Tor Bez'lin

"We're planning an escape. You in?"

―Tor Bez'lin, to Verosha Aniseya^[2]

Tor Bez'lin was a Shorwilt security expert who was arrested in the Corporate Sector during the High Republic Era and imprisoned on board the DTE-CSA-17 Calaboose prison ship Palwick. Bez'lin and the imprisoned slicer Syreth Dunn tried to recruit the rumored Jedi-killer Verosha Aniseya into an escape plan, but when she refused they deactivated the prison ship's droid pilots anyway and caused the Palwick to exit hyperspace in the Carlac belt.

Bez'lin then used his head tentacle to decapitate a warden droid and open he and Dunn's cell, escaping along with most the other prisoners in an escape pod. When they were recaptured and placed in a cell in the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant, Bez'lin and Dunn tried to blame the escape on Aniseya.

Biography

Secured security expert

Aniseya: "Is it hurting him?"

Dunn: "No way! He's having a great time."

Bez'lin: "It does weird stuff to your brain."

―Verosha Aniseya, Syreth Dunn, and Tor Bez'lin discuss the dybbuk silencing Melo Tolicus^[2]

Tor Bez'lin was a criminal Shorwilt security expert who was arrested in the Corporate Sector during the High Republic Era. Due for Detention Task Force processing, he was placed in a cell on board the DTE-CSA-17 Calaboose prison ship Palwick^[1] alongside the slicer Syreth Dunn and several members of Dunn's crew^[2] in 132 BBY.^[3] Part way through its journey to the planet Coruscant, the Palwick docked with the WD-2550 Whydah-class Yield Conveyer Fallon to collect Verosha Aniseya, a new prisoner who was accused of murdering Jedi Master Indara.^[2]

Aniseya was placed in a cell adjacent to Bez'lin and Dunn,^[2] who were impressed with her rumored crime, as they had never heard of anyone killing a Jedi before.^[1] When Aniseya noticed that the prisoner^[2] Melo Tolicus,^[1] who was in the other cell neighbouring hers, was being silenced by a dybbuk over his mouth, Dunn provided her with the parasitic creature's name. Aniseya then queried if the dybbuk was hurting Tolicus, but Dunn reassured her that the prisoner was having a great time and Bez'lin explained that the parasite effected its host brain in strange ways. When Dunn asked her, Aniseya denied killing Indara, but Bez'lin invited her to take part in an escape they were planning any way.^[2]

Short-lived escape

"It wasn't our idea."
"It was the Jedi-killer! She orchestrated the whole thing."

―Bez'lin and Dunn^[2]

When Dunn explained that^[2] his compatriot Rott Mercer^[1] would deactivate the prison ship's variable geometry droid pilots so that the prisoners could flee in escape pods, Aniseya refused to join as the plan might kill them. Dunn then pointed out that her alternative was to leave her fate in the hands of the Jedi Order, but she retorted that she trusted the Jedi, causing Bez'lin to scoff and tell her to enjoy prison. Dunn then commenced the plan, causing the Palwick to exit hyperspace and crash into the Carlac belt. When the ship's warden droid declared a security breach and approached the cells, the Shorwilt propelled his coiled head tentacle at the droid and pulled it against the cell bars before tearing its head off. Bez'lin then used the tentacle to rip of the droid's arm and manipulate it to open the cell door.^[2]

First out the door, he then escaped the Palwick in an escape pod with all the other prisoners besides Aniseya and Tolicus. Their new freedom did not last long and all of the prisoners bar Aniseya were quickly recaptured and brought to Coruscant. Bez'lin, Dunn, and his crew were placed together in a holding cell behind a force field on the detainment level of the Jedi Temple. When Jedi Master Sol walked past the cell, Bez'lin slammed his fist against the wall and claimed the escape had not been their fault, with Dunn blaming Aniseya for orchestrating it all. Sol then interogated Tolicus in a separate cell and he revealed the truth.^[2]

Personality and traits

Dunn: "So you'd rather leave your fate to the Jedi?"

Aniseya: "Yes, I have faith in the Jedi."

Bez'lin: "Enjoy prison."

―Syreth Dunn, Verosha Aniseya, and Tor Bez'lin discuss the escape plan^[2]

Tor Bez'lin was a gray-skinned, amphibious Shorwilt. He was impressed by the possibility of Verosha Aniseya having killed a Jedi,^[1] but scoffed at the idea that she had faith in the Jedi Order and later tried to falsely blame her for the escape when in Jedi custody.^[2]

Skills and abilities

"Come on."

―Tor Bez'lin prepares to attack the warden droid with his head tentacle^[2]

Tor Bez'lin was a skilled security expert who was versed in both programming and electronic lock-breaking. He could also propel his strong and fibrous head tentacle with great speed and impact as part of a brute force methodology.^[1]

Equipment

While imprisoned, Bez'lin wore a gray shirt with a black short-sleeve jacket, a brown belt, and black pants.^[1]

Behind the scenes

Tor Bez'lin was voiced by Robin Atkin Downes^[4] and physically portrayed by performance artist Liam Cook in "Lost / Found,"^[2] the first episode of the television series Star Wars: The Acolyte, which aired June 4, 2024, on Disney+.^[5] Creatures effects artist Robert Skene worked on the mould for Bez'lin as part of Neal Scanlan's team.^[6] Both of Bez'lin's scenes were shot at Shinfield Studios,^[7] England.^[8] The episode's credits only identified that character as "Convict – Tentacle"^[2] and Bez'lin was first named in Pablo Hidalgo's 2025 reference book Star Wars: The Acolyte: The Visual Guide.^[1]