Ahsoka's Villain Just Copied Emperor Palpatine - For Better Or Worse

Contains spoilers for "Ahsoka" Season 1, Episode 4 — "Part Four: Fallen Jedi"

As the name suggests, "Ahsoka" put the focus on the enemies in "Part Four: Fallen Jedi," giving the late Ray Stevenson his much-deserved time in the spotlight. As if Baylan Skoll (Stevenson) and Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) weren't already two of the most interesting "Star Wars" villains on Disney+, this week's episode had the Dark Jedi Master channel his inner Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), proving he's a different kind of antagonist.

Near the end of Episode 4, following some savvy Force-sensitive cross-examination on Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), Baylan Skoll says, pointedly, "Do it," giving "Star Wars" fans flashbacks to Palpatine's iconic line from "Revenge of the Sith." However, unlike the legendary Sith lord, Baylan conveys his message with heart and genuine sympathy, adding "For Ezra" shortly after, pulling on Sabine's — and "Star Wars Rebels" fans' — heartstrings, convincing the young Mandalorian to hand over the map.

While both Baylan and Palpatine's messages have an overwhelming sense of power behind them, the "Ahsoka" antagonist delivers his demands with an oddly comforting level of sincerity that could sway even the strongest wills. Stevenson's performance only adds to the scene, using a soft tone to convey his heartfelt message, as opposed to Palpatine's scratchy, evil voice in "Episode III," proving that "Star Wars" has much more to offer than the typical evil-doers.

Baylan Skoll is far from your typical "Star Wars" villain, which is more than evident in his Dark Jedi status as opposed to the franchise's usual focus on Sith Lords. "Ahsoka" Episode 4, aptly titled "Fallen Jedi," gives fans a peak behind the curtain regarding Baylan's motivation, teasing there's more behind the villain than simply wanting to do evil things.

At "Star Wars" Celebration 2023, Ray Stevenson had an interesting way of describing his "Ahsoka" villain, telling Yahoo!, "There's nothing scary about Baylan; I would describe him as stoically lethal." He continued, saying fans may have a hard time pinning Baylan down. Some "Star Wars" characters, like Emperor Palpatine, are definitively evil, while others, like Ahsoka Tano, are inherently good, but Baylan isn't as easy to categorize. "Basically, if you're in his way, he'll politely request you to get out of it. And if you don't, you'll be removed. But there's no malevolence there, there's no 'I want to slaughter the world.'"

From everything we've seen, it's clear there's more to Baylan than simply finding Thrawn to start another war. In the interview, Stevenson promised his antagonist would only continue to leave audiences second-guessing him, and that's clear in everything we've seen so far. While "Ahsoka" continues to shroud Baylan in mystery, it's clear "Star Wars" has a deeply complex antagonist on their hands.