Leslye Headland Reveals That Mother Aniseya’s Origin Is Far More Interesting Than We Could Have Anticipated

One of the most controversial aspects of ‘The Acolyte’ was definitely the coven of witches stationed on Brendok. The Witches were introduced in episode 3 and it was soon revealed that they had the power to create children without the involvement of a male – strongly suggesting that the twins are an earlier version of The Chosen One.

One of the most notable figures in the coven is Mother Aniseya. Aniseya did not physically give birth to the girls, that was Mother Korin. But Headland further clarified that it was Aniseya’s power that created them, and she is the leader of that coven of Witches.

Aniseya and the coven as a whole were painted in a somewhat grey light when it comes to their morality. They were suspicious of the Jedi and wanted to indoctrinate two little girls into their cult. Aniseya was also heartbroken when she learned that Osha wanted to leave them, but she eventually admitted, during her final moments that she would have let her go.

Now fans assumed, as well as some of the Jedi in the show that Mother Aniseya and the coven are somehow connected to the Witches of Dathomir. However, it was cleared up in the show that Nightsisters don’t usually take children, and in an interview with Screenrant, Leslye Headland implied the lack of connection as well:

I guess the best way to put it is I wasn’t in a position to establish that in these eight episodes, so I didn’t do that. My personal opinion is that Aniseya probably originates from one of those cults, the one I won’t name , but that she’s based on the character Lauren from Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, that even at a young age, became essentially the de facto leader of people that believed in her and believed in the religion, I guess you would say, of what she felt around the Force and what she was able to do with her own power. So, the quick answer is that she established her own.

Now sadly, this reveals that we won’t find out more about Aniseya in the season finale, but it does somewhat eliminate Nightsisters as her possible origin. Nightsisters are by far the most notable force users in the live-action canon that’s not associated either with the Sith or the Jedi. But they are far from the only ones.

Screenrant presented a theory that Mother Aniseya could be a former follower of the Jensaarai. The Jensaarai were a group of Force-users from the Suarbi system, emerging during the Clone Wars with a name meaning “followers of the hidden truth” in Sith. They blended Sith and Jedi teachings, initially opposing the Jedi due to misunderstanding and the loss of their founder. Over time, they aligned with the Jedi after the fall of the Galactic Empire, eventually sending students to study at Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

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