Is ‘Ahsoka’ Setting Up a Major Arc for This Minor ‘Rebels’ Character?
Ahsoka episode 3, “Part Three: Time to Fly,” is a fast-paced, action-packed episode that revisits several familiar faces in the Star Wars universe. First, Genevieve O’Reilly makes her anticipated return to the franchise as Mon Mothma, who has climbed the ranks of the New Republic and now attained the position of chancellor. She appears when Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) contacts Mon Mothma to warn her of Grand Admiral Thrawn’s (Lars Mikkelsen) survival and to ask for aid in tracking him down.
While Mothma’s appearance was confirmed before the premiere of Ahsoka, the next familiar face that Hera runs into is more of a surprise. After her meeting, a young green-haired boy accompanied by the droid Chopper (Dave Filoni) calls out to her, referring to her as “mom.” The boy is Hera’s son, Jacen Syndulla, who was briefly introduced in Star Wars Rebels. Now that he has made his official live-action debut, here’s everything you need to know about Jacen.
Who is Hera’s son, Jacen?
Jacen is Hera’s son whom she shared with Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and gave birth to shortly after the liberation of Lothal. Hera and Jarrus formed a close connection while working together in Star Wars Rebels. They were vital in forming the Ghost Crew and even became parental figures for younger team members Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray) and Sabine Wren (Tiya Sircar). By season 4, the pair had officially begun dating and were preparing to welcome a biological child to their family. Unfortunately, Jacen was never able to meet his father: Jarrus was killed protecting Hera, his unborn child, and the Ghost Crew, sacrificing himself to get them to safety on a mission to Lothal.
About nine months after Jarrus’ passing, Jacen was born. It is estimated he was born in 1 BBY, which would make him about 10 to 13 years old in Ahsoka. He made his first appearance in the epilogue of the Star Wars Rebels series finale. Wren notes that he’s the newest member of the Ghost Crew and was “born to fly,” just like his pilot mother. Jacen got Jarrus’ tan skin and piercing blue eyes, but his green hair is evidence of his Twi’lek identity from his mother’s side. No further details on Jacen were revealed on screen in Star Wars Rebels, but the significance of his name was touched on behind the scenes.
As those familiar with the Legends canon know, it’s not a coincidence that Jacen shares a name with Jacen Solo. In Legends, Jacen is the child of Leia Organa and Han Solo, who turned to the dark side and became the Sith Lord Darth Caedus. He was quite an intriguing and tragic character, but he was ultimately deemed non-canon in 2014 when Star Wars Legends was branded. However, naming Hera’s son Jacen is a way to honor the character canonically.
For now, Jacen only bears the same name as Jacen Solo, but Filoni has teased that more of the character could live on in Jacen. Filoni told Gizmodo of Jacen’s name, “It seemed, in a very small way, naming him ‘Jacen’ was a way to honor the expanded universe character of Jacen Solo who just really isn’t there anymore as the timelines have changed. I thought that’s a little bit of a wink to people that I know that was an important character. And maybe, in some way, that lives on through this character. I don’t know yet.”
Is Jacen Syndulla a Jedi?
Given that his father was a Jedi Knight, one of the biggest questions fans have about Jacen is if he’s destined to become a Jedi, too. So far, there has been no indication that Jacen is Force-sensitive, but it definitely remains a possibility. In Ahsoka, he is very excited about “Auntie” Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) training to be a Jedi and declares he wants to be a Jedi, too. Hera is noticeably subdued by his declaration, as it’s likely too painful a reminder of Jarrus. It’s unclear, though, if she’d try to prevent him from walking the Jedi path just to protect him.
With his Jedi background and interesting namesake, it remains to be seen what Jacen’s future will look like in Ahsoka and the Star Wars universe.
(featured image: Disney+)
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