Caution: this post includes complete spoilers for Star Wars: Tales of the Empire!
Like Tales of the Jedi before it, Tales of the Empire is more of a yummy treat than a full-size meal of brand-new Star Wars material. This series includes 6 brief animated episodes, narrating the twin journeys of Nightsister Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) and fallen Jedi Barriss Offee (Meredith Salenger) in the age of the Galactic Empire. Though the series might be brief by normal Star Wars requirements, it includes a lot to the bigger story of the legend.
Tales of the Empire is even more effective than its predecessor when it comes to filling in holes and including brand-new depth and measurement to these 2 Star Wars bad guys. Let’s break down what we found out in Tales of the Empire and why these episodes are important watching.
Star Wars: Tales of the Empire Gallery
The Fall of the Nightsisters
The unforeseen cancellation of Star Wars: The Clone Wars suggests that lots of organized story arcs were left on the cutting space flooring. While the Clone Wars group was later on able to restore a few of those stories for Seasons 6 and 7, when the series returned from cancellation, there’s still lots of material that never ever saw the light of day.
Possibly most aggravating is that we never ever got a correct follow-up to Season 5’s remarkable Darth Maul story. When last we see Maul in Season 5, he’s being tortured by the victorious Darth Sidious following Maul’s takeover of Mandalore. When Maul lastly returns in the climax of Season 7, he’s back to ruling over Mandalore and Death Watch, without any indicator of what occurred while he was caught by Sidious.
To discover what took place in between those 2 stories, you need to check out the 2014 comics series Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir. Child of Dathomir is among numerous comics/novels that adjust canceled Clone Wars scripts. The series narrates Maul’s escape and the escalation of his fight with Sidious and Count Dooku. It ends with an enormous Separatist force assaulting the Nightsisters on Dathomir and Sidious avoiding the return of Mother Talzin, thus ending the best danger to the Sith Lord’s grip on power.
While it stays to be seen if the complete Son of Dathomir story will ever be adjusted (possibly in a future Tales of the Sith series?), we do lastly get to see part of that story play out in animated type. The very first episode of Tales of the Empire showcases one fight in the Separatist army’s bigger dispute with the Nightsisters. This is where Morgan Elsbeth is available in, much more youthful than the variation seen in Star Wars: Ahsoka. We see Morgan’s people eliminated, including her mom. Effective though these warriors are, they’re no match for General Grievous and his limitless waves of android soldiers.
Now we understand that Maul and Asajj Ventress aren’t the only survivors of the massacre of the Nightsisters. Morgan is likewise among the couple of to emerge from that dreadful dispute, though she plainly brings the mental scars throughout her life and her profession as an Imperial Magistrate. Thanks to her, one of the sticking around holes from the Clone Wars days has actually lastly been filled.
The Rise of Morgan Elsbeth
In lots of methods, Morgan Elsbeth is the perfect character to function in a series like Tales of the Empire. She formerly debuted in The Mandalorian: Season 2, setting the phase for a bigger function as one of the primary villains of Star Wars: Ahsoka. There’s so much we never ever find out about Morgan in those live-action series. How did she develop from Nightsister to Imperial representative? What was her relationship with Grand Admiral Thrawn?
Tales of the Empire responses those concerns and traces Morgan’s journey leading up to the occasions of The Mandalorian. We find out that she ended up being the magistrate of the world Corvus in the years following her escape from Dathomir. Thanks to Corvus’ abundant natural deposits, Morgan ended up being crucial in providing the Empire with the starships it required to extend its grip throughout the galaxy.
That stated, Morgan was severely underappreciated by her superiors in the Imperial Navy. She was accountable for creating the sophisticated TIE Defender, the fatal ship that was such a significant plot point in Star Wars Rebels. Due to the fact that of its high expense, these leaders balked at the concept of commissioning a fleet of TIE Defenders, choosing the weaker however much more affordable TIE Fighters and Bombers.
This is where Morgan’s connection to Thrawn was created. We discover that Thrawn took an interest in this elite weapons designer and dispatched his second-in-command, Captain Pellaeon, to suss out whether she might be a helpful ally.
This is where Morgan’s connection to Thrawn was created.
One trial by fight later on, Morgan fulfilled Thrawn himself. There, she exposes her real inspirations for lining up with the Empire. She does not appreciate the splendor of Emperor Palpatine. She just desires vengeance for the massacre of her individuals. That she appears uninformed of Palpatine’s own hand in the damage of the Nightsisters makes her trajectory even more awful.
Now we understand why Thrawn and Morgan shared such a close bond. He sees her as the unusual Imperial officer who might value the larger photo, and somebody indifferent in the minor back-stabbing and title-chasing that controls a lot of the Empire’s command structure. She acknowledges his radiance and determination to fight the opponent by any methods required.
Due to the fact that of Tales of the Empire, it ends up being even more clear that Morgan Elsbeth was devoted to Thrawn more than the Empire itself. That’s why she laid low following the Emperor’s death at Endor, choosing to bide her time and get ready for Thrawn’s rescue instead of align herself with any of the splintering factions of Imperials we saw in The Mandalorian: Season 3. She had no usage for self-serving guys like Moff Gideon or Brendol Hux, just for the one leader who shared her vision for what the Empire might be.
The Fate of Barriss Offee
Amongst the numerous loose ends left over from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, among the most considerable includes the fate of Barriss Offee. In the climax of Season 5, it’s exposed that Barriss was the one accountable for framing Ahsoka for the battle at the Jedi Temple. This once-promising Padawan had actually ended up being disappointed by the war and the Jedi Order’s choice to welcome violence.
The series never ever exposes what ended up being of Barriss after her arrest. Showrunner Dave Filoni validated that Barriss was initially suggested to pass away in the Season 5 endinghowever he decided to conserve her due to having other prepare for the character. It’s just now, thanks to Tales of the Empire, that we understand what those strategies in fact include.
We now understand that Barriss was amongst a handful of survivors of Order 66 who were provided subscription in the recently formed Sith Inquisitorius. Barriss represented the perfect hire – a previous Jedi with comprehensive fight experience and a recognized history of questioning the Order. After passing the Grand Inquisitor’s tests and eliminating among her fellow employees, Barriss was formally inducted as a Sith Inquisitor.
Tales of the Empire makes it clear that Barriss was no more dedicated to the suitables of the Inquisitorius than she was the Jedi. She rapidly started to question her brand-new Order and their required, choosing to hire more Jedi to their cause instead of merely massacre them. That puts her in direct dispute with Fourth Sister (among the Inquisitors who includes plainly in Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi). Barriss eventually betrays Fourth Sister and apparently eliminates her instead of enable her to murder another Jedi in cold blood.
Tales of the Empire makes it clear that Barriss disappeared dedicated to the perfects of the Inquisitorius than she was the Jedi.
By the time Barriss’ story ends in Tales of the Empire’s last episode, she’s left the Inquisitorius behind and welcomed the classical perfects of the Jedi, ending up being a modest therapist on a remote, barren world. Her peaceful retirement is disrupted by a cruel Fourth Sister, who comes trying to find vengeance and another Force-sensitive victim. Barriss grants her neither, however rather stalls Fourth Sister enough time for her potential victim to get away. 4th Sister stabs Barriss with her lightsaber, however discovers herself not able to leave a spacious labyrinth up until she lastly casts aside her hatred and welcomes the inner calmness Barriss has actually discovered.
Remarkably, Barriss’ last fate stays up in the air as Tales of the Empire ends. We last see her unconscious body being performed of the cavern by Fourth Sister. Did she eventually endure? What ended up being of Fourth Sister after she too turned down the Inquisitorius? The last chapter of Barriss Offee’s story has yet to be composed, however a minimum of we understand what ended up being of her after the Clone Wars ended.
What do you consider these brand-new Star Wars discoveries? And how do you wish to see the “Tales of …” format progress next? Cast your vote in our survey and let us understand in the remarks listed below:
For more on the future of the franchise, discover how Ahsoka: Season 1 establishes Filoni’s Star Wars motion picture and review every Star Wars motion picture and series in advancement
Jesse is a mild-mannered personnel author for IGN. Enable him to provide a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter