The Untold Truth Of Ahsoka's Baylan Skoll
"Ahsoka" has finally arrived on Disney+, providing a much-needed follow-up on the many beloved characters introduced throughout Dave Filoni's "Star Wars" series. Along with the titular Ahsoka Tano, much of the show's supporting cast originated in one of Filoni's other shows, like "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" or "Star Wars: Rebels." However, it's one of the show's few newcomers who has managed to steal to show, and will likely have both casual viewers and long-time fans alike debating his mysterious past.
That character is Baylan Skoll, one of the show's main antagonists. Played by the late Ray Stevenson, Baylan Skoll is a former member of the Jedi Order, though much of his past remains a mystery thus far. One of the most interesting aspects of Skoll's character is that in many ways, his story mirrors that of Ahsoka Tano. Both are former members of the Jedi Order who survived the purge, and neither seem to fully ascribe to the light or dark side of the Force. But while Ahsoka has always leaned towards the light, Baylan Skoll seems to embrace the dark. Here's everything you need to know about the latest "Star Wars" antagonist.
Survivor of Order 66
It was first revealed in Empire Magazine that Baylan Skoll is a survivor of the Jedi purge known as Order 66, an event that "Star Wars" fans will likely remember taking place during the later half of "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith." When the Jedi, led by Mace Windu, attempted to overthrow Supreme Chancellor Palpatine upon learning that he was a Sith Lord, Palpatine prepared to enact his longtime plan to eradicate the Jedi Order. After defeating the Jedi attackers with the help of Anakin Skywalker, Palpatine issues Order 66, which activates programming within the minds of the clone troopers, turning them against their Jedi allies. Few Jedi survived the purge, thanks to the thorough efforts of the clone troopers, and later the Inquisitors, who were trained to use the dark side to hunt down Force-sensitive individuals.
Baylan Skoll was serving as a Jedi Knight under the order when it came under attack. While it currently remains a mystery as to how he managed to survive, Skoll went into hiding and managed to survive the entirety of the Galactic Empire's reign. In the show's first episode, Baylan uses an old Jedi code to board the New Republic vessel carrying the prisoner, Morgan Elsbeth. The captain of the vessel calls Baylan's bluff, not realizing that he is in fact a former Jedi, trained in the ways of the Force.
A reddish-orange lightsaber
When Baylan Skoll and his apprentice Shin Hati first draw their lightsabers in "Ahsoka," it may appear as though they are wielding red lightsabers, a staple of dark-side Force users in the "Star Wars" universe. However, upon closer inspection, their lightsabers have an orange hue to them. This becomes all the more apparent when seen next to a traditional red lightsaber, such as the one wielded by Marrok, a dark-side user wearing an Inquisitor uniform. This isn't the first time that orange lightsabers have appeared in "Star Wars" media, with several video games, such as the recently released "Star Wars Jedi: Survivor," providing an orange blade as an option for players.
However, the reddish-orange color of Baylan Skoll's lightsaber differs pretty significantly from the brighter orange color seen before — it appears to be unique to Baylan Skoll and his apprentice, Shin Hati. While the true meaning of these unique blades is still shrouded in mystery, it is clear that their distinct color hints at a unique aspect of their characters. In an interview with Screen Rant, creator Dave Filoni stated that the blade color indicates that two might not be what viewers at first think that they are, further deepening the mystery behind Baylan Skoll's true intentions.
Work as a mercenary
After the fall of the Jedi Order, the majority of the surviving Jedi Knights were forced into hiding. Some joined the Empire, whether of their own free will or through coercion, becoming Inquisitors, trained to betray and hunt down their former allies. For the Jedi who managed to stay hidden, many had to scrape by, taking jobs that allowed them to make enough credits to survive while staying out of the public eye and under the radar. Former Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi worked as a harvester, taking meat from a giant sand whale, while "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" protagonist Cal Kestis worked for the Scrapper Guild as a rigger.
Baylan Skoll also found himself without a means of survival following Order 66, and took up work as a mercenary. While it is unclear whether he used his Jedi-trained Force abilities or lightsaber during the reign of the Empire, by the time it has fallen, Baylan feels no need to hide his immense power. During his rescue of Morgan Elsbeth, Baylan tells her that he is well-paid to keep his word to her and Thrawn, though his belief in Thrawn's power seems to indicate that money is not the only reason he is backing Elsbeth's plans.
Taking on an apprentice
Taking on an apprentice is a staple of every longtime Jedi's career. The master and apprentice relationship is an important dynamic in the Force, even the Sith adhere to the practice. After the fall of the Jedi Order, many Jedi chose to remain solitary during their exile. Baylan Skoll, however, decided to take on an apprentice sometime before the events of "Ahsoka." His apprentice, Shin Hati, is much younger, and likely would not have lived through many of the same hardships as her master. By the time "Ahsoka" takes place, Baylan Skoll has already trained Shin Hati quite well, and she appears to be every bit the expert fighter.
Interestingly, in the symbolic comparisons between Ahsoka and Baylan Skoll, this is one area where Baylan has Ahsoka beat. While Huyang is constantly chastising Ahsoka for not having a Padawan apprentice to back her up, Shin Hati is able to assist Baylan Skoll in whatever mission or task needs doing. Ahsoka's relationship with her former apprentice, Sabine Wren, is strained, with both of their headstrong natures getting in the way. Meanwhile, Baylan Skoll seems to have a close relationship with Shin Hati, with the two never appearing to doubt one another's abilities, decisions, or intentions.
A believer in the power of Thrawn
After telling Morgan Elsbeth that he was well-paid to assist her, it may be unclear to many viewers whether Baylan Skoll actually supports or believes in the plan to bring Grand Admiral Thrawn back from the deep reaches of space, or whether he is just in it for the credits. However, these doubts are quickly put to rest during the show's second episode, "Toil and Trouble." After the map is brought by Morgan Elsbeth to a temple on Seatos that was built by a people from beyond the galaxy featured in "Star Wars," Shin Hati asks Baylan Skoll what Thrawn's return would mean.
Skoll tells her that Thrawn's return will mean many different things for different people. For some, such as members of the New Republic, his return would mean war, while others may see it as a new beginning. But when Hati asks him what it would mean for the two of them, her tells her that it would give them power, such as she'd never dreamed. Although it is still unclear how much Baylan supports a theoretical reign from Thrawn, he sees Thrawn as a means to power for himself and his apprentice, proving that his ambitions stretch far beyond the money that he was promised by Elsbeth.
One of Ray Stevenson's final roles
Many Star Wars fans were ecstatic when it was announced that veteran actor Ray Stevenson would be playing the role of Baylan Skoll, one of the show's main villains. For fans of comic book movies, Stevenson was a well-known face and voice. He played two Marvel roles, first as Frank Castle/The Punisher in "Punisher: War Zone" and as Thor's friend Volstagg in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in the first three "Thor" films. In addition, he played several memorable roles in projects such as "RRR," "Dexter," and "Rome." In fact, "Ahsoka" wasn't even the first time that Stevenson portrayed a character in the "Star Wars" universe, as he also voiced Gar Saxon, a Mandalorian warrior, in "Star Wars: Rebels" and "Star Wars: The Clone Wars."
Unfortunately, on May 21, 2023, three months before the premiere of "Ahsoka," Ray Stevenson passed away after being hospitalized while filming an upcoming film, "Cassino in Ischia." Many actors and celebrities paid tribute to Stevenson after his death, including "Ahsoka" star Rosario Dawson and creator Dave Filoni. The series' first episode, "Master and Apprentice," included a memorial to the late actor at the end of the episode, with a black screen with white letters saying simply, "For our friend, Ray."
A name pulled from Norse mythology
The names Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati fit right at home among the many unique and interesting monikers in the "Star Wars" universe, so one could be forgiven for assuming that they were made up just for "Ahsoka." In actuality, the two characters' last names, Skoll and Hati, have their origins in Norse mythology: Hati and Sköll are two wolves tasked with chasing the moon and sun until the end of days, known as Ragnarok. When the two wolves finally catch their respective celestial bodies, Ragnarok will begin and the world will come to an end.
These names were not picked for these characters by accident, and there is a lot of symbolism that can be taken from the two names. The two dark Force wielders can be seen as the wolves giving chase. In turn, Ahsoka and Sabine can represented by the aforementioned celestial bodies, with Ahsoka being the sun, the larger and more powerful of the two, and Sabine Wren as the moon. Hati, the moon-chaser, has spent much of the first two episodes pursuing Sabine, while it is likely that Skoll will be hunting Ahsoka in the upcoming episodes, given Elsbeth's order for him to kill her. In addition, the appearance of the two hunters may signal Thrawn's return, which could be seen as the "Star Wars" universe's Ragnarok.
A deadly combatant
"Ahsoka's" first episode kicks off by introducing Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati as its new villains, and wastes no time in establishing just how much of a threat the duo will be. The episode opens with a New Republic ship transporting Morgan Elsbeth, a prisoner captured by Ahsoka Tano. The ship receives an old Jedi code from a smaller transport ship looking to dock. Unconvinced that the ship belongs to Jedi, the captain welcomes the supposed Jedi aboard. Unfortunately for the captain, these two Jedi turn out to be Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati. They quickly go about methodically wiping out most of the ship's crew, splitting up and taking down dozens of troopers with their lightsabers and Force abilities.
It's an extremely effective introduction, and not only gives audiences a firm sense of how dangerous these new antagonists are, but it also harkens back to the memorable introduction of another famous Star Wars villain. In many ways, the scene mirrors the introduction of Darth Vader in "Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope." Both dark-side wielders enter an enemy ship and proceed to wipe out the opposition. Baylan's introduction has even more similarities to Darth Vader's famous "hallway scene" in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," as both feature the villain fighting alone against overwhelming odds. The intentional comparison to Darth Vader only further cements Baylan Skoll's combat skills.
Working with a Nightsister
After dispatching the majority of the crew of the New Republic transport at the beginning of "Master and Apprentice," Baylan Skoll rescues the prisoner that the ship is carrying, Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto). At first, audiences learn that Elsbeth is an enemy of the New Republic and an old ally of Grand Admiral Thrawn, but it isn't until later that the show reveals that she is one of the Nightsisters. Often referred to as the Witches of Dathomir, Nightsisters are Force users that hail from the planet Dathomir and wield a unique aspect of the Force called Magick. While Magick is closely tied to the dark side of the Force, it is technically separate from both the dark and the light side.
Nightsisters have existed in Star Wars lore for quite some time through the old Legends canon, but it was "Ahsoka" creator Dave Filoni who played a big part in bringing the mysterious group of Magick wielders into the current canon through his shows "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and "Star Wars: Rebels." — so it's only fitting that he introduce them into live-action with "Ahsoka." After teaming up with Morgan Elsbeth, Baylan Skoll follows her to Arcana, a planet that once held a Nightsister stronghold, to locate a map that will help lead them to Thrawn. Unfortunately for them, the map has already been taken by Ahsoka.
A possible history with Huyang
After learning of the deadly attack on the New Republic cruiser by Skoll and Hati, Ahsoka asks her trusty droid companion Huyang to run an analysis on the handles of the two lightsabers. He learns several interesting facts through the reconstruction. First, he can see that they use classic design motifs based on the construction techniques that he taught younglings in the Jedi Temple before its fall. Secondly, while he does not recognize one of the lightsabers, the other one is very familiar to him. In his 500-plus years of teaching students to build lightsabers, only one Jedi had a lightsaber of that design: Baylan Skoll.
While Huyang does not outright confirm that he had a personal relationship with Baylan Skoll prior to Order 66, this scene heavily implies that the two know each other. Not only does Huyang recognize the unique design of Baylan Skoll's lightsaber handle, but he also mentions that it — and the other lightsaber — are both influenced by his design style. While Shin Hati likely learned how to construct her lightsaber from Skoll, her master probably learned how to build his weapon straight from Huyang himself, since he had trained at the temple prior to the fall of the Jedi.
Still respects the Jedi
At first, Morgan Elsbeth seems content to stay just one step ahead of Ahsoka Tano while enacting her plans to bring back Grand Admiral Thrawn. But after Ahsoka brings down her operation on Corellia, Elsbeth decides it is time to take Ahsoka out once and for all. She gives the order to Baylan Skoll, and his response surprises her. After she senses hesitation from him, he tells her that having to kill Ahsoka would be a shame, and that he was hoping to avoid it because there are so few Jedi left.
This indicates that despite no longer considering himself a Jedi, as he tells the captain of the New Republic starship, Baylan Skoll might still hold a sense of reverence for the Jedi and the Jedi order. "Ahsoka" has not made it perfectly clear whether Baylan Skoll had left the Jedi Order prior to the fall like Ahsoka, or if he was still an active Jedi during Order 66, but since Huyang mentioned that he disappeared during the purge, the latter is more likely. Although he is willing to use the dark side of the Force and stray from the Jedi code, it appears that Baylan does not want to see the order go extinct.
He may have known Anakin Skywalker
Anakin Skywalker is one of the most famous Jedi to have ever lived. As a general and a war hero, most members of the Jedi Order who lived through the Clone Wars will have likely heard Anakin's name, at the very least. So it's not surprising that Baylan Skoll will not only have heard of Anakin, but is aware that he was Ahsoka's master. However, one conversation indicates that Baylan Skoll may have actually known Anakin personally.
In the "Ahsoka" official trailer, there is a scene where Baylan Skoll is shown facing off against Ahsoka Tano. Before their blades clash, he tells her that Anakin spoke highly of her. This implies that Baylan Skoll and Anakin Skywalker were familiar enough to discuss Anakin's apprentice. While it doesn't necessarily mean they were close, he may be one of the few Jedi aware of what Anakin became after he turned to the dark side and lost his limbs in the fateful duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi.