Opinion: Would Ahsoka Have Followed Anakin To The Dark Side?
Image Source: IGN
Since the announcement and debut of Marvel’s What If…?, Star Wars fans have wondered and hoped for one of their own. They sort of got one in Star Wars: Visions with beautifully made new stories done in the various styles of Japanese animation. If there was a Star Wars version of What If…?, one of the stories that I think many fans would want to see would be if Ahsoka followed Anakin’s descent into the dark side. I think this scenario would only play out through a What if…? because I don’t think Ahsoka would ever turn to the dark side. She would not have followed Anakin even if she had not left the Order.
Let’s address Ahsoka’s character first. She and Anakin shared some personality traits. They were both determined, and quite impulsive. It was what drew Anakin to her as an apprentice in the first place. However, one difference between the two was perhaps the single greatest explanation as to why she wouldn’t have followed him, and that was their upbringing.
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Image Source: MovieWeb
Anakin was born and raised a slave. He was discovered late, as the Jedi Council made all too clear in The Phantom Menace. Jedi were usually identified early in their childhood. The reason was to avoid developing attachments. The Order took them in before they were really cognizant of galactic realities and developed their own fears and attachments. By the time Anakin was taken into the Order, he had seen the worst of how the galaxy treated the vulnerable, and his love for his mother was strong. It was the key to his downfall. He had loved and lost and when the potential for that rose again with Padme and their unborn children, he was so desperate to prevent what happened to his mother from happening again. He was even willing to learn from the dark side, seeing it as sacrificing himself for the good of others.
Ahsoka, on the other hand, was discovered early in her infancy. She was raised and trained in the traditional Jedi fashion. Sheltered in the Jedi Temple, she likely only read about the hardships of the galaxy, but never knew or experienced them first hand. As a result, despite the Jedi creed to protect, there was no strong, emotional attachment to drive her, unlike Anakin. In Tales of the Jedi, we see Anakin use the clones to test her skills, knocking her unconscious again and again. Despite the frustration, she persevered. This stands in contrast to Anakin. In Obi-Wan Kenobi, in the flashbacks where Anakin and Obi-Wan duel for practice, we can see the frustration that got to Anakin. He gave in to his aggression and frustration where Ahsoka did not.
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Ahsoka was never really tempted by the dark side either, unlike Anakin. In fact, we saw what it took to bring Ahsoka to the dark side. On the planet Mortis, a creature bit Ahsoka and infected her. This infection broke her mind and turned her to the dark side, complete with sinister, yellow eyes. It also cost her her life. When she was resurrected, and the infection was removed, her trip through the dark side ended. Even when she was accused by the Jedi Order of lying, with all the odds against her, she set out to clear her name. She could have succumbed to the anger and frustration and betrayal, but she did not. She may have been a rule breaker before the Order betrayed her, a trait encouraged by Anakin’s examples. However, instead of seeking vengeance on the Order, she sought to prove she was innocent.
When she successfully made her case, and decided to leave the Order, she set to distance herself from them. Beyond that she continued to do good deeds, so much so that it drew the attention of the Inquisitors. Her nature was so pure that it allowed her to purify the Inquisitor’s red (corrupted) kyber crystals, giving her the white blades she would use in the Rebellion era.
Ultimately, Anakin was a believer in law and order. Due to the injustice surrounding his upbringing, he looked to powerful authoritative figures who would not dither and instead take action. He said as much to Padme on Naboo when they were sitting in the fields. It explained his admiration for Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and, coupled with Palpatine’s assurance that he could learn how to save Padme if he learned from the dark side, why he ultimately became the face of the Empire’s fascist rule.
Image Source: Bespin Bulletin
On the other hand, Ahsoka had a childhood and mentality influenced by the Jedi Order and its protection and mediation philosophy along with its vow to oppose the Sith. Just because she no longer identified as a Jedi did not mean she would suddenly sympathize with the Sith. When she realized what happened to Anakin, the situation challenged her stance against the Sith. She refused to kill him on Malachor, promising never to leave him again. It took Ezra Bridger to save her from her former master’s blindness to her pleas. Despite her Jedi teachings against attachments, the love she had for Anakin ultimately prevented her from killing him, and it also kept her from following him to the dark side. Perhaps she knew, deep down, the real Anakin was in there all along.
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Source(s): Wookieepedia
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