Star Wars’ embrace of television and episodic storytelling has been a boon to the franchise. The Mandalorian’s use of single missions to form stories throughout a larger arc has shaken up how tales are told in this faraway galaxy, but it also hasn’t been afraid to experiment with standalone episodes... and that practice may reveal the answer to one of Ahsoka’s biggest mysteries.
The Mandalorian made waves with Episode 3 of Season 3, which abandoned protagonist Din Djarin after the first few minutes to instead spend a significant amount of time catching up with minor characters Dr. Pershing and Elia Kane, who was previously an anonymous comms officer under Moff Gideon’s command.
The story shifted from the mission to save Mandalore to focus on former villains navigating the New Republic’s Amnesty program. It was a stark transition, but it recontextualized the entire series by demonstrating the serious flaws of the fledgling New Republic.
The standalone episode has become quite the trend — shows ranging from The Last of Us to The Bear have dabbled with it — and Ahsoka is in dire need of something similar. Despite its first two episodes being full of crucial lore and backstory, it looks like the series is forgoing Star Wars’ fairly common use of flashbacks to keep its focus on the present.
That adds a twist to a major theory, which suggests that Hayden Christensen’s announced appearance in Ahsoka will occur in the past. The easiest way to do that without detracting from Ahsoka’s present would be to set an entire episode in the past, maximizing Christensen’s involvement without suddenly integrating a bunch of flashbacks into another story being told at the same time.
This would also answer one of the biggest mysteries surrounding Ahsoka: just what is going to happen in Episode 5? The episode is exceedingly long, and it’s the only remaining episode directed by showrunner Dave Filoni. As showrunner of The Clone Wars, Filoni oversaw the creation of Ahsoka and her dynamic with Anakin, so he’d be the perfect choice to direct an episode dedicated to them.
There’s precedent to a standalone Episode 5 — The Book of Boba Fett’s Episode 5 was essentially an episode of The Mandalorian — and it would be a well-timed break from Ahsoka’s search for Thrawn and Ezra. Ahsoka’s past is crucial to understanding her, but a significant chunk of Ahsoka’s viewership is meeting the character for the first time. They could use a crash course on her whole deal, and an episode featuring Anakin would provide it.
A standalone episode would let Ahsoka stretch its storytelling muscles and take advantage of the freedom that television provides. Plus, who doesn’t want to see Hayden Christensen one last time?
