While the Ahsoka season finale left many unanswered questions for future Star Wars projects, the most glaring unexplained mystery is why Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati had orange lightsabers. Viewers immediately latched on to the visually striking blades when the first Ahsoka trailer dropped online, so fans were eager to learn what an orange lightsaber means in the Star Wars universe. Unfortunately, Ahsoka season 1 failed to explain the significance of an orange blade, and it’s unclear when Star Wars will provide an answer.
Even so, orange lightsabers aren’t entirely new to Star Wars, so looking back at previous stories may hint at their meaning in canon. Ahsoka also provides details about the characters that make several theories possible, and examining Ahsoka Tano’s lightsabers can add context to Baylan’s. Ahsoka season 2 could explain what the first season didn’t, but until then, Baylan and Shin’s orange lightsabers are a mystery.
Baylan & Shin’s Orange Lightsabers Were A Major Star Wars Mystery
Orange lightsabers are rarely seen in Star Wars, implying they must signify something. While different lightsaber colors, including orange, had their unique meanings in the Legends continuity, Star Wars canon has developed new explanations for lightsaber colors. A lightsaber is powered by a kyber crystal, which generally comes in shades of blue, green, and sometimes purple. This reflects the Jedi lightsabers seen in the Star Wars movies and TV shows, though there are occasional exceptions. Jedi Temple guards wielded double-bladed yellow lightsabers, so Rey adopting this color at the end of the sequel trilogy may symbolize her role as the guardian of the Jedi Order.
The most significant change to lightsabers in Star Wars canon is that a kyber crystal’s color can be changed based on the person wielding it. Kyber crystals are attuned to the Force, meaning the wielder’s emotions can alter the state of the crystal. For the Sith, it was traditional to take a Jedi kyber crystal and make it “bleed” by pouring their anger and hatred into the blade, while Ahsoka’s two white lightsabers reflected that she was neither a Jedi nor a Sith. With so many lightsaber colors defined in canon and a process for changing their hues, it’s currently uncertain where orange fits into the mix.
Star Wars’ Orange Lightsabers Simply Went Unexplained
Even after the Ahsoka finale, the meaning of the orange lightsaber color has still not been explained. This seems like a missed opportunity, as a TV show would have allowed time to explore lightsaber colors in detail. Ray Stevenson’s performance as Baylan was phenomenal, and his character was perfectly written, so Ahsoka could have taken it a step further by explaining why he chose orange lightsabers for himself and his apprentice. Baylan told the New Republic captain that he and Shin were “no Jedi,” but they’re not Sith either, meaning there are several explanations for what orange represents.
The most likely explanation is similar to Ahsoka’s white blades, as Baylan and Shin lean toward the dark side but aren’t as evil as the Sith. This was the approach Legends took with orange lightsabers, often wielded by “Gray” Jedi who didn’t fully align with either side of the Force. However, just as the Jedi Temple guards wielded yellow blades, orange lightsabers could represent a different role in the Jedi Order. Baylan may have used a different kind of crystal since kyber was nearly impossible to find once the Empire took over the galaxy.
Will Star Wars Ever Explain What An Orange Lightsaber Means?
Star Wars will likely explain orange lightsabers at some point, though probably not in Ahsoka season 2. While it would be fascinating if Baylan or Shin had a chance to divulge the meaning behind an orange blade, it wouldn’t be the first time Star Wars has saved such explanations for non-movie and TV material. The movies never explained the process of creating a lightsaber, and even when Star Wars: The Clone Wars did, the natural colors and the creation of red blades were handled in the books and comics. Even the yellow lightsabers were never directly addressed onscreen; their purpose was implied and later explained outside the show.
This was also true for Kylo Ren’s unique red lightsaber in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with the guidebooks revealing that the handle was an ancient design and a cracked kyber crystal was what caused the unstable blade. Because of how lightsaber colors have been explained in the past, orange lightsabers will probably receive more details in an Ahsoka tie-in book or an updated guide to the Star Wars universe. Of course, Dave Filoni and his team could always surprise Star Wars fans by exploring orange lightsabers in Ahsoka season 2 and how it adds to Baylan and Shin’s history.
