beloved character to die just after making sure the audience is invested in them. Hopefully, that’s not where the series is going, and there will be many more Ahsoka stories to come.
(featured image: Disney+)
