Hyperspace Theories: Allegories of Mortis
The epilogue montage of the recently concluded Ahsoka series on Disney+ included a surprising and exciting image: former Jedi turned antagonist Baylan Skoll standing amid colossal statues of the Father, Son, and (partially destroyed) Daughter of Mortis. These mysterious and powerful “Force Wielders” have a long connection to Ahsoka mastermind Dave Filoni: they interacted with Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, and Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Mortis trilogy (2011) in the third season of The Clone Wars animated series, for which Filoni served as supervising director under George Lucas, and then appeared as Jedi temple iconography in the penultimate duology (2018) of the Star Wars Rebels animated series, which was co-created and overseen by Filoni. As his segment of the montage ends, Baylan gazes upon a mountain range with a distant hovering light, a visual that closely resembles the Father’s monastery on Mortis.
While this brief glimpse only hints at possible implications for future stories involving Baylan, Ahsoka, and other characters from the Ahsoka series, the reappearance of Mortis imagery provides the perfect opportunity to delve further into a topic we’ve long wanted to talk about on Hyperspace Theories. In this episode, Tricia Barr and B.J. Priester discuss the Mortis trilogy from The Clone Wars and the symbolic, thematic, and philosophical ideas about Star Wars that Lucas used these episodes to explore – and that Filoni drew upon in multiple ways during the Ahsoka series. Tricia elaborates how the Mortis trilogy as a whole, and the choices and fates of the Force Wielders in particular, serve as an allegory for the causes of the fall of the Jedi Order during the Prequel Trilogy. We also examine, at the character level, the ways in which the Mortis trilogy represents Anakin’s fate – and Ahsoka’s future.
Related Links:
- Metaphors of Mortis (Feb. 10, 2011)
- Hyperspace Theories: Masters, Apprentices, and Witches in AHSOKA Premiere (Aug. 26)
- Hyperspace Theories: Anakin and Ahsoka Reunite (Sort Of) in AHSOKA’s Belly of the Whale (Oct. 8)
- Hyperspace Theories: AHSOKA Tackles the Jedi, the Force, and the Future of Star Wars (Oct. 16)
- Now Filoni is the Master (Nov. 24)
- Adam Driver Confirms The Rise of Skywalker Changed Kylo Ren’s Character Arc (Dec. 14)
Tricia Barr's novel, Wynde, won the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Award Gold Medal for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Ebook. She was also part of Silence in the Library's successful all-female creator science fiction and fantasy anthology Athena's Daughters, which is available now. For excerpts and tales of her adventures in creating a fictional universe, hop over to TriciaBarr.com.
- Ten Years of Hyperspace Theories - October 28, 2024
- Hyperspace Theories: The Heroine’s Journeys of the MCU’s Echo and What If? Series - August 29, 2024
- Hyperspace Theories: THE ACOLYTE and Star Wars Brand Management - August 7, 2024
