Ahsoka’s Choice To Leave The Jedi Exposed What Was Wrong With The Order
The Jedi are a group of legendary beings that can the Force. They can move things with their minds, they use laser beam swords, and they’re not supposed to give in to many strong emotions. They’re put on this pedestal because they’re on the Light Side, but they often had their faults. While the Star Wars movies don’t show a lot of the bad side of the Jedi, The Clone Wars certainly did. And one of the most prominent displays of wrongdoing on the Jedi’s part was the false accusations against Ahsoka Tano.
This event showed how blind the Jedi Council was to the evils in the Republic
Ahsoka, Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan, was helping with the investigation into a bombing at the Jedi temple. She and Anakin had a lead and arrested a woman connected to the bomb. However, when Ahsoka went to visit her, to see if she’d talk, an unseen Force-user strangled the woman. This was a way to frame Ahsoka since it looked like she Force-strangled her on video.
Afterward, the Republic military and the Jedi didn’t take Ahsoka’s word of innocence, even with a lack of evidence. All they had was that video, and Ahsoka did have an alibi for the actual bombing. And digging would have proven that she didn’t know the woman beforehand. But that’s the thing. The Jedi were wildly blind to the actual evils of the Republic and just handed Ahsoka over to the military for a trial. A trial that would have killed the Padawan if they found her guilty. No one on the Council outwardly stood up for her or the fact that they should have been able to sense whether she was lying. Not to mention the fact that Ahsoka showed no other signs of treason against the Jedi before. This blindness is partly why Palpatine was able to destroy them.
They chose to preserve their image as opposed to supporting one of their own
In Ahsoka’s first trial with the Jedi, Anakin yells, “You’ve already made your decision… This meeting is just a formality!” when Yoda is about to read their verdict. And it’s true. Before they even heard her speak, they had decided to ban her from the Order. This allowed the Republic to take over the trial, with Ahsoka now a non-Jedi, which Adjutant General Tarkin suggested.
The public’s opinion on the Jedi was already changing, and then the bombing happened. They wanted a quick and lowkey investigation, so the public wasn’t upset even more. Instead of standing by Ahsoka, they handed her over to a public trial that was out to kill her in order to relinquish the Jedi name from the bombing.
The Jedi were meant to be peacekeepers, yet chose a side in the war
The bombing negatively swayed the public’s opinion, but it also comes to light how much they disapprove of their involvement in the war. The Jedi were supposed to be peacekeepers, but instead, they aligned themselves to one side and fought in the war. It’s made clear in Season 3, Episode 10 “Heroes on Both Sides,” that the war has good people in the Republic and the Separatists. The Jedi’s involvement just made it seem like the Republic was the way to go.
When Anakin figures out Barriss Offee is the one that set up the bombing and framed Ahsoka, she makes some bold statements. Her remarks leave a sour note because they have some truth to them. She says that the Jedi were the ones “responsible for this war” and that they’ve “lost [their] way” so much that they’re the villains. “My attack on the temple was an attack on what the Jedi have become: an army fighting for the Dark Side.”
That’s not the most diplomatic way to make a point. However, it hones in on what the public’s feeling and mirrors similar disillusionment Anakin has with the Order at this point and later down the line. It’s also why Ahsoka leaves the Order. She says it’s because she can’t trust them or herself, but the trial also showed how much the Jedi had fallen.
