Ahsoka: What The Return Of The Nightsisters Means For The Star Wars Universe
This article contains spoilers for the premiere of "Ahsoka."
"Star Wars" may be set in space, but from its very beginning, it was always more of a fantasy story full of magic and fantasy creatures than a strictly sci-fi one. The more we learn about the Force in the comics, the games, and the animated shows, the more magical it all seems, with spirits, deities, magical swords, and more.
As powerful and mysterious as the Force is, and as fascinating and twisted as the history of the Sith is, there is much more out there, like the Witches of Dathomir. They are Force users, but rather than strictly using the Dark Side, they use "magick" to do nasty things. The witches, also known as Nightsisters, were formidable villains during the time of the Clone Wars and some of the most fascinating villains in the franchise at large. Now, they finally get their live-action debut thanks to "Ahsoka."
Turns out Morgan Elsbeth, the rather strong warrior and magistrate Ahsoka fought in her first appearance in "The Mandalorian," comes from Dathomir and is a former witch. This is a rather cool tidbit that brings back a fascinating aspect of the larger canon, while giving Morgan an interesting parallel to Ahsoka herself.
While we already explained the basics of the Nightsisters when "The Book of Boba Fett" mentioned that they used to ride rancors into battle, there's more to know about them — particularly how Morgan became one of the last survivors of that cult.
'A pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural'
Though they were introduced in the non-canonical expanded universe, George Lucas reportedly liked the idea of the Witches of Dathomir and made the planet the homeworld of Darth Maul in "The Phantom Menace." Later, he'd bring back the Nightsisters in "The Clone Wars." As we learned in that show, Dathomir as a planet is rather strong in the Dark Side, with the clan known as the Nightsisters using the Force as magic to create objects out of thin air, teleport themselves across small distances, and even reanimate the dead. (That's right, there are zombies in "Star Wars," and it rules!)
Unfortunately, their power caught the attention of Darth Sidious, who manipulated the leader of the Nightsisters, Mother Talzin, with the promise of power before betraying her. In retaliation, Talzin made her own plans of revenge, which backfired when she tried to have Count Dooku assassinated. This resulted in Dooku sending the multi-armed Grievous to destroy their fortress and kill all the Nightsisters.
But just like with the Jedi, there were survivors in Dathomir. One became an Inquisitor for Vader. Another, Merrin, became a big part of the "Star Wars Jedi" video games. And now, Morgan joins that list as a key part of Thrawn's return.
Ahsoka mentions in "The Mandalorian" that Morgan's rage over what happened to her people drove her towards power, as the former Nightsister began stealing resources from entire planets and selling them to the Empire.
'Nightsisters know the dark side better than anyone'
The return of the Nightsisters is a big deal. They are an exceptionally cool concept in "Star Wars," as they add to the larger mythology of the Force, with new and scary powers not present anywhere else in the franchise. Their appearance in "Ahsoka" could eventually result in even more zombies in a galaxy far, far away. (Which is always a good thing.)
We don't know for sure if other Nightsisters will pop up in this show, but we do know these characters have the ability to call forth the ghosts of their sisters, so it's easy to imagine them playing a big role as a threat this season. Since Baylon Skoll doesn't seem to be a proper Sith, with his orange lightsaber instead of a red one, maybe the Nightsisters will be the big villains going forward.
More importantly, Morgan offers an interesting parallel to Ahsoka. The two are survivors of horrible genocides by the Empire, which is something that Cal Kestis and Merrin bonded over in the video games. It is possible the two will see they're more similar than they think? After all, who would be more interesting to force Ahsoka to reckon with her survivor's guilt than a woman who won't hesitate to kill Ahsoka if she gets in her way?