There’s An Important Parallel Between Ahsoka and Maul, According to Dave Filoni

Even casual fans of Star Wars have probably heard of Ahsoka Tano. She started off as a snippy little Togruta alien sent to be Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan and she grew into one of the most beloved, iconic characters in the franchise. Now, she has a major part in the final arc of Season 7, which is coming to an end on May the 4th. The most recent episode showed a massive duel between Ahsoka and former Sith Lord Maul. While they’re on opposite sides, Dave Filoni pointed out that they actually have similarities. [Spoiler alert: Spoilers ahead for The Clone Wars Season 7, through Episode 10]. 

Ahsoka and Maul are similar because they didn’t follow the paths they started on

In an oral history feature from Vanity Fair on April 24, Filoni, who is the supervising director and executive producer of the show, touched on why Ahsoka almost joined forces with Maul, and why he appealed so much to the former Jedi. 

“I just think of it as Maul has fallen out of the Sith way of doing things, and she has fallen out of the Jedi way of doing things,” he said. “There’s a parallel there.” 

With Maul, he was abandoned by Darth Sidious once he lost to Kenobi. Even though he was left to die, he lived and strove for power after he was rescued by his brother. And when Palpatine took him captive at the end of Season 5, he still didn’t welcome him back to be his Sith apprentice. Again, a great parallel to Ahsoka’s journey. 

Ever since Ahsoka’s arc with the Martez sisters, her eyes have become more open to the unjust attitude the Jedi can sometimes exhibit. She knows better than most how they can betray one of their own, and how sometimes their missions don’t align with who the Jedi are supposed to be. This has become an essential part of Ahsoka’s character; her good morals and hopefulness stemming from her own being, not from the Jedi since she’s no longer one. 

“What’s important about her character is that she can make a different choice,” Filoni said in the article. “When we wrote the story about her walking away from the Order, it was about her being pulled in one direction, and then the other, and becoming frustrated. We were trying to look at young people and say, ‘There are [predetermined] ways that you can go, but you can also take all this information and make a choice for yourself.’”

Maul makes a good proposal to Ahsoka with a good plan

As Sam Witwer — the voice of Maul — pointed out, Maul actually had the better plan here. Order 66 is right around the corner, and even though Ahsoka doesn’t know that, she does sense something. She also knows just how powerful Darth Sidious must be to be such a threat to the Republic and Jedi.

In the most recent “Clone Wars Download” video, Filoni also pointed out just how truthful Maul was when he appealed to Ahsoka. 

“I think a villain is most compelling when they’re largely telling the truth,” Filoni said. “I think for Ahsoka, she’s trying to balance the fact that she knows the Jedi are a bit blind to what’s going on. She knows they’ve made a lot of the wrong moves. She knows Maul was also ostracized by Darth Sidious. There is a lot of similarities between the two of them.”

All the more reason to join him, which she agrees to do. However, once she realizes Maul wants to kill Anakin because he saw him as Sidious’ apprentice, she takes it back. Her loyalty to her former master is above anything else, even if she’s, unfortunately, wrong. 

Ahsoka is one of the most groundbreaking characters in ‘Star Wars’ and continues to excite fans

It’s been said so many times, and the above aspects of Ahsoka prove it further, but this character is one of the most groundbreaking in the franchise. She started off as a green, naive Padawan, and has now spanned across decades in the timeline. 

Filoni shared that he and George Lucas thought Ahsoka was important for Anakin, to show his growth from Episode II to III. And it was equally important that she was a girl. Luke and Anakin have filled Padawan spaces, but a female Jedi in that role hadn’t been done before. 

“It was the first time on a regular basis that a lightsaber was put in a girl’s hand and it was a big deal,” Ashley Eckstein — the voice of Ahsoka — told Vanity Fair. Both Eckstein and Ahsoka faced their share of hate, but the turn in praise has been notable. Plus, the character is just too important to succumb to the hate. 

As Eckstein told Vanity Fair, Ahsoka is so relatable, which is a massive part of her appeal. “I think there are very few characters that every single person can see themselves in,” she said. “Part of that is because she’s just an alien with orange skin, with head tails. We can all be Ahsoka. We can put aside our race and gender and we can all be Ahsoka. And I think it is so powerful.”