Ahsoka Featured The Live-Action Debut Of Some Very Important Star Wars Armor
The following article contains spoilers for "Ahsoka" Episode 5, "Part Five: Shadow Warrior"
The fifth and highly-anticipated episode of the Disney+ series "Ahsoka" is finally here, and while it doesn't progress the story too much, it does have a lot to offer in terms of Easter eggs and nods to the wider "Star Wars" universe. In the previous episode, Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) loses her duel with Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson), resulting in her entering the World Between Worlds. Once there, she comes face-to-face with her old Jedi master, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christiansen), who has one final lesson in store for her.
In the latest "Ahsoka" installment, the title character is kicked back to her youth during the fabled Clone Wars. She stands on a dust-covered battlefield surrounded by clone troopers as Anakin approaches her, but it's not the same version of him she saw before. Rather, it's an era-appropriate version of the Chosen One with a shorter haircut and wearing his dark gray clone armor fans came to recognize on "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." This is the first time fans have seen this specific outfit for Anakin in live-action after watching him wear it for years in animation.
Though there are a multitude of behind-the-scenes reasons for the Jedi adopting clone armor during the Clone Wars — from armor being easier to animate than Jedi robes to giving characters new costumes to sell toys of — there are in-universe and narrative reasons for the widespread change in Jedi dress code as well.
Why did Jedi adopt clone armor?
For a good portion of the Clone Wars conflict and the animated series chronicling it, most of the Jedi wear pieces of clone armor. The likes of Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor), Plo Koon (Taylor), and Mace Windu (Terrence Carson), to name a few, put on chest plates, gauntlets, legwear, and more. In-universe, the reason for this simply comes down to the fact that Jedi robes alone don't offer much protection on the battlefield. These Jedi hadn't previously spent time on war-torn worlds going up against countless gun-toting enemies, so proper protection was essential.
Continuing this line of thinking, the minds behind "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" were wise to give Jedi clone armor for narrative reasons. As Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) famously states before the Clone Wars begin in "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones," the Jedi are peacekeepers, not soldiers. However, the conflict requires them to become soldiers since they want to contribute to the continued sanctity of the Galactic Republic. Their adoption of clone armor pulls them closer to the troops they command, trading in their status as simple keepers of the peace to be regarded as Jedi generals across the galaxy instead.
Even though it likely served the Jedi well, part of the way through the Clone Wars, the majority of those on the front lines leave their clone armor behind. This is never fully explained in canon, so we're left to wonder why they went back to simpler robes after a certain point.
What's the significance of Anakin's clone armor?
Digging a bit deeper, it's worth examining the significance of Anakin Skywalker's clone armor in particular. It's no mere coincidence that his armor pieces are dark gray while those in the Jedi Order who decide to get armored up wear more traditional white armor. On one hand, his armor better matches his Jedi robes (which are also darker than most of those seen in the Jedi ranks), and the color scheme makes him stand out from other Jedi generals. Given his Chosen One moniker and overall unconventional nature, it makes sense that Anakin is dressed differently throughout the war.
On the other hand, Anakin's armor is an obvious bit of foreshadowing in terms of his story. The end of the Clone Wars coincides with his transformation into Darth Vader, which is fully complete after his "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith" duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). His burned and wounded body is recovered by Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) and encased in a black suit of armor. In some pieces of "Star Wars" media, the chest plate of the Vader suit has silver accents, but in others, it's entirely black, making it very much reminiscent of Anakin's "Clone Wars" chest armor.
We'll just have to wait and see if Anakin has any more lessons to teach Ahsoka on her Disney+ series, and if doing so will require him to pull her back to the Clone Wars Era, thus giving fans another live-action look at his unique clone armor.