Ray Stevenson's Baylan Skoll played a major role in Season 1 of Ahsoka, but the final scene that he was featured in may have set the character up to appear in a potential Season 2 of the Disney+ show.
Star Wars fans praised the character of Baylan Skoll throughout the eight episodes of Ahsoka, with many also complimenting the performance of actor Ray Stevenson, who tragically passed away prior to the show airing on Disney+.
Throughout Season 1 of Ahsoka, Stevenson played the role of a Force-sensitive mercenary who was a former member of the Jedi Order.
The character eventually strayed away from the task he was hired to do in hopes of finding a power on the planet Peridea that would allow him to create something greater than the Jedi Order or the Empire.
How Episode 8 of Ahsoka Set Up Baylan's Return in Season 2
Ray Stevenson's Baylan Skoll was featured heavily throughout Season 1 of Ahsoka, but he only appeared in one brief scene during the finale.
After Thrawn escaped Peridea with the Great Mothers and his Night Troopers, it was revealed that Baylan was still searching the planet and trying to find whatever powerful entity was calling to him in Episodes 6 and 7.
Stevenson's character was actually shown to be standing on a statue of the Father from the Mortis arc of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, looking in the direction of where the structure's hand was pointing.
This brief scene teased that fans will see Baylan yet again in another project, most likely Season 2 of Ahsoka.
Whatever the statue of the Father was pointing to is likely where Stevenson's character was traveling toward. It is possible that whatever was calling to him was in fact the same person or thing that the Father is pointing to.
Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka Tano and Natasha Liu Bordizzo's Sabine Wren are also notably still on Peridea at the end of Season 1.
Seeing as how Disney and Lucasfilm are both reportedly looking at potentially greenlighting Season 2 of Ahsoka, it would make sense for the majority of that second installment to take place there on that planet.
Ivanna Sakhno's Shin Hati, who was Baylan's apprentice, is there on Peridea as well, which makes it even more likely that the Season 2 storyline could be focused around the four characters of Ahsoka, Sabine, Baylan, and Shin.
If Star Wars does elect to continue Stevenson's character's storyline, he would sadly have to be recast due to the actor's passing. For many fans, it would be hard to imagine someone other than Stevenson playing the character since he gave such a strong performance in Season 1, but furthering Baylan's story could ultimately still honor Stevenson's legacy.
What Would Baylan's Season 2 Story Be?
Baylan is obviously still obsessed with whatever it is that is calling to him. He was seeking that greater power when he appeared in Episode 8, and he probably won't stop until he finds it.
Assuming that he does find what he is looking for, it will most likely end up being something incredibly sinister and/or powerful in the Force - something that he wouldn't be able to take on alone.
However, seeing as how he was by himself at the end of Season 1, Ray Stevenson's character will likely continue his journey solo, which could prove threatening for him.
If he were to find this mysterious power, perhaps it would imprison him or even begin hunting him early on in Season 2.
Not knowing what else to do, Baylan would likely then make a desperate call to Shin through the Force to either try and warn her to get off the planet or to come help him.
Shin, who appeared obviously conflicted at the end of Episode 7 of Ahsoka, wouldn't want to leave her master and friend behind, so she would then do anything she needed to do to help.
It is possible that she could try to lead the band of raiders that she met up with at the end of Episode 8 to go rescue Baylan, but ultimately fail due to the Force entity's great power.
This would leave her no other choice but to seek out Ahsoka and Sabine and join forces with them to help Baylan.
With those three characters all together, they could potentially come to Baylan's rescue and actually rescue him from the danger that he is in. This would not only reinforce the statement that Ahsoka made to Sabine in Episode 8 about being where they "need to be."
Banding together with Ahsoka and Sabine could also be the last straw in pushing Shin to turn to the Light Side of the Force, furthering her character arc and setting her up to become an even more important character in future Star Wars projects.
Ahsoka is available to stream on Disney+.
