Undead are rare in the Clone Wars but they do exist and so does magic

Undead Dathomirian Nightsisters. Kinda cool eh? Click to Embiggen.

I think that most people tend to think of Star Wars as lying firmly in the genre of science fiction space opera. However, I tend to think of it as a fantasy more than science-fiction. The Jedis are just wizards with swords, and then there's the whole Nightsister clan that gave birth to Asajj Ventress (Sith apprentice to Count Dooku depending on where you find her in the storyline) on the planet Dathomir.

Mother Talzin is a bonafide true sorceress in the complete sense of the word.

The episode "Massacre" is number 19 in season four. After failing to kill Dooku or control Savage Opress, Asajj Ventress is advised by Mother Talzin to reject the ways of the Sith and rejoin the Nightsisters. However, an angered and fearful Count Dooku is determined to see the end of Ventress and Mother Talzin. Via Dooku's command, General Grievous launches a droid assault, only to find an army of undead Dathomirian Nightsisters' awakened by Daka, the eldest of the Sister's clan. Talzin creates a voodoo doll to finish off Dooku, whilst Ventress and Grievous square-off in saber combat. Ventress downs Grievous, however she is helpless to watch as the last of her sisters on Dathomir are massacred. The episode closes with the green misty spirit of Mother Talzin bidding farewell and good luck to Ventress, whom is now left to grieve for her clan.

This is Daka, Eldest of the Nightsister clan. Unlike other grandmothers
who bake bread, Daka is a super powerful necromancer who calls forth
undead from their graves to defend their homeworld. I guess she also makes
a mean stew.

My take: I love the special effects in this episode and the Nightsisters made for some very interesting characters. It kind of added a third element to Star Wars. On the one side we have the Jedi. On the other we have the Sith. And then there's this murky gray area of practicing witches that can cast actual magic. Mother Talzin demonstrated tremendous power. She had illusions, could create objects out of nothing, turn her people invisible or into undead warriors, and the list goes on and on.

Now that you know magic is very much alive and well in the Star Wars universe, how does this sit with you? In other words...are you a Star Wars purist who doesn't want magic to infuse an otherwise "sci-fi" storyline? Or do you welcome the magic and hope that they use it in the Star Wars movies made by Disney? I sure do. I'm actually getting kind of jaded with the whole "I'm a Jedi; you're a Sith! We must battle!" I would like to see combats that have more than just glittering lightsabers and electrical fingers frying people. My love affair with telekinesis is kind of over too. Been there, done that. Let's have a Dumbledore vs. Voldemort recap in the Star Wars universe! Below is a very exciting clip that shows the end of the poor Nightsisters and the death of Daka. Oh well...she was really old.

The Rise of Evil in season three of the Clone Wars sets the tone of things to come

We all know that the Star Wars prequels end badly for the good guys. But even if you didn't and watched the Clone Wars cartoon series, you would probably get that impression alone from season 3. Not only do we have some very key episodes beginning with "Nightsisters," but we have a three-part storyline that begins with "Overlords," continues in "Altar of Mortis," and ends with "Ghosts of Mortis." So basically, the rise of evil in season three of the Clone Wars sets the tone of things to come. If you like dark fantasy, these episodes are right up your alley.

This is Mother Talzin. She gives me the creeps, and her voice is equally evil.

First off, the episode called "Nightsisters" is downright creepy. Asajj Ventress betrayed by Count Dooku is set adrift in deep space and rescued by a freighter that finds her damaged vessel just floating through space. Once they wake her up, she kills them all and takes their ship to a planet that is best described as dripping blood and black magic. It's also home to a race of women called the Nightsisters and a race of men who gave birth to the legendary Sith Lord, Darth Maul. Just picturing those two getting together to produce children brings up images I really don't want to imagine.

The Nightsisters are an entirely female group of individuals...witches...led by a woman called Mother Talzin that you seriously would not want to meet in a dark alley. She's scary, is basically an evil wizard, and has trained all of the women of her clan to be assassins and witches.

This is the Son of Mortis wielding the Dagger of Mortis. One things for sure...there's no disputing
that he's evil. Just look at his wardrobe.

"Overlords", "Altar of Mortis", and "Ghosts of Mortis" follow the "Nightsisters" storyline. Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka become stranded on a mysterious planet where the Force is incredibly strong. Three powerful entities called the Father, Son, and Daughter live there. And when I say powerful, I mean these entities wield the force like gods. The Father can grab the end of a lightsaber with his bare hand and thrust it away. The Son turns off lightsabers with a gesture of his hand and can shapechange into a flying demon. And the daughter has similar powers and glows in the dark (a very interesting effect). The Father tells Anakin that the Sith hunger for their power, and that it's a constant struggle to keep his two children (representing Light and Darkness) in balance with each other.

Anyway, the Son ends up taking Ahsoka captive in an attempt to entice Anakin into joining him to use their combined strength to overpower his Father and Sister. To this end, the Son casts Ahsoka under the spell of the dark side. To turn Anakin to the Dark Side, the Son shows Anakin future images of himself causing so much pain and death as the Sith Lord Darth Vader...and despite what you want to think, it actually ends up working because Anakin joins the Son to keep himself from that fate. Very logical, right? Anyway here are some clips for you from these episodes. Enjoy!

And below is the clip showing Mother Talzin dispatching assassins to kill Count Dooku. It's a great clip. You should watch it mmhmm.