The next time we see Ahsoka in the timeline is years later, in “Star Wars Rebels.” Here, the former Jedi is helping the Rebellion as an agent codenamed Fulcrum. At this time, Ahsoka is 33, and she has grown tired and disillusioned, especially once she realizes her former master turned into the bane of the Jedi, the villainous Darth Vader. Again, in animation, we don’t dwell much on ages, but Ahsoka is treated as a wise old Jedi, almost like Obi-Wan, in the cartoon. And yet, she is barely in her thirties! She should be starring in her own sitcom at this age, not fighting Sith Lords and helping establish a rebellion.
Finally, we have “Ahsoka.” For better or worse, the show has truly changed the former Jedi, with her sense of humor, her snark, and her warmth all gone and replaced by a cold and aging Jedi who has seen too much darkness to smile anymore. When we meet Ahsoka in “The Mandalorian,” she is 48 years old, older than Anakin ever was, even counting his Vader years, which is enough to give anyone a mid-life crisis.
More than the references and callbacks, more than the promise of an “Heir to the Empire” adaptation, the best thing about “Ahsoka” so far is the same thing Filoni and his team did with “The Clone Wars,” and that’s providing context that enriches the “Star Wars” movies. In this case, the episode really shows how much Ahsoka has gone through in her young life, how much she has seen, and as a result, how much the Jedi suck for making her go through all that suffering.