Tales of the Empire
Did I wake up early on Star Wars Day to watch Tales of the Empire? No. I just happened to wake up early and decided to watch it. I’ll get into spoilers below, but if you just want to know what I thought – I liked it. It wasn’t as compelling to me as Tales of the Jedi, but still enjoyable.
Episode One: The Path of Fear
Well, that got dark fast. The droids and Grievous in this sequence are terrifying. My heart raced during the battle scenes, but even more when Morgan hid, knowing something was about to happen. The music, the lighting, the tension!
It is clear here that Morgan was an adept fighter, even at this young age. This helps to show how she could go toe to toe with Ahsoka later.
It is fascinating she loses her facial tattoos as her people’s magic wanes and also makes the scene where she gets it back in Ahsoka cooler. I wonder if her fighting abilities were heightened with it as a child before they vanished.
I did think the jump to the mountain people and them just dropping all this bad news on her to be a bit jarring. I understand they had to get on with it for storytelling reasons, but her new friends weren’t very empathetic.
The insistence the droids will leave them alone is strange. They have no reason to think that. The advice to avoid fear over it is wise, but pretending everything is fine does not make it fine. I noted this in my last book review. Ignoring feelings does not lead to inner peace.
Episode Two: The Path of Anger
Morgan’s early dismissal is short-sided indeed, which Thrawn also notes. With the incompetence of the Empire’s officers we have seen across various media, it is surprising they lasted as long as they did. They could have easily thanked her for the tie plans but then enlisted her to help get them all these resources they wanted. Of course, then we wouldn’t have a need for Thrawn.
I wish they would have shown where she got the beskar spear, but the fight scene was cool regardless. It is fun to see more of the town that Ahsoka later frees.
Thrawn’s introduction was not as epic as his entry in Ahsoka, but again, not everything can be perfect. His understanding of the Empire’s shortfallings would have gone a long way to saving the Empire if more officers shared it.
Episode Three: The Path of Hate
This sequence started dark and ended dark with this episode. I did have to wonder what made the New Republic think they could show up uninvited with a handful of guards and apprehend an established well-armed warlord.
I did like the distress call as a way to explain how Ahsoka ended up there, though I don’t know how it connects to Ahsoka’s search for Thrawn. Had Ahsoka been looking for Thrawn and didn’t know where Morgan was?
Overall, I enjoyed the Morgan episodes. A woman driven by fear will lead to anger, hate, and suffering.
Episode Four: Devoted
It is important to note here I’m not as familiar with the Clone Wars, so this set for Barriss probably didn’t hit as hard for me as fans who followed her through that series. They are still easy and fun to watch, but I didn’t feel the same emotional connection to the character.
I’m also spoiled a little coming off reading Rise of the Red Blade, which did an amazing job capturing why someone would be interested in joining the Inquisitors. The internal thoughts can’t be shown in visual media so motivations are more difficult to capture, especially in these short shows.
It makes sense she’d go with them initially; why not? The training doesn’t appear to match the sheer brutality of the Inquisitor portions of Rise of the Red Blade, which would have clued her into their darkness much earlier. They couldn’t show the scenes from that book in a Disney show, though.
This episode was good, but I’m not sure why they named it Devoted.
Episode Five: Realization
I really do not see how she was surprised in this episode by the Fourth Sister’s cruelty, even without all the deadly training they can’t show in Disney.
The massacre in town was a lot, considering it is Disney! I was surprised Fourth Sister didn’t kill the child, and that Barriss didn’t stop her there.
Did they just walk toward the mountains, hoping they’d find someone randomly in the range? Climb that cliff face on the off chance a Jedi waited at the top? What luck.
I did not connect with the generic Jedi in this fight. I have no idea why she thought of surrendering.
“Then you have one Jedi left to deal with.” There it is, the reason to watch. It was predictable but still satisfying. I also note Barriss does identify as a Jedi here, even after all she’s been through and done as a counterpoint to Ahsoka’s conclusion.
Episode Six: The Way Out
Barriss aged more than I would have expected in the intervening years, especially compared to Fourth Sister. Star Wars Explained thinks this could be due to losing vitality as she heals people, which may make sense.
This episode seemed abrupt all the way through. I have no idea why Fourth Sister seemed to repent after clearly serving the dark side for a very long time.
These episodes were an interesting addition and I don’t regret watching them, but didn’t do much for me. I can appreciate other fans would like to know what happened to Barriss, though, so I’m happy they made it.
What did you think of Tales of the Empire?
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