The fifth (and final?) season of ‘Star Wars The Clone Wars‘ came to a dramatic and deeply moving conclusion last weekend when, after years and years of speculation, the fate of heroine Ahsoka Tano (voiced by Ashley Eckstein) was finally known.

Episode 20’s ‘The Wrong Jedi‘ brought about the end of a quadrilogy arc of episodes which saw Ahsoka framed for a list of murders and crimes she didn’t commit. To cut a long story short, she was eventually acquitted but having not been fully supported by the Jedi order she hoped to become a major part of, she walked away.

There is talk of whether she was just being invited to re-join as Anakin’s padawan back in the Jedi order or whether she would now have made the step up to become a true Jedi but she didn’t feel she could do it when the likes of Yoda, Obi-Wan, Mace Windu, Plo Koon and co had failed to support her in her trial before the Senate. Anakin (Matt Lanter) did stand by her but in those chilling final moments she said it wasn’t about him and that she couldn’t stay there any longer.

I couldn’t even remember my original reaction to Ahsoka when I saw her burst on the screen in the 2008 Clone Wars movie which preceded the first season. Having just re-read that quickly cobbled-together review I have to say that I am actually quite relieved to see that I liked her from the off and the banter between her and Anakin was something that I enjoyed. Perhaps fitting that, like the season one and season three finales, Ahsoka’s touching final scene was with her master.

For me this scene wasn’t just one of Clone Wars best ones but also one of Star Wars’ finest moments. I was so caught up in the moment with my neck hairs standing on end that I didn’t even notice that when Ahsoka said “I know” in response to Anakin’s comment about sometimes wanting to walk away from the order. A classic Han Solo line from ‘The Empire Strikes Back‘ albeit very different in tone. Had she long known of his other life outside of the Jedi regarding his secret marriage to Padme?

He may be no John Williams but Kevin Kiner’s mournful music accompanying Ahsoka walking away deserves a lot of praise and really added a touch of solemnity to a powerful ending where the traditional ending music made way for ‘Ahsoka’s Theme‘ in the kind of fashion often used by British and Australian soap opera’s when a much-loved character exits the show.

This emotional exit scene between the pair may also help explain why Anakin was a different man in ‘Revenge of the Sith‘ at times frustrated by the Jedi order which would eventually lead to him turning to the dark side and becoming Darth Vader. Now, of course Ahsoka hasn’t died which could even leave open the possibility of her appearing in the forthcoming films scheduled for release from 2015 onwards.

Her life as a Jedi may be over but there is still a glimmer of hope that her story has some legs left in it but in a way I hope that that is the end. I am actually a fan of shows or characters going out in style whilst they are popular rather than limping on. Just because one of the main characters has left it doesn’t mean that its the end of the show but given that its definitely ended on the Cartoon Network and with no word of it being recommissioned on the Disney channel it could well be a fitting end to a truly remarkable story of a young girl’s journey throughout the clone wars era.

Click here to read ‘TF Film Review: Star Wars – The Clone Wars (2008)’