Sabine Wren was soundly defeated by Shin Hati in the debut of Ahsoka, which was surprising given Sabine’s past experience with lightsaber combat.
At the end of Ahsoka episode 1, Sabine Wren and Shin Hati faced off against one another over the map that led to Thrawn. Sabine was able to hold her own against Shin for a few minutes, but the battle quickly turned in Shin’s favor, leaving Sabine with a clean lightsaber hole through her abdomen. While it didn’t take long for Ahsoka Tano to help patch Sabine up, the encounter was enough for Sabine—and the audience—to realize how weak she was compared to her enemy.
Given Sabine Wren’s past experience of wielding the Darksaber, it’s somewhat surprising how quickly and soundly she lost to Shin. Not only did she have some lessons in lightsaber fighting from Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus, but she was also trained for several years by Ahsoka Tano herself. Yet despite being taught by two venerable masters, Shin managed to quickly dispatch Sabine. Had Ahsoka not come to Sabine’s aid, it’s likely Shin would have finished Sabine off. Nevertheless, there are several reasons as to why Sabine failed to hold her own against Shin.
Sabine Wren Has A Lower Level Of Force-Sensitivity
According to the droid professor Huyang, Sabine’s Force-sensitivity was extremely low. He even went as far as to say that her attunement to the Force was lower than any Padawan he’d ever met. This is definitely one of the biggest differences between Sabine and Shin, and is likely why Sabine fell behind so much in their duel. Since Shin has the Force, she is more spatially aware of her saber and her opponent. Meanwhile, Sabine’s lack of Force-sensitivity means she can never wield a lightsaber as efficiently as someone with the Force. Instead, she must rely on pure swordsmanship to overcome her disadvantage.
At the moment, not much has been revealed about Shin Hati’s past. She is clearly adept with a lightsaber, but the full extent of her abilities in the Force has yet to be shown. However, given that her master Baylan Skoll is interested in power, it’s likely he chose Shin specifically for her connection to the Force. She seeks power the same way her master does, so it’s not out of the question to assume she is gifted with the Force.
Sabine Hasn’t Kept Up With Her Training
Another reason Sabine failed to take down Shin was because she was out of practice. The series made it evident that she’d long since buried her armor and lightsaber among the other junk in her room. So when she grabbed her lightsaber to fight Shin, it had likely been the first time she’d touched it in a long time. Despite being out of practice, its impressive Sabine managed to last as long as she did against Shin, who has clearly been honing her skills. Nevertheless, now that Sabine has donned her Mandalorian armor and become Ahsoka’s companion once more, her next encounter with Shin in Ahsoka could go differently.
