6 Ways Tales Of The Empire Twists Star Wars Canon
The galaxy far, far away is taking a dark turn to celebrate May 4, AKA Star Wars Day. The animated anthology series Star Wars: Tales of the Empire landed on Disney+, with all six episodes dropping at once. Like 2022’s Tales of the Jedi, it focuses on two Force users’ separate journeys. This show follows Nightsister Morgan Elsbeth and fallen Jedi Barriss Offee as they join the Galactic Empire in the period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. We’ve previously only seen the final years of Morgan’s life, in the era following Return of the Jedi. She first appeared in The Mandalorian season 2 and went on to play a major role in the Ahsoka series, where she sought to bring the exiled Grand Admiral Thrawn back to the galaxy. After being empowered with dark side magick, she was slain by Ahsoka Tano. You may remember Barriss from a super-brief appearance in Attack of the Clones. She had a bigger role in The Clone Wars, where she bombed the Jedi Temple after becoming disillusioned with the Order in Season 5. We last saw her being imprisoned by the Republic shortly before Revenge of the Sith. Let’s dive into Tales of the Empire’s revelations about Morgan and Barriss, and beware of full spoilers if you haven’t watched it yet. And if you're hungry for other Star Wars goodies, check out our ranking of the sassiest droids around the galaxy.
1. Grievous forges a villain
The first three episodes focus on Morgan, with the first jumping back to her youth in The Clone Wars. Specifically, we discover that her mother was slain by General Grievous during the Battle of Dathomir--trauma that made the young Nightsister get pretty dark. This conflict kicked off after Separatist leader Count Dooku ditched his dark apprentice Asajj Ventress. She returned home to her Nightsister kin on Dathomir, so Dooku sent his droid forces to slaughter them all. This episode reveals that Morgan’s mother Selena was among the victims. Morgan survived and was rescued by the Mountain Clan--another group of Dathomiri Force wielders. Unlike the Nightsisters, they tap into the light side rather than the dark. Unfortunately, this doesn’t prove to be a path back to the light for Morgan. Her fear spreads to several of her Mountain Clan peers, who are then killed when the droids come hunting. The group’s leader effortlessly defeats the clankers before giving Morgan the boot.
2. Imperial alliance
We learn the origins of Morgan teaming up with Grand Admiral Thrawn in the second episode. In the era between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, she pitches the TIE Defenders--an upgraded version of their standard fighter--to skeptical Imperial officials. They turn her down, but decide the Empire will seize the resources of her world, Corvus, because Empire gonna Empire. The people of Corvus aren’t happy, so they turn on their governor. It feels like they come right up to the line of shouting “Burn the witch!” and definitely give off that energy. She’s attacked by Rukh, who you might remember as Grand Admiral Thrawn’s Noghri bodyguard in Rebels (which takes place years after this show). After proving herself by fighting him off, she’s greeted by Admiral Thrawn. He doesn’t have the “Grand” part of his title yet; that promotion won’t happen until the events of the 2017 novel Thrawn. Thrawn sees Morgan’s brilliance and ambition, and secures her as an ally--revealing how he came to champion the TIE Defender project seen in Rebels and why she was working with him in the Ahsoka series.
3. Going too far
Episode 3 joins the dots by showing how Morgan overplayed her hand and likely attracted Ahsoka Tano to the world. It jumps to the New Republic era, shortly after the Empire’s defeat in Return of the Jedi. Morgan’s reign over Corvus turned super tyrannical in the years since the previous episode, with locals forced to work day and night in her industrial hellscape New Republic diplomats come to Corvus and try to convince her to join the fledgling galactic government. Unwisely, she responds by murdering them all and burning down the nearby forest. One of the group sends a distress signal before her death, and it’s received by Mandalorian mercenary Bo-Katan Kryze. It’s a slightly indirect link, but Bo-Katan points Din Djarin to this world to find Ahsoka in The Mandalorian season 2--she presumably suggested Ahsoka go there after getting the signal.
4. A New Inquisitor
The latter three episodes reunite us with Barriss, with the fourth showing her recruitment into the Empire’s Jedi-hunting Inquisitors. She’s recruited by the Fourth Sister, whom we previously only saw briefly in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, and brought to their stark fortress. The Grand Inquisitor forces Barriss and another former Jedi to battle for a place in the ranks of the Inquisitorius. After a brief hesitation, she defeats her ex-pal with Force choke--Star Wars shorthand for embracing the dark side. Donning a cool new helmet similar to the one she wore when she bombed the Jedi Temple, she joins fellow Inquisitors. The group includes Marrok (who’ll be seen as an undead warrior in Morgan’s service in the Ahsoka show), the unnamed one seen in Tales of the Jedi and the Fourth Sister. The Grand Inquisitor introduces them to their new master Darth Vader, who seems like a nice guy.
5. Turning back
Episode 5 sees Barriss turning on the Empire as she sees the hellish conditions the tyrannical regime forces upon those it believes are sheltering Jedi. Going on a mission with the Fourth Sister (whose non-Inquisitor name is Lyn Rakish), we’re treated to a Jedi-hunting scene mirroring the one in Obi-Wan Kenobi episode 1. After a townsperson lies to protect a hidden Jedi, Lyn reacts by slaughtering a whole group. Barriss isn’t pleased by this intense act of villainy. Lyn and Barriss track down the Jedi, who’s ultimately persuaded to surrender. Lyn mercilessly cuts them down anyway. Barriss is clearly sick of Lyn being evil, so she pushes her fellow Inquisitor off a cliff and promises to save the wounded Jedi. Her turn back to the light is a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. It also fits Barriss’ character, since her turn to the dark side was the result of the Sith rot within the Republic--her attack on the Jedi Temple was borne of her sense that the Jedi were responsible for the Clone Wars. She didn’t know that Darth Sidious had orchestrated the conflict and the Jedi’s role in it, on his path to becoming Emperor. The bombing inadvertently played into his hands as well.
6. Spreading redemption
The sixth and final episode seemingly sees Barriss convincing Lyn to follow in her footsteps and return to the light. It’s unclear when this is set, since Barriss looks a little older, but it’s probably shortly before the events of A New Hope. Living off the grid on a remote, snowy world, Barriss is acting as a healer for travelers. A couple seeks her out, seeking to protect their Force-sensitive child from the Empire. This isn’t outright stated, but it’s likely Barriss is affiliated with the Hidden Path. This secret underground network, seen in the Obi-Wan Kenobi show and video game Jedi: Survivor, gets Jedi and other Force sensitives off the Empire’s radar by smuggling them to safe systems and setting them up with new identities. However, Barriss’ situation takes a dangerous turn when she realizes that her old Inquisitor pal Lyn tailed the family. The Imperial ends up getting lost in a maze-like cave system, and Barriss encourages her to turn away from the dark side so she can find her way out. Lyn flies into a rage and accidentally stabs Barriss. She lays down her weapon and promises to get her former colleague out. The last shot sees Lyn carrying Barriss out, into an unknown future. It’s unclear if Barris survives, but she probably does because it gives Lucasfilm more storytelling opportunities. Maybe she and Lyn can track out Reva, the Inquisitor who turned her back on Empire in Obi-Wan Kenobi’s finale, and form some kind of ex-dark side support group?
|
