The latest episode of Star Wars galaxy. Tython was the birthplace of the Je'Daii Order (a precursor to the Jedi) in the Expanded Universe materials that became known as Star Wars Legends, and were excised from official canon, after Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm. However, Tython was recently reintroduced into canon via the Star Wars tie-in comic Doctor Aphra.
With the remnants of the Empire hunting down Baby Yoda (whose real name is now revealed to be Grogu), Mando has been searching for a Jedi to take him in and train him. The Jedi and the Mandalorians have a long history of being enemies, but "The Jedi" saw Mando bridge that divide by allying himself with Ahsoka Tano, a character from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels. Ahsoka was the Padawan of Anakin Skywalker before he transformed into Darth Vader. She declined to train Baby Yoda after seeing his strong attachment to Mando, and fearing that the emotional connection would eventually lead to the kind of fear and anger that she knows can be devastating in when coupled with the power of a Jedi Knight.
After Mando helped Ahsoka to liberate a nearby town, she suggested a different way for him to help his young charge. Ahsoka told Mando to take Baby Yoda to a Jedi Temple on top of a mountain on Tython and place him on a "seeing stone," where he can use his connection to the Force to call out to another Jedi. Alternatively, Baby Yoda may choose to turn away from the Force and allow his powers to fade. Here's the significance of Tython and its Jedi Temple in Legends and the new Star Wars canon, and what it could mean for Baby Yoda.
Tython & The Jedi Temple In Star Wars Legends
In Star Wars Legends, the very first iteration of the Jedi appeared tens of thousands of years before the start of Star Wars: A New Hope. The comic book series Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi - Force Storm explains the history of the planet Tython, and how it became the homeworld of the Jedi Order. In both Legends and the current canon, Tython is a planet located in the mysterious and volatile Deep Core of the Star Wars galaxy. On worlds around the galaxy existed great temples called Tho Yor that were connected to a central pyramid on Tython. One day, the eight Tho Yor began to speak to people, inviting Force-sensitive of many different races to enter them and find enlightenment. These people were then transported to Tython, where they formed the Je'Daii Order and observed the Force like a religion.
It was on Tython that the Je'Daii first discovered the dark and light sides of the Force, and the importance of maintaining balance between them. The planet has two moons, Ashla and Bogan, and when the moons were misaligned the planet was plagued by storms and earthquakes. The Je'Daii used their connection to the Force to maintain balance and keep the planet stable, and built a great civilization around their connection to the Force. The dark and light sides of the Force within the Je'Daii eventually clashed, resulting in a civil war. Afterwards those on the light side formed the Jedi Order, which was wholly dedicated to the light side of the Force.
What Star Wars Canon Has Revealed About Tython
Like a number of elements from Star Wars Legends, the existence of Tython is something that Lucasfilm has re-established as canon. The comic book series Doctor Aphra introduced a Tython that appears to be much the same as the one from Legends, and revealed that Tython has had another important visitor in the not-too-distant past: Darth Vader. In Doctor Aphra #40, Vader is tricked into thinking that a Rebel hideout exists on Tython, and is temporarily trapped in a solid kyberite confessional within the Martyrium of Frozen Tears. This structure in the heart of a Force-active mountain on Tython's Meridional Ice Cap is where generations Je'Daii and Jedi had visited to confess their greatest sins and regrets, making it a painful prison for those like Darth Vader, who are tuned into the Force.
Doctor Aphra #40 was published in December 2019, and given that both the new Star Wars canon comics and The Mandalorian are overseen by the Lucasfilm Story Group, the reintroduction of Tython may have been a deliberate choice to lay the groundwork for The Mandalorian season 2. Ahsoka Tano doesn't elaborate on the significance of the planet or whether it is the birthplace of the Jedi Order, as it was in Star Wars Legends. However, Doctor Aphra refers to Tython as a place founded by "the earliest Jedi cults," indicating that its history in the new canon is much the same as it was in Legends.
What Tython's Jedi Temple Means For Baby Yoda
The intense concentration of the Force on Tython will allow Baby Yoda to reach out to any Jedi who remain after the purge of Order 66 - though, as Ahsoka warns, there aren't a lot of them left. It's also an opportunity for the young Jedi to decide his own fate: whether he wants to continue the training that he began on Coruscant and work towards eventually becoming a full-blown Jedi Master, or whether he wants to let his connection to the Force fade along with his powers. It will certainly be interesting to see what Baby Yoda does when placed upon the seeing stone and who (if anyone) answers the call.
The visit to Tython may also prove to be risky for Baby Yoda's guardian, Din Djarin. In Star Wars Legends, Tythans who were not Force-sensitive had to be sent away from the planet, since they were at the mercy of its many dangers. The journey to reach it will also be challenging, since the Deep Core is rarely visited, largely mysterious and lacks the well-established routes that are found elsewhere in the galaxy. Reaching Tython won't be easy, and with Moff Gideon tracking the location of the Razor Crest via a device that was planted on the ship, the pilgrimage to the ancient Jedi homeworld could well end in violence.