Vader Did Not Kill Ahsoka on Malachor! Here’s What Really Happened

If there’s one thing that fans know, it’s that the storyline of Ahsoka Tano is very interesting and full of complex events. With the upcoming release of the ‘Ahsoka’ series closing in, we know that more and more fans are now excited about what’s to come to our favorite Skywalker Padawan. Speaking of Skywalker, however, Ahsoka learned of her master’s fall to the dark side on Malachor, where they dueled. So, did Ahsoka survive the duel against Darth Vader on Malachor?

Ahsoka did indeed survive that duel with Darth Vader on Malachor. Ezra Bridger and the others believed that she died when the temple on Malachor closed before they could save Ahsoka. However, Ezra eventually used the World Between Worlds to travel back to save Ahsoka.

The one thing that fans need to understand about the event wherein Ezra saved Ahsoka from death is that it will always happen. Even though some people think that Ezra changed Ahsoka’s fate, his act of pulling Ahsoka away from Vader was already accounted for in that timeline of events. So, with that said, let’s look at what happened to Ahsoka in her duel with Darth Vader.

Was Vader trying to kill Ahsoka?

If there’s one thing that fans have always known about Star Wars, it’s that Anakin Skywalker was a tragic figure that fell from his spot as the legendary Chosen One to become the dreaded Imperial enforcer known as Darth Vader. Of course, before he fell to the dark side, he had a lot of people that he cared about, including his own Padawan, Ahsoka Tano.

Serving as an apprentice to Anakin wasn’t easy for Ahsoka because her master was very headstrong, reckless, and somewhat immature. But she always knew that Anakin was strong and brave. On top of that, Anakin was loyal to his friends. It was his attachment to the people that he loved that pushed him over to the dark side.

So, as Darth Vader, Anakin felt betrayed that all of the people that he used to care about did not care about his visions for the galaxy and his decision to use the dark side to try to keep everyone he loved alive. But while that may be true, he and Ahsoka never encountered one another before the events of ‘Star Wars: Rebels’ as they thought the other was dead. Ahsoka wasn’t even aware that her master fell to the dark side and wasn’t sure that Vader used to be Anakin.

During the events of ‘Rebels,’ Ahsoka assisted Ezra Bridger and the other members of the crew of the Ghost to their mission on the planet called Malachor, which used to be a Sith planet that was the site of an ancient battle between the Jedi Order and the Sith Empire thousands of years ago. Yoda told Ezra to find Malachor to find answers on that planet.

On Malachor, the heroes were attacked by the Inquisitors. Since they were outnumbered, Ahsoka reluctantly accepted help from Maul, who was on Malachor, to try to find an ancient Sith relic that would have helped him achieve his vengeance against Emperor Palpatine. Maul told Ahsoka they needed to hurry and finish the Inquisitors because Vader was likely on his way to the planet.

Tano made her way to the top of an ancient Sith temple, an ancient weapon that turned everyone on that planet to stone thousands of years ago. Vader was already there and was about to execute Ezra, who got to the top before everyone else did. Tano fought Vader without even knowing who was under the mask. And Vader told her that he would spare her life if she revealed the remaining Jedi’s location.

Vader told Ahsoka that he would torture Ezra to pry the information out of her. That was when Ahsoka, who had begun to suspect that Vader was Anakin, said in disbelief that she couldn’t believe that her former master had become so cruel.

Darth Vader said that Anakin was weak and that he had destroyed him. Ahsoka, knowing that the dark side had already consumed her former master, decided to fight Vader to avenge her fallen master.

It was clear in that fight that Darth Vader had the upper hand even though Ahsoka could damage part of the Sith Lord’s helmet. But Ahsoka decided to stay behind instead of escaping so that she could keep Vader at bay while Ezra and Kanan were forced to flee. The temple closed behind Ezra and Kanan as they believed Ahsoka had died.

Much later in the series, Ahsoka battled Vader after Ezra and Kanan had left. But Vader had the upper hand even though he was distracted by the massive energy building up in the temple. Ahsoka tried to destabilize the floor by plunging her lightsabers into it. The dark lord ignored what Ahsoka was doing and was about to strike her down while her guard was down.

This proves that Vader was trying to kill Ahsoka at that very moment, even though they shared a bond between master and apprentice. Vader had fallen so low that he was willing to kill the people he cared about before falling to the dark side.

How did Ahsoka survive Malachor?

Unknown to Ezra and Kanan, Ahsoka did not die right then and there when they left her on Malachor. As mentioned, the battle between Ahsoka and her former master continued. But Ezra had other plans in mind during the latter portion of the ‘Rebels’ series.

Ezra had learned that the Jedi Temple on Lothal housed an entryway to the place called the World Between Worlds, which was an entry point to a place that allowed people to enter certain points in time and space. Palpatine sent one of his agents to Lothal, only for Ezra to find the key to the doorway.

Upon entering the World Between Worlds, Ezra saw a doorway in time and space that led to Ahsoka engaging her former master. While Ahsoka’s blades were on the floor and Vader was preparing to strike her down, a portal behind Tano opened up. Ezra immediately pulled her into it before Vader’s lightsaber could kill her. 

Ahsoka and Ezra were separated in the World Between Worlds when Palpatine also tried to enter it. That was why Ahsoka found a doorway that led to Malachor after Vader was about to kill her. This allowed her to survive the battle with her former master and survive the explosion that happened on Malachor as she was still in the World Between Worlds when that happened.

Some people think that Ahsoka survived because Ezra changed the course of history. But the thing is that Darth Vader never killed her, as Ezra was always supposed to save her. That means the timeline was never changed because the original timeline already accounted for Ezra saving Ahsoka through the World Between Worlds. There was never a timeline wherein Darth Vader killed his former Padawan.

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