Max Nocerino 
Sadly, Tales of the Empire was poorly executed. Dave Filoni had a lot of steam starting this series but could not deliver a satisfying end.
For May the 4th, 2024, Disney released six animated shorts detailing the backstories and fate of two powerful female characters: the evil Nightsister witch Morgan Elsbeth and the Jedi-turned dark sider Barriss Offee. As a fan, I have been waiting years to discover Barriss’s fate, and I was excited about a Morgan Elsbeth backstory. She is an interesting character and has appeared in the live-action The Mandalorian and Ahsoka series.
RETURN TO DATHOMIR
Perhaps these shorts’ significance may have made fans feel underwhelmed when they debuted. I have a similar feeling to that. Morgan didn’t have as many expectations as Bariss, so it was less likely to disappoint. The first episode showed another look at General Grevious’s invasion of Dathomir as he brutally killed Morgan Elsbeth’s village/tribe. I have to say, Dave Filoni hit one out of the park by resurrecting Grievous. Grievous was quite terrifying as his droids butchered the Nightsisters in a dark backdrop, and Grievous laughed evilly as he killed Morgan’s mother, Selena, who wielded a wicked-cool sickle weapon imbued with Nightsister magick so it could withstand lightsaber blows.
I get annoyed when Grievous is downgraded to that of a bumbling Scooby-Doo-esque villain. Showing him as an unstoppable monster made this short my favorite of all six. He kills Selena cheaply and treacherously, which only a cheater like Grievous can do, and Selena’s last words to her daughter are to run. Grievous hears Selena and begins mocking Elsbeth by repeating the word and laughing harder than I’ve ever heard him laugh. This being is genuinely heartless, and there is no possibility that Grievous could have ever been redeemed.
ANNIHILATION
Elsbeth barely survives and is saved by another clan of Nightsisters who live in the mountains. The wise elder tells Elsbeth she is welcome here and is safe. However, Morgan has a steely, cold resolve in her heart that cannot be helped. She encourages other young women in that tribe to seek ways of defending themselves, and she inadvertently gets them all killed. The clan’s mother then shows Elsbeth that she can protect her own with her magick. She mourns the loss of her daughter by telling Elsbeth that she pities her and what she will grow up to become.
This was a very chilling and powerful moment for me, and I was eager to see more. Elsbeth grows up to become a monster as she tries to sell her TIE Defender designs to the Empire. She then became the magistrate over Corvus, tricking the poor villagers into thinking she would help them and then cruelly and tyrannically enslaving them.
MORGAN ELSBETH
I enjoyed 95% of these three episodes, but the ending is where things got a little boring. I felt underwhelmed by the “antagonist” to Morgan and how insignificant it seemed to her story, and I muse that it was perhaps a waste of time after all. Did we need to see 15 minutes of all errata that prove what we already know? They say the devil is in the details, but aside from two excellent fight sequences, we didn’t gain any new understanding of Morgan.
BARRISS OFFEE
The Bariss episodes had more riding on them to create a more exciting story. Like the Elsbeth episodes, the premiere episode got its hooks in me, but the air slowly leaked out as it progressed. The initial scene shows how Barriss survived Order 66 by being in prison and is invited to join the Inquisitors by a familiar face, the Fourth Sister (or, as Barriss knew her, Lyn). Seeing no choice besides joining or death, Barriss joins the Inquisitors. She is whisked away to Fortress Inquisitorous and meets the Grand Inquisitor, who puts her through a warped and perverted version of a Jedi trial.
To become an Inquisitor, she must defeat and kill another aspiring trainee to live and become an Inquisitor. Interestingly, Barriss is not as evil as the arc of The Clone Wars made her out to be. She still has empathy for other living beings and does not want to kill her partner. Yet this individual is more than willing to kill to live. Ultimately, Barriss has no choice but to Force choke him to ensure her survival.
VERDICT
So far, so good. Very exciting! Yet everything fizzles out as Barriss’s brief time as an Inquisitor is anti-climactic and poorly written. Sadly, the end didn’t make sense and was poorly executed. Filoni had a lot of steam starting with these shorts but could not deliver a satisfying end. Darth Vader was also completely underused, and Barriss’s trial for the Fourth Sister was quite silly. It was a blatant attempt to be profound but fell far too shallow. Excellent effort, but I want a do-over for Barriss.
STAR WARS: TALES OF THE EMPIRE is streaming on Disney Plus now.
FORCE FACTS
- Morgan Elsbeth duels Ruhk and delivers one of the most explosive duels between two non-Force sensitives that I have ever seen. Morgan wins by a hair, and it makes me wonder about various hypothetical match-ups. Could adult Morgan defeat Grievous while her mother could not? Since Ahsoka beat Morgan, can Ahsoka defeat Rukh? There are so many possibilities.
- The Nightsister Mountain mother uses a powerful blast of magic to destroy the droids and save Elsbeth, which very much resembles an energy wave from Dragonball Z. Nightsister magick has always been a mystery to me, as I have always wondered how it fits into the larger view of the Force. Sometimes, I wonder if Luke would’ve been better off learning that!
- The ambassador to the New Republic sent a distress call to…..Bo-Katan to try and stop Elsbeth? Very odd why she would contact Bo on behalf of the New Republic. What’s Bo’s angle?
- Did Bariss survive? And what was the point of that mirrored ice cave the Fourth Sister couldn’t get out of? Was it like the cave on Dagobah? Maybe. Also, why are lightsaber stab wounds suddenly so survivable for many beings? Poor Qui-Gon should have had a chance based on this new logic.
STAR WARS: TALES OF THE EMPIRE is streaming on Disney Plus now.
Max Nocerino is a regular Staff Writer for The Future of the Force. He is a passionate Star Wars fan and loves the literature of the galaxy far, far away. Follow him on Twitter where he shares his love of the Force frequently!
