Star Wars: The Clone Warsadded a lot of new faces to the franchise. The films struggle with their focus, needlessly shrinking their fascinating galaxy by rarely leaving the perspective of a handful of heroes. New blood like Ahsoka Tano or Captain Rex became essential to the growing narrative. Asajj Ventress is one of the most fascinating characters fromTheClone Wars. Her journey from Sith assassin to vengeful anti-hero earned a fitting end, but Ventress' new appearance inThe Bad Batchmight change that.
Dave Filoni’s animated cornerofStar Warsmight be the most consistently successful arm of the brand. While the movies have gone silent sinceThe Rise of Skywalker’s poor reception, and the live-action shows have entered several holding patterns, the animated series remain experimental and engaging. It should teach the IP-holders that only creativity and new ideas can saveStar Wars, but they’re still happy to take whichever characters become iconic.
How did Asajj Ventress die?
Asajj Ventress died in the 2015 canon novelStar Wars: Dark Discipleby Christie Golden. The story aims towards adult readers, while many other books in the franchise were written for children. At the time, Asajj Ventress' fate seemed inarguable. Asajj suffers thebrunt of Count Dooku’sForce Lightning while trying to save her lover, Quinlan Vos. The attack comes after she sustained several near-fatal injuries from artillery fire. Vos sits by her side, exchanging their final words as Ventress fades away.
The book’s closing scene sees Vos turn himself in for crimes committed while living undercover and admitting to surrenderingto the Dark Side. At his trial, he defends Ventress as his savior and celebrates her heroic sacrifice. Obi-Wan Kenobi lays blame at the Jedi Order’s feet, arguing that Ventress became righteous in her final hours and that she deserves suitable honor in death. Kenobi and Vos travel to Ventress' ancestral home on Dathomir to lay her body to rest in a dark pool. The ghosts of Ventress' fallen Nightsisters welcome her return. It’s hard to imagine a more respectful or conclusive death scene.Obi-Wan offers thismoving dedication at what amounts to her funeral:
Asajj Ventress’s death is on all our hands. That Vos is here with us today, devastated but on the light path once more, is no credit to us, but to her. She died a true friend of the Jedi, and I believe that she deserves to be laid to rest with respect and care, with all gratitude for the life she gave and the life she has restored to us, and this bitter lesson that came at so dear a price.
Asajj Ventress' deathis the end of her redemption arc. Her quest to kill the man she once served and her love affair with a man enduring her experiences in reverse both conclude with her sacrifice. Ventress' story has a bitter ending, but it flows perfectly from her long voyage from the Dark Side. She doesn’t become a perfect angel and renounce her old ways. She’s still imperfect, complicated, and motivated by personal stakes.Dark Disciplewas an excellent conclusion because it was initially created to pay off in the original medium. The novel adapts eight episodes ofThe Clone Warsthat never made it to air despite being scripted andco-written by George Lucas. Her sacrifice cannot be in vain.
How did Asajj Ventress survive?
Ventress died inDark Disciple, but she’s back in the trailer for the upcomingseason ofThe Bad Batch. Bringing her back risks losing the impact of her sacrifice, but most fans likely didn’t read the book in which her story ends. Those who only watchedThe Clone Warswould see her story end with her helping Anakin solve the Jedi Temple bombing and exonerate Ahsoka Tano. ThoughThe Bad Batchcould undo her sacrifice without losing most viewers, executive producer and supervising director Brad Rau assuaged that fear. In an interview with StarWars.com, he said:
We don’t want to spoil anything, but want fans to know that any new storytelling with Ventress will align with the events ofStar Wars: Dark Disciple.
Asajj Ventress had an excellent ending that will now only be a chapter in her long redemption story.The Bad Batchcould easily ruin her personal narrative by dragging her back into the spotlight. The show is putting a substantial unnecessary burden on its shoulders. If they ruin Ventress, they risk enraging a contingent of fans who loved her bittersweet conclusion. Even if they use her well and add something new to Ventress, they’ll place her back in the toy chest for the next showrunner to use or abuse. Asajj Ventress might benefit from an on-screen adaptation ofDark Disciple. To quote a line that now sounds like a threat fromThe Rise of Skywalker, “No one’s ever really gone.”
