After a few months of waiting, Tales of the Jedi is finally here. It is a six-part animated anthology of shorts that explores important moments in the lives of Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku.
Star Wars animated shows have become key when it comes to understanding certain characters or connecting the dots in the bigger picture.
The Clone Wars was Dave Filoni’s creation, its success allowed him to continue creating storylines that have led to The Mandalorian and the Ahsoka series.
The Clone Wars is a very important part of Star Wars for many of us, if you haven’t watched it, I recommend you to do so. I’ll help you understand better what happens in this series.
Before getting into the review I want to mention the awesome cast of the show:
- Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano
- Corey Burton as Count Dooku
- Janina Gavankar who played Iden Versio in Star Wars Battlefront II, as Pav-ti (Ahsoka’s mother)
- Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn
- Micheál Richardson as young Qui-Gon (Richardson is Liam Neeson’s son)
- TC Carson as Mace Windu
- Ian McDiarmid as Darth Sidious
- Dee Bradley Baker as Captain Rex
- Bryce Dallas Howard as Yaddle
- James Arnold Taylor reprising his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi
- … and last but not least, Matt Lanter makes his return as Anakin Skywalker.
It was so cool to hear so many familiar voices, as well as to see people who have been involved in other Star Wars projects like The Mandalorian, Battlefront II, or the sequel trilogy join this project.
This article contains spoilers from this point going forward.
Ahsoka’s Origins and Backstory Revealed
Ahsoka is among my top three Star Wars characters, as someone who grew up watching the Clone Wars on Cartoon Network, seeing her evolve as a character throughout the years has filled me with joy.
From the moment she became Anakin’s apprentice, her detachment from the Jedi order, the re-encounter with Darth Vader, and finally, Ahsoka’s appearance in The Mandalorian where it’s confirmed that she’s looking for Ezra and Grand Admiral Thrawn.
She’s one of the characters whose life has been explored the most, with Tales of the Jedi we even get a glimpse of her first twelve months. It’s so cool to see the moment her powers show up for the first time.
The Togrutas (Ahsoka species) are a sentient species from Shili, they’re not a technologically advanced civilization so they rely on each other to survive.
Unlike Anakin Skywalker or other humans, Ahsoka has rarely shown signs of being a selfish individual, this is probably due to how she was raised in her village.
Selflessness is supposed to be the Jedi way, but it is easier said than done. Countless Jedi have failed, particularly human ones. I really like how we can understand Ahsoka’s personality by just watching a few minutes of her background.
Dooku’s Growing Darkness and why he Turns
Count Dooku might not be the most popular character, but I think his story is one of the most intriguing ones. Jedi have fallen to the dark side for thousands of years, but it’s not every day that we get to see it first hand.
Aside from Anakin Skywalker, there aren’t many Jedi that betray the Jedi Order to join a Lord of the Sith, at least not in mainstream Star Wars media.
The first moment Dooku appears on screen he had already fallen but with the Tales of the Jedi shorts, we learned the key moments that push him away from the Jedi.
Politicians oppressing the people they are supposed to represent is common in fictional and non-fictional stories, Dooku is an idealist and the concept of a corrupt Senator really upsets him.
If not for Qui Gon, he would have killed the senator with a force choke, an ability that exists with the only purpose of hurting someone. I assume that this was his first big stumble.
After Master Katri is killed, Windu and Dooku are sent to Raxus to investigate. Windu wants to stick to the established protocol, but Dooku is determined to learn what really happened.
Once they arrived at the scene, they examine the scene and it’s pretty clear that Master Katri was betrayed. Senator Larik reveals that it was the guards who killed her and is shot immediately.
The guards draw their weapons and assassin droids appear almost instantly. Of course, being two of the most skilled fighters of the Order the droids and guards were no match for the Jedi Masters.
After defeating the Senator’s guards they learn that the corrupt Senator was taking profiting from decisions that would harm the planet and its people.
This is when Dooku learns a sad truth, there are many people who see the Jedi as enforcers of the Senate and powerful people of the galaxy. Windu dismisses this idea, but it’s true that the Senate has a bigger influence in the Jedi Council than they’d like to admit.
But it doesn’t end there, once they’re back at Coruscant Dooku learns that Windu is getting Katri’s seat on the council. In Dooku’s eyes, Windu wanted to stick to protocol not necessarily because of his respect for the rules, but for something that I interpret as self-preservation.
I think this is the final straw, after this incident, Dooku lost the sympathy he had left for the Republic and the Jedi Order.
Master Yaddle’s tragic fate and new canon
Yaddle, alongside Grogu and Yoda, is one of the most mysterious characters in Star Wars. Their species live hundreds of years, can be very strong in the Force, and pretty much everything about them is unknown.
Yaddle appeared only in Episode I, she didn’t have any dialogue and when Episode II was released she wasn’t around anymore.
Years later, we learned about her tragic death on a mission to Mawan, where she sacrificed herself to absorb a bioweapon that would kill everyone.
Of course, that story is no longer canon. In this new mini-series, her tragic end comes at the end of none other than Count Dooku. They have a duel, however, I don’t think that Yaddle fought with the intention of killing him.
During their confrontation, Yaddle confessed that she resigned from her position in the Council, and acknowledged how the other Masters acted poorly.
But at this point it was too late, Dooku was too committed to his new Master and he knew that it was late to undo his treason.
I think this is the darkest episode of a Star Wars animated series, watching his descent and commitment to darkness was very intimate, but to actually watch Dooku killing another Jedi Master was something I didn’t expect.
Her death made me feel the same sadness that I experienced when Kanan sacrificed himself or when Ahsoka was betrayed by her clones during Order 66.
Two sides of the same coin
The Republic is corrupt, that is no secret. The Jedi Order is supposed to protect the people of the galaxy but more often than not it appears that they’re watching over the interests of the rich and powerful while entire planets are under siege.
The worst thing is the Jedi Council’s arrogance and unwillingness to act in certain situations, this is something that the Order has been doing for thousands of years, the best example I can think of is Revan and the Mandalorian Wars.
Everyone makes mistakes, that’s normal, but what’s terrible is that the Jedi refused to learn from those mistakes, time after time after time.
One of the things that I liked the most about Tales of the Jedi is how Dooku and Ahsoka took the opposite direction after experiencing something very similar.
Dooku witnessed the corruption, incompetence, and conformism of both the Republic and the Jedi. The ideas that he once fought so hard to protect were, in his eyes, a lie.
The Republic leaders don’t care about their citizens and the Jedi are not confident enough to intervene in situations unless asked or provoked. So, after losing any hope in the Republic and the Jedi, he joined Darth Sidious to make a “real change”.
On the other hand, the Jedi failed Ahsoka in a more personal way. After being framed by Barriss Offee for the bombing of the Jedi Temple, everyone took the few pieces of evidence they had and jump straight to conclusions.
No one in the Council defended her, not Obi-Wan, not Plo Koon, not Master Yoda, only Anakin believed in her and fought to prove her innocence.
But this wasn’t about him, Ahsoka’s trust was betrayed and her heart broken, one could argue that she’d have a good reason to turn to the dark side, but she didn’t.
Instead, she chose to leave the Order and figure out what she wanted and needed to do. The Republic failed her just as much as it failed Dooku, but their paths went the opposite way, one walked into the shadows while the other embraced the light, in the best way she could, in her own way.
The two stories made this series feel very balanced and I hope they continue to explore these types of stories. The classic arc of the Jedi who defeats evil is always entertaining, but watching how someone gets slowly corrupted hits differently. I really hope they keep this balance in the upcoming stories.
Nostalgia Trip
Watching Tales of the Jedi brought so many memories back; the animation, voice actors, and characters made me feel so nostalgic. I loved watching “Skyguy” and “Snips” tease each other one more time, but they weren’t the only ones that brought me joy. Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Windu, Plo Koon, Yoda, Jocasta Nu, Ki-Adi-Mundi, a young Adi Gallia, Tera Sinube, Captain Rex, Depa Billaba, and the youngling Kanan Jarrus…
Regardless of importance, all of them have contributed to the stories that happen before, during, and after the Clone Wars. Watching them appear was super cool, but the lightsaber battles were the cherry on top, even if they were brief.
Count Dooku’s style is always a thrill to watch, Ahsoka’s training was key in her survival during Order 66, and her duel against the Inquisitor was my favorite part of the series; the fight sequence, music, and dialogue were perfect.
For those who might not know, the encounter with the Inquisitor was told for the first time in the Ahsoka novel by E.K. Johnston. Most of the fandom (including myself) believe that the Inquisitor is the Sixth Brother, but the series didn’t confirm it.
This is also when she obtains her white lightsabers after purifying the Inquisitor’s crystals but since this wasn’t shown I don’t know if that’s still the case.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed every second of this short series and I really hope that this wasn’t the first and last “Tales of the Jedi” type of series. Which character would you like to know more about? Personally, I want to learn more about the Grand Inquisitor, Trilla Suduri, Asajj Ventress, and Quinlan Vos.
