‘Ahsoka’: What’s in the Coffins Thrawn Brought from Peridea? Here’s Our Theory

There are still many things that we don’t know about the events that transpired in the ‘Ahsoka’ series, and we know that some of these things will be revealed at one point in the future. Nevertheless, one of the rather minor details fans were able to catch in the last few episodes was the fact that Thrawn was loading up coffins into the Chimaera. These coffins seemed important because Thrawn and the Great Mothers were unwilling to leave Peridea without them. So, what is in the coffins that Thrawn brought back from Peridea?

Thrawn woke up the Great Mothers

In episode 6 of ‘Ahsoka,’ we saw that Morgan Elsbeth’s party reached Peridea successfully. The Great Mothers were the first to greet her and her allies, who were on top of the Nightsister fortress on Peridea. Of course, we know that Peridea used to be the homeworld of the Nightsisters of Dathomir, and that’s why the Great Mothers were there. But if the Nightsisters left Peridea long ago to resettle on Dathomir, this begs the question of how the Great Mothers could live on Peridea for a long time.

Of course, as the storyline progressed, we learned that Peridea was once the great kingdom of the Dathomiri before it fell to ruins for some unknown reason that could be connected to the very same power that Baylan Skoll was searching for. This power also scared the Great Mothers enough to force them to want to leave Peridea.

Throughout episodes 6 and 7, we also saw that Thrawn and Elsbeth could not leave Peridea until they finished loading up coffins inside the Chimaera. The entire process required at least three days. And they weren’t willing to leave Peridea without these coffins, even though Ahsoka and her other allies threatened to prevent them from departing.

It was in episode 8, however, that we learned from Ezra that it was Thrawn who found the Nightsister fortress shortly after they arrived on Peridea. Ezra also said something interesting as he mentioned that Thrawn was the one who woke up the Great Mothers.

This opens up the possibility that the Great Mothers were previously sleeping before Thrawn arrived on Peridea. Of course, this explains a lot because we learned from Morgan that the Nightsisters left Peridea long ago. So, suppose the Dathomiri who left Peridea left hundreds or even thousands of years ago. In that case, it is possible that those who were left behind were simply sleeping and could preserve their bodies while asleep by using Nightsister Magick.

It also makes sense why the Great Mothers were more than willing to be of service to Grand Admiral Thrawn. They needed to find a way to leave Peridea, and it just so happened that Thrawn was there to make things possible for them. Of course, Thrawn also needed the help of the Great Mothers because they could contact one of their own from across an entire galaxy. And that was where Morgan Elsbeth came into play.

Morgan Elsbeth’s loyalty to Dathomir

Introduced in season 2 of ‘The Mandalorian,’ Morgan Elsbeth was seemingly loyal to the Empire as she was the magistrate of a planet called Corvus, which was allied to the Empire. But the important part was that Ahsoka knew that Morgan was actively searching for Thrawn, which was why she was on Corvus. After she and Din Djarin brought Morgan down, Ahsoka demanded she tell where Thrawn was, and that was how she learned about the starmap hidden in Arcana.

Ever since Morgan broke out of prison with the help of Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati, she was focused on getting to Peridea so that she could bring Grand Admiral Thrawn back. She was loyal to Thrawn, but it wasn’t clear whether she was loyal to the Empire because she hardly ever talked about it. It was also during that time that we learned that she was a survivor of the Nightsisters of Dathomir, who were all killed by the Separatists during the Clone Wars.

On Peridea, however, it became clear that Morgan was not loyal to the Empire. She never said that she was looking to bring Thrawn back to the known galaxy for the sake of the Empire. This was something that Thrawn seemingly questioned in the season 1 finale as he corrected Morgan when she said that she was willing to do everything for him. He corrected her by telling her she should serve the Empire instead of him.

When Thrawn ordered Morgan to stay behind so that she could slow Ahsoka and her allies down, he said the words “for the Empire.” As soon as Thrawn left, Morgan said, “for Dathomir.”

In that regard, it was clear that Morgan was doing all this for Dathomir instead of for Thrawn or even the Empire. She had no loyalty to the Empire. Instead, the only thing that she wanted was to see her people thriving again. And this leads us to our next point.

The coffins contain Nightsisters

Now, if we put two and two together, it would appear that the coffins that Thrawn took back to Dathomir after leaving Peridea contained the bodies of Nightsisters. The first clue is the fact that Ezra said that Thrawn woke up the Great Mothers, as this seems to indicate that the Great Mothers and the other Nightsisters were asleep in their coffins for a long time. And the second clue is the fact that Morgan was more than willing to put everything on the line for Dathomir.

This all means that the Great Mothers must have struck a deal with Thrawn. The Grand Admiral needed their help to contact Morgan in the known galaxy. But the Great Mothers wanted Thrawn to take them and their sleeping sisters back to the known galaxy, where they could resettle on Dathomir. 

It was a win-win situation for both parties. The Great Mothers could leave Peridea and bring the other sleeping Nightsisters back to Dathomir, where they would be woken up to resettle on the planet. Meanwhile, Thrawn gets to leave Peridea with an alliance with some of the strongest supernatural beings in Star Wars.

Of course, Thrawn also knew that he needed a supernatural element on his side because he never understood the power of the Force. As such, he must have realized that a partnership with the Nightsister of Dathomir would benefit him in the future, especially now that he is up against the Jedi who were active during the New Republic era.

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