Ahsoka: Sabine Wren Becoming a Jedi Doesn't Break Canon, It Restores It

The Ahsoka series reveals Anakin's former padawan trained Sabine Wren in the Jedi arts, and this doesn't break Star Wars canon but restores it.

The biggest revelation from Ahsoka's first two episodes is that Thrawn and Ezra Bridger were sent to another galaxy, but it's not the most surprising one. In between the Battle of Lothal and the start of this new series, Ahsoka trained Sabine Wren as her Padawan learner. Making Sabine a Jedi doesn't break Star Wars canon, but instead, it actually restores changes made during the prequel trilogy.

Ezra left his lightsaber with Sabine during the Star Wars: Rebels finale before he, Thrawn and a bunch of purrgil hyperspace-jumped away. During the prior season of the animated series, Sabine trained with both Kanan and Ezra, so she was able to win the Darksaber from Imperial Mandalorian leader Gar Saxon. However, she always relied on blasters and her Mandalorian skills in battle. There also wasn't a hint that she had the ability to wield the Force. In The Phantom Menace, fans learned Jedi selected their pupil using a test that determined how many microscopic organisms called "midichlorians" were present in their blood. This changed how many Star Wars fans who grew up with the Original Trilogy saw Force potential. Sabine training as a Jedi restores the idea that no matter a person's bloodline, anyone could become a Jedi Knight.

How Force Powers Work in the Star Wars Canon

Even before Order 66 decimated their ranks, the Jedi and the Force were a mystery in the galaxy. The prequels revealed the existence of midichlorians and their importance to the Jedi. However, one of the forgotten themes of the prequel trilogy is that the Jedi Order lost its way. It's possible that restricting access to the Jedi training via a blood test was one of them. Practically, the midichlorian test was meant to show that Anakin was naturally powerful in the Force. Yet, since then, it's evolved in fans' minds to mean that if one couldn't "pass" the midichlorian test, they could not be a Jedi or wield the Force.

The original trilogy makes it clear that powerful Force abilities are a family affair. Luke Skywalker is the chosen one because he's Darth Vader's son. Similarly, Princess Leia was adept in politics and rebel action at a very young age because of her gifts. Yet, in the old Star Wars Expanded Universe, one did not need a famous bloodline nor a high midichlorian count to become one of the galaxy's guardians. This is also, partly, why the idea of Rey "Nobody" was exciting, because it democratized Jedi ability. Sabine's Jedi training is similar. Despite never showing aptitude with the Force before, it is something Ahsoka believed Sabine could learn.

Force talent should not be restricted to select people with the right parentage. Family connections make for good narrative drama. Rey Palpatine was a powerful choice because it meant all one has to do to be "good" is choose to be. Perhaps, that is what Sabine's training as a Jedi with Ahsoka is meant to suggest. A high midichlorian count means one will easily develop Jedi powers, but choosing to serve the light side of the Force is a viable pathway as well. Ahsoka makes it clear Sabine struggled with everything but the fighting. Yet, she has the potential to be a truly powerful Jedi Knight.

Why Ahsoka Decided to Train Sabine Wren After Star Wars: Rebels

It is fair to say that becoming a Jedi feels slightly out of character for Sabine Wren. Besides having no obvious Force powers, she is a Mandalorian. They are a people of tradition and a good chunk of that tradition was fighting and killing Jedi. Only Ezra passed his lightsaber on to her, and she chose to stay and protect his home planet in his absence. She can don all the Beskar armor she wants, but those sound like choices a Jedi would make. In fact, it also suggests neither the Padawan nor the Jedi Order of old had any real say in who could tap into the Force. As Luke Skywalker points out in The Last Jedi, the Force is ubiquitous. It does not belong just to the Jedi any more than it belongs to the Sith.

The Force has a will of its own. So, it makes sense that it would choose its own champions. It does not care about Jedi dogma. This is why, despite saying she is "no Jedi," Ahsoka still follows the Living Force as it takes her to where she is "needed." Kids latched onto Luke Skywalker's story. After a life of feeling he did not belong where he was, the droids and old Ben Kenobi proved he was right. It meant that anyone in the galaxy could one day discover they had Jedi powers and a destiny bigger than they thought. Ahsoka training Sabine as a Jedi restores that idea to the Star Wars canon.

Huyang makes it clear that Sabine has very little "aptitude with the Force" compared to Padawans with high midichlorian counts. Yet, once she recognizes that she is "ready," perhaps the Force will begin to work through her as it does for Ahsoka, Luke and the other Jedi heroes of the past. Still, rather than breaking Star Wars canon, allowing Sabine Wren to develop Jedi abilities does for kids what A New Hope did. It tells them that no matter how meager their circumstances might seem, the Force could need someone like them to save the day.