StarWars.com shares an exclusive excerpt from Titan Magazine’s Deluxe Collector’s Edition of Star Wars: The Mandalorian: Guide to Season Two, where you can learn more about Ahsoka’s journey from animation to live-action.
With her two lightsabers and strength in the Force, Ahsoka Tano seems like the Jedi Mando has been looking for. Brave and kindhearted, Ahsoka quickly empathizes with Grogu; yet she fears his attachment to Mando may take him down to a dark path…
THE NICE LADY
As her physical appearance suggests, Ahsoka Tano is a Togruta, a species chacaterized by facial markings, horn-shaped sensory organs known as montrals and three long tentacle-like head-tails called lekku.
Selfless and kind, Tano doesn’t shy away from helping the oppressed and others in need. On the forest planet Corvus, she teamed up with the Mandalorian to free the city of Calodan and its citizens from the rule of ruthless magistrate Morgan Elsbeth.
Ahsoka’s generosity doesn’t prevent her from being a skilled and relentless fighter. Indeed, during a strenuous duel, she managed to defeat Elsbeth even though the latter wielded a spear made of pure beskar, notably one of the few metals lightsabers cannot cut through. Later, to reward him for his help, Tano offered the spear obtained from Elsbeth to Djarin, claiming that a beskar weapon “belongs with a Mandalorian.”
FEAR OF THE DARK
Formerly guardians of peace and justice in the Galactic Republic, Jedi are powerful knights able to tap into the energy field known as the Force. Hunted down by the Empire, the Jedi were ultimately destroyed at the end of the Clone Wars. The few who managed to survive were forced to scatter across the galaxy and hide out.
Ahsoka was trained as a Jedi but eventually decided to leave the Order and follow her own path instead.
Ahsoka is profoundly strong in the Force and is experienced enough to wield it effectively. On the planet Corvus, she used the Force to mentally connect with Grogu and hear his thoughts, thus managing to delve into his memories and learn his name.
Because of her abilities and expertise, Mando believed that Tano could be the perfect mentor for Grogu, and asked her to train him. But upon noticing the strong bond between the two, Ahsoka refused, worrying Grogu’s affection for the bounty hunter would make him “vulnerable to his fears.” And fear, as wise Jedi Master Yoda once said, “leads to anger. Anger leads to hate” – feelings not even the most powerful Jedi of all time would be able to control.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Despite her departure from the Order, Ahsoka Tano still used the weapon she learned to wield during her training: the lightsaber. More specifically, Ahsoka has not one but two lightsabers, which she generally uses simultaneously.
Probably the best ally of any Jedi, lightsabers are legendary weapons, more impressive when wielded by Force-sensitive beings. Their plasma blades are powered by specific crystals known as kyber crystals, which Jedi younglings must find as part of their training.
In terms of fighting style, Tano usually wields a standard-bladed lightsaber as her primary weapon and a shorter one – also known as a shoto lightsaber – as an off-hand weapon. She also often alternates between the standard grip and the so-called reverse grip, in which the lightsaber is held with the blade pointing down along the wielder’s forearm.
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