Asajj Ventress’ backstory in Star Wars might have just gotten a major retcon in The Acolyte with a single line. Ventress may have started as Count Dooku’s lackey in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but she has grown into one of the most popular villains in Star Wars’ movies and TV shows. She is such a fan-favorite, in fact, that Star Wars: The Bad Batch saw Ventress return to the small screen, and Star Wars has already confirmed that she will appear in a yet-unidentified upcoming project.

However, The Acolyte may have just added to Ventress’ story without including her character directly in the show. Many believed that The Acolyte might reveal the witches of Brendok to really be Nightsisters of Dathomir, Ventress’ coven of origin, but that isn’t the case. However, one comment Master Indara made about the Nightsisters in The Acolyte episode 7 has major implications for the events of Ventress’ past.

Master Indara Believed The Nightsisters Didn’t Raise Younglings

In The Acolyte episode 7, Jedi Masters Kelnacca, Sol, and Indara and Jedi Padawan Torbin uncover the existence of the witches of Brendok. Unfortunately, Sol jumps to conclusions about the threat they pose, which has devastating consequences. However, because he is so intent on taking action to save Osha and Mae, who he incorrectly believes are in danger, the four Jedi try to make sense of who the witches are and what they want.

In that discussion, Torbin voices what audiences had long been wondering about as well, asking if they could be Nightsisters. In response, Master Indara confusingly asserts, “Nightsisters don’t raise younglings. Let alone train them.” This claim is a perplexing one in light of Asajj Ventress’ birth into the Nightsisters of Dathomir and even additional characters like Morgan Elsbeth, who was revealed in Star Wars: Tales of the Empire to still be a girl when General Grievous massacred the Nightsisters.

Clearly, the Nightsisters do have, raise, and train younglings—or, at least they do in the prequel trilogy era. Yes, it could be argued that the Nightsisters’ practices change in the 100 years between The Acolyte and the start of the prequels, but it seems much more likely that covens were simply concealing their younglings from the Jedi, who evidently attempted to control their ability to raise offspring. In fact, this precise moment could explain Ventress’ tragic backstory.

The Threat Of The Jedi Could Have Led The Nightsisters To Give Ventress Up

Ventress’ story is one of frequent tragedies. As an infant, she was sold into slavery by the Nightsisters of Dathomir. The man who took her, a Siniteen pirate named Hal’Sted, died when Ventress was still young. After that, Ventress was found by a Jedi Master named Ky Narec. Sadly, he, too, was eventually cut down in front of her. Unsurprisingly, this series of losses drove Ventress to the dark side of the Force, which is how she ultimately came to serve Count Dooku. To add insult to injury, he eventually tossed her away like garbage, leaving her alone once again.

While this history is a brutal one, it curiously began with the Nightsisters of Dathomir deciding to give Ventress as a slave to the pirate. This seems very contrary to the way of the Nightsisters, who emphasize sisterhood and loyalty. That they would cast off one of their own, an infant no less, is seemingly incongruent with their nature.

Mother Talzin, the leader of the Nightsisters, told Ventress that they had been forced to give her up, but the circumstances around why they were required to do so remain vague. While the Nightsisters seem to have exchanged the baby for protection, the exact threat isn’t identified. It very well could have been Hal’Sted himself, but The Acolyte episode 7 may have just revealed the true reason the Nightsisters allowed a pirate to take the infant Asajj Ventress as a slave.

Based on what transpired between the witches of Brendok and the Jedi, covens would have good reason to fear the Jedi discovering that they were raising younglings. This could be the very reason the Nightsisters elected to give Ventress up. Perhaps once Hal’Sted discovered them and the child, they realized she was too big a risk to keep. Instead, to avoid the Jedi invading their home and seeking the infant out, they allowed her to go with Hal’Sted. In fact, the Nightsisters could have even learned what happened on Brendok, fueling their decision and their fear.

While the Jedi are positioned as the heroes of Star Wars, the acts of the four Jedi on Brendok, Sol and Torbin in particular, reveal how flawed the Jedi and their system can be. Even if they had not posed a direct threat to the Nightsisters, the very idea of them could have been leveraged against the witches, pushing them to give poor Ventress away. While this remains only a theory for now, Indara’s comments in The Acolyte nevertheless have very interesting implications for Star Wars’ witches.

The final episode of The Acolyte releases on Tuesday, July 16th, at 9 PM EST/6 PM PST on Disney+.