‘Ahsoka’: How Did Baylan Skoll Know Anakin? Theory Explained

The latest trailer of ‘Ahsoka’ has gotten fans talking about the things that are about to come in the series. Of course, we know that Baylan Skoll and his apprentice, Shin Hati, will be very important in the upcoming storyline, especially because they are set to go up against Ahsoka Tano and her allies. But one of the things that we saw in the trailer was that Baylan told Ahsoka that Anakin spoke highly of her. So, how did Baylan know Anakin?

Baylan most likely met Anakin when he was still a Jedi and before the Jedi Order fell during the events of Order 66 and the Jedi Purge. As such, he probably served during the Clone Wars and came across Anakin during one of his missions. But we aren’t dismissing the possibility that he used the World Between Worlds.

The entire storyline of ‘Ahsoka’ is still full of mysteries because we aren’t really sure who or what Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati are as far as their alignment is concerned. Still, Baylan was obviously familiar with Ahsoka’s former master and must’ve spoken to him in the past. So, with that said, let’s look at our theories regarding how Baylan knew Anakin.

Theory 1: Baylan used to be a Jedi

When Baylan Skoll first appeared in the ‘Ahsoka’ teaser a while back, the first obvious thing was that he was a well-trained Force wielder with advanced lightsaber skills that were obviously on par with any Jedi.

Of course, let’s not forget that Baylan is also on the older side of the calendar. Played by the late Ray Stevenson (rest in peace), Baylan is currently one of the oldest Force wielders in the galaxy. And that means that he was around during the time when the Jedi Order was yet to fall.

So, if we used Ray Stevenson’s age at the time of his death as a reference for what Baylan’s age could be, it is easy to see that he should have been a full-grown adult already during the final days of the Jedi Order. Stevenson was 58 at the time of his death, and there’s a good chance Baylan was meant to be around 55 to 60.

The ‘Ahsoka’ series probably takes place during the same era as ‘The Mandalorian,’ which would mean that it takes place somewhere between 9 to 11 ABY. If that’s the case, then almost 30 years have passed since the fall of the Jedi Order on 19 BBY. That would mean that Baylan might have been in his 20s during the Clone Wars era.

But what does that mean? Well, in the ‘Ahsoka’ trailer, there was a scene wherein Baylan told Ahsoka that Anakin spoke highly of her. Note that he said “Anakin” instead of “Darth Vader.” That would mean that Baylan knew who Anakin was before he turned to the dark side.

So, if that’s the case, then there’s a good reason to believe that Baylan was one of Anakin Skywalker’s contemporaries during the time when the Jedi Order was yet to fall. That’s because he should have been in his 20s during the Clone Wars, and that would mean that he might have been trained to be a Jedi Knight and was part of the Jedi Order.

This opens up the possibility that Baylan Skoll received his training from the Jedi Order and was powerful and skilled enough to have fought and survived during the Clone Wars. That could also mean that, at one point in the past, he met Anakin while they were fighting on the frontlines during the Clone Wars or when they stumbled across one another while spending their off days in the Jedi Temple.

We also believe that there’s a good chance that Baylan must have met Anakin during the time that Ahsoka had already left the Jedi Order. That’s because Anakin and Ahsoka were almost always seen together during the Clone Wars.

There were only a few missions wherein Ahsoka wasn’t with Anakin. As such, Anakin must have spoken to Baylan about Ahsoka somewhere between Ahsoka’s exit from the Jedi Order and the events of the Battle of Coruscant.

Overall, the point is that Baylan and Anakin may have been contemporaries during the events of the Clone Wars and were Jedi Knights before the fall of the Jedi Order. They must have met each other during their time together in the Jedi. Of course, Baylan must have survived the events of Order 66 and was able to evade the Empire during the Great Jedi Purge during the Imperial era.

Theory 2: Baylan used the World Between Worlds

Another theory that might not be as possible as the first is that Baylan used the World Between Worlds. In ‘Star Wars: Rebels,’ we learned that Ezra Bridger discovered the World Between Worlds in the Jedi Temple in Lothal.

This is a mystical place wherein a Jedi can peek into events in the galaxy across time and space. Think of it as Star Wars’ version of time traveling.

In fact, in ‘Rebels,’ Ezra saved Ahsoka from Darth Vader by pulling her into the World Between Worlds and allowing her to exit into her own timeline. Ahsoka also entered the World Between Worlds and went on a spiritual journey that we were never privy to.

So, because the Jedi can access the World Between Worlds, there’s a good chance that someone trained to be a Jedi was also able to find another Jedi Temple that had access to the World Between Worlds. Baylan must have found a Jedi Temple in a remote system in the galaxy and may have found a door to the World Between Worlds.

If that’s the case, he may have entered the World Between Worlds and then traveled to a certain point in the past where he met Anakin Skywalker before he fell to the dark side. Of course, this is just a theory on our part. That means that there’s no assurance that this happened. But the fact that the World Between Worlds will be featured in the ‘Ahsoka’ series opens the possibility that Baylan must have used the same mystical plane at one point in time as well.

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