Countdown to ‘Ahsoka’: Revisiting Season 4 of ‘The Clone Wars’
Welcome back to our “Countdown to Ahsoka” series, in which we recap all things related to Ahsoka Tano in preparation for her upcoming Disney Plus show. So far, we’ve covered everything we do and don’t know about the new live-action show, discussed Ahsoka’s evolving character design throughout her appearances, and started reviewing her important episodes from Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Today, we’re going to talk about her major episodes from The Clone Wars’ fourth season. For many fans, myself included, this season is one of that show’s best outings. It includes plenty of fantastic episodes and arcs, many of which prominently feature Ahsoka. To start, let’s go over the season’s first storyline.
Water War/Gungan Attack/Prisoners
The season begins with an action-heavy arc set on Mon Cala, the homeworld of the Mon Calamari and Quarren species. The Mon Calamari king has just been assassinated, and unrest is brewing between the two native peoples. Riff Tamson, the local Separatist commander, is urging the Quarren to strike against the Mon Calamari and take control of the planet for themselves. Meanwhile, the Mon Calamari prince, Lee-Char, struggles to find the confidence to lead his people in this time of crisis. Once it becomes clear that war in the seas of Mon Cala is inevitable, the Republic dispatches clone troops led by Ahsoka and Jedi Master Kit Fisto to defend the planet.
As you might surmise from that synopsis, this arc has a fairly large ensemble cast. Given that there are so many characters in these episodes, Ahsoka doesn’t get too much time in the spotlight. However, she certainly makes the most of her screen time. Shortly after she arrives on Mon Cala to join the fight, she saves Anakin’s life when he nearly drowns after losing his helmet. She also saves Prince Lee-Char’s life on more than one occasion.
Ahsoka’s best moments come in Gungan Attack, the arc’s second episode, when she imparts some valuable wisdom to the young prince. Lee-Char is the closest thing this arc has to a main character, and his quest to unite all the peoples of Mon Cala and mature into the role of king forms the story’s emotional core. Ahsoka helps to spur on Lee-Char’s character growth and encourages him when it seems like the fight is lost.
“You don’t have to carry a sword to be powerful. Some leaders’ strength is inspiring greatness in others.”
“You can’t let your fear control you…If you make decisions out of fear, you’re more likely to be wrong.”
Ahsoka may only be one hero amongst many in this arc, but she still gets some good scenes here. It’s also good to see that she’s taken Anakin’s teachings to heart and has learned them well enough to start teaching them to others.
Kidnapped/Slaves of the Republic/Escape from Kadavo
The next arc that features Ahsoka is the Zygerrian slaver story in the middle of the season. Count Dooku shows up at a peaceful Togrutan colony with a droid army and kidnaps the entire population. Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan arrive too late to save them, but they still have to deal with the remaining droids and their Zygerrian commander.
Ahsoka notices that Anakin is unusually enraged at the presence of the Zygerrian leader, and Obi-Wan explains to her that Anakin used to be a slave. Anakin’s childhood is understandably a sensitive topic for him, so this brief conversation with Obi-Wan marks the first time she’s ever learned anything significant about her master’s life before he joined the Jedi.
Ahsoka promises that she’ll stop Anakin from doing anything too rash, but she ends up helping him at the end of the episode when he doggedly pursues the fleeing slaver even when it seems like he’s escaped. They apprehend the slaver, and Anakin gets aggressive when the Zygerrian initially doesn’t cooperate.
This episode and the arc as a whole aren’t super important for Ahsoka’s character development, but she does get this nice exchange with the Zygerrian as she confronts him:
“Young Jedi, you’ll learn your place!”
“I’m not so young anymore.”
From there, the story shifts to Zygerria as the Jedi try to save the colonists. Ahsoka pretends to be Anakin’s slave so that he can get an audience with the queen. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and Rex try to find out where the colonists are being imprisoned. We get a few nice moments where Ahsoka struggles to maintain her cover and can’t resist standing up either for herself or the slaves she sees being mistreated all around her.
Unfortunately, the plan goes south. Everyone’s true identities get discovered, and all our heroes are captured. Obi-Wan and Rex are sent with the colonists to a brutal labor camp, Ahsoka is kept suspended in a cage, and Anakin is to serve as the queen’s personal bodyguard. The queen offers to free Anakin’s friends if he promises that they’ll all remain behind and serve her forever.
The latter two episodes of this arc have a lot of great scenes dealing with the topic of slavery. The writing emphasizes just how horrible and cruel it is, and what impact it has on those held in bondage. Anakin and the queen also have some compelling conversations where they discuss what it truly means to be a slave and whether or not the Jedi are slaves for deciding to serve a flawed and corrupt government in the form of the Republic Senate. The queen herself gets an arc when she learns that by participating in this unjust system, she too, is ultimately a slave to Dooku and the Separatists.
This story clearly has a lot on its mind. Sadly, though, Ahsoka doesn’t have much bearing on any of it. It may seem odd that I’m singling this aspect of this story out, especially since the writers were understandably trying to make this mission personal for Anakin because of his enslavement as a child.
However, the writers also chose to make the kidnapped colony consist entirely of Togrutans, which are Ahsoka’s people. And yet, Ahsoka doesn’t seem extra concerned by the fact that 50,000 members of her species are facing a lifetime in bondage. She has a couple of throwaway lines to remind us that she’s one of them, but that’s it until the story’s end when the colony’s governor pulls her aside for a private discussion. Even then, the Togrutan governor just thanks her again for saving them, and that’s basically it.
If the writers wanted Ahsoka to serve in a supporting role for this story while Anakin dealt with his traumatic past, that’s fine, but I feel they should’ve had a colony of a different species kidnapped. I kept expecting this story to become as personal for Ahsoka as it obviously was for Anakin, but instead, it was just another mission for her. This choice didn’t ruin the arc for me, but it did make me wonder why it had to be a colony specifically of Togrutans that got enslaved. Oh well.
A Friend in Need
This episode is easily the most eventful for Ahsoka’s character in season 4. It acts as a sequel of sorts to the previous season’s two-episode arc in which senators from the Republic and Separatist Alliance make a failed attempt to end the Clone Wars. It’s also the only episode where Ahsoka is the main character this season.
Right from the beginning, the episode has a rapid pace that never slows down. Ahsoka is accompanying Padmé during yet another round of peace talks on Mandalore when suddenly Lux Bonteri, son of the late Separatist Senator Mina Bonteri, bursts in. He accuses Count Dooku of orchestrating his mother’s death, which infuriates the Separatist representatives. A pair of droids haul Lux away, and Ahsoka immediately decides to rescue him.
Count Dooku appears before Lux in hologram form, and he makes it clear that he’ll kill the young man for telling everyone about his crime. Lux glances at a strange device on his wrist as the conversation plays out. Naturally, Ahsoka arrives just in time to save Lux, and they make a daring escape as a firefight breaks out between the droids and Republic troops at the conference. Even though Ahsoka seemingly just saved his life, Lux isn’t too pleased to see her. He insists he had everything under control before knocking the Padawan unconscious the second she lets her guard down.
When Ahsoka awakens, she finds that the ship has landed on an unknown, Hoth-esque snow planet, and her lightsabers are missing. She sees Lux outside the ship and goes to confront him. Suddenly, a group of Death Watch fighters drop in on their jetpacks, and the truth behind Lux’s actions is revealed. The young man has formed an alliance with the terrorist group. He will provide them with Count Dooku’s location, which the device on his wrist pinpointed during their earlier hologram conversation, and Death Watch will assassinate him.
Naturally, Ahsoka knows this plan is idiotic, and she warns Lux repeatedly. Unfortunately, he refuses to listen, obsessed with getting revenge for his mother’s murder. The situation escalates until Ahsoka is forced to reveal her true abilities to stop the Death Watch from killing a village full of civilians. Lux finally realizes his mistake, and he, Ahsoka, and R2-D2 must fight their way free. They succeed, but that only leads to another downer scene as Lux abruptly abandons Ahsoka to continue to seek retribution.
This episode is a wonderful showcase for Ahsoka’s character. She adapts quickly when she realizes the trouble that Lux has gotten himself into, keeps her cool, and only reveals herself as a Jedi when innocents are threatened. Once Ahsoka’s cover is blown and she has to fight her way out, she more than holds her own. She decapitates four Death Watch fighters at once and battles Pre Vizsla to a draw. Can you imagine the rookie Padawan we met in the pilot movie doing this? I can’t. Ahsoka has definitely come a long way since then.
We also get to see just how far Ahsoka is willing to go to help a friend. Lux has clearly made an awful mistake, and at first, he refuses to recognize that truth. However, Ahsoka never gives up on him, and she saves his life. If that’s not following the Jedi way, I don’t know what is.
Lastly, this episode shows us the first meeting between Ahsoka and Bo-Katan. Neither of them makes a good first impression on the other. Ahsoka hates Bo-Katan because she’s a member of Death Watch, and Bo-Katan seems unimpressed with Ahsoka after Lux lies and says she’s his betrothed. Plus, the two of them get into a fight as Ahsoka and Lux escape. Thankfully, their relationship improves down the line, or otherwise, Bo-Katan never would’ve pointed Din Djarin and Grogu in Ahsoka’s direction all those years later!
Those are all the episodes from The Clone Wars season 4 in which Ahsoka plays a major role. Revisiting these stories has reminded me once again just how strong this season was. I didn’t even get the chance to talk about other incredible storylines like the Umbara four-parter or Darth Maul’s return at the end of the season. Alas.
Check back with us tomorrow as our “Countdown to Ahsoka” series continues!
Eric has been a fan of Star Wars ever since the age of five (or so) when his parents sat him down in front of a TV with pizza and a Sprite and showed him the original trilogy. He keeps trying to convince more fans to read the amazing 1980s Star Wars newspaper comics by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson. When he's not reading, watching or playing Star Wars media, he's often enjoying other great fantasy and science fiction sagas or playing roleplaying games with his friends.
