12 Years Later, Ahsoka May Have Sneakily Fixed Star Wars' Strangest Canon Problem
Anakin may have found a new gig balancing the Force.
The Chosen One has always been Star Wars’ major theme. It’s central to the franchise’s original story, it’s integral to the Force’s mythological roots, and later, in the prequels, the idea becomes literal. But if Anakin truly is the Chosen One, then how did he bring balance to the Force? The answer may lie in Ahsoka Episode 5, and Ahsoka Tano herself could play a role.
In Episode 5, we see Anakin in a mystical dark realm fans have assumed is the otherworldly plane known as the World Between Worlds, which was introduced in Rebels. But Anakin never actually visited the World Between Worlds. Instead, in The Clone Wars, we see Anakin and Ahsoka on another strange, metaphysical world: Mortis, where three deities ruled over the Force. Is that where Episode 5 took place?
Anakin balances the Force on Mortis in The Clone Wars, technically fulfilling his role as Chosen One.
Those three beings, the Father, the Daughter, and the Son, each represent a different element of the Force. The Daughter is the Light Side, the Son is the Dark Side, and the Father represents the balance between the two. When Ahsoka and Anakin visited Mortis, the Son attempted to use Anakin to break out of Mortis. After his betrayal, all three deities were slain: the Daughter was accidentally murdered by the Son, the Father took his own life, and Anakin defeated the Son. Meanwhile, Ahsoka was poisoned by the Dark Side, but the Daughter saved her with the gift of her Life Force before dying. It was all a lot to process, but in short, Clone Wars introduced some deities essential to keeping the Force running... and then immediately knocked them all off.
Redditor NumeralJoker suggests the Anakin we see in Ahsoka Episode 5 had actually taken over the Father’s role of balancing the Force, finally fulfilling his destiny as the Chosen One. It’s clear this Anakin isn’t the fully redeemed version fans may have expected to see after his demise, but he’s also very supportive of Ahsoka’s embrace of the Light Side, despite the fact she left the Jedi (and him). There’s a bit of Vader still in him, but there’s good in him too. That makes him perfect for a role Clone Wars suggested was pretty darn important.
In a moment befitting a Greek tragedy, or at least a Final Fantasy game, the Daughter was accidentally slain when the Son attempted to murder the Father.
If this realm truly is Mortis, then it explains why Ahsoka (briefly) ended up there during her brush with mortality. Ahsoka is alive today thanks to the Daughter’s sacrifice, meaning she still holds her essence inside her. After her eventual demise, she may join her old master and represent the Light Side of the Force.
But then who could take the role of the Son? Who’s left in Star Wars to stand in for the Dark Side for an eternity? Maybe we’ll get an answer in the last two episodes of Ahsoka, or later on in the Mandoverse. Ahsoka ending up alongside her old master is the perfect ending for her; but she chose life in Episode 5, so we’ll have to wait a bit longer to see them reunited.
