Is Darth Vader dead in Ahsoka? Episode 5 explained

❘ Published: 2023-09-13T11:12:34

Anakin Skywalker aka Darth Vader in Ahsoka Episode 5

Disney+

In Ahsoka Episode 5, she reunites with her former master Anakin Skywalker, aka Darth Vader – but is he already dead at this point, or is there another explanation? Here’s what you need to know.

We gave the fifth episode of Ahsoka a rave review, calling it “a hyperspeed jump into the highest echelon of Star Wars television; wondrous, emotional, and spine-tinglingly envisioned.”

After being battered into the sea by Baylan Skoll, the fifth chapter catches up with Ahsoka in an otherworldly astral plane, one seemingly unbound by the laws of time, space… and death, if her first encounter is anything to go by.

She comes face to face with Anakin, and the duo journey into their past together to teach her a lesson about fighting not to kill, but to survive. However, here’s the question: Anakin should be dead, so what’s going on?

Is Darth Vader dead in Ahsoka?

Yes, Darth Vader is dead in Ahsoka. However, Anakin’s appearance isn’t an imaginary vision conjured out of Ahsoka’s imagination – we believe it was his Force ghost in a version of the World Between Worlds, armed with all of his memories and flaws.

You can read our World Between Worlds explainer here, but here’s the TL;DR version: it’s a pocket dimension within the Force that links all moments in time together. However, it looks a bit different in live-action compared to Rebels, suggesting this may be a different realm – perhaps it’s the space between life and death, but still connected to the World Between Worlds? Or maybe it’s a vision in Ahsoka’s mind, but still informed by the Force in a real, tangible way?

During the episode, Ahsoka is transported back to one of her first battles in the Clone Wars, as well as the Siege of Mandalore, all with Anakin by her side. He wasn’t present at the latter event, which could suggest he’s a hallucination – but it’s definitely not as simple as that. When she first refuses to fight him, he says, “I’ve heard that before,” which is a nod to Luke’s refusal to duel him.

He also gives into the dark side towards the end of their time together, and we see flickers of his transformation into Darth Vader – which he’s well aware of, considering how angry he gets when Ahsoka tells him he’s dangerous – and before vanishing into thin air, he tells her: “There’s hope for you, yet.”

He also told Ahsoka he wasn’t expecting to see her “so soon” when she first awoke in the realm, which has fuelled a particular theory: he’s now the Chosen One following his death in Return of the Jedi. “What if Anakin isn’t really dead? Physically he died on Endor. However, his spirit exists in another realm, like on Mortis or the World between Worlds. An entity that exists and greets those that enter the realm. The father wanted Anakin to take his place, remember?” one user tweeted.

Whether or not that’s true, him being some sort of Force ghost makes the most sense – considering that’s how Episode VI ended.

“I don’t think we are meant to resolve these questions in one way or another. The fundamental reality is the Force, which is spirit, not matter. It really was Anakin, but what she saw of him was colored by her memories. The WBW is not so much a place as a state of being, and Ahsoka was suspended between moments until she was ready to return,” one Redditor suggested.

“We’ve waited over a dozen years to see some sort of force ghost Anakin in this manner. This isn’t/wasn’t a moment to trick fans… luckily we got Anakin himself giving Ahsoka one last lesson and helping her transition into ‘Ahsoka the white’,” another wrote.

Ahsoka Episodes 1-5 are available on Disney+ now, which you can sign up for here. You can check out our other coverage below: