Ahsoka‘s season finale was action-packed and included a fantastic duel between Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) featuring the Blade of Talzin. Considering that Ahsoka has brought back the Nightsisters and disclosed their true origins, it isn’t surprising that they figured prominently in the finale. The Great Mothers, extremely powerful leaders of the Nightsisters, were awakened on Peridea by Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen)’s arrival and have been helping prepare for his return to the galaxy for years.
Meanwhile, Elsbeth has proven to be one of Thrawn’s most loyal supporters, heeding the Great Mothers’ call to aid him. As a result, the finale saw Elsbeth rewarded for her loyalty with the “Gift of Shadows.” This “gift” takes on the form of a ritual in which the Great Mothers bestow some of their power upon Elsbeth, leaving markings on her face to signify her increased power and status. Additionally, the Great Mothers procure a blade engulfed in green flames to give to Elsbeth. They refer to this weapon as the “Blade of Talzin.”
Elsbeth is later able to use the blade to significantly challenge Ahsoka, one of the greatest lightsaber duelists in the Star Wars universe, proving that it’s no ordinary sword.
The Blade of Talzin’s Star Wars history
The Blade of Talzin has appeared once before, in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. As the name suggests, the blade’s original owner was Mother Talzin (Barbara Goodson), a very powerful Nightsister on Dathomir, as well as the mother of Darth Maul (Sam Witwer). In Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 6, episode 9, “The Disappeared, Part II,” Mother Talzin is confronted by the Jedi Mace Windu (Terrence C. Carson). When he draws his lightsaber, she uses the magical ichor on Dathomir to fashion her own blade, warning Windu that his power is no match for her magic.
It’s immediately clear that this blade is quite extraordinary, as it can block and clash with Windu’s lightsaber while remaining intact. This same phenomenon occurs in Ahsoka, with Ahsoka’s dual lightsabers bouncing off the Blade of Talzin without leaving a mark. Aside from a few rare substances, like beskar, lightsabers can penetrate almost anything. Seeing the blade withstand a lightsaber duel without breaking suggests that it matches, or maybe even exceeds, the power of a lightsaber.
In the Ahsoka finale, it’s unclear what happens to the Blade of Talzin after the duel. Even if it was destroyed, it seems likely that the Nightsisters could procure it again. Additionally, the fact that Thrawn and the Great Mothers’ first stop is Dathomir raises the possibility that they could procure more magical ichor weapons to arm the night troopers, putting them on even footing with Jedi in terms of weaponry.
(featured image: Disney+)
