Ahsoka: The state of the Ezra and Sabine ship
I like to think I am in touch with the nerd and pop culture world. Keeping my ear to the ground so to speak. After all, between being a contributor here on Dork Side of the Force and hosting a pop culture and sci-fi-themed podcast, I have had to try my best to stay up on the lingo these crazy kids use to talk to each other. That includes “shipping”.
It’s not uncommon for people to “ship” characters in a show or series. So what does that mean? It means they are two characters that the audience would like to see or think should be romantically linked. Star Wars is no exception to the shipping phenomenon. People have shipped Rey and Finn, Poe and Finn, Obi-Wan and Satine, and Sabine Wren and Ezra Bridger from Star Wars Rebels. Shipping has always been a vital part of all fandoms, and it carried Star Wars through fanzines before there was ever an EU.
From early on in the Rebels series, we see Ezra crushing on Sabine pretty hard. I mean, it checks out. He’s a teenage boy with raging hormones, she’s a pretty girl ready to lock him up in the friendzone. Ezra tries for the first couple of seasons to impress Sabine in multiple different ways, some more foolish than others. There is even a point where I think Sabine lets down her guard a bit, which may have been a possibility. But, just as quickly as the moment was there, the moment went away as well. For the most part, though, Sabine typically mocked Ezra’s advances.
By the end of Rebels we have a strong friendship built on mutual respect, similar life stories and experiences, and the battles waged against the Empire for the last few years behind them. Fans continued to ship them, wishing that Ezra and Sabine would get together, which is a perfectly normal part of fandom. When the trailers for the new Ahsoka series debuted, they became excited again to see a recreation of the mural scene and the touch of Ezra’s face. Stillshots of the touch were passed around in forums and chats.
In the first episode of Ahsoka, we see that Ezra recorded a personal message for Sabine, only worth noting because Hera and Zeb do not get personalized goodbyes that we are yet aware of. In that message, we see Ezra telling Sabine, “We aren’t really family, but you’re like a sister to me”. Star Wars makes it clear that at least right now, Sabine and Ezra are nothing more than friends or adopted siblings in their found family.
But let’s play the Devil’s Advocate in this shipyard. What if Sabine and Ezra are destined to be more than that? Why else would Ezra send ONLY Sabine a private message? Why would Sabine touch only the face of Ezra and not Kanan too, since they are both lost to the Battle of Lothal? Could Sabine have softened over the 10-year time period that Ezra has been gone and begun to see him in other ways? All these things are possible. We will have to spend our Tuesday nights at 9pm EST watching Ahsoka to find out what happens once we find Ezra.
Stay up to date with all things Ahsoka here at Dork Side of the Force.