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Continuity & Analysis

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Practice Makes Perfect (2022) [E5]
A Jedi Padawan is given a seemingly impossible exercise.




CONTINUITY
This episode is the second of three loosely connected stories about Ahsoka, along with 'Life and Death' (E1) and 'Resolve' (E6).
It takes place at approximately this point in The Clone Wars narrative. One world is seen in this episode:

This episode takes place several months after The Clone Wars 'Lightsaber Lost' (S2E11), where Ahsoka first met Master Sinube.
It also takes place before Season 4, where clone troopers have been issued Phase II clone armor. Based on Ahsoka's skill level, it should
take place after 'Assassin' (S3E7). Ahsoka's physical features, clothing, and the length of her Padawan braid places this episode about
the time of 'Heroes on Both Sides' (S3E10), which is the next episode in this chronology. Based on the dialogue between Ahsoka and
Anakin in this episode, their current relationship, and events in The Clone Wars narrative, this episode fits at exactly this same
point, and cannot occur more than a couple storylines later at most. This is the point that best suits all continuity concerns.


Obi-Wan has mysteriously reverted to his longer, Episode II haircut, despite having shorter hair in every episode of
The Clone Wars, and there being no breaks in his appearances long enough for him to have grown it out and cut it
afterwards. His beard isn't really consistent with either Episode II or The Clone Wars. Anakin also has a shorter haircut
than in any The Clone Wars material, much closer to its appearance in Episode II. Ahsoka is too advanced for these
events to occur any earlier, and Anakin and Obi-Wan had changed their hair before first meeting Ahsoka anyway.


- Caleb Dume and Depa Billaba are seen watching Ahsoka's training demonstration. Caleb's Padawan braid does not definitively prove
that he is already Billaba's apprentice, however their demeanor and interaction heavily imply this. That would mean that Caleb
became her Padawan at some point in 7956 (21 BBY). This is earlier than non-canon material produced by disney which had
placed his apprenticeship closer to the end of the Clone Wars. Comic books are not canon, so this has no bearing on the timing
of events within canon, and there is no canon reason why Caleb should not already be Billaba's apprentice at this time.


What color is Master Sinube's lightsaber in this episode? His actual lightsaber is white, as seen in two The Clone Wars
episodes very clearly. Disney supplementary material has been actively trying to retcon this, suggesting he uses a blue
or light-blue saber. Lucas-era material cannot be retconned by disney-era material, no matter how much Dave Filoni
wants Ahsoka to be the only Jedi with a white saber. This episode seems to intentionally avoid the issue, as Sinube
only activates his saber when behind a blue energy shield from the 'camera' angle, so his saber would be given a blue
appearance whether it were white or blue. If this episode is suggesting his saber is blue, this is a continuity error.


- The ray shields used in the Jedi training dojo are blue colored like overhead ray shields, but have the 'flat' surface and grainy appearance
typically seen in the red ray shields used on security doors and as emergency doors. There is no reason for this to be considered
an inconsistency, especially since there is no indication that these different appearing shield types have any different properties.
Main Article: Shields, Deflectors, and Ray Shields


- Ahsoka is sarcastic in thanking Anakin, her master, for attending he review by leading Jedi. Anakin responds that he "was in the area."
In the half of a year since the 2nd Battle of Geonosis, Anakin and Ahsoka have had more separate adventures and time apart
shown on screen than in any prior period since she became his apprentice. Their strained interactions while working together in
The Clone Wars 'Lightsaber Lost' (S2E11) are the most consistent with their attitudes in this episode. Since that time, they
have rarely been seen together, and never on missions. There was a brief unseen period between 'Lethal Trackdown' (S2E22) and
'Assassin' (S3E7), where according to the narrator they had "several harrowing adventures," however these events are exceptions
rather than the rule in terms of their canon exploits together in the later half of 7956 (21 BBY).


Jesse is wearing armor which has not been given its customized paint job. Jesse had already painted his armor in
The Clone Wars 'The Deserter' (S2E10), which must take place months before this episode.


- Using the predictive sense of the Force in combat requires remaining calm, which is true of most light side utilization of the Force. Anakin
describes it as active rather than passive, requiring the Jedi to "think" and "feel the intention" of an organic being trying to shoot them.
He tells Ahsoka, "you should be able to sense the moment before they even pull the trigger."


Events jump forward almost exactly 2 years from late 7956 (21 BBY) to late 7958 (19 BBY).


- The brief epilogue scene is an unseen portion of the events in The Clone Wars 'Victory and Death' (S7E12).

ANALYSIS
Obi-Wan is impressed with how fast Ahsoka is progressing, and calls her skills "impressive." Anakin's response that he "really wouldn't know"
could be meant to suggest that he hasn't been training her much lately, or that he has no metric to compare how fast she is learning, since
she is his first student, and Anakin himself has always been an over-powered prodigy who excelled in training and progressed rapidly.
Regardless, Anakin's fears, both for Ahsoka and for himself, lead him to set standards for Ahsoka that are monumentally high. Anakin does
realize what is motivating him, telling Ahsoka, "this is about life and death. And as your master, I'm responsible for you. The best way I can
protect you is to teach you how to protect yourself." Ahsoka may yet be good enough to deal with a squad of droid attackers, however
the treat posed by organic attackers has always been greater, and a Jedi in any era who is unprepared to combat this is vulnerable. Anakin
suggests that this high level of preparedness will translate into battlefield dominance against droids or anything else that may arise, which
is true, however it is also possible that Anakin has sensed where this all may be heading, and is afraid that threats to the Jedi which are not
mere droids may continue to increase as the Clone Wars progress. Obi-Wan and Yoda watch their interactions, but don't directly intervene
in their master and student relationship. Yoda and Obi-Wan put these two together for Anakin's sake, hoping that teaching would positively
affect his outlook and responsibility, and for Ahsoka's sake, hoping that she would benefit as a prodigy from being taught by another who
is similarly gifted. They see that Anakin has become difficult to please to the point of disrespect towards Ahsoka, but have the wisdom to
let these two navigate this relationship themselves. Anakin's approach is in no way malicious, and seeks only to train Ahsoka to his standards.


FURTHER ANALYSIS
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