By George & Josh Bate
With the release of the third Star Wars: Tales series, fans have now had the opportunity to learn more about a variety of beloved characters from the Jedi Order, the Empire, and the criminal underworld. Six characters have taken the spotlight across the three shows and we’re going to rank each of the six characters’ block of episodes from worst to best.
6. Morgan Elsbeth in Tales of the Empire
The first of three episodes focused on Morgan Elsbeth packs an emotional punch as it depicts the deadly massacre of the Dathomirian Nightsisters at the hands of General Grievous and the Separatists. The relatively mysterious character played by Diana Lee Inosanto is expanded with an exploration of her history and trauma, making her a far more complex villain that the one we see in The Mandalorian and Ahsoka.
Unfortunately, the second and third shorts about Morgan Elsbeth fall flat. Although the episode connect nicely to Chapter 13: The Jedi of The Mandalorian, they fail to effectively flesh out Morgan’s character, especially her true motivations for aligning with the Empire and Thrawn.
5. Ahsoka Tano in Tales of the Jedi
The three Ahsoka shorts in Tales of the Jedi are relatively disconnected from one another, telling separate stories about the character at three different periods of her life. None of the episodes add anything of particular note to Ahsoka’s character, which may speak to the fact that, out of the six central characters in the Tales shows, Ahsoka is by far the most explored in other media.
The initial Ahsoka episode tells a poetic, beautiful story of Ahsoka’s origins and provides novel insight into her birth family and culture. The second short harbors some interesting parallels to The Clone Wars but otherwise falls flat. Meanwhile, the third short, which reimagines events from E.K. Johnston’s Ahsoka novel, features an excellent lightsaber duel with a mysterious Inquisitor.
4. Asajj Ventress in Tales of the Underworld
After an emotional beginning that tugs on the heartstrings and puts visuals to the end of the novel Dark Disciple, the Ventress shorts proceed in rather routine fashion. They certainly entertain but are more successful if seen as a backdoor pilot for a full-fledged Ventress series than shorts of a Tales series. That being said, the extent to which Quinlan Vos looms over the show and the integration of The Path from Obi-Wan Kenobi offer plenty of intrigue, the animation is stunning, and the layers added to Ventress’ history are insightful.
3. Barris Offee in Tales of the Empire
For years, many speculated as to what came of Barris Offee, the Jedi who betrayed the Jedi Order and framed Ahsoka Tano for a bombing in The Clone Wars. Tales of the Empire answered all sorts of questions surrounding Barris, and did not disappoint in doing so.
The first of three shorts about Barris Offee show the character in the aftermath of Order 66 grappling with the fall of the Jedi and finding a new place in the galaxy for herself – alongside the Inquisitors and Darth Vader. The following two shorts offer a decidedly different take on the ‘fallen Jedi’ trope seen throughout a variety of Star Wars stories, while surprisingly making the Fourth Sister an interesting character in the process.
2. Count Dooku in Tales of the Jedi
Ranking the top two of these Tales arcs proves difficult, especially considering they are by far the best of the bunch and fairly indistinguishable in terms of quality. But, ultimately, we chose to rank the Dooku shorts in Tales of the Jedi as the second best of the series.
The best metric of success for a Tales arc is the extent to which a previously underdeveloped character becomes more well-rounded and interesting. And that is certainly the case with Dooku. The character played by Christopher Lee in the prequels is given newfound depth in these shorts, which provide context to his fall from the Jedi Order and answer questions related to Dooku’s relationship in the Jedi and the fate of Yaddle. The third short in particular stuns both visually and narratively, taking place in the ominous part of Coruscant that Palpatine and Dooku meet at the end of Attack of the Clones. The duel between Dooku and Yaddle is phenomenal, as is Dooku’s final step into becoming a full-fledged Sith.
1. Cad Bane in Tales of the Underworld
Sitting at the apex of this list are the three shorts about Cad Bane in the newly released Tales of the Underworld. The three shorts tell a cohesive story about Bane, with each short separated by several years (much like the final season of Andor). The shorts do what The Clone Wars, The Bad Batch, and The Book of Boba Fett could never quite accomplish – make Cad Bane far more than just a cool, Lee van Cleef-esque gunslinger. The relationship between Bane and his childhood friend Nero compels and emotionally resonates, while the origin tale for Bane gives interesting context to one of Star Wars’ most deadly bounty hunters. The final episode offers plenty of surprises in the development of Bane’s character that make one reconceptualize the character’s previous appearances. Out of all the blocks of Tales arcs, the Cad Bane shorts in Tales of the Underworld arguably feel the most cinematic and worthy of presentation as a theatrical Star Wars film. No group of shorts on this moved us as much as these.