Two episodes in, Ahsoka is already changing huge elements of Star Wars canon. After spending almost half a decade exploring a galaxy far, far away, Episode 2 revealed there’s another galaxy even farther away, and it could take a mystical journey to reach.
It’s not the first time Star Wars TV has explored the galaxy’s metaphysical aspects; theories surrounding Ahsoka bringing Rebels’ World Between Worlds into live-action have run rampant for years. However, what Ahsoka may really be referencing is the weirdest arc of The Clone Wars.
The World Between Worlds showed Ezra Bridger traversing into a metaphysical plane to save Ahsoka’s life, but it’s not the first time mysticism spared her. In the Mortis arc of The Clone Wars (that’s Episodes 15 through 17 of Season 3), Anakin and Ahsoka find themselves in the otherworldly realm of Mortis, where physical representations of the Force — the Son, the Daughter, and the Father — reckoned with Anakin’s existence as the Chosen One.
In Mortis, the Son represented the Dark Side, the Daughter the Light Side, and the Father the balance between them. Ahsoka is closely tied to these beings, as the Daughter gave up her Life Force to revive Ahsoka after the Dark Side poisoned her. Redditor SirTeaofBagz suggests these dynamics are echoed in Ahsoka’s three antagonist Force users: Baylan Skoll, Shin Hati, and the mysterious Marrok.
Marrok, who dresses in all-black and never shows his face, represents the Dark Side. Shin Hati, who has the traditional Jedi braid, is the Light Side, and Baylan Skoll, the former Jedi who leads them, represents the neutral Father. Though disillusioned by the Jedi, he hasn’t fallen to the Dark Side. That he works as a mercenary for Morgan Elsbeth yet mourns the downfall of the Jedi reflects his balanced view.
How does this affect Ahsoka? It may be nothing more than a thematic parallel, but considering how Ahsoka is rewriting so much of modern Star Wars canon, it’s possible this parallel could be explored further. Ahsoka’s ties to Mortis have literally followed her in the form of an owl-like creature named Morai, so she could come to realize how this mercenary trinity echoes her past.
And with Dave Filoni penning every Ahsoka script, the connection could be even bigger. With a brand new galaxy in play, we could actually see Mortis again, and these three figures could make their dynamic even clearer. There’s no Jedi Order at this point in the timeline, and the line between Light and Dark is blurrier than ever. A direct reference to Mortis may show Ahsoka how even her enemies are still united with her in the Force.
