Sabine doesn’t need to be punished for her actions in ‘Ahsoka’ and that’s the point
Weeks after Ahsoka ended, one of the biggest debates still swirls around Sabine Wren and how her story was resolved. Fans have clamored for her to have more repercussions for her actions of putting the entire galaxy in danger with the rising threat of Grand Admiral Thrawn to save Ezra Bridger. Or they wanted to see her master, Ahsoka Tano, come down on her with a punishment. Instead, Ahsoka forgave Sabine, supported her choices, and they moved on. Sabine reached her full potential, gaining the Force and becoming a Jedi. This direction hasn’t sat well with some fans, but the thing is that this is the point of the show.
Because letting go of past grudges and moving forward toward healing is a major theme of Ahsoka.
If Ahsoka were a more realistic show, then yes, Sabine would probably have some real comeuppance heading her way. Star Wars is a mythology, though. Ahsoka plays in the realms of high fantasy. While Sabine’s story is far more hard-hitting and real than her fellow characters, this show is functioning more along the lines of a parable, which means the moral lesson of the narrative is what is important in Sabine’s story.
Up until Ahsoka faced Baylan Skoll and fell to her presumed death into the depths of the World Between Worlds, she was cold and distant towards her padawan. Ahsoka was gripped by fear of what her master, Anakin Skywalker, had become. It caused her to push away Sabine and keep her distance from others like Grogu and Luke Skywalker. She feared turning Sabine into the child soldier Ahsoka was in the Clone Wars. It was a grave mistake on Ahsoka’s part, almost severing her relationship with Sabine for good.
Then, in the World Between Worlds, Ahsoka learns to let go of her trauma around Anakin. She (understandably, as he almost killed her in Star Wars Rebels) held onto a fearful grudge around the fact that he became Darth Vader, and she worried that his darkness passed to her. She forgave him, allowing her to hold tight to the best parts of Anakin. This forgiveness allowed her to thrive, turning into Ahsoka the White and opening herself to bigger potential in the Force. This is why she forgave Sabine.
It was exactly what Sabine needed too. She was so cagey around Ezra about how she found him. Her actions weighed heavily on her mind. Giving Baylan the map was a choice made in desperation and fear. Sabine was already so much like Ahsoka. She was a child soldier who fought in a galactic civil war. She made a weapon that the Empire used to subjugate her people. She lost her entire family on Mandalore and two members of her found family with Ezra and Kanan Jarrus. She thought she had just watched Ahsoka die at the hands of Baylan. She was alone on a planet in the middle of nowhere, facing the choice to get at least one of these people back with Ezra. It was an honest and raw decision from a young woman in immense pain.
Sabine didn’t need to be punished because she was already punished thoroughly from life. She was already beaten down at her lowest point. What she needed was love, support, hope, and forgiveness from Ahsoka.
These are all themes of Star Wars. We’re told the good guys win by saving what they love, not beating what they hate. We see the Rebellion and the Resistance win thanks to the support they give each other in found families. As our favorite Princess turned General has said time and again, hope is one of the most important things in the galaxy. In a way, Sabine was gambling with hope when she gave the star map to Baylan; it was a hope that Ezra was still out there and could help her figure it out. And lastly, with forgiveness from Ahsoka, Sabine reached her full potential.
The Mandalorian was already punishing herself and beaten down by life. So instead, her master stood by her the way that Anakin always stood by Ahsoka. Ahsoka learned to let go and forgive Anakin to help her reach her full potential. Sabine gets the same treatment from her master to learn to forgive herself and grow for a better future.
That is the lesson of Ahsoka and Star Wars.