What Baylan Skoll Meant By 'Bokken Jedi' In Ahsoka Episode 6

This post contains spoilers for "Ahsoka" episode 6, "Far, Far Away."

In "Ahsoka," Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) made a strong first impression when he slaughtered the crew of a New Republic vessel after posing as a Jedi with his disciple, Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno). This is not a case of basic impersonation, as Baylan used to be a Jedi while the Jedi Order thrived, and became disillusioned after surviving The Purge, turning into a mercenary-for-hire in later years. While Baylan and Shin are not Jedi, it is tricky to categorize them as Sith, especially after today's episode, where the former Jedi talks about his grand plan to end cyclical violence in the galaxy. While speaking about the ebb and flow of power, and the rise and fall of fascistic empires, Baylan expresses his desire to be something more by creating a galaxy devoid of this violent ouroboros.

While the duo are on Peridea, secretly following a now-free Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) — who's on the lookout for Ezra (Eman Esfandi) — Shin asks her master whether he knew Ezra when he used to be a part of the Jedi Order. Baylan says no, as Ezra was too young at that point in time. While explaining Ezra's importance to their cause, he describes him as Bokken Jedi, a term that completely recontextualizes how Baylan views a certain sect of Jedi in a derogatory way. While Baylan does not verbalize this sentiment, as Shin is also a Bokken Jedi, the term is more of an insult than a formal category of Jedi introduced for narrative purposes. 

Here's what the term means, and how it impacts Baylan's perception of people like Ezra, and by some extension, Shin.

Baylan explains that Ezra comes from "a breed of Bokken Jedi, trained in the wild after the Temple fell." "Bokken" is a Japanese wooden sword used for training purposes, one that acts as a dummy until the wielder is capable enough to use a real weapon. While bokken in itself does not carry derogatory connotations, Baylan's usage of the term to categorize Jedi grants it a specific tint: as a bokken is a substitute weapon — in this case, a training substitute for a lightsaber — he views Bokken Jedi as pale imitations of those trained at the Jedi temple, weaker and inferior in strength and spirit.

Shin immediately points out that she's a Bokken Jedi too, as she was trained after the Jedi Temple burned. Baylan immediately rejects this, stating that he trained her to be more, immediately distancing his disciple from those whom he perceives as inferior "breeds" of Jedi. This also means that Baylan holds the Jedi Order's teachings in greater esteem, even though he states that he is merely wistful about "the idea" of the Order, as opposed to their actual existence, which was flawed. This is a rather complex stance to build one's worldview on, and it remains to be seen how Baylan will navigate the chaos hereafter.

Moreover, by Baylan's logic, someone like Luke Skywalker is a Bokken Jedi — trained in the wild, especially when he was way too old by the standards of the Order, and a little too late as the galaxy was on the brink of burning. One could argue that Luke's wild training is the reason he succeeds, as it allows him to be divorced from dogma or structure, and follow his heart when it comes to saving his loved ones, and the galaxy in the process.