Fan-favorite Star Wars character Ahsoka Tano — who was voiced by Ashley Eckstein and played in live-action by Rosario Dawson — has somehow managed to develop a massive following with very little backstory, at least compared to other characters within the Star Wars universe.
We know Tano, a Togruta, was discovered by Jedi Master Plo Koon on her homeworld of Shili when she was a youngling. He recruited her and took her to Jedi Temple on Coruscant to receive Jedi training.
Ultimately, Tano became “Chosen One” Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan, a storyline that plays out in animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Before Tano became a full-fledged Jedi Knight, however, Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine began his rise to power.
Ultimately, Tano left the Jedi Order prior to the execution of Order 66 and the commencement of the Great Jedi Purge. From what we discovered in Tano’s live-action debut in The Mandalorian Season 2, Episode 5 (“Chapter 13: The Jedi”), it’s clear that she still upholds many Jedi Knight principles, including adhering strictly to the idea of no attachments.
She did, after all, see exactly what happened when Anakin Skywalker was unable to let go of his feelings for Padme Amidala. Spoiler alert — He became Darth Vader.
Both of these characters appeared in the animated series Star Wars Rebels and are expected to make their live-action debuts in Mandalorian spinoff, Ahsoka, sometime in 2022.
That aside, however, what exactly, Tano’s service to the light side of the Force is focused on has not yet been made completely clear in the existing Star Wars canon. Now, new Lucasfilm publishing initiative, The High Republic, may have shed some light on the Wayseeker legacy that Tano is carrying on, perhaps without even realizing the importance of her role.
Who is Orla Jareni?
Jedi Orla Jareni is a new High Republic character who factors heavily into Claudia Gray’s novel Into the Dark.
The new Star Wars book tells the tale of three Jedi who are voyaging to the Starlight Beacon that the Jedi Order is establishing in the Outer Rim territories 200 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999).
ComicBook.com provided the following description of Jareni:
Orla, an Umbaran female, is uniquely different from her fellow Jedi, in that she serves the light side of the Force, but does not agree with the philosophies and interpretations of the Force as dictated by the Jedi Council. As such, Into The Dark begins as Orla Jareni is traveling to the Outer Rim to take on a unique title within the Jedi Order: that of the “Wayseeker.”
Sound familiar? Even the white robes Jareni wears and the double-bladed white lightsaber she carries are reminiscent of Ahsoka, particularly during the time period when she was escaping the Great Jedi Purge.
The concept art of Jareni also bears a resemblance to Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano in the second season of The Mandalorian. Since The High Republic faced numerous coronavirus delays, it isn’t clear if plans for Jareni or the idea of Ahsoka’s Mandalorian debut came first — either way, it seems apparent that one influenced the other in some fashion.Â
As ComicBook’s coverage continued:
The High Republic is now adding new levels of irony to Ahsoka’s story, by connecting her to. the tradition of the Wayseeker. Ahsoka rejected Yoda’s Jedi Council and its ways, believing them flawed in their interpretation of the Force and a Jedi’s purpose. Following her own path through the Force allowed Ahsoka to survive Order 66, growing and thriving as a force of good in the galaxy, while the Jedi Order shattered and fell.
While we don’t know precisely how Jareni’s story is going to play out in the long run, it will certainly be interesting to see if she, too, forges her own way through the struggles that the High Republic era Jedi are undoubtedly going to face against the Nihil space pirates, the Drengir, and even, possibly, the rise of Darth Plagueis.
Are you excited to learn more about the Wayseeker Jedi and see how Ahsoka Tano may connect to this apparently long-forgotten tradition?
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Credit: Lucasfilm
