Why Shin Hati Should Be Ahsoka Tano's Padawan
Image Source: HDQWalls.com
Shin Hati was introduced in Ahsoka as Baylan Skoll’s apprentice. Just a few episodes later, her master and nearly everyone she knew abandoned her on Peridea. When Baylan Skoll parted ways with Shin, he told her to take her place in the Empire, which would rise again with the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn. However, that’s far from what actually happened. Thrawn fled Peridea as soon as Ahsoka was distracted by Baylan and Shin, but he had no interest in either of them possibly joining him for the journey back to the home galaxy. Once Baylan abandoned her, Shin was left alone. By the end of the first season, Shin had been abandoned by Baylan Skoll, Morgan Elsbeth, and Grand Admiral Thrawn. No one thought about her, except Ahsoka Tano, who would make a great Master for her.
Shin Hati’s future storyline in Ahsoka Season 2 is probably the show’s biggest mystery, and it seems too obvious to make her a casualty of the dark side, especially when the first season dropped several hints that she’s not a complete fit for it. Shin is impatient and has anger issues, but there’s little to back up a claim that she could be evil. More than any other character in the series, Shin is a victim of abandonment. It seems that Baylan discovered her at a young age, and he trained her to be something “more than a Jedi”. Despite her confusing upbringing, she appeared to show an interest in Baylan’s Jedi Knight origins. She listened closely when he described the Jedi Order, and it seems like Shin identifies with being a Jedi as well. The idea of a Jedi Order appeared to catch her attention, but as the Jedi disillusioned Baylan, it didn’t seem like Shin thought it was appropriate to question him further.
RELATED:
Image Source: Sideshow
This raises the question of whether Shin would be a good fit for the brand of Jedi Knights alive during the New Republic era, such as Ahsoka Tano, Ezra Bridger, Luke Skywalker, and Sabine Wren. Maybe an old school Jedi, such as Master Yoda, or another Master like Obi-Wan Kenobi, would not have been a suitable teacher for Shin, but Ahsoka Tano could fill the hole left by Baylan Skoll perfectly. Shin is in some ways the very opposite of someone like Sabine Wren and Anakin Skywalker, because she appears to be eager to learn. She would make an obedient student who would remain loyal to her Master. Shin can make a good Jedi because she is naturally gifted in the Force. She has various Force powers, including telekinesis. She can also Force push her opponents, but her use of Force choking shows that Baylan Skoll did nothing to help her control her anger.
Shin was able to defeat everyone except trained Jedi like Ahsoka Tano, Ezra Bridger, and Sabine Wren, which shows that she still lacks training. Baylan Skoll taught her what he thought she needed to know to survive as a mercenary, but it seems doubtful that he ever completed her training. She was a Padawan until Baylan abandoned her; therefore, Shin is susceptible to the dark side if she doesn’t receive proper guidance. There’s a lot she likely doesn’t know, but it would be a predictable outcome if she were lost to the dark side and died in Season 2. Shin’s positive qualities include loyalty and a sense of honor; however, her inability to control her emotions may prove to be her undoing. The only way a talented Force-user like Shin can be saved is if she completes her training, and the one who completes needs to be an experienced and level-headed Jedi like Ahsoka Tano.
Image Source: StarWars.com
Most fans expected the majority of Ahsoka Season 1 to tackle Ahsoka’s issues dating back to when she left the Jedi Order, and the trauma she experienced after discovering that Padme had died, and Anakin was a Sith Lord known as Darth Vader. What Ahsoka experienced was nothing less than betrayal and a sense of abandonment from Anakin’s turn to the dark side, and the Jedi Council’s rush to believe that she was the one behind the bombing of the Jedi Temple. After nearly dying at the hands of her former Master, Ahsoka carried her scars for several decades. During Season 1, Tano began to process her grief and her relationship with her Master, and it appears she has started healing. As someone who carried a lot of guilt for her inability to save Anakin from the dark side, Ahsoka would make the perfect Jedi Master for Shin Hati.
Shin is caught between the light and the dark side of the Force, and her loneliness and sense of abandonment after Baylan Skoll left her will push her towards whatever darkness exists on that planet. She may seek revenge from Skoll, who is still on Peridea, but whatever happens, she is alone. Hopefully, Shin will realize that apart from being a Jedi, Ahsoka is a good person. She wouldn’t abandon Shin, just like she didn’t abandon Sabine, even though the latter defied her by putting the entire galaxy’s fate at risk to save Ezra Bridger. In return, by helping someone like Shin, who often displays the impatience and anger issues Anakin once had, Ahsoka could heal a part of herself that was broken years ago. This may help her overcome the trauma of losing Anakin to the Dark Side. Moreover, if she takes Shin under her wing when she’s at her most vulnerable, it may help her let go of the guilt she feels for possibly leaving Anakin when he was at his lowest. Shin is just as lost and alone as Anakin was at the end of The Clone Wars Season 7, but Ahsoka couldn’t do anything for him back then. Nevertheless, she can change the course of Shin’s life by completing her training and offering her the friendship and guidance she desperately requires.
Image Source: StarWarsNewsNet.com
A potential team-up between Ahsoka Tano and Shin Hati was already hinted at during Ahsoka Season 1. Ahsoka offered to help Shin in return for surrendering and extended her hand. The gesture was symbolic and demonstrated Ahsoka’s willingness to look past Shin’s actions, both past and present, in return for friendship and mentorship. Although this wasn’t explicitly stated, it makes the most sense, as Ahsoka is in a position in her life to help someone like Shin. Shin was clearly out of her element in front of her and Ezra and Sabine, and Ahsoka knew she was alone. In Season 2, Ahsoka and Shin will probably cross paths again, and even though she rejected Tano’s offer once, hopefully, she won’t do it again. Shin isn’t an evil person, and she would make a loyal and diligent Padawan learner who could benefit from Ahsoka’s experience and knowledge. This partnership may be easier for both, since Shin would be taught by a generous and loyal Master in Ahsoka, and Ahsoka would have a very eager learner to impart her knowledge to. Season 1 showed that Ahsoka and Sabine Wren’s Master and Apprentice bond wasn’t easy for either of them, but perhaps Ahsoka and Shin would have an easier time working together.
Ahsoka Season 1 revealed the complex relationship between Ahsoka and Sabine Wren. Sabine was already a Mandalorian warrior and lacked nothing when it came to fighting. She could defeat anyone, including a Jedi, so her storyline in Ahsoka came as a shock. Star Wars Rebels writer Henry Gilroy confirmed that there was no plan to make Sabine a Jedi or Force sensitive in the series, and he’s shocked by her storyline in Ahsoka. At the moment, it’s pretty much confirmed based on the first season that Sabine will be a Jedi, but what about Shin? Sabine has never shown that she needs Ahsoka around. She’s capable of making her own decisions. On the other hand, Shin seems completely lost. Without friends, her future doesn’t look promising. There are theories that Shin could be Abeloth and might die at the end of the next season, but that would be a huge waste of potential. Hopefully, the scene where Ahsoka offered to ‘help’ her foreshadows the future. Shin will greatly benefit from having a Master with Ahsoka’s years of knowledge, and by training Shin, Ahsoka will feel a sense of peace. Perhaps even Anakin Skywalker would approve of Ahsoka taking Shin under her wing.
Image Source: Fandom.com
READ NEXT:
Latest News
Featured
