'Star Wars: The Clone Wars': Who is Morai, the bird Vader spotted briefly in the series finale?
Spoilers for 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Season 7 Episode 12
In the final moments of 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars,' Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter), recently transformed into Darth Vader, visits the unidentified moon where Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) and Rex (Dee Bradley Baker) were last seen. After viewing the wreckage of the ship Ahsoka and Rex escaped from, Vader sees Ahsoka's abandoned lightsaber. At that moment, he hears the cry of an owl-like creature and looks up to see it circling above him. That bird is Morai, a convor with a deep connection to both Ahsoka Tano and the embodiment of the Light Side of the Force.
If you've seen 'Star Wars: Rebels,' you might have known the significance of Morai. A friend to Ahsoka, who said the bird has saved her life, Morai also has an unexplained connection to the Daughter (Adrienne Wilkinson) - the physical embodiment of the Light Side of the Force. The Daughter had, in earlier episodes of 'The Clone Wars,' given her life force to resurrect Ahsoka, forever binding the two. It is also said that Morai is an avatar of the Daughter herself.
Skywalker was originally meant to be the one to balance both sides of the Force. However, the manipulations of the Dark Side of the Force nearly led to a cosmic imbalance - but the eventual deaths of all three embodiments of the Force restored balance to the galaxy. The rise of the Empire, though, at the end of the Clone Wars, signals a definitive rise in the power of the Dark Side. Morai's appearance signifies Vader's final look at the Light Side of the Force that he's abandoned and through Ahsoka, a side of the Force that's abandoned him.
It won't be until decades later, through his son Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) that Vader rediscovers the Light Side of the Force, allowing him one final moment of redemption before his end. Morai, in the meanwhile, appears as an enigmatic ally on 'Star Wars: Rebels,' providing aid to Ahsoka and padawan Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray)
All episodes of 'The Clone Wars' are available to stream on Disney+.