‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ Showed How Anakin Skywalker’s Point of View Was Influenced Even Before ‘Revenge of the Sith’
By now, you might have heard just how big of a deal the most recent season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is. Especially this last episode, “Old Friends Not Forgotten,” the series is going into some pretty epic territory. And now we have an exact timeframe on where the series stands in relation to Revenge of the Sith. With that in mind, some really important conversations and impressions solidified Anakin’s future actions in Episode III. One of the biggest is Anakin Skywalker’s turn to the Dark Side. It’s been a long time coming, which the series has shown, but this episode really influenced the reasoning behind the Chosen One’s actions in Revenge of the Sith.
Ahsoka comes back with Bo-Katan, asking for reinforcements against Maul
Ahsoka came back with Bo-Katan, who was once a part of the Mandalorian terrorist group Death Watch. But since Maul took over the group, Bo-Katan has tried to fight to regain power over her people and restore a Mandalorian in charge of the planet. Now that they know where Maul is, she enlists Ahsoka to help bring the Republic into their conflict. She doesn’t have the fighter power to take the planet back, but with Clones, she could.
However, Mandalore isn’t specifically a part of the Republic, and they’re not being held captive by Separatists. From a political and strategic standpoint, the Republic can’t swoop in with troops to aid Bo-Katan. When Obi-Wan tells them this and states he’d have to ask the Jedi Council, Bo-Katan goes in for the kill.
Bo-Katan’s comments about Satine not only strike Obi-Wan, but also Anakin
She reminds Obi-Wan who Maul is and that he savagely murdered her sister, Duchess Satine Kryze. While Satine and Bo-Katan were on different sides of persuasion — pacifism vs. violence, respectively — they were still sisters and Satine’s death affected her. “I thought she meant something to you,” Bo-Katan told Obi-Wan. It’s not only clear that he’s hurt by this reminder and accusation that he doesn’t care about Satine. But audiences can also see how that statement impacts Anakin.
At first, Anakin looks sorry for his master’s loss. Then when Obi-Wan specifically says he can’t let his feelings cloud his judgment, Anakin looks like he doesn’t agree. Almost like, “I couldn’t do that.” And, of course, audiences know he can’t.
Obi-Wan and Satine were obviously in love. While both of their high morals and positions in life kept them apart, they shared a bond that Anakin was pretty aware of. He’s also very aware of how Obi-Wan denied his feelings because he was a Jedi. Seeing how that choice potentially lead to Satine’s death, Anakin never wants that to happen with Padmé.
So, when Anakin has terrible visions of her death just after she tells him she’s pregnant, basically, right after this confrontation, Anakin is thrown into distress. More so than he probably would have been if he hadn’t been reminded of Obi-Wan’s loss. It emboldens his motives even more. He’d go to any length to save his wife, and fans know he does.
Anakin was also reminded of the Jedi’s less-than-honorable treatment of Ahsoka
Also, Ahsoka’s return is a walking reminder that the Jedi aren’t all good. Bringing it back to Season 5, Ahsoka was banned from the Jedi Order over a false accusation and framing. While Barriss Offee did a good job of making Ahsoka look suspicious, there was little evidence she committed the crime of bombing the Jedi Temple. Plus, all the years Ahsoka worked faithfully for the Jedi and Republic cause garnered more allegiance from the Council. Instead, they didn’t stand behind her and exiled her so she’d go in front of a military trial as a citizen, not a Jedi.
Anakin was furious when this happened. No one else stood up for her, outwardly. He stated that this was their plan from the start, regardless of what Ahsoka had to say. So seeing her again brings up those hard feelings for both Anakin and Ahsoka. Not to mention, Ahsoka clearly states that the Jedi are “playing politics” again and choosing Palpatine over a majority of people. It shows just how disillusioned she is, and how Anakin has become as well. It truly doesn’t take much for Palpatine to weasel his way into Anakin’s head.
This all bleeds into Anakin’s more negative view of the Jedi and he comes to see them fully in the wrong. The Jedi basically planted the seed for Palpatine to swoop in and corrupt Anakin further. This episode is the biggest link audiences have between The Clone Wars Anakin and the Anakin that yells “In my point of view, the Jedi are evil” at Obi-Wan in Revenge of the Sith. With everything he’s gone through, is it right to blame him for this point of view?
