Ahsoka's Jacen Syndulla Exhibited A Rare Jedi Force Power (From A Dead Universe)
Contains spoilers for "Ahsoka" Season 1, Episode 5 — "Part Five: Shadow Warrior"
Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) is in a pickle. Thoroughly defeated by Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) in the previous episode, she spends the majority of "Ahsoka" Episode 5 in the Force limbo the show's end credits have already teased, known as the World Between Worlds. The experience involves multiple flashbacks into the fight-heavy parts of her life she'd rather forget, as well as a Force ghost version of her old master Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), who uses some characteristically aggressive methods to complete his former Padawan's training.
Back in the physical world, Ahsoka's allies labor to find her, and once again, strange Force antics end up saving the day. Hera Syndulla's (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) son, Jacen (Evan Whitten), uses an impressive and clearly Force-enhanced listening skill to get an idea of Ahsoka's whereabouts, as he hears snippets of her experience in the World Between Worlds. This ability is known as Theran Force-listening, and it's pretty self-explanatory, allowing Force-sensitive people to harness the mystical energy as an auditory superpower that allows them to hear things from great distances. It also has certain other handy applications, such as allowing the user to understand other languages. While not exactly common in the live-action "Star Wars" universe, many prominent Jedi characters have mastered the trick in various "Star Wars Legends" works.
The show's choice to give Jacen Theran Force-listening abilities is fascinating because the skill is particularly associated with a very similarly-named character from an extremely dead corner of the "Star Wars" lore: Jacen Solo, the son of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher).
Jacen Solo's path could tease terrifying things for Jacen Syndulla
In many ways, Jacen Solo is a scarier "Star Wars" villain than Darth Vader. A prominent character in non-canon "Star Wars" novels, he starts out as a perfectly capable and noble Force-sensitive kid who becomes a massively powerful and respected hero. Unfortunately, the plot of the books puts him through the kind of wringer the closest thing to his live-action equivalent, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), can only have nightmares about. Jacen's path ultimately takes a dark turn, and unlike Kylo, he goes all in. As the Sith Lord Darth Caedus, he becomes something of a tragic villain ... but also a true terror who, among other things, kills Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hamill) wife Mara Jade.
Darth Caedus is one of the most overpowered antagonists in the entire franchise, with a laundry list of Force superpowers that put him almost on par with Luke himself. He's also notorious for picking up some of the stranger Force skills out there ... including, of course, Theran Force-listening.
Since the live-action "Star Wars" universe has pretty much overwritten Jacen by establishing Kylo Ren as Han and Leia's only son, it's highly unlikely that he'll become canon any time soon. As such, "Ahsoka" giving a Force ability that's so closely connected with him to another kid with the same first name could be something of a red flag for fans who are interested in young master Syndulla's future.
As Kanan Jarrus' (Freddie Prinze Jr.) son, Jacen has the potential to be a pretty powerful Force user. The fact that he's able to use a rare and obscure Jedi skill like Theran Force-listening to hear what's going on in the World Between Worlds might be a hint that his power potential is on Jacen Solo levels. Since Solo is effectively out of the canon picture and the younger Jacen's story is largely unwritten, could the fact that he has access to a similar Force ability be an ominous hint that he's destined to follow a similar path?