Star Wars: Tales of the Empire is a Disney+ animated anthology series set in the Star Wars universe and a sequel to the 2022 Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi.
Whereas Tales of the Jedi focused on the stories of Jedi Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku, Tales of the Empire tells two stories: the tale of how one of the last survivors of the Separatist massacre of Dathomir, Morgan Elsbeth, joined the Empire to avenge her people; and the tale of how fallen Jedi Barriss Offee became a trainee of the Empire's Inquisitorious program.
Diana Lee Inosanto and Meredith Salenger reprise their roles as Morgan Elsbeth and Barriss Offee, as do franchise veterans Lars Mikkelsen as the future Grand Admiral Thrawn, Jason Isaacs as the Grand Inquisitor, Rya Kihlstedt as the Fourth Sister, Matthew Wood as General Grievous, and Wing T. Chao as Wing.
Tropes in this series:
- Adaptational Modesty: The Nightsisters are now depicted wearing pants, after originally being bare legged in Clone Wars.
- Advertised Extra: Darth Vader is given particular emphasis at the end of the trailer and a spot on the promotional poster, but he only appears in a single episode, has no lines, and his screentime is only slightly more than was shown in the trailer.
- Art Evolution:
- Both the Grand Inquisitor and Thrawn, who made their debuts in Star Wars Rebels, have notably less stylized designs here in the style of late-Clone Wars onward animation.
- Grievous received an updated model only briefly glimpsed in the opening moments of Season 7. It’s finally put to good use here, and it looks even more enhanced than ever.
- Darth Vader gets a far more refined look compared to both Rebels and Clone Wars finale — which is more in line with his live-action appearances.
- Ascended Extra: The Fourth Sister had a minor role in her debut in Obi-Wan Kenobi, basically just being the other Inquisitor in the room with only a few lines. Here she has a much larger, critical role in Barriss's storyline, inviting her to join the Inquisitorious and helping oversee her training, and also shows her with her lightsaber in action whereas she never drew her lightsaber in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
- Ax-Crazy: The Fourth Sister is totally unhinged, killing at the slightest provocation and generally being a savage Blood Knight even when she'd be better served through restraint. She clearly took the Grand Inquisitor's advice about not holding back in fights a little too seriously.
- Badass Pacifist:
- The Mountain Clan of Dathomir keep to themselves, as a way of not drawing the attention of the Separatists. As the clan mother demonstrates to Morgan when she obliterates a droid cell singlehandedly, there's a difference between not wanting to fight and not being able to.
- Barriss has developed into one by the time of the last episode, avoiding the Fourth Sister's strikes and disarming her with the Force while calmly dissecting her motives for coming here and encouraging her to let go of her fear and rejoin the Light.
- Book Ends:
- The first and last episodes of Morgan's arc both end with her standing in front of a raging fire that she is responsible for. The first time is an accident, having inadvertently lured a Droid Gunship to a weapons cache, but the second is entirely deliberate as she orders her Scout Guards to burn a forest on Corvus as a show of force to her subjects, having completed her journey from victim to victimizer.
- The first and last episode's of Barriss' arc show someone wielding a lightsaber against an unarmed opponent but being unable to hit them. In the first, it's Barriss failing to hit the Grand Inquisitor, who claims that her holding back makes her predictable. In the last, it's the Fourth Sister failing to hit Barriss, who says that anger makes her predictable.
- Briar Patching: Barriss warns the Fourth Sister not to follow the child into the caverns, or she'll be trapped. The Fourth Sister assumes she's just trying to head her off and heads in, and is trapped in the maze.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Barriss Offee makes her return for the first time since "The Wrong Jedi", which premiered eleven years prior to this series's release.
- The final shot of Barriss' first episode shows Darth Vader himself onimously marching into the room.
- Call-Back:
- During Barriss' training as Inquisitor, there are several references to her actions in Fugitive arc of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Barriss is forced to kill Dante with Force Choke, a move she used to kill Letta to prevent her from spilling the beans to Ahsoka. After passing the test, Barriss is given a helmet that bears resemblance to Ventress' helmet she used to disguise herself and attack Ahsoka. Based on Barriss' reactions, it isn't lost on her what they remind her of.
- Grievous stabbing Selena with one of his spare sabers while she was in a blade lock with his regular two is a call back to how he killed Nahdar Vebb in "Lair of Grievous", though Grievous used a blaster instead of a lightsaber on Nahdar.
- Call-Forward:
- Barriss in a cell wearing a prison uniform uncannily similar to her former master Luminara.
- Barriss is subjected to a harsh training regiment by the Grand Inquisitor, which Iskat Akaris/Thirteenth Sister would also endure.
- Dante, one of the prospective Inquisitors, is a Caphex, a species that Seossra Thwisp is a part of.
- Elsbeth and Wing are on the forest moon of Corvus, where the former will later be shown ruling as a tyrant until Ahsoka overthrows her in "The Jedi".
- Connected All Along: "The Path of Anger" reveals that Thrawn's TIE Defender project was originally Morgan's brainchild, and while a panel of Imperial officials dismissed it as Awesome, but Impractical, Moff Isdain being the most vocal critic of the project's potential, Thrawn took interest in it and tried to get it off the ground prior to certain events killing the project in its crib.
- Continuity Nod:
- General Grievous' massacre of the Nightsisters of Dathomir depicted in "Massacre" is shown once again, this time from Morgan's P.O.V..
- Barriss was turned over to the Inquisitorius following Order 66, after she had been in Republic custody following her arrest in "The Wrong Jedi".
- When Barriss asks what's happening at the Jedi Temple, she's told by a Clone Shock Trooper of the Coruscant Guard that she's lucky she's not a Jedi anymore and by tomorrow, the Jedi as a whole won't exist. In "Victory and Death", Rex tried to buy time and convince Jesse that Ahsoka may not actually qualify for termination under Order 66 since she left the Jedi Order; however, Jesse refused since Rex stated himself that Ahsoka had been specifically marked for termination. Evidently, Barriss was not added to the list by Palpatine given she's still a prisoner after Order 66 and the clones don't shoot her on sight.
- Among the Inquisitors shown bowing to Vader are Marrok, and the unidentified Inquisitor who went after Ahsoka in Tales of the Jedi.
- Crazy-Prepared: The Separatists left a small contingent of droids behind on Dathomir to keep watch in case any of the Nightsisters survived the purge and resurfaced, just so they could finish the job.
- Cruel Mercy: Barriss is told by a Clone Shock Trooper of the Coruscant Guard she's lucky she's not considered a Jedi anymore, otherwise she'd be shot on sight per Order 66. Instead, she is taken to the Inquisitorius by the Fourth Sister where she'll receive Training from Hell to become a cruel, merciless Inquisitor hunting down Jedi for an evil Empire.
- Deadly Graduation: The final test to become an Inquisitor has Barriss and Dante in a room with a rapidly advancing forcefield... and only one lightsaber.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": Lyn repeatedly insists Barriss not call her that... but is never shown giving any alternative.
- Dramatic Irony: Morgan Elsbeth admits to Thrawn that she seeks the Empire's favor because she wants revenge for the extermination of her people. Of course, the leaders of the Empire are actually the ones ultimately responsible for that, as Grievous was acting under Sidious/Palpatine's orders, but she doesn't know that.
- Epiphanic Prison: In her final episode, Barriss lures Lyn into a cave system that's almost impossible to get out of, intending it as a mirror for the prison Lyn has made for herself becoming an Inquisitor. All she has to do is let go of her fears.
- Even Evil Has Standards:
- Barely. The Fourth Sister slaughters a group of villagers who harbored a Jedi, but spares the children... not that this counts for much, since she kills all their caretakers, a fact that Barriss clearly notices. It might also be because the boy told her the truth.
- Though Barriss herself committed some terrible crimes out of spite against the Jedi for losing their way, and tried to frame Ahsoka for a bombing on the hangar she performed in the process, she's utterly horrified by the brutality of the Inquisitorius, and elects to abandon them after a single mission with Lyn.
- Evil Mentor: The Fourth Sister as well as the Grand Inquisitor train Barriss for potential induction into the Inquisitorius.
- Fantastic Racism: While the people of Corvus have good reason to hate Morgan for her broken promises to them and for taking control, they also disparage her as a "witch" which just fuels her resentment of them.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Barriss, who had once ranted about how the Jedi and the Republic have become corrupted by the Dark Side during the Clone Wars, is trained as a member of the Inquisitors, a group of fallen Jedi who serves the evil Empire, the official successor to the Republic.
- Irony:
- Barriss' previous Face–Heel Turn ends up directly saving her life from Order 66, as she is already imprisoned for her crimes.
- After Barriss Offee's Face–Heel Turn, the Grand Inquisitor (at the time, a Temple Guard of the Jedi Order) was the one who arrested and imprisoned her after she was brought to justice. Now he's overseeing her training to become an Inquisitor, meaning Barriss is following the teachings of a person who she inspired to turn to the Dark Side in the first place. In addition, her terrorist attack and calling out the Jedi of being warmongering villains also inspired Lyn to turn to the Dark Side as well, meaning Barriss is recruited by a person who she also inspired to turn to the Dark Side.
- Join or Die:
- Lyn, the new Fourth Sister, tells Barriss she can come with her... and the Clone Shock Troopers behind her cock their guns, making it pretty clear what'll happen if she declines.
- For the final initiation into the Inquistors, Barriss and Dante are led into a room and told only one of them can be inducted. If they refuse to fight, they will both be killed.
- Kick the Dog:
- Grievous, unsurprisingly. After killing a young Morgan's mother, Selena right in front of her, the Supreme Martial Commander of the Separatist Droid Armies cruelly taunts her with her mother's final words to run, laughing as he sends his droids after her and the remaining Nightsisters.
- The Fourth Sister slaughters several impoverished villagers for harboring Jedi. She also believes their impoverishment is a punishment for not being loyal to the Empire.
- Kneel Before Zod: Barriss' first episode ends with the Inquisitors and Barriss kneeling as Darth Vader arrives in the room.
- Marked Change: Inverted. Morgan's Nightsister markings fade away after they're massacred, with the Clan Mother explaining that it's due to their spells fading.
- Martial Pacifist: The Mountain Clan that saved Morgan. The Matron puts it the best, after using a light-oriented magic shield to wipe out a droid platoon and Droid Gunship.Matron: You must not assume that just because someone does not want to fight, they are incapable.
- Minion with an F in Evil: Barriss is a pretty terrible Inquisitor, lacking the brutality, cruelty or plain delusions of righteousness of her comrades. She lasts about one mission before deciding she'd rather see herself as a Jedi again.
- Mythology Gag:
- Elsbeth is shown in the trailer quoting the Sith code verbatim.
- The trailer quotes Yoda's famous line from The Phantom Menace ("fear", "anger", "hate", "suffering"), and the titles of Morgan's episodes also reference it.
- After killing Morgan Elspeth's mother, Grievous commands his battle droids to "Wipe them out. All of them."
- While training Barriss, the Grand Inquisitor gets halfway through saying "perhaps you're not as strong as [I thought]" before Barriss uses the Force to slam him into a wall.
- Protagonist Journey to Villain: The press summary establishes that the focus is on two protagonists, Morgan Elsbeth and Barriss Offee, and how they went from somewhat noble individuals to ruthless, hate-driven agents for the Empire in their respective journeys. However, it's subverted with Barriss's story, as her time in the Inquisitors made her realize how far she has fallen to Dark Side, and she took the fateful choice to abandon the Inquisitorius to pursue a quiet life as a healer. Not only does she return to the Light Side, but she also manages to convince Lyn (aka the Fourth Sister) to abandon the Inquisitors and the Dark Side as well.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Morgan has shades of this in the first episode, having discovered that her desire to seek revenge for her slain mother and sisters, has led to the death of her new friend Nali, who was the Mountain Clan Matron's daughter, and she can do nothing and say nothing in her defense.
- Punny Name: The pompous Moff who disdainfully dismisses Morgan's TIE Defender project is named....Moff Isdain.
- Rage Against the Reflection: When the Fourth Sister gets lost in the caves and keeps coming up on her own repeated reflections rather than the way out, she starts slashing them with her lightsaber in frustration.
- "Ray of Hope" Ending:
- Morgan's final episode ends with her still in charge of Corvus, having solidified her hold and decided to oppress the locals even harder, with it unclear the New Republic even received Nadura's call for help (but judging by The Mandalorian, pretty clear they wouldn't help even if they had), but a few notes of Ahsoka's Leitmotif play, showing someone will come to help them... eventually.
- Just before Elsbeth smashes the comm link sending the distress call, Bo-Katan Kryze's voice can be heard answering the call.
- Secret Test of Character: Thrawn sends Pallaeon to question Morgan, who unknowingly flunks by giving a pat answer about serving the Empire. He then sends Rukh to attack her to see whether she can hold her own in a fight, before questioning her personally. This time, he likes the answers he gets.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Grievous appears for no more than a few minutes in the first episode of Morgan's story arc, but his destruction of the Nightsisters is the primary catalyst to Morgan siding with the Empire and then Thrawn and the Imperial Remnant in the later stages of her life, including her subjugation of Corvus and ensuring the Grand Admiral's return from exile to menace the New Republic long after Grievous himself is dead and gone.
- Start of Darkness: Morgan Elsbeth was originally one among many Nightsisters of Dathomir who survived the destruction of her people at the hands of General Grievous thanks to the hospitality of the Dathomiri Mountain Clan. Her desire for revenge unintentionally causes the death of the Mountain Clan matron's daughter, and the matron can only bitterly mourn the path Morgan has chosen for herself.
- Stupid Evil:
- Lampshaded by Thrawn, who complains to Morgan about how many high-ranking Imperials are too greedy to govern sensibly as they care more about their profit and short-term gain than doing their jobs, such that they're more concerned about the fact the TIE Defenders would cost a lot of money than the fact that they would be a massive game-changer in the war with the Rebels and save the lives of countless Imperial soldiers.
- Also called out by Barriss, who points out that the Inquisitors are supposed to be bringing order, not butchering Imperial citizens at the slightest provocation as the Fourth Sister does. The fact that the Fourth Sister's only response is more hollow prattle about "showing strength" and "making examples" is one of the things that pushes her into leaving the Empire.
- Sympathy for the Devil: Despite her causing the deaths of three Mountain clan girls, including her own daughter the Mountain clan matron shows Morgan pity for the path she's set herself on.
- Time-Shifted Actor: In "The Path of Fear", the young Morgan Elsbeth is voiced by Cathy Ang instead of Diana Lee Inosanto (who instead voices her mother Selena).
- Teach Him Anger: Part of Inquisitor training is getting the trainee angry enough to go to the Dark Side.
- Then Let Me Be Evil: Although she was already pretty into the evil anyway, constant rejection from the people of Corvus, with Nadura calmly ordering her to surrender peacefully and stand trial before the New Republic being the last straw, drives Morgan to treat them even worse, becoming the person Ahsoka and Din met during The Mandalorian.
- There Is No Try: The Grand Inquisitor gives Barriss a Sith version of this kind of lesson, teaching her that the Jedi's strong emphasis on defensive fighting and restraint can hinder her in combat if she lets it and that embracing her emotions - particularly anger - and no longer holding back can give her a much-needed advantage against opponents with similar training to herself.
- Time Skip:
- Several between the episodes, especially in Morgan's arc: in "The Path of Fear", Morgan is a young adult during the Clone Wars, while "The Path of Anger" skips ahead to sometime in the Imperial era (where Thrawn is not yet a Grand Admiral and the Rebellion is still a growing problem), and "The Path of Hate" is set after the Empire's fall, shortly before Morgan's first appearance.
- The sixth episode is set several years after the fifth, with Barriss having aged visibly since she left the Inquisitors.
- Trading Bars for Stripes: The Fourth Sister offers the incarcerated Barriss a chance to join the Inquisitorius program.
- Turn the Other Cheek: Even when stabbed by the Fourth Sister, Barriss still forgives her and urges her to let go of her fears. She does, letting her escape the cave and go for help with Barriss in her arms.
- Uncertain Doom: There are two cases where someone is last seen seriously wounded with the potential for it to be fatal, but with someone else with them taking them towards medical help. Neither of the characters are seen after this, leaving it up in the air if they survived or not.
- In "Realization", the Fourth Sister slashes the Jedi in the back with her lightsaber, but they're still alive and Barriss promises that she won't let them die. In the following episode, Barriss has noticeably aged and the Jedi is absent, their fate left unknown.
- In "The Way Out", the Fourth Sister stabs Barriss and she appears to die, but Lyn promises to "get you out of here" and emerges from the caves towards Barriss' hut.
- Ungrateful Bastard: This is how Morgan sees the people of Corvus, as they turned on her even though she built them fortifications and offered soldiers to give them control of the local systems. Subverted when Wing fires back that they worked hard for her and made her the leader in exchange for promises she hasn't kept, like good work and wealth. Soon enough, the Empire arrives and any semblance of well-meaning on Morgan's part is washed away.
- Villain Protagonist: Two three-episode arcs follow Morgan Elsbeth, who served as one of the main antagonists of Ahsoka, and Barriss Offee, Jedi turned terrorist and murderer. By the end of their arcs, Morgan is solidly the villain she will be when she appears in The Mandalorian, while Barriss, despite her uncertain fate, has pulled a Heel–Face Turn.
- What Could Possibly Go Wrong?: Morgan brings the Mountain Clan girls to a hidden Nightsister weapon cache, rationalizing to them that there's no harm in just looking. Except as it turns out, there was a contingent of droids waiting for a Nightsister to return, and Morgan's eagerness to get revenge leads her into battle against them despite the girls not being trained for combat. The Clan mother arrives in time to save Morgan, but no one else.
