Ahsoka, in so many ways, is a show with an identity crisis. It holds a confusing place in the Star Wars saga, and though it promised a lot, its first season barely delivered. Showrunner Dave Filoni wanted to continue the story he spent decades building out in the animated Clone Wars and Rebels, but he also wanted to use those animated characters to fill the vacuum between the original trilogy and the poorly received sequels. Most glaringly, though, Ahsoka was meant to be a character study of its title heroine, played by Rosario Dawson. After cameos in The Mandalorian and Book of Boba Fett, Dawson seemed like the perfect choice to bring such a beloved character into live-action. But whatever magic she and Filoni brought to those shows, they seemed to forget it in Ahsoka.
Dawson’s take on the former Jedi felt like a 180 pivot from her introduction in The Mandalorian. The “new” version of Ahsoka was stilted and subdued, a far cry from the Ahsoka fans know and love. As Ahsoka is much older than she was in her early adventures, no one fully expected a return of the teen some called “Snips” — but Dawson’s portrayal in Ahsoka felt like a different character entirely, one who barely reacted to the world around her. Her performance was further weighed down by the sluggish pace of the show itself, leading some to wonder why Filoni had stretched such an uneventful story across eight mismatched episodes.
There’s a lot that Ahsoka needs to improve upon in its second season, which is now in production, and it starts with its lead character. Fortunately, Dawson insists that Season 2 will be a lot different, delivering a softer, more joyful version of Ahsoka.
Dawson recently appeared at Comic-Con Scotland 2025, where she teased the changes in store for Ahsoka Season 2. With Ahsoka and her one-time apprentice, Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), stranded on the planet Peridea — an ancient world in a completely different galaxy — the series is guaranteed to break new ground. But it will also show us a less jaded version of Ahsoka.
“She had a more of a strong gravitas at the beginning, and she was a little bit more unflappable,” Dawson said of the character in Season 1. “And I'm liking that she's relaxing, she's kind of getting back into her joy... We get to add more joy into her life and see her relax a little bit more and work in community a little bit more than she has.”
Per Dawson, Ahsoka’s world-weary mood in Season 1 was a result of a lack of closure with her fallen Jedi master, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen). Learning that Anakin became Vader — and nearly destroyed her in battle — in Rebels seriously shook Ahsoka’s confidence, and we see her grappling with her lineage in Ahsoka. Visceral flashbacks to the Clone Wars, and to a version of the World Between Worlds allow Ahsoka to speak with Anakin’s spirit. There, she finds some resolution.
“Those moments with Hayden and Anakin were so important for her to heal something so she could be more present,” Dawson explained. “And that’s what I’m really enjoying.”
Dawson added that Ahsoka will explore Ahsoka’s relationship to Anakin “a lot more” in Season 2. Anakin’s Force ghost does appear at the end of Season 1, watching over Ahsoka and Sabine as they make peace with their new stranding on Peridea. Anything is possible in the next chapter of this show, but it’s very likely that Anakin will manifest before Ahsoka to potentially continue the next stage of her training. Connecting in the World Between Worlds was just the beginning of Ahsoka’s journey back to the light; though she’s surpassed Anakin in many ways, even becoming a master in her own right, his knowledge isn’t unwelcome.
Ahsoka still has some healing to do, but at least we know the jaded general we met in Season 1 is beginning to defrost.
