Ahsoka, the latestStar Warsseries has had plenty of talking points so far, but undoubtedly the talking points were the dual appearances ofHayden Christensenas Anakin Skywalker, and the fabled World Between Worlds that Skywalker appears to reside in, at the climax of the most recent episode of the series.
The episode, titled “Fallen Jedi,” concludes with a dramatic turn of events as Ahsoka (portrayed byRosario Dawson) is pushed off a cliff byBaylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson), leaving her fate uncertain. Obviously, we know she’s going to be fine, but the story takes an unexpected twist as she finds herself in the World Between Worlds—a mystical nexus where time and space converge. Here, she experiences a profound reunion with none other than her former mentor, Anakin Skywalker, albeit a version of him from a time before he succumbs to the dark side and becomes Darth Vader.
For directorPeter Ramsey, the opportunity to work with Christensen allowed him to see up close the gratitude and joy that Christensen feels about his return toStar Warshaving already appeared as Darth Vader inObi-Wan Kenobi, and been given a hero’s welcome at this year’s Star Wars Celebration in London. “He’s a really sweet, low-key guy,” Ramsey said toIGN. “He was pretty happy about being there after all this time. It had a lot of meaning for him.”
As long-term fans ofThe Clone Wars, the animated series which preceded the events ofAhsoka, will be well aware, there is a long and complex shared history between Ahsoka and her former master, Anakin, which stems all the way back to the teenage apprenticeship Ahsoka served under the watchful eye of Skywalker, leading up to their eventual confrontation that was such a highlight during the events ofRebels.
A Long Lost Daughter Across the Galaxy
However, the Anakin we meet inAhsokais a different Anakin to the last time the pair met, an Anakin who has yet to fall to the Dark Side and bring about the destruction of the Jedi Order, and Ramsey wanted to use some emotional manipulation in order to coax a certain level of tenderness from Christensen’s performance.
“We just talked about what it’s like for him to be seeing Ahsoka after all this time, that it’s a reunion for them. And I just told him, ‘it’s like you haven’t seen your daughter in two years. She’d gone off to college and you’re seeing her again and she’s like a different person but still your daughter.’ “On the Rosario side of it, she knew what it meant in the story and it was just about selling the idea that she was waking up somewhere really having no clue as to what was going on, not understanding ‘am I dead? Am I alive? Am I where I think I could be?’ And the way that expression changes at the very end when she sees him and says his name is so sweet and it was just like her turning back the person she was the last time she saw him.”
