Ahsoka's New Force Power Has a Surprising Star Wars History
After seeing a rare power in The Clone Wars and video games, it's finally made its live-action debut.
The Force is a universal element, but there are certain powers only certain Jedi can use. The best example of this is Luke using Force projection to a level we’ve never seen before in the Star Wars galaxy, though it also appears a number of times in The Clone Wars, like Mace Windu’s unique Shatterpoint power.
But in Ahsoka Episode 5, we see a power thought to be limited to a select few Jedi also mastered by Ahsoka herself — which has huge implications across the Star Wars galaxy.
Spoilers ahead for Ahsoka Episode 5, “Shadow Warrior.”
In Episode 5 of Ahsoka, we see her take a moment to connect with the star map Sabine left behind and eavesdrop into the past to hear Baylan convince Sabine to join his effort. This is a power we’ve seen hinted at in Episodes 1 and 2 when we see her connect through the Force, but this is the first time we’ve seen it to the point where we blatantly hear what she hears.
Quinlan Vos used psychometry as a tracking power in The Clone Wars.
This power, known as Force psychometry, has its origins in Star Wars Legends. In the non-canon novel The Courtship of Princess Leia, Luke uses psychometry to follow the “emotional trail” of Han Solo after he kidnaps Princess Leia in an attempt to flirt with her. (Looking back, it’s probably best that’s not canon.) It allows the user to sense the memories of inanimate objects — after all, the Force flows through everything.
Within current canon, psychometry began as a power exhibited by the Jedi Quinlan Vos, which made him an expert tracker to have on hand throughout the series. It looked like that was going to be a power exclusive to him, but that changed soon after.
Cal Kestis using psychometry in Jedi: Fallen Order.
In the video game Jedi: Fallen Order, Cal Kestis was able to use psychometry to follow the path of a Jedi that came years before him, which made epic storytelling possible while focusing only on one character. This usage in Ahsoka is similar: much like Cal Kestis, Ahsoka is using the power to solve a mystery.
While Quinlan was a novelty and Cal Kestis was a coincidence, this explicit usage in Ahsoka proves that anyone with enough training can connect with this element of the Force and tap into what’s going on around them.
Ahsoka is now streaming on Disney+.
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