Ahsoka Episode 5: Where Does THAT Flashback Take Place?
Contains spoilers for "Ahsoka" Episode 5 — "Part Five: Shadow Warrior"
If you're one of the many "Star Wars" fans who've been chomping at the bit for live-action Clone Wars scenes, then "Ahsoka" Episode 5, "Shadow Warrior" is for you. After falling into the mysterious World Between Worlds following her duel with Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson), Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) confronts her old master Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), who sends her on a journey through some pretty traumatic memories.
A young Ahsoka (Ariana Greenblatt) relives two key battles from the Clone Wars. One is the Siege of Mandalore, depicted in Season 7 of the animated series, where Ahsoka led a detachment of the 501st to defeat Maul and liberate the planet. The other, earlier flashback, however, isn't specified. Ahsoka identifies it as one of her first major battles with Anakin, but the smoky atmosphere — a result of both the dream sequence and, most likely, cost-saving production measures — keeps the exact location a mystery.
Fortunately, there are enough clues throughout the flashback to give us a pretty good idea of where Anakin and Ahsoka are. Ardent fans of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" may have put the pieces together themselves, but the scene is almost certainly a depiction of the Ryloth Campaign.
What happens during the Ryloth Campaign?
The Ryloth Campaign occurs over a three-episode arc at the end of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" Season 1. The first of the trilogy, "Storm Over Ryloth," follows Ahsoka and Anakin in a space battle above the planet. In an effort to break through the Separatist blockade and land troops on the surface, Ahsoka leads her clone pilots on a dangerous mission that gets several men killed. It's her first major brush with failure as a commander, and she struggles to deal with the responsibility of having lives depending on her.
The latter two episodes, "Innocents of Ryloth" and "Liberty on Ryloth," deal with the ground campaign. Anakin and Ahsoka don't feature as heavily in those stories, but they remain a part of the mission. Mace Windu and Obi-Wan Kenobi also lead clones in the fighting. During his part of the battle, Mace begins working with Cham Syndulla, a local revolutionary leader. If that name sounds familiar, it's because he's the father of Hera Syndulla, played in "Ahsoka" by Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Over the course of a grueling campaign, the Republic forces and Twi'lek rebels manage to fight off the Separatists and free the planet. Of course, it's not long before the Empire rises and returns to oppress Ryloth all over again.
Ahsoka Episode 5 makes several references to Ryloth
Although it's never named specifically, the chances are high that the flashback in "Ahsoka" Episode 5 takes place on Ryloth. During the scene, Ahsoka recalls that she made mistakes during this particular battle and got clones killed. That's the exact arc that she goes through in the Ryloth episodes of "The Clone Wars," albeit in space instead of on the ground. However, because Anakin and Ahsoka aren't shown much during the ground campaign in the animated series, there's plenty of negative space to retcon in more fighting in "Ahsoka." In other words, it's the perfect blank canvas.
Ryloth also fits with Ahsoka's claim that the battle was one of her first with Anakin. The campaign occurs in the early months of the war, and it's one of the first major battles that Ahsoka takes part in from start to finish. Not all of "The Clone Wars" Season 1 is chronological, but the Ryloth arc is set very early on.
Lastly and most convincingly, a couple of characters who look like Twi'leks can be seen in the background during the "Ahsoka" flashback. Anakin and Captain Rex (making his own live-action debut) can be seen talking with them, which suggests they're part of the local resistance movement led by Cham Syndulla. Dave Filoni and his team could have easily created a random flashback outside of the original "Clone Wars" timeline, but it's much more fun to see an existing storyline be given new dimension in live action.