“The Path of Fear”

Massacre
The episode opens with the Nightsisters of Dathomir retreating in the face of an overwhelming assault by the Separatist Droid Army during the Battle of Dathomir. Morgan Elsbeth takes down several advancing B2-series super battle droids with her bowcaster. Her mother, Selena, saves her from being killed by a super battle droid. The Nightsisters prepare to make a last stand in a clearing but are ambushed by General Grievous, who impales a Nightsister from behind with one of his green lightsabers.

The Nightsisters aim their bowcaster at the cyborg but come under fire from several BX-series droid commandos. Selena tells her daughter to stay back while she fights Grievous with two sickles that Magick has animated. Despite her Force powers, Selena cannot beat Grievous, who gains the upper hand and damages her sickles with his lightsabers. During her last stand, she engages in a blade-lock with Grievous, only to be stabbed in the torso by a third blade from Grievous’s left arm. In her final moments, Selena tells Elsbeth to run. A laughing Grievous then cuts down Selena with his three blades. He sees Morgan Elsbeth watching and bellows at her to run before laughing wickedly. He then orders his droid army to wipe out the Nightsisters.

Elsbeth flees into the forest, pursued by three droid commandos. She eludes her pursuers by hiding on top of a tree. One of the droid commandos scans the trees and shoots at Elsbeth, causing her to fall off. She evades the droid’s blaster bolts and kicks the blaster out of its grip. The droid attacks her with its Vibrosword, which she dodges. The droid commando grabs her by the neck, but Elsbeth retrieves her dagger and stabs the droid through its head, taking it offline. Elsbeth collapses to the ground and falls unconscious while Grievous’ army completes their massacre.

Rescued
The following day, members of the Mountain Clan rescue an unconscious Elsbeth. She awakens in their cave dwelling and is greeted by the Mountain Clan Matron and an adolescent girl named Nali, who tells her she is under the protection of their clan. Elsbeth discovers that her black face paint markings are disappearing due to the waning Magick of the Nightsisters. The Matron leads her outside the cave, where she sees the Mountain Clan members and their cave dwellings.

Gazing at the horizon, Elsbeth sees smoke rising from the burning ruins of the Nightsiser village. The Matron says she is welcome to stay for as long as she wants. When the Matron touches her shoulder, Elsbeth brushes it away. Overcome by grief, she drops to her knees and peers over the cliff, with a tear flowing down her left cheek.

Seeking revenge
Later, Elsbeth watches a burning log but is haunted by memories of Grievous’s massacre. While the other Mountain witches fear that Grievous will attack them, the matron tells them not to give in fear. She invites Elsbeth to join a mountain witch named Nali for their hunt. While navigating the rocky terrain, they crouch when several Separatist HMP droid gunships fly by.

Though Nali believes they are safe in the mountains, Elsbeth is skeptical and says that the Mountain Tribe’s way of life will not be enough to protect her people. Elsbeth offers to help. Nali is reluctant, but Elsbeth asks if she is prepared to let her mother die while knowing she could have done more to prevent it.

Later that night, Nali speaks with her mother, the matron, about how they would defend themselves against the Separatist droids. The matron dismisses her concerns, saying they must trust their path. After leaving the meeting, Nali finds Elsbeth walking with two other witches. They tell her that Elsbeth has found some weapons and convince her to come. Elsbeth leads them into a munitions depot where they retrieve several weapons, including tomahawks and scimitars.

Morgan’s journey
The matron discovers that Nali and several adolescents are missing. After hearing the movement above, Elsbeth and the Mountain witches rush to the surface only to encounter a droid gunship and several B1-series battle droids. The gunship deploys several super battle droids. Elsbeth and the younger witches fight back but find themselves outnumbered and outgunned. The Mountain matron arrives and summons a powerful sphere of light energy, which disables the battle droids. The droid gunship loses control, crashes, and explodes.

Elsbeth helps the elderly matron to her feet. The matron tells Elsbeth not to assume that not wanting to fight means one cannot fight. The matron attends to her wounded daughter Nali, who apologizes and says their way is true. The other Mountain witch carries her wounded comrade. The matron says that Elsbeth has chosen her path and pities her for what will come. They walk away, leaving Elsbeth behind alone.