WARNING: This post contains SPOILERS for Ahsoka Season 1, Episode 5.
Up until now, the Siege of Mandalore was a story mostly told in animated Star Wars. This week’s episode of the Ahsoka series brought the event to live-action for the very first time.
Star Wars fans were first introduced to the Siege of Mandalore in the final arc of Season 7 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. It is such an integral part of the overarching story — for so many characters at once — that Star Wars Celebration 2022 even hosted a screening of the four episodes that defined Ahsoka Tano’s future forever.
And now Dave Filoni has brought it into live-action. Briefly, admittedly. And the setting itself is less important than the conversations Anakin and Ahsoka have standing in the smoke. But its importance in the development of her character has been solidified — now even those who haven’t seen the animated shows can better understand how much it matters.
The Siege of Mandalore was where Ahsoka battled Maul, where she teamed up with Bo-Katan to save the Mandalorian people. She was greatly tested, being handed the knowledge that her former master may not turn out to be the kind of person she’d always believed he would remain.
She could have made the wrong choice. But she didn’t.
This all happened before the most consequential moment of her life thus far — during Order 66, when she chose to risk her life, rather than to hurt a single other seemingly innocent soul.
To see this battle in live-action speaks so much to Ahsoka’s journey, how far she has come — how far she still has to go. She likely plays these memories back in her head frequently. But now she is being forced to process them; to understand them. To understand how they have made her who she has become.
If you have not seen the Siege of Mandalore arc, I highly recommend taking the time to witness it for yourself. It may change your life.
New episodes of Star Wars: Ahsoka drop Tuesdays exclusively on Disney+.
Make sure to check Dork Side of the Force after Ahsoka season 1 episode 5 releases for updates and news about the series!