Aww, you’re too nice to me, thank you!! I’ve mostly seen commentary in the same vein and I understand why, so many of us are sitting here like :| and braced for the worst interpretations, because Ahsoka’s character is often polarized and Jedi discussion is often polarized. Pitting them against each other, probably leaves a lot of people not wanting to touch it with a ten foot pole.
For me, I think I have to establish my view of Ahsoka’s character in the first place and where she’s at at this point in time: She left the Jedi Order because she couldn’t trust herself or the Council, she needed time away to consider what she wanted and she wasn’t ready to really deal with all of that.
Out of all of the Jedi, I think Ahsoka has the strongest reason to be angry and hurt about the war and the relationship the Jedi have with the Republic, because she was such a victim of the whole thing. She was the one who Tarkin set his sights on, she was the one who was framed and put on trial, she was the one who had the bonds between herself and her family ripped apart because the weight of the entire government came down on them.
Everyone made mistakes in that arc, everyone did what they thought was best. No one was perfect in that arc–Ahsoka didn’t trust anyone and that mistrust isn’t what saved her, it was Anakin’s actions that saved her. Ahsoka immediately didn’t trust anyone to help her, didn’t even try to contact them, was hurt that Anakin didn’t come to see her, even when he pointed out that would have made it worse for her. And he’s right, but that doesn’t negate that she was left all alone. The Jedi tried desperately to keep everything with Ahsoka in house, but their hands were forced, the other road would have been worse, but that doesn’t negate that she was left all alone.
Obi-Wan says in the Crystal Crisis arc that they all made mistakes, that Ahsoka let her emotions cloud her judgement in her most critical moment, and I think that’s both spot on (that’s why she left, because she realized she couldn’t trust herself, that’s why she was so hesitant to help with Maul because she still wasn’t there yet) and informs much of what Obi-Wan sees with her.
Ahsoka isn’t being fair in her treatment of Obi-Wan.
She’s angry about what happened with Barriss, she’s angry about what happened with the Jedi, she’s angry about them being drawn into this war that hurt her so terribly on such a personal level, she’s angry that she feels obligated to work with the Jedi again when she’s not ready.
When you look at Ahsoka’s arguments, they tend to fall apart pretty quickly–she’s angry that the Jedi want to help the people on Coruscant? The heart of the Republic? Where trillions of people live? Where Trace and Rafa live? The two characters she just met who informed so much of what she wants to be as a Jedi? Or how she entirely ignores that the Republic’s treaties with Mandalore mean that this is an invasion and politics have genuine consequences in Star Wars, you can’t just invade other countries! And she’s being unfair about how she’s making it clear that she’s not a Jedi, she’s a citizen, but then turns around and wants to be privy to classified information that only Jedi agents should have.
This isn’t to come down on Ahsoka, because these things make me like her more, these things make my heart ache for her, because I see her as a young woman who was thrown back into a situation she wasn’t ready for and she’s doing her absolute damnedest to be professional about it.
But this is her family, these are the people she loves underneath it all, this is Anakin who so badly wants her to come back and is kind of stepping all over her boundaries–he even reworks her lightsabers to change the crystal’s color! It’s such a sweet gesture! But it’s also So Very Much before she’s ready for it. It’s so clear that he thinks she’s coming back and everything will be like it was before and she’s just not sure, so she has to be the one to set down boundaries with him and that’s another thing that tears at her heart.
That’s why I think she’s so gentle when Mace lobs the “Citizen.” remark back at her, because I don’t think she was angry about that, she doesn’t respond angrily at all, but almost relieved. It’s a tense moment, but he’s holding her boundary for her, it’s a reminder that she’s not ready to be back yet and I think part of her might have been grateful for it, because she’s so mixed up about what she wants and who she is at this point.
Then you have the scene with Obi-Wan and I think she probably was angry with him, both because he was on the Council and she’s still mad at them, but also because this is Obi-Wan and she knows him, she loves him, he’s tearing at her heart and making her want to come back and that’s more confusing feelings. And he probably seems so calm and collected, all the more so when this is dealing with something that has deeply personal meaning for him because of Satine, while she feels jumbled up and unsteady. Her emotions are still threatening to cloud her judgment, and then he’s there saying he’ll refuse to do so, and it’s hard not to feel a riot of emotions about that.
But also she knows he cares, she trusts him with her message to Anakin, she doesn’t even have to spell it out, because she knows that Obi-Wan knows. And I think some part of her treats Obi-Wan the way Anakin does–she’s being unfair with him because she knows he’s a rock that will weather her storm. Even when they’re clashing, she trusts him to understand her and her feelings and where she’s coming from. She trusts him to be there even when they fight.
With Obi-Wan, he’s also having a really rough time of it because he’s got a real shitshow on his hands–he has everything with Satine’s memory here, he has a political shitstorm with the invasion of Mandalore they’re doing, he has Anakin’s unstable moods and Anakin emotionally zipping off to be like, “I knew! I knew there was a reason why everything happened, it was meant to!” and undercurrent of mania, and he has his own guilt about what happened with Ahsoka, while also recognizing that the other roads probably would have been worse and that she’s allowed her upset feelings.
I do think Obi-Wan is probably frustrated and disappointed with Ahsoka, because she’s coming from an emotional place in the sense of letting it cloud her view of the reality of the situation, and they can’t afford that right now. And I think he’s frustrated that she’s not being fair about this, because what’s he supposed to do in response to her? They’re in the middle of a war and this is why Jedi train their whole lives, because people’s lives are on the line, they have to be clear and focused or people will die. They have to make hard choices because they’ve been put in a position of responsibility and wishing circumstances were less shitty doesn’t actually make the war any less shitty. They still have to protect the trillion innocent people who live on Coruscant, they can’t just abandon them because it wouldn’t be the most popular decision.
At the same time, he understands where she’s coming from, that she’s hurt about everything and she’s not ready for this and yet she still came to help anyway. And I think he’s probably frustrated that she’s implying that he’s the one being obstinate and not helping, when the situation is nowhere near as clear-cut as Bo-Katan tries to say it is, he’s perfectly willing to compromise when offered an acceptable path to helping both Mandalore and Coruscant, after all.
But also he loves her and he knows that she’s a caring, good person, he doesn’t even have to ask what her message to Anakin is, he knows. He’s even willing to tell her about his concerns about Anakin and his mission to spy on Palpatine, he asks her to speak with Anakin, asks for her help, because he knows how important she is.
I don’t think Obi-Wan was as open or reaching out as much as he theoretically could be, but like Ahsoka, he’s going through A Lot right now and has a ton on his plate and none of them are really ready to deal with that while everything is still in flames around them. But it’s also why they end on soft notes with each other, because they know that they’re both important to Anakin, that Anakin is important to both of them, that the Jedi are important to both of them, that they’re important to each other.
And boy does it hurt that neither of them can see what’s coming with Anakin, that they’re both unable to see that he’s on the verge of falling.
But that’s how people who love each other are.
That’s how family is with each other–they get frustrated and upset and needle each other and disappointed in each other because they love each other.
And I think you see that all throughout Obi-Wan and Ahsoka’s scenes, they’re both characters who have made mistakes and aren’t at their calmest here, they’re tense with each other, but it’s coming from a place of deep caring about everyone in that room.
I think they both acted the way they did because they thought they would have time to sort it out, they trusted that their family would be there when they had that time.
Ahsoka puts off catching up with Anakin because she’s not ready yet and there’ll be time later.
Ahsoka and Obi-Wan needle each other because they’re frustrated and there’ll be time to come back together later.
Ahsoka says softly, “Not yet.” when Yoda asks if she’s going to be a Jedi again, she looks so hopeful when talking to Rex about the end of the war and she can come back to the Jedi in a way she trusts, she really thought there would be more time.
Obi-Wan says they’re close to the end of the war, he’s off to defeat Grievous finally, this was supposed to be the end, there would be time for the slow, long repair of their relationships.
They act the way they do because they weren’t ready to let everything go just yet, not because they didn’t care. They thought there would be more time.
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