Episode 3 of The Acolyte introduced some key characters to the Star Wars timeline, but is the coven actually the Nightsisters?
The Acolyte is busy sending fans through a spiral of Jedi murders, while also taking the action back to 16 years before Mae started bumping people off.
There we met a coven, exiled to Brendok after using the Force against Jedi Order will. Led by Mother Ansieya, they were the driving force behind why Osha and Mae parted ways when they were young.
However, some fans think their story is similar to what we’ve seen in the Star Wars timeline before — but is the coven actually the Witches of Dathomir? Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Is the coven connected to the Witches of Dathomir?
While it is not confirmed that the Brendok cover is the Witches of Dathomir — also known as the Nightsisters — it’s logically feasible that they could be linked. In The Acolyte Episode 7, Torbin suggests they are linked, though Indara remains hesitant.
With their history dating back to 600 BBY, the Nightsisters were effectively a “coven” themselves, wielding dark magick and living on Dathomir — which is itself shrouded in dark energies.
These energies allowed the Nightsisters to perform arcane magick, drawing from the earth and using its power to manipulate things to their will.
The Nightsisters appear in the Clone Wars as well as The High Republic, meaning plenty of their time in the franchise is actually non-canon, making it that little bit more difficult to quantify.
However, we do know that the coven had a downfall at the hands of Dooku, which later led to a return before the time of the New Republic. As their spirits were summoned for the first time around 4 BBY, we know that they would have died out before then — which fits with The Acolyte’s timeline, taking place in 132 BBY.
There’s another clue that indicates our coven in The Acolyte could actually be the Nightsisters. Alongside Mae seen to be experimenting with darker forces, we actually have no idea where they came from.
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By the time we meet the coven in 132 BBY, they’ve been exiled to Brendok by the Jedi Order, but where did they come from? This hasn’t been revealed in the show, but showrunner Leslye Headland has already publicly commented that references to the Star Wars EU are definitely in The Acolyte.
When asked about a Yoda cameo, Headland explained “No. We are pulling characters from the High Republic and characters from the EU, but that’s it.”
What killed the witches in The Acolyte?
In Episode 3 of The Acolyte, Mae starts in order to stop Osha from joining the Jedi Order. However, Episode 7 reveals that Sol killed Aniseya with his lightsaber, while Indara killed the rest of the coven by saving Kelnacca from their control.
When Osha passes Sol and Indara’s Jedi testing, Mae locks her in their bedroom, starting a fire in order to keep the coven a secret safe from the rest of the galaxy.
However, Osha breaks free, finding the rest of the coven dead — all except Mother Koril, who wasn’t pictured. Sol and Osha watch Mae fall to her “death” before escaping back to the Jedi ship.
It’s later revealed that Sol was actually holding the bridge with the Force, choosing to drop Mae’s side in favor of Osha.
As we now know, Mae survived and began killing the Jedi stationed on Brendok. This is with the exception of Kelnacca, who was killed by her master, Qimir.
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