Star Wars Finally Fixed The Bad Batch’s Biggest Plot Hole
She lives, she dies, she lives again.
The Clone Wars told the story of already familiar characters like Anakin and Obi-Wan, and now-familiar characters like Ahsoka and Cad Bane, but some of its most interesting characters are those who debuted in the animated series and have never made the jump to live-action. Now, one of those characters is getting the spotlight in the upcoming animated series Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld. Her appearance not only provides more context about a terrifying assassin, but solves a mystery a decade in the making.
Fans of The Clone Wars (and its non-canonical predecessor, Clone Wars) know Asajj Ventress as Count Dooku’s personal assassin, an intimidating Nightsister who frequently found herself at odds with the Jedi. Later, she took up bounty hunting, a profession that saw her working with her old foes, and even rescuing Obi-Wan Kenobi at one point.
Asajj Ventress in The Bad Batch.
But Ventress’ character wasn’t thoroughly explored until the 2015 novel Dark Disciple, the novelization of an eight-episode Clone Wars storyline that never aired. In it, Asajj and her partner-turned-lover Quinlan Vos face off against Count Dooku, and Asajj sacrifices herself to save Quinlan. In the final pages, Quinlan lays Asajj’s body to rest in the waters of Dathomir.
It felt like a suitable ending to her story, but then Lucasfilm released a trailer for The Bad Batch Season 3. Despite being set years after Dark Disciple, Assaj was alive and kicking, and using the yellow lightsaber she obtained in the novel. How did she survive? Bad Batch supervising director Brad Rau assured fans it all made sense, telling StarWars.com, “Any new storytelling with Ventress will align with the events of Star Wars: Dark Disciple.” But The Bad Batch never actually addressed how she survived, and it’s remained a mystery ever since.
In Tales of the Underworld, we learn how Asajj got her new lease on life.
Tales of the Underworld has finally shown us what happened. We see Quinlan lay his love in the waters, where she’s awakened by Mother Talzin. Through Nightsister magic, she’s offered two paths: stay in the afterlife with her sisters, or return to the land of the living. When Asajj asks the price of the latter, Mother Talzin says, “Your heart’s desire.” To live again, she has to give up her relationship with Quinlan.
Asajj continues living, but loses contact with Quinlan. But as the three episodes following her journey depict, she may just find a path back to him. Now her story is finally complete... at least until she inevitably sacrifices herself again.
