Warning: This article contains spoilers for Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 5.
Ahsoka doesn't appear in Obi-Wan Kenobi's prequel era flashbacks with Anakin Skywalker, but for good reason. Despite the divisive response to the Star Wars prequels upon their release, Lucasfilm's redemption of the movies has continued on Disney+ with Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen returning. After primarily focusing on an older Obi-Wan and Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 5 delivered a long-awaited glimpse at their younger lives together.
One of the key threads featured throughout Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 5 centers around flashbacks set during the prequels. Obi-Wan and Anakin are shown training on Coruscant to further hone their fighting skills with lightsabers. The Obi-Wan Kenobi flashbacks showcase more of their brotherly bond around the time of the Clone Wars and provide some additional glimpses of Anakin's training to become a Jedi Knight. This might leave some viewers wondering why Ahsoka Tano, fan-favorite Padawan introduced in animation, is not part of the sequence.
The simple explanation for why Ahsoka is missing from the Obi-Wan Kenobi flashbacks is that she is not yet Anakin Skywalker's Padawan. The Obi-Wan and Anakin flashback appears to take place before the events of Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. Anakin still has his Padawan braid and has not yet become a Jedi Knight, while he also has yet to lose an arm fighting Count Dooku. Ahsoka Tano does not enter Anakin's story until after the second prequel movie, as she first appeared in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie set after Attack of the Clones.
Since Obi-Wan Kenobi's flashback of Obi-Wan and Anakin training together predates Ahsoka becoming Anakin's Padawan, it would have broken the Star Wars canon to include her in this fashion. The irony, of course, is that Ahsoka should be somewhere nearby in all reality. Since Anakin and Obi-Wan are training on Coruscant, they are within the proximity of the Jedi Temple where younglings are trained. Ahsoka was brought there as a child after being found by Plo Koon and trained for over a decade before officially becoming Anakin Skywalker's Padawan.
Even though Obi-Wan Kenobi has the opportunity to explore more of the prequel era with Obi-Wan and Anakin, that is not the focus of its story. Working an Ahsoka Tano cameo into the show could have felt forced, even after she made her live-action debut in The Mandalorian. However, the upcoming Ahsoka series could fulfill the desire of fans to see Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker with a live-action Ahsoka. This could be where prequel flashbacks are used to unite Snips and Skyguy. Even if a surprise Ahsoka appearance does not come in the Obi-Wan Kenobi finale, perhaps a reference to her will come during Obi-Wan and Darth Vader's rematch.
Obi-Wan Kenobi releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.
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