Star Wars: Shin Hati Vs. Reva - Why Is Baylan Skoll's Apprentice More Popular?

Apart from revisiting existing characters and bringing animated fan favorites to live action, the Disney+ "Star Wars" shows have introduced several brand-new characters. The most prominent newcomer in "Obi-Wan Kenobi" is Third Sister Reva Sevander (Moses Ingram), an Imperial Inquisitor who hunts Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) but also has her own agenda that puts her on a collision course with the Grand Inquisitor (Rupert Friend) and Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen). "Ahsoka" gives us Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno), another morally ambiguous Force user who's on a warpath with the protagonists. It's fascinating that the shows feature such similar characters ... but even more interesting are the dramatically different responses that the pair has received from the fandom.

Upon her debut, Reva was the subject of some extremely nasty comments from some fans, prompting co-star McGregor to unleash some brutally honest words for Ingram's critics — particularly the racist ones. Meanwhile, Baylan Skoll's (Ray Stevenson) apprentice Shin has quickly become popular among the fandom, despite her character having so much in common with Reva.

Reddit user u/wibellion wondered why the Third Sister isn't as beloved as Baylan's Padawan, which prompted hundreds and hundreds of "Star Wars" fans to discuss the subject. While this number of responses quite naturally yielded varying views on the subject, a common opinion was that Shin benefits from having a much smaller role in her show than Reva has in "Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Before Temuera Morrison took over the role, Boba Fett was a big old enigma wrapped in cool armor. Though we never really got to know the guy before he fell into that Sarlacc pit, his neat design and the fact that he clearly had enough street cred for Vader, of all people, to specifically warn him against disintegrating anyone implied an amazing backstory. He didn't need much dialogue or even all that many scenes to become a "Star Wars" superstar. 

Something similar seems to be going on with Shin Hati. As a dark Jedi Padawan who's a clear supporting character with a cool look and a comparatively small role in the story, Shin remains shrouded in mystery, and there's just enough ambiguity to the character's true feelings about the quest she finds herself on to let fans fill in the blanks. This makes her a true graduate from the Boba Fett school of character design if ever there was one. 

Meanwhile, Reva is a central character in "Obi-Wan Kenobi," a show that prominently features some of the biggest "Star Wars" heavy hitters. As such, she's measured against some of the most beloved and prominent characters in the entire franchise, which would be a tall order even without the fact that some fans feel that the show didn't really handle Reva's story all that well. 

"Shin is a side character, and is used as such," u/Se_V_en7 wrote, summing up the situation. "She doesn't get much screen time. But with Star Wars side characters, less is almost always more. That's the problem with Reva. she had wayyyy [too] much screen time, and when she was on screen her character felt forced and downright annoying. Shin has much better writing and usage, and therefore she's a much better character imo."