Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld Review
For Star Wars fans, the month of May can be considered a sacred time of the year. It’s the birth month of George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars. Most of the films in the franchise were released in May. It’s gotten to the point where fans managed to turn May the Fourth, an informal fan holiday, and get the franchise itself to take part in it. Over the course of the past few years, Disney has released new Star Wars content on May the Fourth, with last year being marked by the release of Tales of the Empire. The second part in Dave Filoni’s ongoing anthology series, Tales of the Empire was not well-received by fans, mostly due to half of it focusing on a minor character no one really cared about. Thankfully, this year’s entry, Tales of the Underworld, might be the best one yet, as it answers questions fans have had for a year as well as shed light on the origins of a popular bounty hunter.
Due to The Clone Wars initial run getting cut short, several stories still on the table were either shelved or adapted into other media. One of those stories happened to revolve around Asajj Ventress beginning a kind of redemption, only to be tragically killed by Count Dooku. Fans thought that that would be the end of her story, hence their surprise when she suddenly turns up alive in the final season of The Bad Batch. Thankfully, as the focus character for the first half of Tales of the Underworld, fans finally get an explanation of how she’s alive…sort of.
Ventress’ New Path in Life
The opening to the first episode reveals that Ventress came back thanks to the magic of her fellow Nightsisters, though it came at a cost. She would have to part with her lover, Jedi Quinlan Vos, forever. Afterward, she tried to live a quiet life under the radar, only for it to be ruined when a young Jedi on the run crosses her path. Much to her dismay, she finds herself helping him get to the Hidden Path, AKA the Underground Railroad for Force-Sensitives.
So, Ventress is Still Alive
Learning how Ventress is still alive would normally be considered a good thing by fans, sadly, the reveal in Underworld is dampened somewhat by just how vague it is. The mechanics as to how Ventress returned from death aren’t explained, and that will annoy some viewers to no end. In addition, there is the fact that Ventress’ new tagalong is not a returning character from the original EU, but someone entirely knew. There were many old-school fans who would’ve loved it if that kid was a young Kyle Katarn or Corran Horn, but that does not happen. What does happen, though, is that Ventress does indeed get another chance at redemption.
Ventress has had a hard life, to say the least. To cope with this, she has had to close herself off from others, allowing few people in. Yet during her time with her new companion, she slowly starts to open up to others, to the point of calling Lyco (the kid) a friend. In addition, when she has the chance to potentially reunite with Quinlan, she turns it down, showing her character development. It is in unclear as to where the story of Ventress will head next, but thanks to Underworld, fans at least know that it’s not finished. And that we have another Jedi to add to our growing list of survivors of Order 66.
The Self-Destructive Life of Cad Bane
Last year, Tales of the Empire received criticism for its decision to focus on Morgan Elsbeth, of all people. All fans really wanted to see was the return of Bariss Offee, with Morgan being a distraction. In an interesting twist, though, Tales of the Underworld reverses things by having the better segments focus on the character that should be of lesser importance: Cad Bane.
The back half of the episodes for Underworld serve as an origin story for one of the most feared bounty hunters in Star Wars, and it’s a remarkably tragic one. We see how he grew up on the streets alongside his best friend, Niro. But whereas Niro would ultimately become a lawman, Bane’s path as a criminal would lead to him losing the things he held dear in a question for revenge. It doesn’t justify any of his actions in any way whatsoever, but it does show how his choices in life turned him from an innocent boy into a hardened killer.
It’s well-known at this that Dave Filoni is a fan of western films, and Cad Bane wears that influence on his sleeve throughout the episodes. From gaining an unscrupulous mentor who he will one day gain his iconic hat to the multiple stand-offs, Bane’s episodes all evoke the feeling of seeing a spaghetti western. What makes it even more impressive is that the whole thing is set not in some remote Outer Rim settlement, but in an industrialized Core World. The fact that it still manages to evoke the feeling of a western is a testament to how well-written it is.
Tales of the Underworld was a step in the right direction.
Overall, Tales of the Underworld seems like a massive step forward for the anthology series. Not only does it explain how a beloved character like Ventress is still around, but it showed us the dark past to the Clint Eastwood of Star Wars. It feels like a step in the right direction for the series. Hopefully, should Disney decide to keep doing more seasons, we can expect to get stories of this quality.
