We know that two of the most popular female Star Wars characters introduced during the events of Star Wars: Clone Wars are Bo-Katan Kryze and Ahsoka Tano, who both made live-action debuts in The Mandalorian. In that regard, both of these characters survived the era of the Empire and went on to live during the era of The Mandalorian. But while they eventually became allies, there was a time when the meeting of the two characters was controversial, as Bo-Katan slapped Ahsoka’s backside. So, why did she do it?
Bo-Katan slapped Ahsoka’s backside during the time when the Jedi Padawan was working undercover and was introduced as the betrothed of Lux Bonteri. She slapped her so that she could induce a reaction from Ahsoka by commenting on how skinny she was for someone who was betrothed.
The thing about that Bo-Katan slap was that it happened in a show that was supposed to be friendly toward children. However, that slap was somewhat controversial due to how there’s usually a sexual connotation that goes with slaps on a female’s backside. An adult woman also did it on an underage girl. So, with that said, let’s explain that Bo-Katan slap on Ahsoka Tano.
Bo-Katan Slapping Ahsoka Explained
There are a lot of different powerful and capable women in the storyline of Star Wars, but two of the most prominent were introduced during the events of Star Wars: Clone Wars. We are talking about Ahsoka Tano and Bo-Katan Kryze, who managed to find themselves in the different Star Wars shows that took place after the events of Clone Wars. Of course, they both became important characters that met Din Djarin and Grogu during the events of The Mandalorian, where they made their live-action debut in the Star Wars lore.
Ahsoka and Bo-Katan developed from characters that used to be quite immature before they became capable leaders and fighters that contributed to the fight against the Empire. They also worked together on a few occasions, as Bo-Katan told Grogu in The Mandalorian that she knew a few Jedi during her younger years. She was alluding to the time she worked with Ahsoka during the events of Clone Wars.
But while Ahsoka and Bo-Katan eventually became allies, the thing is that their initial meeting didn’t happen under the best circumstances. This happened when the Republic was trying to win Mandalore over to its side and when the Death Watch, a rebel group of Mandalorians that opposed New Mandalore, sought to stir up trouble in Mandalorian society. Bo-Katan was Pre Vizsla’s second-in-command in Death Watch.
At that time, Ahsoka was looking to infiltrate Death Watch with the help of Lux Bonteri, whose mother was killed and betrayed by Count Dooku. Lux was looking to team up with Pre Vizsla and his Death Watch. Bonteri contacted Death Watch to rendezvous with them on Carlac. And Ahsoka accompanied him as his “betrothed” but was secretly working for the Jedi.
Bo-Katan and a few of her soldiers were the ones that greeted Bonteri. That was when Kryze noticed Bonteri was accompanied by a young girl, who was introduced as his betrothed. And that was when the infamous slap happened.
Kryze commented that Ahsoka was a bit too skinny to be someone’s betrothed as she slapped her backside while telling her and Bonteri to move along. In that regard, it was clear that this was not done lightly, as Ahsoka didn’t like that she was slapped in an area where she wasn’t supposed to be touched by anyone.
That Bo-Katan slap on Ahsoka’s backside was her way of confirming that Tano was indeed a bit too skinny to be someone betrothed, as she was probably implying that Ahsoka was still too young to be married. This implies that she doubted Ahsoka’s identity as Bonteri’s betrothed and was trying to elicit a reaction from her. Of course, if Ahsoka had reacted to Bo-Katan’s slap, she would have blown her cover at that very moment.
As such, it is quite possible that this slap from Bo-Katan was a way for her to determine whether or not Ahsoka was the person she claimed to be. And because her mission came first, Ahsoka didn’t react violently to Bo-Katan’s actions, as doing so would have blown her cover.
Why Was The Bo-Katan Slap Controversial?
In most cases, slapping a woman slapping another female’s backside is acceptable, even when shown on television. However, there are very good reasons why that Bo-Katan slap on Ahsoka’s backside was controversial.
The first thing that we need to understand is that slapping someone’s backside has sexual connotations. A slap on the butt is usually associated with something sexual. Of course, while many different television shows tend to show sexual content, let’s not forget that Star Wars: Clone Wars was always meant to be an animated series that children or younger audiences could watch.
As such, Bo-Katan’s slap on Ahsoka wasn’t exactly child-friendly, given that such actions come with sexual connotations. But there is a better reason why this act by Kryze became controversial.
Ahsoka was born on 36 BBY, and that slap happened on 20 BBY. That means that Ahsoka Tano was only around 16 years old then. While we don’t have the same laws as the universe of Star Wars, a girl at the age of 16 should still be underage as far as we are concerned.
When & Where Does ‘Ahsoka’ Series Take Place?
Meanwhile, even though Bo-Katan may have still been quite young at that time, we can assume that she was already legal and an adult in her 20s. We don’t know her exact age, but she was obviously more mature in terms of her age compared to Ahsoka.
As such, the fact that Bo-Katan, an adult, slapped the backside of a young girl that was still underage is what ultimately makes that act incredibly controversial. This would have been a sexual offense in the real world.
Nevertheless, the world of Star Wars is different from the one we live in, which means that the people there have different laws and customs. Of course, it is also worth mentioning that there probably wasn’t anything sexual behind that Bo-Katan slap, as she was most likely just proving that Ahsoka was a bit too skinny and probably too young to be married to someone. And it was part of her job to ensure that she verified the identities of the people who were supposed to meet up with her boss then.
