[WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Ahsoka episodes 1 and 2.]
As it turns out, there’s much more to former magistrate Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) than meets the eye.
We already knew she could hold her own against a former Jedi, and we discovered why in the first two episodes of Ahsoka. Elsbeth was a member of the infamous—and wickedly cool—Force-wielding clan called “Nightsisters.” Her Force powers have given her the gift of prophecy, which certainly comes in handy as she, Baylan (Ray Stevenson), and Shin (Ivanna Sahnko) search for Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen). But what is a Nightsister, and where have they appeared in Star Wars before?
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Who Are the Nightsisters?
There’s a good reason the second episode of Ahsoka was titled “Toil and Trouble.” Canonically, the Nightsisters are also known as the Witches of Dathomir. Hailing from the creepy, red-tinted planet Dathomir, Nightsisters trained from a young age to become formidable wielders of the dark side of the Force. They formed a matriarchal society of warriors known for their ability to cast spells, brew potions, carry out rituals, and peer into the future, in Elsbeth’s case. The Nightsisters shared the planet with the Nightbrothers, a group of zabraks (the same species as Darth Maul from Star Wars: Episode 1) whom they acknowledged only as necessary.
Morgan Elsbeth is far from the first Nightsister to appear on the television side of the galaxy far, far away. In Star Wars: The Clone Wars, much of the faction appears as Asajj Ventress (voiced by Nika Futterman) returns to her people to convince them to enact revenge on her former master, Count Dooku. Mother Talzin (voiced by Barbara Goodson), the most powerful of the Nightsisters and the clan leader, eventually gave Ventress an ultra-powerful Nightbrother to aid in her quest, which ultimately failed. Dooku then sent General Grievous to Dathomir with his army and destroyed the Nightsisters, save for a few survivors. Since Ahsoka takes place long after the Clone Wars, it would seem Elsbeth is one of those survivors; she likely lived on Dathomir when Dooku attacked. When Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) mentioned that Elsbeth’s people were massacred during the Clone Wars, she was referring to the deaths of almost all of the Nightsisters.
What Else to Know About Elsbeth
As a quick refresher, Ahsoka and Elsbeth do know each other. They met in The Mandalorian’s “The Jedi,” during which Ashoka defeated her in battle, dethroned her as a magistrate, and asked a question that’s shaped much of her show so far: “Where is Grand Admiral Thrawn?”
Ahsoka, Tuesdays, Disney+
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