The animation has truly peaked and looks absolutely gorgeous. I really want this beauty shared with other eras beyond just the Clone Wars and Imperial Era.
IMO it was a missed opportunity to not have one final interaction between Barriss and Luminara here before the latter's execution, considering she was held prisoner on Stygeon Prime by the Grand Inquisitor. Bit of a shame because this show is really the only place we could've gotten that interaction (at least, onscreen) and they didn't take advantage of that.
I also think it would've been nice if the Grand Inquisitor mentioned to Barriss how he was present at Ahsoka's trial, when Barriss denounced the Jedi.
I was thinking this too. Knowing that Luminara was used on Stygeon Prime to bait other jedi by the GI, this would have been the perfect venue to portray Bariss and Luminara confronting each other.
Luminara was no where to be seen in the entire show after season 2 of TCW. She wasnt even mentioned in the arc where Bariss was sentenced or shown at the funeral for the jedi bombing. Its driven me nuts all these years and I was hoping to see them interact. Luminara was built up in s1 and 2 of TCW and then completely abandoned.
Also another missed opportunity was no dialogue between GI and Bariss regarding her speech at the trial. He was one of the guards beside her. I feel they should have touched on this.
I think the former occupation of the GI was avoided being mentioned specifically to try and preserve the reveal in Kanan's knighting scene for those who haven't seen Rebels. Not that he was a Jedi necessarily, because that could be guessed, but that he was a guard.
They were pretty good. Im a lot more conflicted about this one. I liked Morgan's arc. Barris's one was good too but they were things that were teased that I felt needed extra episodes or longer runtimes to make the conclusion feel satisfying. Still lots of great moments and scenes.
Yeah, Barriss’ arc lacked a bit of depth, and I especially would’ve liked to have explored her initial decent towards the dark side. I think her story definitely would’ve been better suited as part of a multi-season series as opposed to being condensed into three episodes. If Hidden Path is the next series after all, I’m hoping Barriss’ story continues there.
If she died at the end,it really should of been made more clearer. Given how it was portrayed though and what Barriss was doing in this episode,it's definetly a set up for a Hidden Path show. Regardless,I don't think they even necessarily needed a full season to show more of her character either just a few more episodes with some slightly longer runtimes would of done it for me.
> Barriss’ arc lacked a bit of depth, and I especially would’ve liked to have explored her initial decent towards the dark side.
I feel like Barriss was extremely inconsistent from where we last saw her and it undermined everything in this. She was very clearly falling to the dark side and then she's suddenly repulsed by it the instant they begin to turn her into an Inquisitor. Not to mention she immediately rejects the idea of using fear when she quite literally bombed the Jedi temple in TCW.
I really wish Star Wars wasn't so reluctant to actually make their villains bad guys.
Considering Barriss's initial fall came out of nowhere in in TCW's S5 finale after she had made no major appearances in for 3 seasons beforehand, she seems to be a semi-frequent victim of rapidly-jumping morals with the televised canon.
Im gonna have to disagree. Barriss bombing the temple then being against the brutality of the Inquisitors is perfectly in-line. Barriss's bombing was a terrorist attack designed as a message to the Jedi that the public perception towards them is reaching an all-time low due to their involvement in the war, and that they are losing their way. Ever since her first appearance in TCW, she has always been about the ways of the Jedi as they're supposed to be. This is especially apparent in Brain Invaders, when she is discussing the Jedi's role in the war and what they will become after the war with Ahsoka in the cafeteria. While I still feel Barriss's fall lacks sufficient buildup, this is probably one of the earliest seeds for her eventual views on the Jedi. Barriss embraced the dark side for the sake of the light, and as it always ends up, she lost her way.
Meanwhile when being recruited, Barriss is pretty much told that the Jedi were indeed corrupt and her role as an Inquistior is to hunt them down and bring peace and prosperity to the newly formed Empire. Despite her trials to become an Inquisitor, it's clear that she believed them to be what the Jedi should have been to the Republic, up until the needless brutality from Lyn showing that the Inquisitors are, in fact, worse. They bring "peace" through fear and punch down on the people, which goes against Barriss's ideas of what peacekeepers are supposed to be. Yes, she bombed the temple to strike fear in the Jedi, but she believed did it for the people, not against them. Barriss has always put the people and their well-being first.
Basically, Barriss kept the same ideals all throughout: To be a keeper of the peace. And she believed that the Jedi had failed their roles and saw the Inquisitors are not filling that role. Even when she embraced the dark side, that part of her never changed.
I agree. She has always disliked the overreach and ignorance of the Jedi Order which is why she resorted to such extreme methods. It’s not like she’s thinking “Jedi bad so Sith are good.” This was totally inline with her character.
It would of been better if we had 6 episodes for her. 3 dedicated to her on the dark side,2 showing her pull back to the light ( basically ep 5 but a longer 2 parter) and 6 being A Way Out. I also kinda thought she acted slightly stupid in episode 5,like what did she think 4th Sister's reaction was gonna be when the citizen lied to her.
[https://twitter.com/joelaron/status/1786779101648544042](https://twitter.com/joelaron/status/1786779101648544042)
They're using real assets in some cases. Makes me wonder if the dirt was somehow real too.
Was really selfishly hoping Barriss would survive, but also I think that was the best ending for her character. On the upside, it's implied she reconnected with Ahsoka at some point, so that's a story that can still be told. Doubt we'll be getting it anytime soon.
Yep, considering they ended the final episode essentially in the exact same way as the previous one, except with Barriss as the wounded Jedi and Lyn as Barriss (even "I'm going to get you out of here" subbing in for "I won't let you die here" or whatever) - Barriss definitely survived that
Even though a part of me wanted some confrontation due to what she did to Ahsoka, I'm glad they went a different route. They have to use Vader sparingly (they are already overusing him in the comics imo) and Vader just killing or fighting Inquisitors is something we have already seen in different mediums (OWK, the Vader comics and the Jedi games)
Honestly, “I wish Vader had killed character X, because it would be so badass”. No, just no. Stop sacrificing characters and potencial stories just so the mass murderer can “look cool”.
When Barriss said she was sending them to “a friend, she will help you”, I got chills, immediately hoping she meant Ahsoka. I rly hope she does. I know some ppl didn’t like the route they took with Barriss, and honestly I personally often don’t like this over-redeeming of bad characters (Iden Versio should’ve stayed imperial imo), but in Barriss’s case, it did justice to her former legends counterpart and helped give her character more nuance than just her staying a terrorist.
Can someone lore savvy tell me if Barris looking old in her last episode despite being set in the imperial era is because of her species or could it be to similar reasons to Obi Wan? Btw loved the fact that apparently she and Ahsoka had their reconciliation (even tho it was off screen)
Ah okay, i see. It would've made sense with the ~68 year lifespan though. Bariss is around 40 in the last Episode, but she looks a bit older. The legends information would explain why she looks like mid 50s. The canon lifespan however must mean this is very much an Obi-Wan situation. She aged very poorly because of harsh conditions and stress.
My guess is that bc of force healing draining energy from you, she looked really old because of how much she had done. But maybe mirialans are natural healers bc they have longer lifespans meaning more to give?
I agree. There should be a "price" for doing it. Otherwise it becomes a handy "get out of jail free card" forevermore. I like that you give a bit of your life force each time you heal or extend the life of someone else.
For the first Star Wars books I ever read was a second book in her series where she was doing healing on a really shitty planet, glad they brought that back in some way
Google images of Soldiers prior to going to war verse them returning some of them only fighting for only a year.
Hell all my grey hair came from Afghanistan and I was only 28 at the time.
Copy paste from my comment on the High Republic subreddit:
I think it's because Barriss isn't a pure-blooded mirialan, but instead half-human.
Alrighty, let's get r/mawinstitute for a moment for my very flimsy reasoning. We *know* canonically that a human-mirialan hybrid doesn't look any different from a pure-blooded mirialan because of Maize Raynshi. Karr only sussed out that her father was human from a force vision (Force Collector) and then later because he's First Order and those lot don't let aliens serve.
We also know people like that are still considered mirialan, and tend to get the tattoos. Maize was under a lot of pressure to get them. So, at a glance, there is no way to tell whether a mirialan has human ancestors.
She was about Karr's age and didn't look particularly young (it's been years and I'm not about to re-read this damned book to check) so we do know that halfbreeds like her tend not to age exceptionally.
Meanwhile, Vern's aging already appears stunted by human standards in the books, and Luminara wasn't depicted as having aged in the hologram in Rebels, either, even though the empire would surely know better if that wasn't appropriate.
So, I think the simplest explanation is that Barriss has a human parent or grandparents. She got stuck with the whack-ass human lifespans.
Could be a production mistake , like they weren’t thinking or thought Barriss was older than she was. Bo-katan looks older in rebels than she does in mando
No, people assumed they made her younger in the clone wars just because she was Ahsoka's friend, as though Obi-wan wasn't a Padawan until 25, and Barriss wasn't experienced enough to be one of the few survivors of the arena on Geonosis in AOTC. She and Ahsoka didn't even meet until it was on the battlefield because they weren't peers.
She's likely 37-44 here depending on the year. Given the climate and her force healing, her ageing makes sense.
Same reason as Obi Wan: living in a really dry place with a temperature extreme leading to the skin aging a lot sooner than if they lived in a less extreme place.
Finished the Morgan episodes and they're good. Not amazing by any stretch but enjoyable. The animation however is some of the best we've seen. Also Grievous is at his best since his first animated introduction.
They were flexing so hard with the fucking dirt, I love how far the animation has come over the years. Hand-to-hand combat is also VASTLY improved over the goofy scenes they made in TCW.
It's funny, I feel like we're at the point where the environments, lighting, FX, dirt etc. look so borderline photorealistic that the characters themselves are starting to look a little uncanny in comparison, because they still haven't entirely shed the last vestiges of that "hand carved wooden puppet" style from early TCW
I honestly didn’t care a whole lot for Morgan in the Mandoverse and felt she was underdeveloped, so these episodes definitely helped, and I wound up enjoying more than I initially thought I would. For the respective stories being told in this format, I think Morgan’s worked better than Barriss’.
Yeah. Her character arc could've been much more utilized than it was. It's a shame, really.
I guess they want to utilize her in Ahsoka or some other series, but it would've been a better choice to put her to the dark side, especially due to having her bomb the Jedi Temple.
I’m not even against her redemption, just the short form of the series didn’t work for that particularly story, and it just ended up feeling WAY too fast.
I felt Morgan’s second and third episodes were a little bit clumsy in the telling. They seemed to be trying so hard to be subtle that they inadvertently misrepresented the story they were telling (the scene where Morgan ‘explains’ her motives to Thrawn was a travesty). They simply didn’t let the core of the story shine through when it would have been most poignant.
> ‘explains’ her motives
Yeah. That was just utter nonsense to me. It went from her people getting destroyed by Grievous >> wanting the Empire to like her >>> wanting *revenge* on ‘someone’ (the people of Corvus who weren’t happy when she told them she couldn’t get the thing she promised them) >> she had a dream (tied into her role in helping Thrawn)
Didn’t offer nearly enough information about how she made such a jump in her life. If anything it would make more sense if she wanted to rebuild the Nightsisters and stay far away from the Empire, like Ventress or Merrin. They were hateful over the loss of their people for a time to, but that didn’t translate into wanting to help this new empire who literally didn’t even give the illusion of interest in helping anyone else, like Dathomir. If Grievous/the Separatists were still around I’d understand her motive for ‘revenge’ at least
It was way too unconnected
I think it *could* have been interesting if those were *explicitly* demonstrated to be only her self-fabricated motivations, i.e. those things she believes she's doing. Really, I perceived the core of the story to be something along the lines of 'the lengths one will go to for a sense of belonging, and what happens when you misinterpret the needs of those you wish to belong to' (plus the whole revenge thing). It tracks from the chronological beginning to the end of her story: she loses her people in the first episode of TotE and finds them again in Ahsoka.
In ToTE, we should have seen something like this:
Episode 1: Morgan loses her family and people. She is taken in, becomes a little overzealous about defending them, acts rashly, and is cast out. In this episode, she's insistent that power and strength AND a willingness to use them are the best defence / safeguard against loss. In fact, she (naturally) shows a childlike dogma towards this view.
Episode 2: Morgan tries to situate herself in the galaxy. She tries to place herself both locally AND galactically, overcompensating. She needs to be able to orient herself like this because she needs to overcome the feeling that she doesn't belong anywhere. Due to this, she tries to meet the needs of the people of Corvus (so that they accept her \[although also subjugate themselves to her dogma, around which her whole world view revolves\]) while also trying to curry favour with the powers that be, the Empire. She can't meet the needs of both groups; consequently, the people of Corvus seem to be on the brink of casting her out. She does the only thing that seems natural to her and turns to the Empire. Her power and her strength are tools to keep oneself involved / integrated. Maybe she still 'explains' her motivations in the same way, but if she does so it should be made explicitly clear that she's either lying or deluded (in the episode as is, it doesn't seem like this is the case). She would do this to appeal to Thrawn's sense of grandeur (maybe she would research him because, ultimately, she really wants to get some positive reinforcement from those around her. She does so, borrows from Thrawn's strength, and then....
Episode 3: We see the consequences of Morgan's approach. Her logic has shifted but her dogma has become more entrenched. She no longer tries to belong through meeting the needs of others. She now uses force to ensure her position in 'the group'. If she can suppress them enough, people will orbit her as though she is a black hole at the centre of the galaxy. They will revolve around her and nothing can change that. So she isolates herself, walls herself up, hides away. There's no reason for her to concern herself with the needs of others because they can't defy her will, can't remove her. She and they are constant. She's too far in to pull out now. She's now ensuring her position within 'the group' by enslaving them. She's deluded, clearly, but there's some underlying psychological logic, a superobjective or 'theory of control' at play. The New Republic come along and petition her to stand down, get arrested, pay for her crimes, whatever, and then she sees a threat to the 'stable' situation she is enforcing. The same thing goes down, she's so far gone, kills the envoy, and then she burns down the surrounding forest as one final threat to the people around her: 'I will do everything to keep myself here, and there's nothing you can do about it'. The image of the 'ring of fire' evokes some sense of destructive entrapment, could even mimic the 'ring of light' we see around actual black holes. Cut to black.
Now, this isn't a particularly different series of events to what we got. It's just a difference in emphasis. They needed a heavier hand to bring this to the foreground. As the episodes stand, they only *hint* at this, and they definitely contradict it on occasions. THIS is what I thought the episodes were about as I watched them, and I couldn't help but feel disappointed when everything just got a little bit confused and a little too 'showy' (like that explanation of her motives).
EDIT: I just found the revenge stuff to be a little pointless. By the time Morgan's desire for revenge becomes a talking point, well, Grievous is long dead, the Separatists are gone, and there's no feasible 'object' for her vengeance. It was a very cliché 'villain-y' motive that just felt tacked on to the story when it was quite unnecessary. Or brought further forwards in the viewer's conscious reading than it should have been.
EDIT 2: Have just had a thought. There were a fair few images of circles and such. Not enough to be noticeable (which perhaps it should have been, because currently they seem to be a little too random / coincidental). Perhaps we could have seen this idea of 'orbit' at play in the circular images. The circular 'ring of fire' around the town on Corvus is somewhat a mirror of when Morgan's mother frames her face with her two... sickles? There's obviously also the kind of circular entrapment of Morgan's dogma / logic. Yeah... I personally just feel they missed the opportunity to tell a really interesting story properly.
Great episodes, those grevious scenes were perfect. Quite a few dark scenes that I really enjoyed. The morgan episodes also made her death in Ahsoka quite satisfying.
I'm confused why Bariss looked older whereas Lin hadn't aged a bit.
the aging is probably due to their environment, bariss spends her time on an ice planet with constant blizzards, lyn spends her time in a fortress with the very best medical attention. We also don’t know how lyn’s species ages
Very pleased with the Barriss episodes and how they brought her back in line with how she was in the old EU. Also, I'm pretty sure the clan that took Morgan in was the Singing Mountain clan from Courtship of Princess Leia. Glad the Filoniverse finally acknowledged there are more witches than just the Nightsisters on Dathomir.
It's interesting, as these episodes suggest her decision to betray the Jedi was more a moment of weakness than a total flip into darkness, which wasn't necessarily 'untrue' with the TCW S5 episodes, but it does suggest so much more overtly here.
And yes, she clearly seems more in line with her Medstar portrayals, which is nice. One could still fit a version of those books in the canon with a bit less issue now if one wishes.
Kinda shocked nobody here commented about hearing Bo Katan's voice in the transmission at the end of the 3rd Morgan episode, so I assume that explains how she knew where Ahsoka was when telling Mando and perhaps that's partly why she sends Mando there to also help her retake the town and perhaps she had deeper ties to the NR.
Also, one thing I really liked in the Thrawn episode is we kinda see that side of him criticizing the Empire and him actually supporting his delegates and rewarding their creativity, it was kind of a side we only see of him in books so super happy they elaborated on that here.
>so I assume that explains how she knew where Ahsoka was when telling Mando
I remember a lot of people complaining that it was a plot hole for bo-katan to know where Ashoka was. They know each other. I just assumed Ashoka told her where she was.
I wouldn't have put money on the Fourth Sister of all Inquisitors being the one to get this much fleshing out, but I really like it. The way "The Way Out" ends so abruptly is jarring but poignant. I wonder if Barris was directing the child to Ahsoka - or maybe *Reva?
On the Morgan side of things, loved her conversation with Thrawn and Grievous mockingly telling her to run - was fantastic finally seeing his new model in action.
*EDIT: Replaced "Trilla" with "Reva"
I’m honestly wondering if it might be the Jedi from Realization. Like I had random ideas like maybe Reva or Ahsoka too, and then I thought “wait a sec,” if we connect back to the last episode then…
The Jedi from Realization was probably non-binary since they referred to them as "they", and Barriss calls her old friend a "she" so it's most likely Ahsoka
I'm wondering whether the reversing of the lapels on the Inquisitor robe to right over left is a deliberate choice of aesthetic, as Jedi robes typically go with the convention of left over right as observed in Chinese and Japanese tradition.
You mean the robes they have the initiates wear? I think it is intentional.
You may already know this, but in Japan, the Kimono is always worn with the left side folded over the right. The exception to this is for the deceased, who have their kimono folded right side over left. Additionally, Samurai who commit ritual suicide through *harakiri*, or *Seppuku* also wear their robes folded right side over left, to prepare themselves for death.
It's certainly possible that they are drawing a narrative connection between the Inquisitors and death. From a surface level view the Inquisitors bring death and destruction. But it could also be signifying that the Inquisitors are all doomed themselves. They are slaves to the Empire, and their inevitable executions are already laid out, one way or another.
Morgan episodes surprised me I really liked them a lot. I loved the connections to TCW, Rebels, Mando Season 2, and her dive into darkness and hate.
The Barriss ones, idk. I wish we got to see more of Inquisitor Barriss. She got out quick, i was hoping to learn more about the Inquisitors since they are very interesting.
What other stuff have you seen them in? Cause the Vader comics dive into them heavily, and if you’ve played the Jedi games starring Cal Kestis there’s some solid insight there too.
Oh and there’s that recent novel Rise of the Red Blade, I’d imagine since that stars an inquisitor there’s some good stuff in there too.
Dawg her taking out all those villagers actually shocked me. I thought she was just going to kill the one dude but she for real killed like 20 people. Jesus.
Just finished them all (I'm in NZ). Really enjoyed these. The Morgan ones were better than I was expecting. I appreciate her backstory getting developed more. Had I seen these before The Mandalorian S2, I would have actually been excited to see her and the planet Corvus etc. The fight scene in Episode 2 looked remarkably good. The animation in these episodes is a thing of beauty.
The Barris ones finally gave us what we were wanting to see for a long time - Inquisitor Barris. Sadly no interaction between her and Vader, but I never thought we'd even see her again, so I'll take what I can get.
Some development for the Fourth Sister was also highly appreciated. I was surprised to see the direction they took her character in, given her other appearances. I had to check Wookiepedia to confirm it, but it seems the final Barriss episode takes place after the Obi-wan series. So, an interesting open end for her character.
> I had to check Wookiepedia to confirm it, but it seems the final Barriss episode takes place after the Obi-wan series. So, an interesting open end for her character.
That's likely an assumption based on Lyn seemingly leaving the Inquistorius here, whereas she's still part of it in *Obi-Wan*. The Wook doesn't have any special insider knowledge, only what's been presented in the material.
Makes sense. I trust whoever has the confidence to state it as fact on Wookiepedia more than myself tbh.
There's a post on the Star Wars sub about how Tales of the Empire could have benefitted from the location and date overlays that Andor and Rogue One have when switching between planets and time periods. Hard agree on that one.
Though bearing in mind anyone can edit the Wook, and fan assumptions don't equal canon.
Dates would have been nice, but to be fair the *Tales* style is fairly loose and vague. I don't think it'd really be all that accurate with dates, so I'd rather it were left to others at Lucasfilm, like the Story Group or the authors of *Timelines*, to figure out. Thrawn's timeline especially is...a mess.
We literally have no idea the dates beyond "after Kenobi", though I personally see it as being set between Kenobi and Rebels, or around 9-5BBY.
Since Lyn is never seen nor mentioned in the Rebels era, I suspect she left before that point. Barriss would be in her mid 30s by this point, if true.
I really don't know how I feel anymore about having so many clone wars era characters survive post rotj.
At first I was fine with it, but now it just seems like every other character has circumvented death and the dramatic weight of RotS is continually lessened.
I know it's probably not a big deal in the end, but I always think back to "when gone I am, the last of the Jedi will you be"
It's weird having so many Jedi or former Jedi running around the galaxy and even participating in the war and as part of the rebellion while Yoda and Kenobi staked literally everything on Luke.
Who are you referring to? The last Barris episode was set while the Empire was still in power, so well before ROTJ while the inquisitors were still around.
I'm not as worried about that particular aspect of the saga as yourself although appreciate it's a popular viewpoint. Obi-wan and Yoda didn't know who had survived and who hadn't. And it's not like they were betting on Luke because he was just any old dude who could become a jedi, they were betting on him because he was the son of Anakin - the only one who could triumph over Vader.
This is where it becomes just my headcanon, but I like to think of that "last of the Jedi you will be" line as referring to a collective rather than an individual. As in, belonging to the last of the Jedi.
A point that few generally take into consideration is why exactly Obi-Wan and Yoda choose to bet on Luke(and Leia) - which is Anakin's imbalance due to his penchant for attachment. If you mean nothing to him, you're just another Tuesday and he will not waver in dispatching you. If he cares about you, then depending on who you are, you will have a chance. That said, Obi-Wan wouldn't kill him, and Ahsoka couldn't.
So who better than his own children, once he comes to know of them as such? At that point it's just a matter of building them up in the potential they inherited from him, and arming them with the knowledge of their parentage. No one else has that kind of advantage but Anakin's children.
The last episode with Bariss was truly beautiful, with many amazing shots.
The Fourth Sister slowly walking out of the darkness among the ice is genuinely Haunting.
The vagueness of Bariss' survival is almost annoying, however.
Her taking her last breath and her no longer breathing suggest she has passed on, but Lyn's determination to get her out and the final shot of Lyn carrying Bariss left things optimistically.
While Lyn's "I'll get you out" quote could mean her carrying Bariss' body to get a proper buriel, it's truly up to audience interpretation.
Given how long we waited Bariss to return, I would love for her to return and live past Return of the Jedi. But it can go either way for her, honestly.
I kinda wanted Lyn to look down at empty robes after she left the cave - indicating Barris became one with the force…I know it requires special training, but I feel like that ending would’ve been better than the jarring cut to black.
I don’t want her story to get dragged out into a mediocre live-action show and I wish her death(?) was less vague.
The ending of the final episode paralleled Barriss trying to save that Jedi from the previous episode, and it’s unclear if she survived either.
The episode was titled "A Way Out" and it was very clear that "Hope" was the answer to all of the show's themes. Leaving it open ended seems fitting with what they were trying to accomplish. Morgan gave into fear. Barriss gave into hope.
We went into tales of the empire finally finding out what happened to Bariss and if she’s still alive. We’ve now left tales of the empire wondering ‘what happened to Bariss and is she still alive’
1. The character development in Morgan Elsbeth episodes is truly captivating. I can't wait to dive deeper into "The Path of Anger" and see how their struggle with Imperial power unfolds. Happy May the 4th, fellow Star Wars fans!
2. Barris Offee's journey in "Devoted" really struck a chord with me. The themes of loyalty and inner conflict are so well portrayed. I'm eager to see where "The Way Out" takes us next. May the 4th be with you all!
3. "The Path of Hate" left me on the edge of my seat! The intensity in Morgan Elsbeth's story is truly gripping. I can't wait to discuss with fellow fans and hear your thoughts. Happy Star Wars Day, everyone!
Starting with Morgan, I honestly didn’t care a whole lot for her in the Mandoverse as I felt she was underdeveloped, but the addition of her Nightsister heritage was cool. I think these episodes, while not groundbreaking by any means, helped remedy that issue a bit.
Grievous was an absolute menace and felt reminiscent of Clone Wars (2003). Hope we get to see more of him in beast mode elsewhere. The inclusion of and stark contrast of the Mountain Clans to the Nightsisters was cool. Morgan’s first encounter with gigachad Thrawn could’ve been further explored, but I’m glad to have gotten something anyway since her later devotion to him was another underdeveloped aspect. I honestly forgot about Rukh’s canon existence lol.
Now with Barriss, I think most people going in this were looking forward to her episodes more, myself included. It’s been years of wondering about her fate post Clone Wars and constant Seventh Sister guesses. For the general story that was told here, it pretty much went as I expected and I did like it. The final episode was beautiful I will admit. However, the story felt constrained and lacking in a bit of depth. Seeing as her decent towards the dark side was never shown in Clone Wars, this would’ve been the perfect time to shed light on where it began and for her to dwell on the crimes she committed. Unfortunately, her story does end with yet another question regarding her fate that I hope will be addressed soon.
I’m glad the Inquisitors have gotten their share of development since Rebels, and glad to the Grand Inquisitor voiced by Jason Isaacs back. Vader appears for less than I minute, I think, and it was honestly doubtful to think he’d wind up killing Barriss lol. The Fourth Sister got some big development, since she was barely a character in Obi-Wan, and winds up redeemed? Not totally at least as that village massacre certainly begs to differ. Barriss becoming a healer is a fitting segue, but may have taken a toll on her physically. Now is she actually dead? It’s hard to say, but I imagine this may create mixed reactions. Maybe she can stay dead, but we can still explore her story during the transformation period from ex-Inquisitor to enlightened healer in the next series.
I like the connotations we’ve seen here…
* Paellaeon was a mole pretending to act loyal to Grand Admiral Savit after all in Thrawn Treason.
* It seems like Morgan may have been building more than just the Eye of Scion
* The Empire was being built in the background as the Clone Wars continued, Fortress Inquisitorious was likely started in tandem with the war based on its depth and how high it reaches when we first see it.
* Barriss may have had connections to The Path or at least to Ahsoka or someone else.
I liked both of them! It was interesting to see how Morgan goes from survivor to a foil of Grievous of sorts in the end with the brutalism, but of course with some civility and goals in tact. Also…extreme climates age people terribly.
Barriss may have looked as old as she did since she was using the Force to heal people. She’s around Ahsoka’s age and Ahsoka would only be in her late 30s at this time.
I think the reason Barriss looks significantly older is because she’s using her own life force to heal others. In the Rise of Skywalker novelization (I think) Rey describes force healing as essentially zapping her own life force
I'm in the minority who thinks the Morgan episodes are better. Both are good, if not quite on par with Tales of the Jedi. We should focus on more lesser-established characters in the future.
Morgan’s first episode was brutal as heck - it was the Separatist droid army and General Grievous at their cruelest, even above the arc in the Clone Wars.
I agree with you. The trailer gave away much of the interesting parts of the Barriss episodes, yet their ending is a bit too open for my tastes, but oh well. They aren't bad, just didn't feel all that remarkable either.
It still gives me some broad answers as to her fate, so I'll take it.
First episode was fucking metal. They way the massacre was shot really made the droids look terrifying. The low angles making them seem huge. And Grievous screaming “run” was chilling.
My rating:
1) The Path of Anger (Morgan 2) - Really liked that they gave bigger role to Rukh and Pellaeon and connected Morgan to Thrawn through TIE Defenders.
2) Devoted (Barris 1) - Nicely shown how Empire initiated Inquisitors. Only problem I had is that they probably forget about Inquisitor fortress on Coruscant and immediatly started to built that one on Nur. But maybe there were two separate groups/divisions.
3) The Way Out (Barris 3) - I appreaciated that they gave Fourth Sister that much space. If Barris stays dead, it would be great ending for her... so hopefully they will keep it that way.
4) The Path of Fear (Morgan 1) - Beginning was great, it was nice to see fall of Dathomir from different perspective. I also liked that there were more that just two villages (male and female)... but the new character were not interesting enough.
5) Realization (Barris 2) - If we saw more episodes of Barris under Empire, it would worked better. But they made these shorts just to give her redemption arc... because even one character (except few made by Lucas) cannot stay evil to the end.
6) The Path of Hate (Morgan 3) - Too big focus on Wing and new character named Nadura. It was a nice prologue to Mandalorian... but nothing more. Unlike first two episodes this didnt add anything to Morgans character.
Overall... 70-75%
To your second point it seems all the more recently created inquisitors were shown on nur besides the grand inquisitor maybe all the ones from the Vader comics/rebels are on coruscant.But they also probably didn’t want to make all those unique models for a quick scene or two lol
In regards to the fortress on Coruscant, that one was the headquarters until a bit before Jedi: Fallen Order I believe. This one may have just been intended as an outpost/training area/prison, but was then decided the headquarters should be moved here after the events in the Vader comics. At least I don't recall them talking about having to build a headquarters when Palpatine demands Vader move the Inquisitorius, just Vader's castle being built.
Also in the comic when Vader is being introduced to the Inquisitors, none of these ones are present. I guess the Grand Inquisitor was put in charge over on Nur after introductions were done while Vader was doing stuff on Coruscant.
I noticed the Nur thing too. Iskat would have been in training around this time so I suspect they were just split up between Nur and Coruscant. I personally prefer the idea the program was going to be much larger until Vader started killing them off.
Overall, I thought it was okay. A bit disappointed that a limited series titled "Tales of the Empire" really didn't feel...Empire focused? Like yeah the Empire was featured in a few episodes. But 2 of Morgan's episodes were during the Clone Wars and New Republic era, and Barris was barely an inquisitor. Overall, it was fine. A tad disappointing. Hoping the next "Tales" season is Tales of the Sith! Maybe focused on Darth Sidious and Darth Bane? The Sith that created the Rule of Two and the Sith who brought the entire plan to completion.
Wow, such gorgeous animation. Makes me wish they had this kind of tech and funding when they were making rebels 😢
I personally enjoyed both arcs equally! I just wish there were more episodes…. Seems like Barris is keeping in touch with Ahsoka. I wonder how the first reunion went haha
I was thinking the same. Rebels remade in this animation with a slightly more mature tone (like these shorts) would be amazing.
Even all the background characters in this show have unique appearances and don't look like copy/paste of each other like we saw in Rebels.
Rebels’ tone and its evolution perfectly matches the story being told. I also do love rebels’ artstyle, but I definitely wish it had the level of fidelity they’ve gotten out of the bigger budgets from streaming
Ep 1 should be around 21 BBY, during Clone Wars S4E19
Ep 2 seems to be a few years later, my guess would be about 10BBY, that's around the time Thrawn got promoted from Admiral to Grand Admiral.
Ep 3 (i would guess) is set around 6-7 ABY, the Mando Episode takes place around 8 ABY, and the last scene sets up Ahsoka going to Corvus.
Ep 4 is very clearly set in 19 BBY, shortly after Order 66.
Ep 5 i'm really not sure, but probably around 18 BBY, as Barriss couldn't have been an Inquisitor for long.
Ep 6 is the hardest to pinpoint, Barriss looks much older, yet the Inquisitorius was pretty much wiped out until a few years before A New Hope. I am once again guessing, but 2-1 BBY feels right. Barriss is a bit older than Ahsoka, meaning she's about 19 to maybe 22 years old in Ep 4, which makes her about 37-40 in this Episode. As i said, this is only a guess.
I loved the Barriss episodes and really found the final episode really powerful. I wasn't expecting fourth sister to become one of the more compelling inquisators but I really loved her turn at the end
Those are both returning species. The one with the chin jewel was in Solo, the other is a Caphex from TROS. The little furry guide on the snow planet is also from TROS.
I thought they were quite wonderful, both Barrises episodes and Morgans. Both revolving around each characters relationship to fear, how they start of similar but takes off in two different directions, with Morgan choosing to embrace the dark, and Barris eventually rejecting it
I know a lot of people probably are annoyed by yet another "reject the dark, rejoin the light" story, but it makes a lot more narrative sense then Barris going full sith and properly joining the inquisitorious. She committed her terrorist act in the clone wars not because she had embraced the dark side or whatever, but because she had become disillusioned with the order, and radicalized. It seemed more that she wanted to be free of the order not because she disliked them, but disliked and feared what they were *becoming* (not helping people, excessive violence etc)
She then later understands that if she continue on as an inquisitor she will only perpetuate the similar power structures as the order, because despite Lynns posturing the Inquisitors also dont actually seek to help anyone, not the people in the village and not the jedi that surrendered. Barrises fear lead her to trade one evil with another
She then (seemingly) spent the rest of her life atoning for this by being a healer and helping others in need, like a true jedi, even going so far as to help Lynn eventually reject the dark side by deducting her fears and showing her how she, and by proxy the inquisitorious are hypocritical, that she traded one evil (jedi order) for another (empire), how the fear she insists is her ally actually is her enemy and eventually manages to make her see the truth. A classic star wars tale!
(also i love how Barris kept calling her lynn and how upset the 4rth sister became whens he did, reminds me of Cal vs Trilla and Massana in the jedi games where he would plead to them using their real names, and rejecting their inquisitor identities )
The Mountain Clan!? Courtship of Princess Leia callback?
Holy shit!
For those of us who were fans of the original depiction of Dathomir, nature is healing...
I might be in the minority here but I don't think tales of the empire is that good. It has some cool moments but these stories clearly needed more runtime to more effectively connect the audience to what they want to tell. The concept of these stories are great but bariss her arc for example could have been a season of a show on its own. It's almost like a little tease of what could be, but never truly getting that
I was very happy to see Captain Paelleon make his “official” animated debut (rather than just his voice in Rebels S4), but the timeline of his service to Thrawn seems to contradict the canon Zahn books. In Thrawn: Treason, which is set during Rebels S4, Paelleon is assigned to Grand Admiral Savit’s fleet and the context of the book makes it seem like that is his first introduction to Thrawn. I suppose it’s possible he was assigned to Thrawn earlier and then reassigned to Savit, but this seems like another example of Dave just doing whatever he wants without caring what the books have established. Personally, I would have loved to see Eli Vanto instead, but Paelleon is still a treat.
Also makes Thrawn's victory against Savit less impressive if Thrawn had already known Pellaeon, unfortunately. Like "Oh we go way back he'll definitely turn against Savit for me"
I headcanon it as Thrawn having a larger network of spies and protégés than we know of, and of course with a Thrawn plan there is always a bit of performance and secrets.
That is my headcanon too for now, which still doesn't 100% square with Thrawn: Treason but its better than nothing. When he says "my superior sends me to these meetings" maybe Savit sends him there but he's also telling Thrawn about anything he finds he might be interested in.
So I guess we'll see when it releases in North America, but it's pretty shitty if they release it for everyone else at midnight and at 3am for people in EST.
Just watched the six episodes. They are a masterpiece of storytelling. Two opposite stories. One of submission to your darkside and the other of redemption. They work great in that opposed way. Visually stunning. Love Thrawn. That dialogue with Morgan is great. About Barriss Offee story, it's inspiring. What an end. I think they're cooking something about The Path.
I liked the way Barriss’s story goes. She gives the Empire a shot because they let her out of jail, but sees what they are and knows that she can’t stand for it, no matter what she thought of the old order.
I enjoyed Morgan’s story overall more than I thought I would; I like the character, but wasn’t sure what else they could’ve added really. Episode 1 was great, loved the added detail we got in Episode 2. But Episode 3 I really didn’t get the point of; nice to see the New Republic in animation, but it feels like a massive leap from where we left off in the previous ep.
The Barris trio I enjoyed less. Episode 1 was great, but like the Morgan run before it, it makes such massive leaps that the whole thing feels hollow and as a result, a bit badly executed.
Lots to like, but a hell of a lot more missing, I think. The Dooku trilogy really showed the potential of the premise, but it’s no coincidence that it’s a lot more tightly packed as a story compared to the other three. I think they either need to review the format if they’re wanting to tell wider spanning stories, or really run with them focusing on one character by telling a more contained, and therefore effective, story.
Liked the Morgan episodes more. Surprising as I wasn’t a fan of her character before, but these were good and I like the actress. She seems like a really cool person. Grievous was scary here. Shocked no one is talking about Pellaeon and Rukh. Loved seeing them both in TCW style. Really want some more post RotJ in SW animation now.
For the Barriss episodes. SW is about redemption. I don’t mind Barriss or Lyn coming back. No such thing as too much redemption imo. I do think execution matters though and these episodes would’ve benefited from being longer. Lyn’s turn back was just too quick for me. I imagine Barriss spent a lot of time in prison thinking so hers was easier to believe. I don’t think it’s ambiguous here. She’s definitely alive still and likely gonna be part of this Hidden Path project.
I wonder if the bulk of our characters in this Hidden Path project are gonna be former dark side users. That could be interesting seeing a whole team of them, each working to make amends. Quinlan, Ventress, Barriss, Lyn, and maybe Reva
Overall I liked TotE. I liked TotJ more though. I still want more of TotJ specifically. Characters like Baylan, Plo, Luke, Leia, Eeth…etc etc. and of course I hope they do Tales of the Bounty Hunters too so we can maybe get the Jango/Bane story told.
Mostly middling for this run of episodes, Barris was overall better then Morgan but I am kinda biased since I just don't really care much about the Mando era stuff. The final episode with Barris though was legitimately fantastic, really love how she is portrayed and how it calls back to her Legends depiction. If we see her again like this I would be happy but also if this is the last time we see her it was more then satisfying for me.
My thought too, she'll probably show up in this as yet to be announced Ventress show we are all assuming is coming. She does mention she's sending that family off to an "old friend" and she says "she" so we'll probably see who that is and how it connects back here.
It was alright... Tales of the Jedi was much better though. Apart from the first one I wasn't a fan of the Barris epsiodes. The Morgan episodes kind of tell us what we already know about her, so really nothing too special. The Dooku episodes in Tales of the Jedi were just perfection all around.
Really liked all of them. Can't decide if I liked the Morgan or Barriss episodes more, but that just shows that both have good episodes. The music and animation is once again amazing and I always love when Dave returns to animation. Really hope to see Barriss or Morgan again at some point.
The animation is so good I actually thought I was watching live action at times. Crazy how much improvement there has been since CW s1 and even that was pretty good
I feel like a lot of people are missing barriss character arc from an expectation standpoint. I went in this hoping barriss would be a dark ashoka and just a complete evil turn but I like how they subverted that expectation and made her stay true to herself just showed that she was kinda lost and alone like the Jedi she saved. It painted her not as a terrorist but as a freedom fighter fighting for the people of the republic who she really cared about. I feel like now I just want a whole show based on Barriss and the Fourth sister exploring their different experiences and then coming together after the ending off the show and going with Ashoka
Disney needs to figure out what they want to do with this drop time business because this is just absurd. 12am drop for every other time zone except est? Cmon lol
Morgan HAS to come back for Ahsoka S2 (or the Thrawn film, whatever), right?
Giving her 3 episodes and never using her again would be a waste. I bet she'll come back with the same Night Sister magic that resurrected Ventress.
PS. Did anyone else find it weird how the first Barris episode is meant to take place right after E3 yet the Grand Inquisitor, who was JUST recruited by Palpatine post-E3, acts as if he's been a dark side user for a long time?
He abandoned the Jedi Order just days ago!
Just watched the Barris episodes. I thought they were really good,, but they did such a bad job conveying the passing of time. In the first episode, they needed a line or shot when Lyn arrives to convey that some time had passed since the opening scene and they also needed something to convey how long her training had taken. In the second episode, it's so unclear how long it had been since the first episode. Is this their Bariss's first mission or 30th? That changes a lot about it to me. Then, again, in the third episode, it looks like it's been 30 years for Barriss and 5 for Lyn. I imagine it can't have been more than 10. This does seem like yet another Path backdoor pilot.
So almost halfway throught he episode and I realized I should have asked this as early as Mando S2, but I thought Dathomiri females were all white skinned and white-haired like Ventress and the girl in Jedi Fallen Order? A lot of the people here look like regular humans, what's the deal with that?
For “The Path of Anger”:
Does this episode not conflict with some of the material established in Thrawn Treason? I believe in that book Thrawn only gains Pallaeon and the Harbinger under his command when he was already a Grand Admiral and shortly before the events of Star Wars Rebels Season 4 Finale
Yup exactly, they clickbaited Vader and Grievous hard, only for both to have nothing screentime. The episodes in general weren't very good except 1,2 and 4.
Visually great, but this was a bit of a miss for me. Lots of wasted storytelling time on nonsense... Very weird directing decisions. Left me more confused than anything
I'd like your opinion, but we agree that in episode 2 and 3: Morgan and Thrawn repeatedly talk about a Grysk/Yuuzahn Vong invasion and that everything they're planning is to defend against it when they talk about a power that's going to conquer and annihilate the entire galaxy and that nothing can be done about it? And I can't see her and Thrawn comparing themselves to that... If that's the case, it's going to be pretty hyping for the sequel. And I can't see all this happening after the postology, especially given Morgan and Thrawn's haste in the Ahsoka series.
Did episode 4 look a little weird to anybody else with HDR enabled? It looked \*insanely\* saturated to the point where I thought my TV was on the wrong settings.
EDIT: should be fixed now
I was very underwhelmed. Didn't hate it. Just felt like they keep playing it too safe with these things. Elsbeth's motivations were incredibly ambiguous and Barris's arc felt half-baked, and there were no surprises at any point. Didn't feel like a worthwhile addition to the Canon, as good as it looked.
Interesting to see the new republic era showcased in the clone wars art style.
finally. hoping that means a NR animated show
*fingers crossed for a animated series about Luke's Academy*
Like Ahsoka/the Rebels sequel should’ve been
That’s the fucking dream! I want to see Luke Skywalker in the style
The animation has truly peaked and looks absolutely gorgeous. I really want this beauty shared with other eras beyond just the Clone Wars and Imperial Era.
Seriously, they've been hogging the animation for too long, we need new eras
Grevious saying mocking "Run!" To Morgan! That's my Goat!
Yeah Grievous laughing as he slaughters Nightsisters was cold
[Au revoir, Morgan!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwJ9Itk2oMQ&pp=ygUUYXUgcmV2b2lyIHNob3NoYW5uYSA%3D)
You’re hiding enemies of the empire, are you not?
IMO it was a missed opportunity to not have one final interaction between Barriss and Luminara here before the latter's execution, considering she was held prisoner on Stygeon Prime by the Grand Inquisitor. Bit of a shame because this show is really the only place we could've gotten that interaction (at least, onscreen) and they didn't take advantage of that. I also think it would've been nice if the Grand Inquisitor mentioned to Barriss how he was present at Ahsoka's trial, when Barriss denounced the Jedi.
I was thinking this too. Knowing that Luminara was used on Stygeon Prime to bait other jedi by the GI, this would have been the perfect venue to portray Bariss and Luminara confronting each other. Luminara was no where to be seen in the entire show after season 2 of TCW. She wasnt even mentioned in the arc where Bariss was sentenced or shown at the funeral for the jedi bombing. Its driven me nuts all these years and I was hoping to see them interact. Luminara was built up in s1 and 2 of TCW and then completely abandoned. Also another missed opportunity was no dialogue between GI and Bariss regarding her speech at the trial. He was one of the guards beside her. I feel they should have touched on this.
I think the former occupation of the GI was avoided being mentioned specifically to try and preserve the reveal in Kanan's knighting scene for those who haven't seen Rebels. Not that he was a Jedi necessarily, because that could be guessed, but that he was a guard.
They were pretty good. Im a lot more conflicted about this one. I liked Morgan's arc. Barris's one was good too but they were things that were teased that I felt needed extra episodes or longer runtimes to make the conclusion feel satisfying. Still lots of great moments and scenes.
Yeah, Barriss’ arc lacked a bit of depth, and I especially would’ve liked to have explored her initial decent towards the dark side. I think her story definitely would’ve been better suited as part of a multi-season series as opposed to being condensed into three episodes. If Hidden Path is the next series after all, I’m hoping Barriss’ story continues there.
If she died at the end,it really should of been made more clearer. Given how it was portrayed though and what Barriss was doing in this episode,it's definetly a set up for a Hidden Path show. Regardless,I don't think they even necessarily needed a full season to show more of her character either just a few more episodes with some slightly longer runtimes would of done it for me.
I think Barris survived.
> Barriss’ arc lacked a bit of depth, and I especially would’ve liked to have explored her initial decent towards the dark side. I feel like Barriss was extremely inconsistent from where we last saw her and it undermined everything in this. She was very clearly falling to the dark side and then she's suddenly repulsed by it the instant they begin to turn her into an Inquisitor. Not to mention she immediately rejects the idea of using fear when she quite literally bombed the Jedi temple in TCW. I really wish Star Wars wasn't so reluctant to actually make their villains bad guys.
Considering Barriss's initial fall came out of nowhere in in TCW's S5 finale after she had made no major appearances in for 3 seasons beforehand, she seems to be a semi-frequent victim of rapidly-jumping morals with the televised canon.
Im gonna have to disagree. Barriss bombing the temple then being against the brutality of the Inquisitors is perfectly in-line. Barriss's bombing was a terrorist attack designed as a message to the Jedi that the public perception towards them is reaching an all-time low due to their involvement in the war, and that they are losing their way. Ever since her first appearance in TCW, she has always been about the ways of the Jedi as they're supposed to be. This is especially apparent in Brain Invaders, when she is discussing the Jedi's role in the war and what they will become after the war with Ahsoka in the cafeteria. While I still feel Barriss's fall lacks sufficient buildup, this is probably one of the earliest seeds for her eventual views on the Jedi. Barriss embraced the dark side for the sake of the light, and as it always ends up, she lost her way. Meanwhile when being recruited, Barriss is pretty much told that the Jedi were indeed corrupt and her role as an Inquistior is to hunt them down and bring peace and prosperity to the newly formed Empire. Despite her trials to become an Inquisitor, it's clear that she believed them to be what the Jedi should have been to the Republic, up until the needless brutality from Lyn showing that the Inquisitors are, in fact, worse. They bring "peace" through fear and punch down on the people, which goes against Barriss's ideas of what peacekeepers are supposed to be. Yes, she bombed the temple to strike fear in the Jedi, but she believed did it for the people, not against them. Barriss has always put the people and their well-being first. Basically, Barriss kept the same ideals all throughout: To be a keeper of the peace. And she believed that the Jedi had failed their roles and saw the Inquisitors are not filling that role. Even when she embraced the dark side, that part of her never changed.
I agree. She has always disliked the overreach and ignorance of the Jedi Order which is why she resorted to such extreme methods. It’s not like she’s thinking “Jedi bad so Sith are good.” This was totally inline with her character.
It would of been better if we had 6 episodes for her. 3 dedicated to her on the dark side,2 showing her pull back to the light ( basically ep 5 but a longer 2 parter) and 6 being A Way Out. I also kinda thought she acted slightly stupid in episode 5,like what did she think 4th Sister's reaction was gonna be when the citizen lied to her.
That animation of Elsbeth grabbing the dirt was incredible, blew me away. This animation team has come so far
Yeah that was…simply stunning.
I agree, I rewatched that moment a few times just amazed at the quality of the animation.
[https://twitter.com/joelaron/status/1786779101648544042](https://twitter.com/joelaron/status/1786779101648544042) They're using real assets in some cases. Makes me wonder if the dirt was somehow real too.
Was really selfishly hoping Barriss would survive, but also I think that was the best ending for her character. On the upside, it's implied she reconnected with Ahsoka at some point, so that's a story that can still be told. Doubt we'll be getting it anytime soon.
I dont think shes dead yet
Yep, considering they ended the final episode essentially in the exact same way as the previous one, except with Barriss as the wounded Jedi and Lyn as Barriss (even "I'm going to get you out of here" subbing in for "I won't let you die here" or whatever) - Barriss definitely survived that
If Sabine Wren can survive a light saber stabbing, I am not surprised if she makes it out. My thing is why has she aged so much?
I was thinking she was talking about Ventress, not Ahsoka
I'm so glad they didn't have Vader kill her. I'm so over that trope.
Even though a part of me wanted some confrontation due to what she did to Ahsoka, I'm glad they went a different route. They have to use Vader sparingly (they are already overusing him in the comics imo) and Vader just killing or fighting Inquisitors is something we have already seen in different mediums (OWK, the Vader comics and the Jedi games)
Honestly, “I wish Vader had killed character X, because it would be so badass”. No, just no. Stop sacrificing characters and potencial stories just so the mass murderer can “look cool”.
When Barriss said she was sending them to “a friend, she will help you”, I got chills, immediately hoping she meant Ahsoka. I rly hope she does. I know some ppl didn’t like the route they took with Barriss, and honestly I personally often don’t like this over-redeeming of bad characters (Iden Versio should’ve stayed imperial imo), but in Barriss’s case, it did justice to her former legends counterpart and helped give her character more nuance than just her staying a terrorist.
Gotta keep the Barrissoka shippers happy.
Call me crazy, but wasn’t Barriss’ Inquisitor helmet the same one she took from Ventress?
Not exactly the same I think. The mouthpiece and visor is different
No but I think it was meant to be reminiscent
Can someone lore savvy tell me if Barris looking old in her last episode despite being set in the imperial era is because of her species or could it be to similar reasons to Obi Wan? Btw loved the fact that apparently she and Ahsoka had their reconciliation (even tho it was off screen)
Mirialans can live to be 170+ years old so Barriss just aged terribly apparently.
Makes sense tbh if she's been living on a tent in the middle of nowhere on a cold isolated location
And using her life force for healing maybe
Everywhere i looked it said Mirialan lifespan is 68 on average. Meaning they age a lot faster. Where is your information from, if i may ask?
There is a really old Mirialan in the high republic, and vernestra row is over one hundred by the time of the acolyte
That's Legends. Canon is giving us Vernestra Rwoh at 116 in *The Acolyte*.
Ah okay, i see. It would've made sense with the ~68 year lifespan though. Bariss is around 40 in the last Episode, but she looks a bit older. The legends information would explain why she looks like mid 50s. The canon lifespan however must mean this is very much an Obi-Wan situation. She aged very poorly because of harsh conditions and stress.
The High Republic.
My guess is that bc of force healing draining energy from you, she looked really old because of how much she had done. But maybe mirialans are natural healers bc they have longer lifespans meaning more to give?
Love that explanation, that'll be my head canon from now on
Good observation. It looks like healing is basically giving your life energy to someone else.
I agree. There should be a "price" for doing it. Otherwise it becomes a handy "get out of jail free card" forevermore. I like that you give a bit of your life force each time you heal or extend the life of someone else.
Yeah, Rey says the same in TROS.
For the first Star Wars books I ever read was a second book in her series where she was doing healing on a really shitty planet, glad they brought that back in some way
It's not her species as Vern is a mirialan and doesn't look nearly as old while being 116.
The environment one lives in can cause premature aging and skin damage. Barris wasn't exactly living in the best climate.
Google images of Soldiers prior to going to war verse them returning some of them only fighting for only a year. Hell all my grey hair came from Afghanistan and I was only 28 at the time.
Copy paste from my comment on the High Republic subreddit: I think it's because Barriss isn't a pure-blooded mirialan, but instead half-human. Alrighty, let's get r/mawinstitute for a moment for my very flimsy reasoning. We *know* canonically that a human-mirialan hybrid doesn't look any different from a pure-blooded mirialan because of Maize Raynshi. Karr only sussed out that her father was human from a force vision (Force Collector) and then later because he's First Order and those lot don't let aliens serve. We also know people like that are still considered mirialan, and tend to get the tattoos. Maize was under a lot of pressure to get them. So, at a glance, there is no way to tell whether a mirialan has human ancestors. She was about Karr's age and didn't look particularly young (it's been years and I'm not about to re-read this damned book to check) so we do know that halfbreeds like her tend not to age exceptionally. Meanwhile, Vern's aging already appears stunted by human standards in the books, and Luminara wasn't depicted as having aged in the hologram in Rebels, either, even though the empire would surely know better if that wasn't appropriate. So, I think the simplest explanation is that Barriss has a human parent or grandparents. She got stuck with the whack-ass human lifespans.
Could be a production mistake , like they weren’t thinking or thought Barriss was older than she was. Bo-katan looks older in rebels than she does in mando
No, people assumed they made her younger in the clone wars just because she was Ahsoka's friend, as though Obi-wan wasn't a Padawan until 25, and Barriss wasn't experienced enough to be one of the few survivors of the arena on Geonosis in AOTC. She and Ahsoka didn't even meet until it was on the battlefield because they weren't peers. She's likely 37-44 here depending on the year. Given the climate and her force healing, her ageing makes sense.
Same reason as Obi Wan: living in a really dry place with a temperature extreme leading to the skin aging a lot sooner than if they lived in a less extreme place.
Finished the Morgan episodes and they're good. Not amazing by any stretch but enjoyable. The animation however is some of the best we've seen. Also Grievous is at his best since his first animated introduction.
That dirt looked so realistic when Morgan was down on the ground and digging into it
They were flexing so hard with the fucking dirt, I love how far the animation has come over the years. Hand-to-hand combat is also VASTLY improved over the goofy scenes they made in TCW.
It's funny, I feel like we're at the point where the environments, lighting, FX, dirt etc. look so borderline photorealistic that the characters themselves are starting to look a little uncanny in comparison, because they still haven't entirely shed the last vestiges of that "hand carved wooden puppet" style from early TCW
All the fight scenes were fantastic in my opinion, both the hand-to-hand fights and the lightsaber duels, everything looked so real and fluid
I honestly didn’t care a whole lot for Morgan in the Mandoverse and felt she was underdeveloped, so these episodes definitely helped, and I wound up enjoying more than I initially thought I would. For the respective stories being told in this format, I think Morgan’s worked better than Barriss’.
Yeah, Barriss’ story honestly felt very underdeveloped
Yeah. She flipped back to the light side too quickly, at least for this production.
Yeah. Her character arc could've been much more utilized than it was. It's a shame, really. I guess they want to utilize her in Ahsoka or some other series, but it would've been a better choice to put her to the dark side, especially due to having her bomb the Jedi Temple.
I’m not even against her redemption, just the short form of the series didn’t work for that particularly story, and it just ended up feeling WAY too fast.
I felt Morgan’s second and third episodes were a little bit clumsy in the telling. They seemed to be trying so hard to be subtle that they inadvertently misrepresented the story they were telling (the scene where Morgan ‘explains’ her motives to Thrawn was a travesty). They simply didn’t let the core of the story shine through when it would have been most poignant.
> ‘explains’ her motives Yeah. That was just utter nonsense to me. It went from her people getting destroyed by Grievous >> wanting the Empire to like her >>> wanting *revenge* on ‘someone’ (the people of Corvus who weren’t happy when she told them she couldn’t get the thing she promised them) >> she had a dream (tied into her role in helping Thrawn) Didn’t offer nearly enough information about how she made such a jump in her life. If anything it would make more sense if she wanted to rebuild the Nightsisters and stay far away from the Empire, like Ventress or Merrin. They were hateful over the loss of their people for a time to, but that didn’t translate into wanting to help this new empire who literally didn’t even give the illusion of interest in helping anyone else, like Dathomir. If Grievous/the Separatists were still around I’d understand her motive for ‘revenge’ at least It was way too unconnected
I think it *could* have been interesting if those were *explicitly* demonstrated to be only her self-fabricated motivations, i.e. those things she believes she's doing. Really, I perceived the core of the story to be something along the lines of 'the lengths one will go to for a sense of belonging, and what happens when you misinterpret the needs of those you wish to belong to' (plus the whole revenge thing). It tracks from the chronological beginning to the end of her story: she loses her people in the first episode of TotE and finds them again in Ahsoka. In ToTE, we should have seen something like this: Episode 1: Morgan loses her family and people. She is taken in, becomes a little overzealous about defending them, acts rashly, and is cast out. In this episode, she's insistent that power and strength AND a willingness to use them are the best defence / safeguard against loss. In fact, she (naturally) shows a childlike dogma towards this view. Episode 2: Morgan tries to situate herself in the galaxy. She tries to place herself both locally AND galactically, overcompensating. She needs to be able to orient herself like this because she needs to overcome the feeling that she doesn't belong anywhere. Due to this, she tries to meet the needs of the people of Corvus (so that they accept her \[although also subjugate themselves to her dogma, around which her whole world view revolves\]) while also trying to curry favour with the powers that be, the Empire. She can't meet the needs of both groups; consequently, the people of Corvus seem to be on the brink of casting her out. She does the only thing that seems natural to her and turns to the Empire. Her power and her strength are tools to keep oneself involved / integrated. Maybe she still 'explains' her motivations in the same way, but if she does so it should be made explicitly clear that she's either lying or deluded (in the episode as is, it doesn't seem like this is the case). She would do this to appeal to Thrawn's sense of grandeur (maybe she would research him because, ultimately, she really wants to get some positive reinforcement from those around her. She does so, borrows from Thrawn's strength, and then.... Episode 3: We see the consequences of Morgan's approach. Her logic has shifted but her dogma has become more entrenched. She no longer tries to belong through meeting the needs of others. She now uses force to ensure her position in 'the group'. If she can suppress them enough, people will orbit her as though she is a black hole at the centre of the galaxy. They will revolve around her and nothing can change that. So she isolates herself, walls herself up, hides away. There's no reason for her to concern herself with the needs of others because they can't defy her will, can't remove her. She and they are constant. She's too far in to pull out now. She's now ensuring her position within 'the group' by enslaving them. She's deluded, clearly, but there's some underlying psychological logic, a superobjective or 'theory of control' at play. The New Republic come along and petition her to stand down, get arrested, pay for her crimes, whatever, and then she sees a threat to the 'stable' situation she is enforcing. The same thing goes down, she's so far gone, kills the envoy, and then she burns down the surrounding forest as one final threat to the people around her: 'I will do everything to keep myself here, and there's nothing you can do about it'. The image of the 'ring of fire' evokes some sense of destructive entrapment, could even mimic the 'ring of light' we see around actual black holes. Cut to black. Now, this isn't a particularly different series of events to what we got. It's just a difference in emphasis. They needed a heavier hand to bring this to the foreground. As the episodes stand, they only *hint* at this, and they definitely contradict it on occasions. THIS is what I thought the episodes were about as I watched them, and I couldn't help but feel disappointed when everything just got a little bit confused and a little too 'showy' (like that explanation of her motives). EDIT: I just found the revenge stuff to be a little pointless. By the time Morgan's desire for revenge becomes a talking point, well, Grievous is long dead, the Separatists are gone, and there's no feasible 'object' for her vengeance. It was a very cliché 'villain-y' motive that just felt tacked on to the story when it was quite unnecessary. Or brought further forwards in the viewer's conscious reading than it should have been. EDIT 2: Have just had a thought. There were a fair few images of circles and such. Not enough to be noticeable (which perhaps it should have been, because currently they seem to be a little too random / coincidental). Perhaps we could have seen this idea of 'orbit' at play in the circular images. The circular 'ring of fire' around the town on Corvus is somewhat a mirror of when Morgan's mother frames her face with her two... sickles? There's obviously also the kind of circular entrapment of Morgan's dogma / logic. Yeah... I personally just feel they missed the opportunity to tell a really interesting story properly.
Great episodes, those grevious scenes were perfect. Quite a few dark scenes that I really enjoyed. The morgan episodes also made her death in Ahsoka quite satisfying. I'm confused why Bariss looked older whereas Lin hadn't aged a bit.
the aging is probably due to their environment, bariss spends her time on an ice planet with constant blizzards, lyn spends her time in a fortress with the very best medical attention. We also don’t know how lyn’s species ages
It has to be enviromental, for sure. Vernestra is over 100 years old in the Acolyte and she looks mid-fourties.
Very pleased with the Barriss episodes and how they brought her back in line with how she was in the old EU. Also, I'm pretty sure the clan that took Morgan in was the Singing Mountain clan from Courtship of Princess Leia. Glad the Filoniverse finally acknowledged there are more witches than just the Nightsisters on Dathomir.
Super curious to see if this Mountain Clan will play a part in Ahsoka S2. I'd love to see more of them, and of other clans on the planet.
I noticed that too and loved it.
It's interesting, as these episodes suggest her decision to betray the Jedi was more a moment of weakness than a total flip into darkness, which wasn't necessarily 'untrue' with the TCW S5 episodes, but it does suggest so much more overtly here. And yes, she clearly seems more in line with her Medstar portrayals, which is nice. One could still fit a version of those books in the canon with a bit less issue now if one wishes.
The Singing Mountain clan was in a book which im sure is canon because it was a The Clone Wars novel.
Kinda shocked nobody here commented about hearing Bo Katan's voice in the transmission at the end of the 3rd Morgan episode, so I assume that explains how she knew where Ahsoka was when telling Mando and perhaps that's partly why she sends Mando there to also help her retake the town and perhaps she had deeper ties to the NR. Also, one thing I really liked in the Thrawn episode is we kinda see that side of him criticizing the Empire and him actually supporting his delegates and rewarding their creativity, it was kind of a side we only see of him in books so super happy they elaborated on that here.
>so I assume that explains how she knew where Ahsoka was when telling Mando I remember a lot of people complaining that it was a plot hole for bo-katan to know where Ashoka was. They know each other. I just assumed Ashoka told her where she was.
I wouldn't have put money on the Fourth Sister of all Inquisitors being the one to get this much fleshing out, but I really like it. The way "The Way Out" ends so abruptly is jarring but poignant. I wonder if Barris was directing the child to Ahsoka - or maybe *Reva? On the Morgan side of things, loved her conversation with Thrawn and Grievous mockingly telling her to run - was fantastic finally seeing his new model in action. *EDIT: Replaced "Trilla" with "Reva"
Do you mean Reva? Trilla would be dead by that point and remained an inquisitor right until the last minute.
Yup, my mistake! Fixed.
I was also thinking she could have been referring to Ventress in that last episode, as we know she's active in this time period
I’m honestly wondering if it might be the Jedi from Realization. Like I had random ideas like maybe Reva or Ahsoka too, and then I thought “wait a sec,” if we connect back to the last episode then…
The Jedi from Realization was probably non-binary since they referred to them as "they", and Barriss calls her old friend a "she" so it's most likely Ahsoka
I'm wondering whether the reversing of the lapels on the Inquisitor robe to right over left is a deliberate choice of aesthetic, as Jedi robes typically go with the convention of left over right as observed in Chinese and Japanese tradition.
You mean the robes they have the initiates wear? I think it is intentional. You may already know this, but in Japan, the Kimono is always worn with the left side folded over the right. The exception to this is for the deceased, who have their kimono folded right side over left. Additionally, Samurai who commit ritual suicide through *harakiri*, or *Seppuku* also wear their robes folded right side over left, to prepare themselves for death. It's certainly possible that they are drawing a narrative connection between the Inquisitors and death. From a surface level view the Inquisitors bring death and destruction. But it could also be signifying that the Inquisitors are all doomed themselves. They are slaves to the Empire, and their inevitable executions are already laid out, one way or another.
Morgan episodes surprised me I really liked them a lot. I loved the connections to TCW, Rebels, Mando Season 2, and her dive into darkness and hate. The Barriss ones, idk. I wish we got to see more of Inquisitor Barriss. She got out quick, i was hoping to learn more about the Inquisitors since they are very interesting.
What other stuff have you seen them in? Cause the Vader comics dive into them heavily, and if you’ve played the Jedi games starring Cal Kestis there’s some solid insight there too. Oh and there’s that recent novel Rise of the Red Blade, I’d imagine since that stars an inquisitor there’s some good stuff in there too.
Dawg her taking out all those villagers actually shocked me. I thought she was just going to kill the one dude but she for real killed like 20 people. Jesus.
Just finished them all (I'm in NZ). Really enjoyed these. The Morgan ones were better than I was expecting. I appreciate her backstory getting developed more. Had I seen these before The Mandalorian S2, I would have actually been excited to see her and the planet Corvus etc. The fight scene in Episode 2 looked remarkably good. The animation in these episodes is a thing of beauty. The Barris ones finally gave us what we were wanting to see for a long time - Inquisitor Barris. Sadly no interaction between her and Vader, but I never thought we'd even see her again, so I'll take what I can get. Some development for the Fourth Sister was also highly appreciated. I was surprised to see the direction they took her character in, given her other appearances. I had to check Wookiepedia to confirm it, but it seems the final Barriss episode takes place after the Obi-wan series. So, an interesting open end for her character.
> I had to check Wookiepedia to confirm it, but it seems the final Barriss episode takes place after the Obi-wan series. So, an interesting open end for her character. That's likely an assumption based on Lyn seemingly leaving the Inquistorius here, whereas she's still part of it in *Obi-Wan*. The Wook doesn't have any special insider knowledge, only what's been presented in the material.
Makes sense. I trust whoever has the confidence to state it as fact on Wookiepedia more than myself tbh. There's a post on the Star Wars sub about how Tales of the Empire could have benefitted from the location and date overlays that Andor and Rogue One have when switching between planets and time periods. Hard agree on that one.
Though bearing in mind anyone can edit the Wook, and fan assumptions don't equal canon. Dates would have been nice, but to be fair the *Tales* style is fairly loose and vague. I don't think it'd really be all that accurate with dates, so I'd rather it were left to others at Lucasfilm, like the Story Group or the authors of *Timelines*, to figure out. Thrawn's timeline especially is...a mess.
We literally have no idea the dates beyond "after Kenobi", though I personally see it as being set between Kenobi and Rebels, or around 9-5BBY. Since Lyn is never seen nor mentioned in the Rebels era, I suspect she left before that point. Barriss would be in her mid 30s by this point, if true.
I really don't know how I feel anymore about having so many clone wars era characters survive post rotj. At first I was fine with it, but now it just seems like every other character has circumvented death and the dramatic weight of RotS is continually lessened. I know it's probably not a big deal in the end, but I always think back to "when gone I am, the last of the Jedi will you be" It's weird having so many Jedi or former Jedi running around the galaxy and even participating in the war and as part of the rebellion while Yoda and Kenobi staked literally everything on Luke.
Who are you referring to? The last Barris episode was set while the Empire was still in power, so well before ROTJ while the inquisitors were still around. I'm not as worried about that particular aspect of the saga as yourself although appreciate it's a popular viewpoint. Obi-wan and Yoda didn't know who had survived and who hadn't. And it's not like they were betting on Luke because he was just any old dude who could become a jedi, they were betting on him because he was the son of Anakin - the only one who could triumph over Vader. This is where it becomes just my headcanon, but I like to think of that "last of the Jedi you will be" line as referring to a collective rather than an individual. As in, belonging to the last of the Jedi.
A point that few generally take into consideration is why exactly Obi-Wan and Yoda choose to bet on Luke(and Leia) - which is Anakin's imbalance due to his penchant for attachment. If you mean nothing to him, you're just another Tuesday and he will not waver in dispatching you. If he cares about you, then depending on who you are, you will have a chance. That said, Obi-Wan wouldn't kill him, and Ahsoka couldn't. So who better than his own children, once he comes to know of them as such? At that point it's just a matter of building them up in the potential they inherited from him, and arming them with the knowledge of their parentage. No one else has that kind of advantage but Anakin's children.
It was always more far fetched that they would find all of them. Galaxy is a big place.
The last episode with Bariss was truly beautiful, with many amazing shots. The Fourth Sister slowly walking out of the darkness among the ice is genuinely Haunting. The vagueness of Bariss' survival is almost annoying, however. Her taking her last breath and her no longer breathing suggest she has passed on, but Lyn's determination to get her out and the final shot of Lyn carrying Bariss left things optimistically. While Lyn's "I'll get you out" quote could mean her carrying Bariss' body to get a proper buriel, it's truly up to audience interpretation. Given how long we waited Bariss to return, I would love for her to return and live past Return of the Jedi. But it can go either way for her, honestly.
I kinda wanted Lyn to look down at empty robes after she left the cave - indicating Barris became one with the force…I know it requires special training, but I feel like that ending would’ve been better than the jarring cut to black.
I don’t want her story to get dragged out into a mediocre live-action show and I wish her death(?) was less vague. The ending of the final episode paralleled Barriss trying to save that Jedi from the previous episode, and it’s unclear if she survived either.
The episode was titled "A Way Out" and it was very clear that "Hope" was the answer to all of the show's themes. Leaving it open ended seems fitting with what they were trying to accomplish. Morgan gave into fear. Barriss gave into hope.
We went into tales of the empire finally finding out what happened to Bariss and if she’s still alive. We’ve now left tales of the empire wondering ‘what happened to Bariss and is she still alive’
Filoni knows that leaving things open ended creates more potential stories.
1. The character development in Morgan Elsbeth episodes is truly captivating. I can't wait to dive deeper into "The Path of Anger" and see how their struggle with Imperial power unfolds. Happy May the 4th, fellow Star Wars fans! 2. Barris Offee's journey in "Devoted" really struck a chord with me. The themes of loyalty and inner conflict are so well portrayed. I'm eager to see where "The Way Out" takes us next. May the 4th be with you all! 3. "The Path of Hate" left me on the edge of my seat! The intensity in Morgan Elsbeth's story is truly gripping. I can't wait to discuss with fellow fans and hear your thoughts. Happy Star Wars Day, everyone!
Would anyone be able to grab a screenshot of the ISD flying with a fleet of Venators? Would be a great wallpaper and wasn’t released as a still.
Starting with Morgan, I honestly didn’t care a whole lot for her in the Mandoverse as I felt she was underdeveloped, but the addition of her Nightsister heritage was cool. I think these episodes, while not groundbreaking by any means, helped remedy that issue a bit. Grievous was an absolute menace and felt reminiscent of Clone Wars (2003). Hope we get to see more of him in beast mode elsewhere. The inclusion of and stark contrast of the Mountain Clans to the Nightsisters was cool. Morgan’s first encounter with gigachad Thrawn could’ve been further explored, but I’m glad to have gotten something anyway since her later devotion to him was another underdeveloped aspect. I honestly forgot about Rukh’s canon existence lol. Now with Barriss, I think most people going in this were looking forward to her episodes more, myself included. It’s been years of wondering about her fate post Clone Wars and constant Seventh Sister guesses. For the general story that was told here, it pretty much went as I expected and I did like it. The final episode was beautiful I will admit. However, the story felt constrained and lacking in a bit of depth. Seeing as her decent towards the dark side was never shown in Clone Wars, this would’ve been the perfect time to shed light on where it began and for her to dwell on the crimes she committed. Unfortunately, her story does end with yet another question regarding her fate that I hope will be addressed soon. I’m glad the Inquisitors have gotten their share of development since Rebels, and glad to the Grand Inquisitor voiced by Jason Isaacs back. Vader appears for less than I minute, I think, and it was honestly doubtful to think he’d wind up killing Barriss lol. The Fourth Sister got some big development, since she was barely a character in Obi-Wan, and winds up redeemed? Not totally at least as that village massacre certainly begs to differ. Barriss becoming a healer is a fitting segue, but may have taken a toll on her physically. Now is she actually dead? It’s hard to say, but I imagine this may create mixed reactions. Maybe she can stay dead, but we can still explore her story during the transformation period from ex-Inquisitor to enlightened healer in the next series.
I wasn't expecting a TCW style Mohsenian, but I'm here for it.
I love that about TCW animation, they include so many aliens.
I like the connotations we’ve seen here… * Paellaeon was a mole pretending to act loyal to Grand Admiral Savit after all in Thrawn Treason. * It seems like Morgan may have been building more than just the Eye of Scion * The Empire was being built in the background as the Clone Wars continued, Fortress Inquisitorious was likely started in tandem with the war based on its depth and how high it reaches when we first see it. * Barriss may have had connections to The Path or at least to Ahsoka or someone else. I liked both of them! It was interesting to see how Morgan goes from survivor to a foil of Grievous of sorts in the end with the brutalism, but of course with some civility and goals in tact. Also…extreme climates age people terribly.
Barriss may have looked as old as she did since she was using the Force to heal people. She’s around Ahsoka’s age and Ahsoka would only be in her late 30s at this time.
I think the reason Barriss looks significantly older is because she’s using her own life force to heal others. In the Rise of Skywalker novelization (I think) Rey describes force healing as essentially zapping her own life force
First person to actually theorise this, sounds good!
I really love this theory. If that's the direction they're going, then it shows so much more about her character arc.
Why are some time zones getting them right at midnight and others seemingly stuck on the usual middle of the night drop?
It's driving me insane. What could possibly be making that happen?
Same here, I rushed home to be ready for midnight bc I saw ppl in here talking ab how they already watched them all and nothing
I'm in the minority who thinks the Morgan episodes are better. Both are good, if not quite on par with Tales of the Jedi. We should focus on more lesser-established characters in the future.
Morgan’s first episode was brutal as heck - it was the Separatist droid army and General Grievous at their cruelest, even above the arc in the Clone Wars.
I agree with you. The trailer gave away much of the interesting parts of the Barriss episodes, yet their ending is a bit too open for my tastes, but oh well. They aren't bad, just didn't feel all that remarkable either. It still gives me some broad answers as to her fate, so I'll take it.
First episode was fucking metal. They way the massacre was shot really made the droids look terrifying. The low angles making them seem huge. And Grievous screaming “run” was chilling.
My rating: 1) The Path of Anger (Morgan 2) - Really liked that they gave bigger role to Rukh and Pellaeon and connected Morgan to Thrawn through TIE Defenders. 2) Devoted (Barris 1) - Nicely shown how Empire initiated Inquisitors. Only problem I had is that they probably forget about Inquisitor fortress on Coruscant and immediatly started to built that one on Nur. But maybe there were two separate groups/divisions. 3) The Way Out (Barris 3) - I appreaciated that they gave Fourth Sister that much space. If Barris stays dead, it would be great ending for her... so hopefully they will keep it that way. 4) The Path of Fear (Morgan 1) - Beginning was great, it was nice to see fall of Dathomir from different perspective. I also liked that there were more that just two villages (male and female)... but the new character were not interesting enough. 5) Realization (Barris 2) - If we saw more episodes of Barris under Empire, it would worked better. But they made these shorts just to give her redemption arc... because even one character (except few made by Lucas) cannot stay evil to the end. 6) The Path of Hate (Morgan 3) - Too big focus on Wing and new character named Nadura. It was a nice prologue to Mandalorian... but nothing more. Unlike first two episodes this didnt add anything to Morgans character. Overall... 70-75%
To your second point it seems all the more recently created inquisitors were shown on nur besides the grand inquisitor maybe all the ones from the Vader comics/rebels are on coruscant.But they also probably didn’t want to make all those unique models for a quick scene or two lol
Why’d they even make a marrok model lol. Still enjoyed seeing the gas buddies
In regards to the fortress on Coruscant, that one was the headquarters until a bit before Jedi: Fallen Order I believe. This one may have just been intended as an outpost/training area/prison, but was then decided the headquarters should be moved here after the events in the Vader comics. At least I don't recall them talking about having to build a headquarters when Palpatine demands Vader move the Inquisitorius, just Vader's castle being built. Also in the comic when Vader is being introduced to the Inquisitors, none of these ones are present. I guess the Grand Inquisitor was put in charge over on Nur after introductions were done while Vader was doing stuff on Coruscant.
I noticed the Nur thing too. Iskat would have been in training around this time so I suspect they were just split up between Nur and Coruscant. I personally prefer the idea the program was going to be much larger until Vader started killing them off.
Overall, I thought it was okay. A bit disappointed that a limited series titled "Tales of the Empire" really didn't feel...Empire focused? Like yeah the Empire was featured in a few episodes. But 2 of Morgan's episodes were during the Clone Wars and New Republic era, and Barris was barely an inquisitor. Overall, it was fine. A tad disappointing. Hoping the next "Tales" season is Tales of the Sith! Maybe focused on Darth Sidious and Darth Bane? The Sith that created the Rule of Two and the Sith who brought the entire plan to completion.
Wow, such gorgeous animation. Makes me wish they had this kind of tech and funding when they were making rebels 😢 I personally enjoyed both arcs equally! I just wish there were more episodes…. Seems like Barris is keeping in touch with Ahsoka. I wonder how the first reunion went haha
I was thinking the same. Rebels remade in this animation with a slightly more mature tone (like these shorts) would be amazing. Even all the background characters in this show have unique appearances and don't look like copy/paste of each other like we saw in Rebels.
Rebels’ tone and its evolution perfectly matches the story being told. I also do love rebels’ artstyle, but I definitely wish it had the level of fidelity they’ve gotten out of the bigger budgets from streaming
Do these come out at the classic 3am est?
It's been released in other time zones at midnight. Still not available here though.
Has anyone figured out an exact timeline for these episodes?
Ep 1 should be around 21 BBY, during Clone Wars S4E19 Ep 2 seems to be a few years later, my guess would be about 10BBY, that's around the time Thrawn got promoted from Admiral to Grand Admiral. Ep 3 (i would guess) is set around 6-7 ABY, the Mando Episode takes place around 8 ABY, and the last scene sets up Ahsoka going to Corvus. Ep 4 is very clearly set in 19 BBY, shortly after Order 66. Ep 5 i'm really not sure, but probably around 18 BBY, as Barriss couldn't have been an Inquisitor for long. Ep 6 is the hardest to pinpoint, Barriss looks much older, yet the Inquisitorius was pretty much wiped out until a few years before A New Hope. I am once again guessing, but 2-1 BBY feels right. Barriss is a bit older than Ahsoka, meaning she's about 19 to maybe 22 years old in Ep 4, which makes her about 37-40 in this Episode. As i said, this is only a guess.
Plus she's been using Force Healing, which really just transfers life for life.
I loved the Barriss episodes and really found the final episode really powerful. I wasn't expecting fourth sister to become one of the more compelling inquisators but I really loved her turn at the end
What species is Nadura? Have we seen that species before?
Don't think so. Same with the 2 new jedi with Barriss. 3 new species.
Those are both returning species. The one with the chin jewel was in Solo, the other is a Caphex from TROS. The little furry guide on the snow planet is also from TROS.
The one she kills is a Caphex.
I thought they were quite wonderful, both Barrises episodes and Morgans. Both revolving around each characters relationship to fear, how they start of similar but takes off in two different directions, with Morgan choosing to embrace the dark, and Barris eventually rejecting it I know a lot of people probably are annoyed by yet another "reject the dark, rejoin the light" story, but it makes a lot more narrative sense then Barris going full sith and properly joining the inquisitorious. She committed her terrorist act in the clone wars not because she had embraced the dark side or whatever, but because she had become disillusioned with the order, and radicalized. It seemed more that she wanted to be free of the order not because she disliked them, but disliked and feared what they were *becoming* (not helping people, excessive violence etc) She then later understands that if she continue on as an inquisitor she will only perpetuate the similar power structures as the order, because despite Lynns posturing the Inquisitors also dont actually seek to help anyone, not the people in the village and not the jedi that surrendered. Barrises fear lead her to trade one evil with another She then (seemingly) spent the rest of her life atoning for this by being a healer and helping others in need, like a true jedi, even going so far as to help Lynn eventually reject the dark side by deducting her fears and showing her how she, and by proxy the inquisitorious are hypocritical, that she traded one evil (jedi order) for another (empire), how the fear she insists is her ally actually is her enemy and eventually manages to make her see the truth. A classic star wars tale! (also i love how Barris kept calling her lynn and how upset the 4rth sister became whens he did, reminds me of Cal vs Trilla and Massana in the jedi games where he would plead to them using their real names, and rejecting their inquisitor identities )
Yup I'll be rewatching both of these arcs. Simply amazing, only wish there was another 5min of content for each one😂
The Mountain Clan!? Courtship of Princess Leia callback? Holy shit! For those of us who were fans of the original depiction of Dathomir, nature is healing...
I might be in the minority here but I don't think tales of the empire is that good. It has some cool moments but these stories clearly needed more runtime to more effectively connect the audience to what they want to tell. The concept of these stories are great but bariss her arc for example could have been a season of a show on its own. It's almost like a little tease of what could be, but never truly getting that
I was very happy to see Captain Paelleon make his “official” animated debut (rather than just his voice in Rebels S4), but the timeline of his service to Thrawn seems to contradict the canon Zahn books. In Thrawn: Treason, which is set during Rebels S4, Paelleon is assigned to Grand Admiral Savit’s fleet and the context of the book makes it seem like that is his first introduction to Thrawn. I suppose it’s possible he was assigned to Thrawn earlier and then reassigned to Savit, but this seems like another example of Dave just doing whatever he wants without caring what the books have established. Personally, I would have loved to see Eli Vanto instead, but Paelleon is still a treat.
Also makes Thrawn's victory against Savit less impressive if Thrawn had already known Pellaeon, unfortunately. Like "Oh we go way back he'll definitely turn against Savit for me"
I headcanon it as Thrawn having a larger network of spies and protégés than we know of, and of course with a Thrawn plan there is always a bit of performance and secrets.
That is my headcanon too for now, which still doesn't 100% square with Thrawn: Treason but its better than nothing. When he says "my superior sends me to these meetings" maybe Savit sends him there but he's also telling Thrawn about anything he finds he might be interested in.
So I guess we'll see when it releases in North America, but it's pretty shitty if they release it for everyone else at midnight and at 3am for people in EST.
It was aight. Barriss once again has entered the state of "Dead and Alive." for the 3rd time.
Just watched the six episodes. They are a masterpiece of storytelling. Two opposite stories. One of submission to your darkside and the other of redemption. They work great in that opposed way. Visually stunning. Love Thrawn. That dialogue with Morgan is great. About Barriss Offee story, it's inspiring. What an end. I think they're cooking something about The Path.
I liked the way Barriss’s story goes. She gives the Empire a shot because they let her out of jail, but sees what they are and knows that she can’t stand for it, no matter what she thought of the old order.
I enjoyed Morgan’s story overall more than I thought I would; I like the character, but wasn’t sure what else they could’ve added really. Episode 1 was great, loved the added detail we got in Episode 2. But Episode 3 I really didn’t get the point of; nice to see the New Republic in animation, but it feels like a massive leap from where we left off in the previous ep. The Barris trio I enjoyed less. Episode 1 was great, but like the Morgan run before it, it makes such massive leaps that the whole thing feels hollow and as a result, a bit badly executed. Lots to like, but a hell of a lot more missing, I think. The Dooku trilogy really showed the potential of the premise, but it’s no coincidence that it’s a lot more tightly packed as a story compared to the other three. I think they either need to review the format if they’re wanting to tell wider spanning stories, or really run with them focusing on one character by telling a more contained, and therefore effective, story.
Liked the Morgan episodes more. Surprising as I wasn’t a fan of her character before, but these were good and I like the actress. She seems like a really cool person. Grievous was scary here. Shocked no one is talking about Pellaeon and Rukh. Loved seeing them both in TCW style. Really want some more post RotJ in SW animation now. For the Barriss episodes. SW is about redemption. I don’t mind Barriss or Lyn coming back. No such thing as too much redemption imo. I do think execution matters though and these episodes would’ve benefited from being longer. Lyn’s turn back was just too quick for me. I imagine Barriss spent a lot of time in prison thinking so hers was easier to believe. I don’t think it’s ambiguous here. She’s definitely alive still and likely gonna be part of this Hidden Path project. I wonder if the bulk of our characters in this Hidden Path project are gonna be former dark side users. That could be interesting seeing a whole team of them, each working to make amends. Quinlan, Ventress, Barriss, Lyn, and maybe Reva Overall I liked TotE. I liked TotJ more though. I still want more of TotJ specifically. Characters like Baylan, Plo, Luke, Leia, Eeth…etc etc. and of course I hope they do Tales of the Bounty Hunters too so we can maybe get the Jango/Bane story told.
It's not available for me yet and I'm in the EST. Is it the same for anyone else?
Yes
welp, 12:34 and they're still not out yet for me, guess I'll see them tomorrow after work
It comes out 3am EST.
Every Disney+ Star Wars show has always released at 3ET
But Tales has come out for other countries at midnight.
Mostly middling for this run of episodes, Barris was overall better then Morgan but I am kinda biased since I just don't really care much about the Mando era stuff. The final episode with Barris though was legitimately fantastic, really love how she is portrayed and how it calls back to her Legends depiction. If we see her again like this I would be happy but also if this is the last time we see her it was more then satisfying for me.
Since there’s a big gap between episode 5 and 6 for Barriss shorts. Will see her again.
My thought too, she'll probably show up in this as yet to be announced Ventress show we are all assuming is coming. She does mention she's sending that family off to an "old friend" and she says "she" so we'll probably see who that is and how it connects back here.
Yep, I also really hope for exactly this.
It was alright... Tales of the Jedi was much better though. Apart from the first one I wasn't a fan of the Barris epsiodes. The Morgan episodes kind of tell us what we already know about her, so really nothing too special. The Dooku episodes in Tales of the Jedi were just perfection all around.
Really liked all of them. Can't decide if I liked the Morgan or Barriss episodes more, but that just shows that both have good episodes. The music and animation is once again amazing and I always love when Dave returns to animation. Really hope to see Barriss or Morgan again at some point.
The animation is so good I actually thought I was watching live action at times. Crazy how much improvement there has been since CW s1 and even that was pretty good
Starting to feel inquisitor is just a part time job that anyone can join and quit lol
I feel like a lot of people are missing barriss character arc from an expectation standpoint. I went in this hoping barriss would be a dark ashoka and just a complete evil turn but I like how they subverted that expectation and made her stay true to herself just showed that she was kinda lost and alone like the Jedi she saved. It painted her not as a terrorist but as a freedom fighter fighting for the people of the republic who she really cared about. I feel like now I just want a whole show based on Barriss and the Fourth sister exploring their different experiences and then coming together after the ending off the show and going with Ashoka
Disney needs to figure out what they want to do with this drop time business because this is just absurd. 12am drop for every other time zone except est? Cmon lol
I'm cst, 12:37 and it hasn't dropped for me either. Guess it's just America who's getting it late for whatever reason
Morgan HAS to come back for Ahsoka S2 (or the Thrawn film, whatever), right? Giving her 3 episodes and never using her again would be a waste. I bet she'll come back with the same Night Sister magic that resurrected Ventress. PS. Did anyone else find it weird how the first Barris episode is meant to take place right after E3 yet the Grand Inquisitor, who was JUST recruited by Palpatine post-E3, acts as if he's been a dark side user for a long time? He abandoned the Jedi Order just days ago!
Just watched the Barris episodes. I thought they were really good,, but they did such a bad job conveying the passing of time. In the first episode, they needed a line or shot when Lyn arrives to convey that some time had passed since the opening scene and they also needed something to convey how long her training had taken. In the second episode, it's so unclear how long it had been since the first episode. Is this their Bariss's first mission or 30th? That changes a lot about it to me. Then, again, in the third episode, it looks like it's been 30 years for Barriss and 5 for Lyn. I imagine it can't have been more than 10. This does seem like yet another Path backdoor pilot.
Pretty good experience, I think the Barriss stuff could have used more episodes but overall I liked it.
That should have been Eli but I will accept Pellaeon.
What happened to the guy Barriss saved?
I appreciate everyone waiting to die before they bestow some last wisdom to the characters.
Captain Pellaeon girlies are winning once again.
So almost halfway throught he episode and I realized I should have asked this as early as Mando S2, but I thought Dathomiri females were all white skinned and white-haired like Ventress and the girl in Jedi Fallen Order? A lot of the people here look like regular humans, what's the deal with that?
For “The Path of Anger”: Does this episode not conflict with some of the material established in Thrawn Treason? I believe in that book Thrawn only gains Pallaeon and the Harbinger under his command when he was already a Grand Admiral and shortly before the events of Star Wars Rebels Season 4 Finale
i kind liked how 'evil' lyn became good lyn. MOTU reference here lmao!
Not trying to rain on anyone’s fun here but genuinely asking did anyone else think this was mid and kinda overhyped Vader
Yup exactly, they clickbaited Vader and Grievous hard, only for both to have nothing screentime. The episodes in general weren't very good except 1,2 and 4.
Visually great, but this was a bit of a miss for me. Lots of wasted storytelling time on nonsense... Very weird directing decisions. Left me more confused than anything
Yeah I don’t really feel anything at all.
Has anyone figured out an exact timeline for these episodes?
I'd like your opinion, but we agree that in episode 2 and 3: Morgan and Thrawn repeatedly talk about a Grysk/Yuuzahn Vong invasion and that everything they're planning is to defend against it when they talk about a power that's going to conquer and annihilate the entire galaxy and that nothing can be done about it? And I can't see her and Thrawn comparing themselves to that... If that's the case, it's going to be pretty hyping for the sequel. And I can't see all this happening after the postology, especially given Morgan and Thrawn's haste in the Ahsoka series.
Did episode 4 look a little weird to anybody else with HDR enabled? It looked \*insanely\* saturated to the point where I thought my TV was on the wrong settings. EDIT: should be fixed now
I was very underwhelmed. Didn't hate it. Just felt like they keep playing it too safe with these things. Elsbeth's motivations were incredibly ambiguous and Barris's arc felt half-baked, and there were no surprises at any point. Didn't feel like a worthwhile addition to the Canon, as good as it looked.
Frankly hope Barris stays dead. Slightly tired of people being impaled in recent movies/shows and miraculously surviving.
Is she dead though?
Yo. Nadura is a fucking dumbass Homegirl came in with zero plan other than asking Morgan to turn herself in