Star Wars is the quintessential space opera, and like any good opera, there’s plenty of intrigue, action, political drama, and, crucially, relationships. It doesn’t matter how good the action in Empire Strikes Back is, the moments people remember are “I love you,” “I know,” and “No, I am your father” — moments that cemented the personal dynamics between characters.
Ahsoka Episodes 1 and 2 did a lot of heavy lifting in redefining the dynamics between characters, introducing Sabine and Ahsoka as being estranged after a stint of Jedi training. But one single line in an entirely different scene did a lot more for her character than anything else — and you may not have noticed it at all.
Warning! Spoilers for Episodes 1 and 2 of Ahsoka follow.
In a key scene in Ahsoka, Sabine is shown coming home from a long day of avoiding responsibilities to ride her speeder. She pets her Loth-cat and eventually opens up a hologram message from Ezra, who is now lost after the events of the Rebels finale. In that message, he tells her he has to do the right thing and how much she means to him. Crucially, he says, “you’ve always been like a sister to me.”
This may not seem like much, but over the course of Rebels many fans were convinced that Ezra and Sabine were meant to be together. It seemed obvious: the Mandalorian and the Jedi, both raised in a time of war and rebellion. However, with this line, any hopes of that romance were dashed.
It’s a sad moment for Ezra/Sabine shippers, but from a character perspective, redefining Sabine’s relationship with Ezra as platonic is necessary. She’s not choosing to assist Ahsoka in finding him and defeating Thrawn because of a crush or some secret relationship, but because of her close friendship with him and her duty to the Empire. This is a mission fueled by an unbreakable bond, not puppy love.
That said, a sibling bond has (famously) not gotten in the way of a Star Wars romance before, but keeping romance out of this main mission is definitely the best choice for the series. Ahsoka and Sabine need to be united in their motivations in finding Ezra, and not have personal relationships muddle things. Plus, this way she could be free to find romance elsewhere on her journey.
