Sabine Wren had a journey with the Force in Ahsoka. We watched as she tried, failed, and eventually came to realize her power, but some people think it was too easy for her. I guess they missed where she wasn’t working well with the Force?
A common argument online is that it was simple for Sabine (played by Natasha Liu Bordizzo) to wield the Force, the energy field created by all living things that Luke Skywalker easily manipulated in a few movies’ time. Remember how he trained with Yoda on Dagobah and then was a master with it? Well Sabine, who was already training with Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson), not only struggles throughout the season to use the Force, but she also has an established story where she was training.
All this to say that the commentary is odd, to say the least, and it’s something that Bordizzo also thought was strange. While talking with the Dagobah Dispatch podcast, she talked about the idea that it was simply for Sabine.
“There was some feedback [online] that the Force was too easy for Sabine, and I was like, ‘What do you mean?'” Bordizzo said. “The concept of the Force being this difficult to attain but attainable state of being that people could access with hard work and dedication, I think, is a really honorable concept that feels very Dave [Filoni]. And George Lucas had originally also said that.”
She went on to say, “I think it’s awesome that it was a journey … You get to see her fail, and you get to see her try again and again. Mind you, she’s not always cool and finishing the fight in a cool way and having the last word. It’s messy. And then finally, when the stakes are so high, she’s able to harness it in the time she needed to most.”
Why is this always an issue with female characters?
I can list a series of male characters that the Force comes easily to. That’s how the Force works, but when a female character in Star Wars shows her growth as a character and her training, it is still not enough. You can think whatever you want about Sabine Wren and her Force sensitivity, but it’s part of a commentary we’ve seen with female characters in the franchise.
When Rey first arrived on the scene, so many online said that it was all “too easy” for her as well, ignoring the fact that Luke Skywalker also famously had it easy. Grogu easily manipulates the Force in The Mandalorian despite not finishing his training, so why is Sabine a problem? Especially when she does still struggle with it?
This is also not an argument about whether or not Sabine should train to be a Jedi but more just that the commentary is constantly that a female character has it “too easy” when they are training just as male characters are.
No matter what, Bordizzo is right. It wasn’t “easy” for Sabine, and even if it was, it was established that she trained beforehand.
(featured image: Disney+)
Published: Jan 29, 2024 11:36 am