Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Ahsoka episode 4Ahsoka episode 4 is entitled “Fallen Jedi”, referencing multiple characters in the new show and greater Star Wars canon. A groundbreaking episode kicking the series into high gear, “Fallen Jedi” features the titular Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and her apprentice Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) facing off against the agents of Lady Morgan Elsbeth who are attempting to bring back the missing Imperial leader Grand Admiral Thrawn. Featuring several twists and a major cliffhanger, Ahsoka episode 4’s title is quite fitting for several reasons.
As seen in Ahsoka episode 4, Lady Morgan prepares to leave for another galaxy where Thrawn has been exiled while her agents deal with the Jedi. Despite sending his apprentice Shin Hati and the former Imperial Inquisitor Marrok into the forest to kill the heroes, Lord Baylan Skoll ends up facing Ahsoka himself. This leads to several major twists with a very surprising ending with the episode more than earning its title. Here are all the “Fallen Jedi” explained in Ahsoka episode 4.
Contents
5 Baylan Skoll Is A Jedi Who Fell To The Dark Side
Firstly, it’s been confirmed that Baylan Skoll was once a member of the Jedi Order, apparently having survived the events of Order 66 and the Jedi Purge with the rise of the Empire. Now, Baylan has his own apprentice with the two of them operating as neither Jedi nor Sith, having forged their own dark path in the galaxy instead. To that end, Baylan should very much be considered Ahsoka episode 4’s first “Fallen Jedi”.
Despite his comments about having lost his faith long ago, it’s been teased that Baylan Skoll has ulterior motives beyond the recovery of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Believing that “one must destroy in order to create”, it’s not yet been revealed what it is Skoll’s trying to build once Thrawn has been brought back to the known galaxy to bring about an Imperial resurgence. Perhaps he’s seeking to recreate the Jedi Order as it should have been prior to its gradual corruption by the Republic it once served.
4 Baylan Discusses Ahsoka’s Fallen Jedi Master
Before Baylan and Ahsoka have their epic duel in Ahsoka episode 4, Skoll takes the time to talk about Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka’s former master whom Baylan claims to have known personally when the Jedi Order was still standing. Likewise, he also knows Anakin was corrupted, eventually becoming the Dark Lord of the Sith known as Darth Vader after being seduced to the dark side by Emperor Palpatine. This is privileged information very few in the galaxy were aware of, so it’s interesting that Baylan knows Anakin and Vader were one and the same, the implication being that Baylan’s also aware of Anakin’s role in the Jedi Order’s destruction.
It’s also been shown in the episodes of Ahsoka thus far that Baylan has a unique gift of foresight and can seemingly reach out to sense the goals and motives of others through the Force. This could potentially explain Baylan’s knowledge of Anakin and the history of his corruption by the Sith. Either way, it’s certainly some interesting connective tissue between two “Fallen Jedi” in Ahsoka episode 4.
3 Sabine Falls Off The Jedi Path
The “Fallen Jedi” title is also a reference to Sabine’s surprising decision to join forces with Baylan Skoll. Reaching out and understanding Sabine’s desire to find Jedi Ezra Bridger who went missing along with Thrawn, Sabine has officially strayed from her Jedi path that had just begun once more. With Ahsoka having walked away from Sabine’s training once before, Sabine and Tano had only just reunited as master and apprentice. However, Baylan understands that Ezra is the only family Sabine feels she has left, something he uses to his advantage to convince Wren to give him the star map and join them on their journey to another galaxy.
Likewise, the reveal that Sabine’s family was killed during the Purge of Mandalore is huge, as is the tease that Ahsoka seemingly played a role in Sabine’s inability to save them when the Empire attacked her homeworld. This likely explains why Sabine’s training ended the first time, while also motivating this huge twist where Sabine is now agreeing to work with the enemy. As such, Sabine Wren is absolutely another key “Fallen Jedi” in reference to Ahsoka episode 4’s title.
2 Ahsoka Has A Literal Fall – To Her Death?
The culmination of Ahsoka’s lightsaber duel with Baylan Skoll sees the former Jedi being forced off the side of a cliff into the oceans of Seatos below. As a result, Ahsoka obviously embodies the “Fallen Jedi” title in this episode by literally falling. It’s also possible that she might have fallen to her death.
Waking up in what looks to be the netherworld in the Force known as the World Between Worlds during the ending of Ahsoka episode 4, Ahsoka has either died or is very much on the edge of life and death, hence the supernatural visit to the Force nexus. However, it could also be a vision motivated by the Force that’s occurring within her own mind, seeing as how she’s been to the World Between Worlds before as seen in Star Wars Rebels. Either way, the anticipation for Ahsoka episode 5 and the reveal of Ahsoka’s fate is quite high.
1 Star Wars Brings Back Anakin Skywalker, The Ultimate Fallen Jedi
Of course, the other major part of Ahsoka episode 4’s ending was the return of Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker, appearing before Ahsoka in the World Between Worlds to close out the episode as a major cliffhanger. Despite his death as Darth Vader following his redemption from the dark side after saving his son Luke and defeating Palpatine, Anakin is here to speak with his old apprentice. Anakin became Force ghost as seen in the closing sequence of Return of the Jedi, and this is likely how he’s able to appear before Ahsoka now (assuming she is indeed in the legitimate World Between Worlds).
It’s rather fitting that “Fallen Jedi” ends by bringing back the ultimate fallen Jedi in the entire Star Wars canon. To that end, it’s important to note that while Anakin does appear as a friend, the episode did end with Darth Vader’s Imperial March theme playing in the background. As such, perhaps all is not as it initially seems following Ahsoka episode 4. Either way, fans will likely get their answers in the following episode of the ongoing Star Wars show.
Ahsoka releases new episodes Tuesdays at 6pm PT / 9pm ET on Disney+.