Star Wars: Tales of the Empire Review
Two years ago, Disney debuted yet another Star Wars animated series helmed by Dave Filoni, the man many fans consider to be the successor to George Lucas. Titled Tales of the Jedi, it was an anthology series that focused on essential moments in the lives of two important Jedi, Ahsoka Tano and Dooku. Both would leave the order for various reasons, but while Dooku’s path drove him towards darkness, Ahsoka remained true to the light. This year, for May the Fourth, Disney gave us a sequel, Tales of The Empire. This time, though, the characters it focused on were a mixed bag. One was someone whose story we already knew the ending to. The other was someone whose story we wanted to see continued for a decade. The big question is, did it live up to our expectations?
Meh, I’ve seen worse.
How Morgan Elsbeth Became a Wicked Witch
The first half of the series focuses on the life of Morgan Elsbeth, AKA the Nightsister responsible for Thrawn’s return from exile in Ahsoka. Her part starts strong, focusing on the events of The Clone Wars episode “Massacre,” where General Grievous and the Separatists all but wiped out the Nightsisters. Morgan was lucky to survive thanks to another clan of Witches, but she double down on it rather than try and move on from her pain. By the end of her story, she proves to be just as bad, if not worse, than the people who destroyed her home.
From a psychological standpoint, Morgan’s story can be seen as interesting. It shows how someone who suffered great trauma attempts to ensure they never endure that again. However, they can go from being a victim to another victimizer by doing so. It’s a sad cycle of abuse that happens all too often in the real world.
It would be even sadder, though, if I had any emotional investment in Morgan Elsbeth’s story.
I Don’t Care About Morgan Elsbeth. Not Even a Little
The problem with the first half of Tales of the Empire is that it focuses on a character that I, and many other fans, don’t care much about. Elsbeth’s biggest impact was bringing Thrawn back from exile in the grand scheme of things. And speaking of Thrawn, he and Captain Pellaeon appear in the second episode of the season, and proved far more interesting. Why didn’t the people at LucasFilm put the focus on the two of them instead of Elsbeth. While it was fun to see her fighting, many fans would’ve been happier to see how Thrawn and Pellaeon met. Considering what the two of them end up doing in the original Expanded Universe, I would love to see that!
It’s the second of the two stories people wanted to see in Tales of the Empire, and for good reason. First, it’s been a decade since we last saw this character, and second, what this person did resulted in Ahsoka leaving the Jedi.
Barriss is Back, Tell a Friend!
Barriss Offee, former Padawan to Master Luminara Unduli, former best friend of Ahsoka Tano, and a killer. She realized how far the Jedi had strayed from their purpose thanks to the Clone Wars, leading her to bomb the Jedi Temple. Then, to cover it up, she framed Ahsoka for her crimes. Had Anakin not caught her, Ahsoka would’ve faced the death penalty. For years, fans have clamored to learn of her ultimate fate, with many speculating that she became one of the Empire’s Inquisitors. We were right…to an extent.
Her story reveals that speaking out against the Jedi got her a pass when Order 66 went down. More importantly, it got a chance to join the Inquisitors, AKA Jedi turned Jedi-Hunters, like many fans hoped she would. What most fans didn’t expect, though, was how long she would end up being an Inquisitor. As it turns out, not that long. As they’re hunting down a Jedi in hiding, Barriss goes the diplomatic route and asks a child from an impoverished village. Her comrade, Lyn, AKA the Fourth Sister, though? She kills all the adults for lying to her, then justifies it by saying they deserved it for disloyalty to the Empire. Later, just when Barriss talks the Jedi into surrendering peacefully, Lyn tries to kill him again for the heck of it. As a result, Barriss turns on the Inquisitors and becomes a fugitive herself.
An Unexpected Development for Barriss
I didn’t expect that outcome in the slightest, and I can’t help but feel disappointed. And something tells me that a few others don’t like this heel-face turn, either. So many fans expected Barriss to become a ruthless Inquisitor, and maybe even clash with Ahsoka one day. Then again, this feeling of disappointment might not be Disney’s fault, but on us. Even though Ahsoka chose to leave the Jedi, which did save her life, the fandom still blamed Barriss for being the catalyst to this decision. So, maybe we were hoping that she would become a vengeful Inquisitor so we could justifying our hatred of her. In doing so, I almost forgot that, as wrong and misguided her actions were, Barriss was right on several points.
The Jedi had lost their way in the Clone Wars and were being manipulated by the Dark Side, though not in the way she might have thought. Besides getting a chance at freedom, Tales of the Empire shows that Barriss joined the Inquisitors because she bought their lines about bringing order and peace. Once she realized the truth, how most of the Empire only said these things to justify the worst versions of themselves, she turned on them, and devoted the rest of her life to being a Jedi and helping others.
In a way, Barriss’ realization mirrors what Ahsoka and other Jedi would undergo. The Jedi were flawed and could screw up, but they still tried to do the right thing. For all of Luke’s cyncism in The Last Jedi, the galaxy was worse without them. Which is also why I’m impatiently waiting for Disney to let the Jedi return in full.
Now We Have to Wait Even More to Learn What Happened to Barriss
I won’t say how things end for Barriss, because it’s pretty open-ended. While the last episode marks the end of her story, it’s not made clear. In other words, it feels like Dave Filoni and Disney just trolled us. Not cool, guys.
Overall, Tales of the Empire feels like a mixed bag as a season. The animation is as superb as ever, no doubt about that. However, my enjoyment is hampered by the fact that it spends half its episodes focusing on a character I didn’t care about. It could have been better if they focused exclusively on Barriss, as she was the one fans wanted to see. Not helping matters is how ambiguous the ending to Barris’s story seems, which isn’t something fans wanted after waiting as long as we have. It was a nice treat for May the Fourth, but I doubt I’ll remember it for very long.
At least we got a cool new model of Grievous.
