Star Wars' Asajj Ventress: How A Former Sith Assassin Got A Yellow Lightsaber
The first trailer for the third and final season of "Star Wars: The Bad Batch" has arrived, promising a strong end for the animated favorite. There's plenty of action and drama surrounding Hunter, Echo, and Wrecker's (all voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) mission to rescue Omega (Michelle Ang) from Imperial custody, in addition to some fun Easter eggs and cameos. First and foremost among these surprise guest stars is Asajj Ventress (Nika Futterman), Count Dooku's (Corey Burton) longtime Sith apprentice on "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" who seems to have traded in her dual red lightsabers for a yellow one.
So, what's the story behind Ventress' new weapon of choice? Well, the yellow saber's story dates back to the days of the Galactic Republic. In a now-famous "Clone Wars" arc, Jedi Barriss Offee (Meredith Salenger) swipes Ventress' old sabers as she delves into the dark side of the Force. Thus, Ventress — now an enemy of Dooku following him betraying her and leaving her for dead — chooses to seek out a new weapon off-screen. She purchases her yellow "Bad Batch" Season 3 lightsaber on the black market, keeping it by her side as the Imperial Era inches closer.
While it's great to see Ventress with her new look and yellow lightsaber in "The Bad Batch" Season 3 trailer, her presence at this point in the "Star Wars" timeline unfortunately seems to retcon a previous franchise story.
Ventress and her yellow lightsaber should've been laid to rest long before the events of The Bad Batch
Fans who only watch "Star Wars" movies and television shows might think Asajj Ventress' story began and ended on "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" before her "The Bad Batch" reemergence. In truth, she has sat at the center of other adventures in print, notably teaming up and later falling in love with Jedi Quinlan Vos (Al Rodrigo) for a time, acquiring her yellow lightsaber, and continuing her feud with Count Dooku. In fact, it has even been revealed in the 2015 canon book "Dark Disciple" by Christie Golden that her desire to exact revenge on him leads to her demise.
Toward the end of the Clone Wars conflict, Ventress and Vos team up once more to spring an attack on Dooku. This brings them to the planet Christophsis, where they end up in a fierce battle with Dooku and Ventress sacrifices herself to save Vos' life. Ultimately, Dooku escapes Republic imprisonment, and Ventress' body and her yellow lightsaber are laid to rest on her home planet of Dathomir. Seeing as "Dark Disciple" takes place long before the end of the Clone Wars, the establishment of the Empire, and Season 3 of "The Bad Batch," the only logical explanation for Ventress' presence on the show is that the book is somehow no longer canon.
Then again, perhaps some form of Nightsister magick on Dathomir has allowed Ventress to rise from the grave and reignite her yellow lightsaber again. We'll find out for sure once "The Bad Batch" Season 3 kicks off its Disney+ run on February 21.