The first two episodes of Star Wars: Ahsoka have finally hit streaming and the series is already garnering high praise from fans. From the many homages to Star Wars: Rebels to the excellent performances from Rosario Dawson, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, fans are ready to drink in the new material and delve into the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn. But even as I sat, enraptured and overjoyed by the excellent new additions to the greater Star Wars lore, I couldn’t help but wonder: Why the heck does Star Wars hate mentors so much?
We’ve seen it time and time again in the ‘verse. There are good Masters, certainly, Qui-Gon Jinn did a wonderful job training Obi-Wan, and in turn, Obi-Wan tried to be a good mentor to Anakin, but it seems like the bad mentors outnumber the good when it comes to the light side.
Yoda was obstinate and reluctant when it came to Luke; he frequently declared the boy unteachable before finally relenting. The Last Jedi mirrored this reluctance and then some with the revelation that, not only had Luke failed his students, but he also outright contemplated murdering one of them. And now, Ahsoka is following in their steps, abandoning Sabine for some unknown reason and allowing a lengthy divide to grow between them.
In some ways, it’s easy to see why they would struggle with the burden of teaching after Anakin. All of them played a part in Vader’s story. They know better than most the dangers of the dark side and the potential for destruction it gives a Force wielder. Yoda sensed the darkness in Luke, just as Luke sensed it in Ben. Ahsoka might not have sensed that potential in Anakin, but she knew that her master died in order for Vader to live. But Sabine, though Force-sensitive, lacks that special something that makes a Skywalker so devastating in the Force. Her powers, according to her first Jedi mentor, Kanan Jarrus, were minimal, and something Sabine wasn’t able to properly tap due to her ostensibly strict Mandalorian upbringing.
Meanwhile, the Sith lords maintain the same apprentice for decades! Palpatine trained under Plagueis for more than 40 years before finally deciding he had no more use for him. Darth Maul and Count Dooku were each incredibly proficient due to their master’s dedication, frequently clashing with multiple combatants and utilizing Force lightning, a complicated move. Sure, the Sith use apprentices to amass power for themselves, but even though their students could betray them at any moment, they are still incredibly dedicated.
Maybe it stems from the Sith idea that there must always be two. They are taught to harness their anger, fear, and attachments, whereas Jedi are taught to let go. Their detachment would certainly make it easier to let their Padawans go. It was the one lesson Anakin couldn’t learn and look what happened to him. Yoda was a pro at letting his younglings and Padawan go, over 600+ years of working in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, it would be hard to care about each student. The blindness brought on by his longevity was one of Count Dooku’s primary frustrations with the Jedi Order, and Dooku was Yoda’s last Padawan as far as we know.
More than likely it’s, in part, due to Filoni’s need to retcon some of his own timeline, and create some points of intrigue in the burgeoning new series, but it does make one wonder. Ahsoka and Sabine are well on their way to making up, and I have to admit I am curious about what made Ahsoka walk away in the first place. Fans will show up either way, despite the grumpy detractors like myself. Let’s just hope this series steers clear of the infamous blue milk.