Clone Wars: What could the future hold for Ahsoka Tano?

Last week we debuted the trailer for the Clone Wars season 5 finale and it suggests that Ahsoka Tano may be headed for ominous times going forward. We already saw how quickly the public can turn on the Jedi in the last episode, and the trailer leads us to believe that the Jedi will be in store for more of the same, Ahsoka in particular. Ahsoka has been somewhat of an anomaly in the Star Wars Universe. You can find bio info on just about any Star Wars character via Wookiepedia, and Ahsoka is there as well, but unlike a lot of the Republic-era characters, her future has yet to be written.

Through the Expanded Universe novels and comics the fate and future of just about everybody has been written already. Most Jedi die during the execution of Order 66, the ones that survive have a place in the EU so we at least know what happens to them post Order 66. With Ahsoka though this is not the case, I know because in a fit of curiosity a few years back I checked. She has no bio info that spans beyond the latest Clone Wars episode. My intent was to find out if she survives Order 66, surely some writer would’ve included her in their work. She is without a doubt one of the most mysterious characters in the Star Wars Universe. I am willing to put money on it that Lucas decreed she shall not be used outside of the TV show unless it is set during the Clone Wars.

So what can we expect in the future for the character that has worked her way into all of our hearts? Now this could be misleading on purpose, but the trailer does seem to foreshadow a possible fall from grace for Ahsoka. This has always been my ideal situation for Ahsoka. She’s a great Jedi, but she also has a lot of Anakin’s tendencies thanks her training and the fact that her whole Jedi life has been consumed with nothing but war. We’ve seen it in the past and we know that Ahsoka does have some darkside in her. Could her time as Anakin’s Padawan lead her to the darkside eventually? Ultimately Anakin does everything a Jedi should not do, and we have seen that influence Ahsoka in some big ways, if Anakin is to fall to the darkside what would stop Ahsoka from doing the same?

The trailer also has a sense of finality to it, as if the show has almost ran its course and told the story it wanted to tell. Ahsoka has become such a huge part of the Star Wars Universe and the thing I would hate to see the most is her die during Order 66. That in my opinion would be a disservice to her character. What I would like to see more than anything is Ahsoka fall to the darkside, she survives Order 66 only to be found by the Empire and groomed to be one of the Emperor’s Hands, the elite force sensitive assassin team that included the likes of Mara Jade, who eventually becomes Luke Skywalker’s wife. Her time is well before Luke’s, so maybe she is the original Emperor’s Hand, how cool would that be! This would open her character up to some great EU storytelling once the Clone Wars has gone off the air. I know, I know, its Ahsoka, how could you want that? Think about it though, is there a better way to progress her character beyond a Jedi culling or her just hiding out making her away around the universe trying to dodge the Empire? Having Ahsoka fall to the darkside could’ve been what the trailer was alluding to, or it could not, but to be honest this is something that I thought would be a great idea a few years ago when we first saw the darkside in her. It would also cement her place in the Star Wars Universe, if you’ve ever read Legacy of the Force then you know having a well-known Jedi fall from grace makes for some seriously great storytelling.

I can’t say for sure where her character is headed, but my hope is that she is taken in a direction that serves her character the most and leaves her up for grabs so to speak so that the Expanded Universe authors can work their magic with her. My scenario seems to be the most fitting way to go about it without having her character become something less than what she has always been, one tough chick.

Follow Christopher on Twitter @AUDone44 and The Nerd @nerdfollowing