I said I would talk more about women in the prequels era, and on this snow day when I want nothing more than to get these blog posts over with, I figured the woman that it would be easiest to talk about for 400 words would probably be Ahsoka Tano.

Part of what makes Ahsoka such an awesome character is how she defies expectations and how she develops in a realistic way. As this article, Why Ahsoka Tano is the Best Thing to Happen to Star Wars in 20 Years,  Lauren Davis writes that Ahsoka’s character was originally not well-received, saying that “When Ahsoka was first introduced, a lot of critics had two things to say about her: first, that she was obnoxious, and second, that she was going to die.”

Ahsoka is literally a child soldier, so the idea that people were annoyed by her childishness at the beginning is weird but understandable. As is expected in a show as good with character development as The Clone Wars, Ahsoka matures realistically over the course of the series, and quite honestly turns out to be simultaneously one of the most badass and most complex, well-rounded characters of the entire franchise. The fact that she is not in any of the movies is an apparent hurdle that the series overcomes in an extremely interesting way, which I will not spoil, but will say that it makes for one of the strongest arcs of the series.

To me what makes Ahsoka so compelling are her strong morals, which exist independent of her allegiance to the Jedi order. In a universe so black and white and so based on the inherent goodness or inherent evil of certain groups, it is really neat to see a character who is wholly motivated by her own strong sense of morality. Unlike Obi-Wan and most other Jedi, for whom the Order comes before everything, Ahsoka will do the right thing regardless of what she is told, especially in lieu of what eventually ends up happening to her master, Anakin.

Overall, Ahsoka is a very complex and strong female character who adds a whole lot of depth and nuance to the series. As much as I dislike the new trend of making Star Wars solo movies (no pun intended), I would totally be down to see an Ahsoka film. She deserves it. I, along with many other Star Wars fans, are also extremely excited for her return in the Clone Wars revival, which is revealed dramatically at the end of this trailer.