I don’t think there’s more live action lightsaber battles in any Star Wars series than in Ahsoka. Seriously, every one of the eight episodes had at least one, sometimes two or three lightsaber duels. Which is awesome, of course, so I thought I’d list my top five favorites here.

Ahsoka vs. Anakin in the World Between Worlds. This encounter was thrilling in every way, from the teasing banter at the beginning, to Ahsoka’s “I will not fight you” and Anakin’s answer, “I’ve heard that before,” to the final lesson being learned.

I loved seeing Anakin’s signature moves here, even more so than as a Padawan against his master in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Here, he is the Master, seemingly in control of the entire duel, pushing Ahsoka to her limits, exhorting her to “live or die.”

That is the lesson: Ahsoka has been living a half- life, really since Order 66 but especially since learning Anakin had turned to the dark side and became Vader. She was fearful, cautious, afraid of connection, of the darkness in herself and others. It was why she refused to train Grogu; it was why she walked away from training Sabine.

After the vision of her younger self in the Clone Wars, of coming to terms with being a child soldier, she turns the battle around, faces the darkness within herself, overcomes it, and declares, “I choose to live.” In other words, she regains her faith in herself, in the Force, and in the Light. She decides to live fully rather than the gray half-life she’d been living. Anakin’s transformation from dark side demon to charming Anakin–“There’s hope for you yet”–is brilliant, and Hayden’s performance is flawless.

This battle is charged with intense emotion, and that always makes for the best lightsaber duels.

Ahsoka vs. Baylan (Round 1) on Selos. This is the meeting we’d all been waiting for: Ahsoka confronting the mysterious Baylan Skoll. Ahsoka and Sabine are after the map that leads to Thrawn, and Baylan, of course, must let it finish its work downloading coordinates to Morgan’s ship.

Baylan begins by trying to throw Ahsoka off balance by bringing up Anakin and his fall. Ahsoka doesn’t take the bait, and they circle each other for quite a while, changing stances, feeling each other out. Baylan is a big, imposing man, and he slashes at Ahsoka with powerful, controlled moves.

The orange lightsabers are never explained, and maybe they don’t need to be; but Baylan and Shin are clearly not Sith. They’re not Jedi, either, though Baylan is formerly of the Order. I haven’t figured out if they use the dark side of the Force or not–they use the Force selfishly, for their own ends, but are they truly evil? Let me know your take on this, please.

At any rate, the stakes are high in this battle; and when Shin shows up, Ahsoka thinks she’s killed Sabine. This momentarily weakens her, and Baylan gets the upper hand, pushing her toward the edge of the cliff. Ahsoka manages to knock Shin out, but when Sabine then shows up, Ahsoka tells her to destroy the map. But at this point, Baylan presses his advantage, and Ahsoka falls into the sea.

Ahsoka vs. Morgan Elsbeth on Peridea. I thought Morgan’s transformation into a true Dathomirian witch was cool and made her character more interesting; it was a shame it didn’t last very long. But Morgan went out fighting with her flaming green sword, the Sword of Talzin, in her battle with Ahsoka in the last episode. This duel was even more epic than their fight in The Mandalorian; here, both women have been transformed: Ahsoka is now Ahsoka the White, and Morgan is now Shadow Morgan. Light vs. Dark, and the stakes couldn’t be higher, as Thrawn is now making his escape. Unfortunately, Ahsoka loses one of her lightsabers in this battle, but she is ultimately triumphant, slicing Morgan across the midsection.

Sabine Wren vs. Shin Hati (Round 1) on Lothal. Besides Ahsoka’s fight with the droids on Arcana in the first episode, this is the first proper lightsaber duel we see in Ahsoka, and it’s between the Padawans, Sabine Wren and Shin Hati. Besides our surprise at how good Sabine has become with the lightsaber, it’s the first time we’ve seen two women duel in live-action (I think?–besides Ahsoka and Morgan in The Mandalorian, but it’s not a true lightsaber battle as Morgan has a Beskar staff rather than a laser sword). The aesthetics are striking, with Sabine’s green and Shin’s orange sabers lighting up the night. And Sabine taking Shin’s lightsaber through the middle is shocking. Even though we know that she must live through the injury, she clearly loses the battle. Plus, Sabine with long hair.

Ahsoka vs. Baylan (Round 2) on Peridea. It was inevitable that these two should meet once more here on Peridea, and this time Ahsoka is a bit more prepared. Again, the stakes are high, but it’s more about saving her friends than any strategic goal (like getting to the map in the first duel). The battle is just as beautiful and brutal as the first, but again, Baylan is a wall that Ahsoka cannot topple. He says, “You can’t defeat me,” and she replies, “I don’t have to,” and she’s right: it’s just a distraction until Huyang can come in and save the day.

I love all the lightsaber duels in this show; I haven’t even mentioned the two duels Ahsoka had with Marrock, and Sabine and Shin’s rematch. But these were my top five if I had to choose for brevity’s sake. I love how Dave Filoni approached the battles from a samurai perspective: from the brutal, slashing moves more reminiscent of the Originals and Sequels (as opposed to the dancing choreography of the Prequels), to Ahsoka’s garb, to the ethereal flute music, to the term “bokken” Jedi (a Japanese term meaning “wooden sword,” and how Baylan refers to Jedi trained outside the Jedi Order, after its fall). Wonderful.

Do you have a favorite lightsaber battle from Ahsoka? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!