Don’t mix up “Clone Wars” and “The Clone Wars.”
“Clone Wars” was the spin-off fiction produced from 2002-07; it included nine collected volumes of comic books (plus 10 volumes of the lighter “Clone Wars Adventures”) and several novels, and the centerpiece was the series of short episodes that aired on Cartoon Network. Key events included Anakin becoming a Jedi Knight, Dooku’s recruitment of Ventress, Anakin killing Ventress and Grievous’ kidnapping of Palpatine.
“The Clone Wars” is the spin-off fiction that launched with the animated movie in 2008 and continued with the TV series, which is now in its second season and now airs at 8 p.m. Fridays on Cartoon Network (make note of that, because my DVR still thinks it airs at 7 p.m.). Other media include comic books (both a monthly series and story-length volumes) and novels.
The stories in both “Clone Wars” and “The Clone Wars” cover the entire two-year period between Episode II and III, so while it’s tempting to say that they take place consecutively, it’s been well established that they bob and weave and overlap with each other.
So how to distinguish these two series? Simple. If Anakin has a Padawan named Ahsoka Tano in the story, then it’s part of “The Clone Wars.” If not, it’s “Clone Wars” (For those stories where it’s just Obi-Wan and Anakin, we now have to assume that Ahsoka was ordered to stay back at the temple because the mission was going to be too dangerous or something).
When the Togruta teenager was introduced in “The Clone Wars” movie, it created a minor breeze of controversy because 1, this character had never been mentioned before, and 2, Ahsoka — herself being barely more than a youngling — seemed to be aimed at kids (as was — gasp! — Jar Jar).
However, the controversy didn’t come close to reaching Jar Jar proportions (or even Wicket W. Warrick proportions) because:
1. As Yoda says in “The Clone Wars” movie, we now get to see if Anakin is ready to have a student. But more important, we’ll see if he’s ready to let go of a student. (Yoda is referring to that Jedi creed about not feeling attachment, and how Anakin’s really bad at it.)
And 2. the good-guy ensemble needed another character to spice things up. Yeah, at first glance, Ahsoka is in there for the kiddies. But it’s clear now that “The Clone Wars” is an adult show (which kids can also like, because it’s “Star Wars,” but the writers aren’t pandering to them). But really, she’s in there because all TV ensembles have a mix of genders and races, and Ahsoka covers both categories. Padme had been established as being more of a politician, and Jar Jar never quite fit the “Anakin’s goofy sidekick” role, so the path was paved for Ahsoka.
Now that we, the “Star Wars” community, have decided we like Ahsoka, it makes it all the more compelling to ask: What happens to her? Naturally, since she was just invented in 2008, she’s not mentioned in any stories that take place outside of “The Clone Wars.” And yet, she’s Anakin’s Padawan for crying out loud, so obviously she is a major player in the saga.
There are four possibilities:
1. Ahsoka dies at some point before “Episode III.” This would allow for a story where a grief-stricken Anakin flirts with turning evil. Perhaps Obi-Wan and Padme just barely succeed in keeping him on the good side. This would help explain why they are taken off guard in “Episode III”; they may have felt he had already survived the worst of it. As I’ve mentioned before, I think Anakin’s fall in “Episode III” is poorly written and unconvincing. That’s why I kind of hope that Ahsoka’s fate will be another nudge for Anakin turning into Vader; an Anakin breakdown scene would help establish his bipolar nature — and his vulnerability to the dark side — a little more. (Although, for God’s sake, it still wouldn’t explain why he kills a roomful of younglings just because Palpatine tells him to.)
2. Ahsoka is killed during Order 66.
3. Ahsoka survives Order 66 and goes into hiding, and then pops up in various stories down the road.
4. The writers never bother to explain Ahsoka’s ultimate fate.
Which outcome do you think will happen?
I’ve given this a lot of thought — at least in the 10 minutes since I started writing this blog entry — and I feel very strongly that option No. 1 is the winner. If Ahsoka is still alive during or after “Episode III,” she should be mentioned in those stories — and theoretically, she still could be, as more stories are written during those timeframes.
However, it makes much more sense that she dies before Episode III (in the very last episodes of “The Clone Wars”). Anakin is not the type of person that talks about his pain (except sometimes to Padme, and even she can’t get much out of him). Obi-Wan and Yoda certainly don’t spend much time talking about fallen comrades (which isn’t to say they are callous, it’s just that no one is better at bottling up feelings than the Jedi).
I can totally envision a scene set in the wake of Ahsoka’s death where Anakin vows, “This is too painful ever to speak of again, but I will never forget my Padawan, and I will draw on her memory to end this war,” or something to that effect. It could also be a classy way to send off a character that is well liked by fans.
But if anyone wants to argue for another fate for Ahsoka, this is the place.