While Lucasfilm set up Grand Admiral Thrawn to be the big bad in Ahsoka from the get-go, Dave Filoni rightly realized that he needed to pit Ahsoka (or “Snips,” if you prefer) against Force-wielders of her own caliber. It was from there that the rogue Jedi who goes by the name of Baylan Skoll and his apprentice Shin Hati were originally conceived.
The two dark side practitioners made their debut as early as the beginning moments of Ahsoka, which, at the very least, implies that they’re going to play a huge part in the story. But Baylan and his apprentice aren’t your run-of-the-mill Sith. In fact, the narrative is making a point of separating them from Palpatine and his sinister spawn.
Baylan Skoll himself used to be a Jedi Knight before the fall of the Galactic Republic, but who is his apprentice — this girl who goes by the name of Shin Hati?
Who is Shin Hati?
Ahsoka and the droid Huyang quickly determined that Baylan Skoll is a former Jedi Knight who has somehow managed to survive Order 66. According to official sources, Baylan evaded the purge preceding the rise of Palpatine’s empire and has been living the life of a mercenary ever since.
Shin Hati, meanwhile, is a Force-sensitive Padawan he must have picked up at some point during his travels. We use the word “Padawan” purposefully because Skoll and Hati aren’t Sith. If anything, Skoll seems somewhat hesitant to resort to cruel tactics. He even lets slip a hint of admiration towards Ahsoka Tano, who is another survivor of the purge like himself. Baylan uses the term “Jedi” sympathetically, meaning that he doesn’t necessarily see Ahsoka as his enemy.
Shin doesn’t seem to have such reservations, perhaps due to the fact that she wasn’t raised as a proper Jedi. For now, it seems that the master and his pupil are only out for themselves, but it’ll be interesting to see the kind of life Hati has lived under Skoll’s tutelage and whether the story is going to attempt a redemption arc for her character.
New Ahsoka episodes premiere every Tuesday on Disney Plus.