Star Wars: Ahsoka Episode 5 Theory Signals the Return of a Powerful Clone Wars Villain

This Star Wars: Ahsoka article contains spoilers.

There never really seemed to be a question of if Ahsoka would bring back Anakin Skywalker – Hayden Christensen’s casting in the series hasn’t exactly been kept a secret – but rather when in the timeline we would see him given Darth Vader’s death in Return of the Jedi. We finally got our answer in “Fallen Jedi,” which sees Ahsoka seemingly fall to her death during her duel with Baylan Skoll, but the end of the episode reveals that Ahsoka has actually somehow been transported back to the World Between Worlds, this time greeted by her former master.

But as emotional as this reunion outside of time and space may be (hearing Anakin call Ahsoka “snips” again definitely had me tearing up a bit), there are some who believe that there’s more than just some Force ghost or time travel shenanigans going on here. According to one fan theory, Anakin isn’t really Anakin in this scene, but a trick being played by The Son – a Force God introduced in The Clone Wars – to keep her trapped in his realm.

In episodes 15-17 of season 3, Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan Kenobi are transported to Mortis, a realm that exists within the Force and beyond the known galaxy, after responding to a distress call. While in this realm, they discover it only has three inhabitants known as the Mortis Gods – The Son, who rules over death and the Dark Side of the Force; The Daughter, who rules over life and the Light Side of the Force; and their Father whose duty is to keep balance between the two. Originally, the Father summons Anakin to Mortis so that the Jedi Knight can replace him upon his imminent death, but The Son has other plans, seeking to exploit the darkness within Anakin and convert him to the Dark Side.

During a fight between the Daughter and Son, Ahsoka dies briefly before the Daughter sacrifices herself to bring her back to life. Even though the pure essence of the Light Side lives within Ahsoka still, it isn’t enough to maintain the balance of power on Mortis, and The Son uses this opportunity to try to kill his Father for good. The three Jedi intervene, but not before the Father kills himself to stop the Son from crossing that line. Anakin then kills the Son before he becomes too powerful, seemingly loosening the Dark Side’s grip on him, at least for now.

While all three Mortis Gods technically die by the end of this arc, it’s possible that the Son could have found a way to come back in another form since he appears to be more god-like than mortal. After Ahsoka is brought back to life by the Daughter, Morai, a bird that represents the Daughter and the Light Side of the Force, can often be seen near Ahsoka or signal that she’s close by. In fact, one of Morai’s most important appearances comes in the Rebels season 4 episode “A World Between Worlds.” When Ezra Bridger steps through a portal to the mysterious realm between time and space, Morai leads him to a portal that shows Ahsoka’s last moments on Malachor. Ezra then uses the portal to save her life, changing events from the past.

We still don’t know much about the World Between Worlds or how it works – do Force Ghosts hang out here? Is this the afterlife for Force users? How does one get there without a portal? – but it is clear that this is another realm that the Gods of Mortis have dominion over. Portraits of the Gods appear in the Jedi Temple where Ezra accessed the realm, and Morai is just one example of how their influence remains despite the death of their corporeal forms. Given that The Son also represents death, it doesn’t seem likely that a lightsaber wound would keep him down for too long. And with Ahsoka now back in the World Between Worlds, The Son could definitely take this opportunity to get some revenge by tormenting her with her master’s memory.

Sam Witwer also voiced The Son in The Clone Wars. Eagle-eyed fans have already spotted Witwer’s name in the Ahsoka credits, which confirm he provided “Additional Voices” for the show. With Marrok’s death in episode 4 killing the Starkiller theories, Witwer may instead be set to reprise his role as The Son.

The Mortis storyline is one of Star Wars’ most enigmatic to date, but it also introduced some of the most interesting mythology of the Clone Wars era. And if the Mortis Gods really are back, you can bet Ahsoka will have a hell of a fight on her hands in the second half of the season.

Star Wars: Ahsoka is streaming now on Disney+.