Star Wars: How One Ahsoka Theory Connects Dark Jedi Baylan To A Major Jedi Master
A prominent Ahsoka theory links the Star Wars antagonist Baylan Skoll to fan-favorite Jedi Council Member Plo Koon and the evidence is strong.
As Disney Plus’ Ahsoka series wraps up another episode, many Star Wars fans are still frantically trying to piece together the origin of the mysterious Dark Jedi Baylan Skoll. So far, all the show has revealed is that he was a Jedi General during the Clone Wars and went missing after the Sith Lord Darth Sidious executed the infamous Order 66 that incited the Great Jedi Purge. Since then, Baylon’s activities are largely unknown, as he drifted across the Galaxy for over thirty years before returning to prominence in the Ahsoka series alongside his new apprentice Shin Hati and the Imperial Inquisitor Marrok.
The mystique surrounding Baylan stems from the fact that he has clearly fallen from the path of the Jedi, yet he does not seem to be beholden to the tenets of the Sith Order or even the Galactic Empire. Thus, the mystery behind his origins and fall to the Dark Side have been an intriguing part of the Ahsoka series, made even more compelling by the fact that he seems to feel some sympathy for lead protagonist Ahsoka Tano as a former Jedi who was outcasted from the Jedi Order. However, one major theory drifting around the Star Wars fandom that has gained a lot of traction recently might explain Baylan’s peculiarities and his seeming fondness for Ahsoka despite their lack of a shared history together.
While many fans might be quick to assume that Baylan is another member of the Imperial Inquisitors like his ally Marrok, his lightsaber proves otherwise. As was stated by lightsaber expert Professor Huyang in Ahsoka’s second chapter, Baylan’s lightsaber hilt is based on a classical Jedi Knight design and not the mass-produced double-bladed models the Inquisitors use. While this could just paint Baylan as a more individualistic Inquisitor, the color of his lightsaber blade proves he’s never been an Inquisitor.
As was explained through the Star Wars: Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith comic book series (by Charles Soule and Giuseppe Camuncoli), both Darth Vader and the Inquisitors were forced to use the Dark Side of the Force to corrupt their lightsaber crystals into their iconic red as a sign of loyalty to Darth Sidious. This was a process that every member of the Imperial Inquisitors had to undergo in order to be initiated into the organization. However, unlike Vader and the Inquisitors, Baylan possesses a unique orange-bladed lightsaber, meaning that he never underwent to process of corrupting his lightsaber crystal into the traditional red coloring. This makes it clear that Baylan is a Jedi, who despite falling to the Dark Side, never swore loyalty to Darth Sidious.
Traditionally, according to Star Wars Legends, an orange-bladed lightsaber signified its wielder as a member of the Jedi Sentinel Corp, a group of Jedi Knights who would often take part in undercover missions as well as acting as Jedi Generals. This would explain how Baylan was able to fall under the radar of the Galactic Empire. However, on top of this, Baylan’s lightsaber might have secretly revealed who his Jedi Master was, a famous Star Wars character very close to director Dave Filoni’s heart.
In Star Wars Legends stories, Jedi Master Plo Koon famously wielded his own orange-bladed lightsaber. This was first revealed in Dark Horse Comics’ four-issue miniseries Star Wars: The Stark Hyperspace War (by John Ostrander, Davidé Fabbri, Christian Dalla Vecchia, Steve Dutro and David McCaig) wherein a young Plo Koon was part of a Jedi Strike Force sent to the planet Qotile to defend its government from the Stark Commercial Combine. Plo Koon continued to use this lightsaber in other comic storylines such as 2000’s Star Wars: Jedi Council: Acts of War and 2004’s Star Wars: Obsession. However, while Plo Koon kept using the same lightsaber hilt, the Jedi Master eventually switched the orange crystal out for a blue-bladed lightsaber in the Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones movie.
The disappearance of Plo’s orange-bladed lightsaber sparked a multitude of debates in the fan community, as fans tried to figure out what had happened to the unique weapon. Was it damaged? Did Plo Koon simply prefer a blue-bladed lightsaber? Star Wars never answered the questions about its peculiar disappearance from the Jedi Master’s arsenal. However, now that Baylan has joined this group of Jedi Knights who use orange-bladed lightsabers, some fans think that Plo Koon was Baylan Skoll’s Jedi Master and that he gave his orange lightsaber crystal to Baylan; potentially as a sort of graduation gift when he was promoted to a Jedi Knight.
Giving a Jedi Padawan a new lightsaber crystal when they achieve the rank of Jedi Knight is not unheard of in the Star Wars Galaxy. Both Mace Windu and Luke Skywalker acquired new lightsabers when they became Jedi Knights. Mace traded his original blue-bladed lightsaber for his iconic purple blade in the short story ‘Stones’ (by William Haden Blackman, Michael Zulli, Steven Dutro and Giulia Brusco) and Luke crafted his green-bladed lightsaber in Star Wars #35 (by Charles Soule, Clayton Cowles, Madibek Musabekov and Rachelle Rosenberg). Even Ahsoka Tano herself received a new set of blue-bladed lightsabers when Anakin Skywalker unofficially declared her a Jedi Knight in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Beyond these lightsaber-related questions, though, if Baylan Skoll was Plo Koon’s apprentice it would explain a major part of his character that has caught the attention of Star Wars fans.
