As much as Star Wars loves the stormtroopers, it loves introducing new flavors of stormtroopers even more. In The Mandalorian, we were introduced to the Dark Troopers, and now in Ahsoka, we see gold-veined, bandaged troopers alongside Thrawn in the neighboring galaxy of Peridea. They’re referred to in the closed captions as “Night Troopers,” but just who are they? The answer may lie in the name — and with Force Magic.
Ahsoka has always referenced the Dathomiri Nightsisters, the Dark Side witches introduced in The Clone Wars. Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth is one of them, but in Episode 6 we meet three Mother Witches who are far more powerful.
Soon after, we come face to face with Thrawn’s army, battered and bruised after years in exile. Much like the red veins showing the repairs done to Kylo Ren’s mask, these troopers appear to have had similar work done with gold metal.
The damage and gold elements — especially the gold mask of Captain Enoch, echo another variety of trooper: the zombie troops shown in the Legends book Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber.
But the troopers in that novel were infected by a bioweapons virus that slowly infected an entire starship, while these seem to be more mystical. The red bandaging on some of these troopers echoes the red robes of the Nightsisters, leading fans to believe the two may be more connected than first thought.
One of the last lines of Episode 6 is Thrawn telling the Nightsisters, “Great Mothers, I shall once again require the aid of your dark magick.” That “once again” suggests that the Nightsisters have assisted Thrawn in a big way — perhaps by resurrecting the troops he lost and creating an army of zombie soldiers. Considering there appeared to be Dathomiri magic involved with Marrok, it’s very clear these witches are capable of great feats through their powers.
Not only do these soldiers just look cool, but they’re also an interesting aspect of the legacy of the Empire. Much like Moff Gideon keeping the Empire alive through discreet movements and new technological advancements, Thrawn is keeping the effort alive through something a bit more literal — necromancy.
