Max Nocerino 
Max reflects on the heartwrenching epilogue from the final episode of Dave Filoni‘s stellar Star Wars series
Many of my favorite Star Wars moments have already been set in stone long ago and it’s hard to find new ones but I think I may have found one in the epilogue of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. For those of you who haven’t seen it; spoilers ahead. For those of you who have. Let’s take a closer look.
The epilogue does not give us a timeframe of when it takes place but due to the Imperial Stormtroopers’ armor and Imperial Probe Droids; it can be ascertained that it takes place in the early to mid Empire. The ambiguity is extremely refreshing by the way. We see the Empire excavating the remains of the Republic Star Destroyer that went down; presumably with Ahsoka and Rex. Vader, silent except for his trademark wheeze approaches the wreck alone. He bends down in what might be seen as difficult for him due to his size and limited mobility and picks up a snow-covered lightsaber. It is Ahsoka’s.
Vader presumably recognizes it and says nothing. He ignites it and stares into the sky where a bird flys. Nothing is said; not a word. Vader likely reflects on everything he has lost and in those moments; realizes he is truly and forever alone. He deactivates the weapon and walks away. He doesn’t even bother to further explore. He is done and the story of The Clone Wars is officially over. The deepness combined with the ambiguity of this scene makes it so powerful and one that must be watched over and over again.
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Max Nocerino is a new addition to the Future of the Force roster. He is a passionate Star Wars fan and loves the literature of the galaxy far, far away. Follow him on Twitter @MaxN2100 where he channels his passion frequently!
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Max Nocerino is a regular Staff Writer for The Future of the Force. He is a passionate Star Wars fan and loves the literature of the galaxy far, far away. Follow him on Twitter where he shares his love of the Force frequently!
I’ve been pondering this pretty much since the 4th: what is Vader thinking? Is he sad? Angry? Disappointed? “Feeling alone” was a somewhat different take than what I’d thought of, but then we know very little of any great intelligence on Vader’s inner thoughts that’s canon, aside from his treatment in Rebels.
Filoni has said a lot on this. That Ahsoka’s departure was a fairly big blow for Anakin that had a bit to do with how he became Vader (although obviously not as much as wanting to save Padme). He’s also said fairly unequivocally that he doesn’t portray Vader as even remotely questioning his rage at the Jedi and conviction that he made the right decision (even if he paid for it grievously) until he encounters Luke in the original trilogy. He believes the Jedi betrayed him. He especially hates Obi-Wan for what has happened to him (to a degree that their final battle somewhat might not even hold up well in retrospect). Even when he meets Ahsoka in Rebels, he only has the slightest hesitation about the thought of her coming back to him before declaring that she has to die — he’s not there to make friends, he’s there to kill her.
The question comes, where along the curve of between “regretful friendship” and “hating her for betraying and abandoning him” is he in the final scene? He can’t possibly be entirely back at “I hope she comes back” but he might not be all the way at “…then you will DIE” that we see in their duel.
There’s likely pain. There’s likely a little bit of reflection. But I’m not sure he’s got much affection left for her at this point. He might even be a little disappointed that he apparently doesn’t get to kill her… but of course it’s not entirely certain. It’s obvious he’s feeling *something* while he’s finding the lightsaber that That Skyguy Person he refuses to consider as still himself gave her… but it might not be particularly positive towards her.