Oh No, Star Wars’ Most Frustrating Lightsaber Trend Continues In Ahsoka

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Ahsoka episodes 1 and 2.

Ahsoka continues one of the more frustrating trends of the Star Wars franchise’s most iconic weapon: the lightsaber. Ahsoka episodes 1 and 2 aptly set up the story set to unfold by introducing the key players of the New Republic Era journey. The titular character began by revisiting her former Padawan, Sabine Wren, in an attempt to unlock a map that will lead them to Grand Admiral Thrawn and their missing ally, Ezra Bridger.

As such, the first two episodes of Ahsoka managed to fill in the gaps between Star Wars Rebels’ ending and the beginning of the new Star Wars adventure. One of the Star Wars reveals in Ahsoka episodes 1 and 2 was that Sabine had been training under Ahsoka in lightsaber combat, altering Ezra’s lightsaber to her liking. Through this plot point – and the confrontations hinted at in Ahsoka‘s marketing between Sabine and new villain Shin Hati – one of Star Wars‘ most frustrating lightsaber trends continued.

Sabine Survives A Lightsaber Stab That Should Have Been Fatal

At the end of Ahsoka episode 1, Shin Hati tracks Sabine to her home in the Lothal comms tower, which is a strong callback to Star Wars Rebels. The two engage in a brief lightsaber duel which is ended by Shin, who stabs Sabine through the midriff. Unfortunately, herein lies the frustrating trend exemplified by the Star Wars franchise concerning lightsabers.

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The stab should have been fatal for Sabine. Instead, the episode’s cliffhanger ending is negated by the reveal that Sabine is almost entirely unscathed by the wound. By the end of Ahsoka episode 2, Sabine’s injury is more or less healed. This continues a growing trend that has been prevalent in Star Wars over the years, as lightsabers are growing ineffective. From Maul surviving his encounter with Obi-Wan in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace to the likes of Finn and Kylo Ren avoiding seemingly fatal lightsaber injuries in the Star Wars sequels, the lightsaber is losing a once-threatening edge.

Sabine Had The Most Important Thing – Plot Armor

Naturally, this frustrating lightsaber trend was necessary for Ahsoka due to Sabine possessing a vital component: plot armor. Much of Ahsoka is going to center on the titular character’s journey alongside Sabine, meaning the cliffhanger ending of Ahsoka episode 1 was always going to be resolved somewhat quickly. Sabine needs to undergo this journey alongside her former master in search for Ezra and Thrawn’s whereabouts, so she was never going to be killed off in the first episode.

It also remains the case that the battle with Shin ended on a much less-threatening note than other seemingly fatal lightsaber wounds of Star Wars‘ past. Sabine was not stabbed in any position one would consider vital, nor was she dismembered in any way. As such, despite the frustrating lightsaber trend continuing in Ahsoka, the survival of Sabine Wren can be explained using logic just as much as the character’s obvious protection provided by the show’s plot.

Ahsoka releases new episodes every Tuesday at 6pm PT / 9pm ET on Disney+.