Morgan Elsbeth’s Ahsoka Transformation: What Star Wars Turned Her Into
A lot happened in the Ahsoka finale, and while it’s safe to say most of the characters ended the season as different people than they were when it began, no character went through as much of a transformation as Morgan Elsbeth. Elsbeth went through a baptism of sorts, and the result was a literal transformation that left Morgan with new powers, a new look, and a flaming sword.
The Great Mothers initiated Morgan Elsbeth into full witchhood, making her an even more formidable threat than she already was.
The cold open for the Ahsoka finale, “Part Eight: The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord,” saw the three Great Mothers who have been helping Thrawn bless Morgan Elsbeth with a power called the “Gift of Shadows.”
After taking whatever vows the Great Mothers require to prove that Elsbeth is down for the Nightsister’s cause, one of the Great Mothers lays hands on Morgan, causing the Nightsister’s familiar green energy to flow through her body and out her eyes.
Afterward, the Great Mothers conjure a weapon from the aether, a blade born of swirling green flames called the “Blade of Talzin.
So, what exactly is the Gift of Shadows? There is no pre-existing lore that explains the ritual, but what we can piece together, given what we know about the Nightsisters, is that it appears to be an act whereby a would-be Nightsister becomes the real deal, complete with black eyes and facial markings like the Great Mothers sport in Ahsoka.
Basically, the Great Mothers were initiating Morgan Elsbeth into full witchhood, making her an even more formidable threat than she already was.
The Blade of Talzin’s Connection To The Clone Wars
As for the Blade of Talzin, that particular artifact should be familiar to any fans who watched through the entirety of The Clone Wars. The one-time leader of the Nightsisters and mother of Darth Maul, Mother Talzin, manifested the sword seemingly out of thin air right before a duel against Jedi Master Mace Windu.
The sword—which looks absolutely badass with green flames coming off of it constantly—is capable of holding its own with a lightsaber, as fans saw when Morgan Elsbeth used the weapon against Ahsoka Tano in their final duel.
Sadly, the newly empowered Nightsister was no match for Ahsoka and was defeated by the former Jedi after she managed to claim the Blade of Talzin for her own and mortally wounded Elsbeth with it.
Given that death is rarely permanent in the Star Wars universe and the Nightsister’s talent for resurrecting the dead, don’t be surprised if this isn’t the last time Morgan Elsbeth appears as a thorn in Ahsoka Tano’s side.
The sword presumably belongs to Ahsoka now and should serve as a handy replacement for the lightsaber she lost during the finale, especially since she prefers to fight with two blades at once. Morgan Elsbeth may have only spent a brief time as a full-fledged Nightsister before starting a new full-time job as a corpse, but her death wasn’t in vain as she managed to keep Ahsoka and Co. busy while Thrawn made his escape from Peridea.
In the greater scheme of Star Wars lore, Morgan’s transformation at the hands of the Great Mothers served to give fans a glimpse into how the Nightsisters grow their ranks.
Given that death is rarely permanent in the Star Wars universe and the Nightsister’s talent for resurrecting the dead, don’t be surprised if this isn’t the last time Morgan Elsbeth appears as a thorn in Ahsoka Tano’s side. The real question is, would a resurrected Nightsister of Elsbeth’s power post-transformation come back as a mindless zombie, like the Night Troopers, or something new to Star Wars, something more sinister? Only time will tell.
