Star Wars: The Clone Wars‘ Rogue One: A Star Wars Story nod foreshadows Ahsoka Tano’s path away from the Jedi. Since leaving the Order in season 5, Ahsoka’s relationship with the Force has undergone some considerable changes. She no longer sees herself as a Jedi, instead choosing to lay low in Coruscant’s undercity and keep her abilities and training to herself. However, she didn’t sever her ties to the Force, leaning closer to a selfless practice similar to that of one of Rogue One‘s standout characters.
As Ahsoka and Commander Rex depart Mandalore for Coruscant to deliver Darth Maul to the Jedi Council, Order 66 is given. The clones prepare to eliminate her, but not before Rex tells her to find a file on the trooper, Fives. Ahsoka accesses it successfully and learns the inhibitor chips are to blame for the clones turning on their Jedi generals. Using this knowledge, she lures Rex into a trap so that she can get him to the medical bay and remove the implant. Once there, the medical droids can’t locate the chip in his brain, leaving her to call upon the Force to find it with some familiar words of wisdom.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
She places her hands on Rex’s temples and recites the phrase “I am one with the Force and the Force is with me” until the chip comes up on the scanner. The sentence itself carries a much deeper meaning when looking at its roots and the beliefs of the man who coined it. The now-iconic chant first appeared in 2016’s Rogue One, spoken frequently by Donnie Yen’s Chirrut Îmwe, a Guardian of the Whills. He was not a Jedi but rather a being who sought harmony with the Force as an entity. He used the mantra as a means to focus and connect with it, as opposed to forming it to his own needs.
Ahsoka’s use of the quote is indicative of the journey she is going on as a character, away from the Jedi. Her departure was heartbreaking for all parties, but revealed the true colors of the Order. They supposedly work in tandem with the Force, but their motives, especially relating to the war itself, add a layer of greed. Îmwe and those like him bend to the will of the Force, understanding manipulation of any kind as immoral. Ahsoka is falling in line with the belief system of the Guardians as she distances from the Jedi. She no longer brings personal biases into her relationship with the Force.
As her Star Wars Rebels appearances prove, Ahsoka will never take up the title of Jedi again. Even during her emotional duel with Darth Vader, she tells him that she is no longer of that faith on any level. “Part III: Shattered” sets the stage for the person she will become beyond the fall of the Republic and rise of the Empire. She remains a follower of the Force, as her “I am one with the Force and the Force is with me” teases, but doesn’t confine herself to the Jedi system. The Clone Wars season 7 fills the gaps in Ahsoka’s arc by revealing her growing resemblance to Rogue One‘s resident Guardian of the Whills.
