From my LiveJournal
When rumors circulated that Anakin was going to have a young female padawan in CW, my first thought was, “I hope she’s not a Mary Sue.” With a full season of CW behind us, I’m happy to say that my worst fears were not realized. Better yet, I adore the spunky little Togruta. She fits believably into the story without trying to usurp what’s best about the bigger-than-life characters around her.
It’s likely she was conceived as a hook for younger viewers and to help the show’s appeal with girls. But she’s no cypher. She draws out a new side of Anakin as he is put into the position of being a teacher. More importantly, she has her own personality, her own motivations, and her own issues. Sure, she’s a good fighter and like her master, almost seems to enjoy battle. According to Wookieepedia, Ahsoka wears that silver thing around her head to signify that she has single-handedly taken out the dreaded akul creature. What a lil’ bad-you-know-what! But despite all of that, she is vulnerable. She desperately wants please Anakin, almost the way a younger Anakin desperately wanted to win Obi-Wan’s approval. She’s plenty smart but at times the show reminds you she’s still a kid caught up in a very grown-up situation. One can imagine her recklessness, her impertinence, and her aggression made her a bit of an outsider among the more serene and disciplined Jedi. She displays at times what Yoda meant by the younger Jedi being arrogant and too sure of themselves. Those qualities bond Anakin and Ahsoka together in some ways, but causes friction in other ways. Sometimes when you have two people who are a lot alike together, things can get prickly at times.
While Ahsoka has some maturing to do, she does have a good heart. She is kind, compassionate, and worries about doing the right thing.
One reason why I’m very glad Ahsoka’s even there is that this is the first time outside of a book or comic that a female Jedi has had a starring role. The other female Jedi we’ve seen in the movies were peripheral characters while the main heroines of the SW saga are largely political leaders. Padmé’s not a Jedi and Leia’s Force abilities are only brought up late in the game. I’m not a bean counter but it makes me glad to see someone break the mold. I don’t think it would be nearly as interesting if Anakin trained a boy instead of a young girl.
Ahsoka’s fate is unknown which helps give the show some tension and brings some pathos to her character. Her fate is not likely to be a happy one, whatever it turns out to be: death, expulsion or resignation from the Order, losing her master, years in exile. The best she can hope for is successfully hiding in obscurity after Order 66 and then joining the Rebellion, if not fading into a normal life, her Jedi past a forgotten secret.
In the meantime, I’ll continue to watch her career with interest. Let’s hope they keep up the good work with the tube- topped tween goddess.
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