With actor Ray Stevenson's passing, it has been sad to imagine that we won't see more of him as the character he brought to life in Ahsoka. Luckily, as we come to the anniversary of that series, we have new information to enrich Baylan Skoll's story.
"More than his orange-colored lightsaber."
We knew from the start that Ahsoka was fixated on Grand Admiral Thrawn. Her appearance in The Mandalorian established this and fans of Star Wars Rebels could see it coming. The people standing in her way were the unknown factors as the show began to air on Disney+.
According to ScreenRant, author Moly Brizzell, "his Force alignment was never quite clear - particularly because he openly had an apprentice, with the braid designating her as a Padawan more than anything else." We now know more about Baylan thanks to an unlikely source. Game company EA is now remedying that uncertainty in their mobile game, Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes. The kit for Stevenson's character "tells players which categories Baylan's character will fall under." People have been debating whether he is a Sith or can be characterized as a "gray Jedi" because of his past as a general during the Clone Wars.
His character sheet now lists his alliance as "Dark Jedi" and categorizes him as an "unaligned Force user." Says Brizzell, "While he may not be a Sith or aggressively dark side aligned, this is clearly where he's heading if Star Wars sorts him as such... [he is far from being a 'gray Jedi,' as he is very clearly being separated from a Jedi identity."
What is his intention, then? Let's turn to Episode 4 of Ahsoka, with this quote:
"It is an unfortunate evil, but speaks to a greater truth. One must destroy to create."Baylan Skoll.
He also reflects the truth that, "The fall of the Jedi, rise of the Empire. It repeats again and again and again" in episode 6, "Far, Far Away." He is a man in search of balance, and we're reminded in the ScreenRant article that "it is heavily foreshadowed that he intends to use the Mortis gods in some way to help him achieve this balance." Brizzell predicts that "these actions must becoming from a darker place than Baylan's let on about."
How it will all play out is something we can look forward to in Ahsoka Season 2 which is forecast to be released in 2026.