Why Darth Vader wanted to KILL Ahsoka

When Vader finally met Ahsoka again in Star Wars Rebels, it was clear that he wanted her dead. Even though he was once Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi Knight Ahsoka knew as her master, Vader ignored that past completely and tried to kill her without hesitation.

That is what makes the whole scene so painful. Ahsoka was not just another Jedi survivor to him. She was Anakin Skywalker’s former Padawan, someone who knew him before the mask, before the Empire, and before he became Darth Vader.

So why did Vader want to kill one of the few people who once truly mattered to Anakin?

Ahsoka Reminded Vader of the Man He Tried to Bury

We all know how much Vader hated his past.

Anakin Skywalker was once a hero of the Republic, a Jedi Knight who helped fight the Separatists and bring the Clone Wars to an end. But after everything fell apart, he became Darth Vader, a Sith Lord who believed the Jedi had betrayed him, and that every surviving Jedi deserved to die. That hatred even reached Obi-Wan Kenobi, the master who had fought beside him for years.

But Ahsoka was different, and that is why this hurts more.

In The Clone Wars, we saw how much Anakin cared about her. She was not just another Padawan to him. He trained her, protected her, and worried about her more than almost anyone else in the Jedi Order. One of the clearest examples is on Mortis, when Ahsoka dies and Anakin helps bring her back using the Daughter’s life force.

But none of that was enough to bring Anakin back when she faced Vader.

Dave Filoni explained this really well. Vader hated the Jedi, but the people closest to Anakin Skywalker were even worse for him, because they forced him to face the life he had buried. And Ahsoka was one of the strongest examples of that.

As Filoni said, when Vader saw Ahsoka, “he wants to destroy her,” because “she, of all people, would remind him of who he was.” Vader’s thinking was basically: “I gotta destroy that. I can’t face that.”

Filoni also explained that this is why Vader keeps trying to destroy the people connected to his old life, including Obi-Wan. That is who Vader is at that point: a destroyer. The only person who could truly make him feel something again was Luke, and even then, Vader’s first instinct was still selfish. He did not immediately return to the light. At first, he wanted Luke to join him and rule the galaxy together.