The fourth episode of Ahsoka, “Fallen Jedi,” might have just brought the weirdest part of Rebels into live-action. After a duel with mercenary Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson), Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) slips into a strange realm. It resembles the World Between Worlds, a place introduced in Rebels Season 4. Given Ahsoka’s history with this mystical plane, fans assumed her solo series would see her return to the World Between Worlds. It certainly makes sense for a show so caught up in Ahsoka’s tumultuous past, and the surprising return of a fan-favorite character all but confirms that Ahsoka is taking a mystical turn.
But did “Fallen Jedi” actually bring Ahsoka back to the World Between Worlds? Or is the series taking its hero on a slightly different path? Spoilers ahead.
At the end of “Fallen Jedi,” Ahsoka comes face to face with her old master, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen). Ahsoka is naturally shocked to see Anakin, given that he’s been dead for at least five years. Anakin seems just as surprised to meet Ahsoka again. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon,” he tells her, which is an interesting thing to say no matter how you slice it.
If this really is the World Between Worlds, why would Anakin be wandering around waiting for Ahsoka to show up? Based on what we know of the realm — which, granted, isn’t much — it’s not really a place where Force ghosts typically dwell. The World Between Worlds is also notoriously difficult to access. As far as we know, only Ezra Bridger has been able to enter it, and he used a portal on Lothal. It doesn’t seem like the kind of place you can just stumble across (or fall into, in Ahsoka’s case).
Anakin’s comments seem akin to what someone would say after encountering a loved one in the afterlife. Ahsoka might not have been slain by Baylan Skoll, but she may be on the brink after her tumble. It’s far more likely Ahsoka slipped into a different kind of limbo, one enabled by the Cosmic Force.
The Cosmic Force is what allows Force ghosts to communicate with the living. Qui-Gon Jinn was one of the first Jedi to learn how to manifest his consciousness after his demise, and he passed this knowledge on to Master Yoda, who’s seen using these teachings to speak with Ezra in the Rebels episode “Path of the Jedi.” Thanks to their encounter, we know that any Force user, living or dead, can commune here, so it makes much more sense for Ahsoka to find herself in some manifestation of the Cosmic Force.
The World Between Worlds may be a highly anticipated addition to Ahsoka, but it’s not the easiest thing to adapt in live action. Not even Dave Filoni seems keen to explain how it works: according to him, it’s not really a means for time travel (though characters are seen using it to do just that), but a vessel for knowledge. There’s still a chance Ahsoka is rewriting the rules of the realm, but it’s hard to root for something as nebulous as the World Between Worlds when so much is going against it.
