User reviews

So for the good, the visuals are done well. There are new aliens and certain elements flow well, made some decent connections and ended a question of one empirial operative.

As for the bad, some returning characters were visually revamped which I found unnecessary. A chunk of what I watched left me failing to see the characters logic and connection from pre and post empire. I get the idea but the character came off hypocritical to me. It doesn't have to be a hard negative but it would be if this is where the trail ends.

Neutral, the final episode had me wondering if it's intended to be continued or if that was it. If it is good, if not well what happens next?

Overall I found it watchable and others may enjoy it more or less than I did. There's good about it but plot wise and doesn't have the same connection or feeling of how a character got to the point they were at in other shows, like tales of a jedi did.

It happens every year and we have finally reached May 4th aka Star Wars Day and Disney decided today to release the follow up to the successful Tales of the Jedi with a new show Star Wars Tales of the Empire and I have watched it this morning and this is my review of the show. The premise of the show documents the journey's of Morgan Elsbeth & Barriss Offee and how their lives were affected by different events.

Main Character The first 3 episodes of the show documents the journey of Morgan Elsbeth with Diana Lee Inosanto reprising her role from The Mandalorian & Ahsoka and she is great. It shows how she became the character that we met in those shows. She does a really effective job of showing the anger and the devotion that she has to her new mission, her character was great in live action and it continues here.

The latter 3 episodes focus on Barriss Offee who is once again voiced by Meredith Salenger. The show picks up after she was expelled from the Jedi Order in The Clone Wars. Salenger does a good job, we still see the inner turmoil of her character and that even though she was against the Jedi, she might not be fully on board with the Empire and it is just nice to get some follow up on her which people have been asking for years.

Supporting Characters To be honest this show is all about the two main characters and doesn't have too much time for the rest of the cast but everyone does a good job. Probably the main one is The Fourth Sister who has a good story with Barriss and gives some more character to this pretty dull character so that was good to see.

It was also nice to see cameos from characters from the Star Wars universe such as General Grievous, Thrawn & The Grand Inquisitor. They all offer something to the stories and it was just nice to see them make a return here.

Story The stories are good. Seeing how Morgan Elsbeth went from surviving on Dathomir to become a Magistrate is well realised and it does set up future events in Ahsoka which is appreciated. I also enjoyed seeing Barriss journey to becoming an Inquisitor and how it showed her different viewpoints of the galaxy. But, there is no doubt that there is something missing here, it just isn't as interesting as I wanted it to be. Morgan's story doesn't do enough to tell us more stuff about her, it probably would have come across better if we had seen it before Ahsoka was released and we knew what happened to her. Barriss story does feel a little bit like missed potential and I think maybe they could have had 6 episodes just on that and it would have been better and the ending is incredibly abrupt and doesn't quite work like I think Disney thought it would.

Script The script is okay, this show is incredibly mature and dark and that does work and I am glad that this show goes with that tone and the lack of humour isn't an issue. The issue is that none of the drama really nails the mark fully, similar to the story I think Disney expected more and it just fell a bit flat at crucial times.

Style The animation looks fantastic. We have seen with other animated Star Wars shows that the animation has got better and better and this is up there with the best yet. The character models look fantastic and the action flows incredibly well and feels very smooth. But the pacing is where the issue is, with us only having 3 episodes each with these lesser known characters, plenty is left out and it feels a bit janky especially with Morgan Elsbeth which made it hard to really get invested in it.

Overall Overall, Star Wars: Tales of The Empire is a good show that has some merit to it and will entertain fans of the franchise. But it doesn't hit the landing as much as it should and feels like a slight let down in that way but it is still a decent watch.

Rating - 7/10.

Your perception of the show may differ quite drastically from others depending on how much you care about the characters that the show focuses on. Personally, I do not care much for Morgan Elsbeth as she doesn't really come off as an interesting character so I found the first 3 episodes to be relatively average, nothing insulting by any means but nothing that exciting either. The episodes focusing on Bariss Offee were more interesting to me as I like her more as a character but they weren't anything special. Overall there's a lot more they could've done with the show, but if you are interested in those characters then it might be worth a watch for you. Do not expect anything ground-breaking though.

I'm no Filoni worshipper but I rather liked the refreshing brevity and continuity curiosity of 2022's Tales of the Jedi. This follow-up is... far less interesting and I'd hardly say The Mandalorian's Morgan Elsbeth and Clone Wars minor character Barriss Offee are of the same stature as Ahsoka and Dooku. Not only that but neither of them are particularly Empire-tastic. More... Empire adjacent. That being said, I still do like the shortness of the episodes, but it all feels very throwaway and more of an afterthought than a project in its own right or even a continuation of the first set of stories.

"Tales of the Empire" is a delightful gem in the vast galaxy of Star Wars content. As a fan who watched this series alongside the disappointing "The Acolyte," I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and storytelling prowess of this show. The intricate narratives, well-developed characters, and attention to detail in world-building truly set "Tales of the Empire" apart.

The series manages to capture the essence of the Star Wars universe while offering a fresh perspective on the Empire's inner workings. Each episode delves into the lives of characters with complexity and nuance, making it easy to become emotionally invested in their journeys. The production quality is top-notch, with stunning visuals and captivating performances that transport viewers to a galaxy far, far away.

After experiencing the lackluster storytelling of "The Acolyte," "Tales of the Empire" was a breath of fresh air. It proves that there is still hope for meaningful and engaging content within the Star Wars franchise. I wholeheartedly recommend this series to any fan craving a more fulfilling and satisfying Star Wars experience.

Here's to more content like "Tales of the Empire" that honors the legacy of Star Wars while pushing boundaries and exploring new horizons. May the Force continue to guide us on thrilling adventures through the galaxy!

Honestly, who cares about Morgan Elsbeth.

A one off character of the MANDALORIAN who became a mainstay in AHSOKA, but even then she wasn't all that interesting. Not sure why TOTE wanted to showcase her backstory when we already know it.

The issue with Morgan's three episode arc is that it doesn't tell us anything new about her and it doesn't make any sense.

Morgan states to Thrawn that she "seeks revenge," but revenge against who?? Grievous is dead, Dooku is dead, the CIS has been defeated-everyone responsible for the destruction of her people are dead. Sooo...what vengeance is she seeking? Morgan just becomes some corrupt bureaucrat for the imperials who basically turns a random village into a hard labor camp, but why though? Why is she going out her way to mistreat these people? We don't know. She just winds up running a pyramid scheme and then murders anyone who challenges it, and again, it's never understood why she's doing any of it outside of be generic "I want power," which isn't a goal Morgan states. Again, she's somehow doing this to "get revenge," one day against people who are already dead.

So in the end, we wind up learning nothing new about Morgan and her episodes were largely a waste of time.

I just stuck around for Barris, because we get to see what happened to her post RoTS. Barris' story does what Morgan's should had, which is sbowing us things we don't know, and exploring the depth of Barris herself. It was great seeing the Fourth Sister since we didn't get anything from her out of KENOBI. I won't go into detail about Barris' story because I'd be spoiling, but I do feel that it was better handled than Morgan's.

The Evil at the Center. Just as we once accompanied Anakin Skywalker on his journey to the dark side, there are now finally two more characters we get to accompany into the abyss.

The approach of the Star Wars creators is emotional and profound. The atmosphere is truly dark, rarely seen except in Andor. Now, we are actually on the side of evil. Whether Morgan Elsbeth, seemingly a supporting character, needed to be chosen as the main character remains questionable. There are certainly much more intriguing characters in the Star Wars universe. But in the end, after the story of Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader, we witness another transformation into evil. And it is precisely this that makes this series so compelling in the otherwise rather cheerful Star Wars cosmos.

The most intriguing question in all of this is ultimately why they had to make the whole thing an animated series.

A decent animated short series in the same vein as Tales of The Jedi last year. I prefer Jedi slightly over this just because of Dooku's storyline.

The Morgan plot was a bit underwhelming. And I don't think she deserved an arc to herself. The ending wasn't that good too.

The Barriss storyline was much better, especially the first 2 episodes which were dark, and broody, and got the aesthetics right. Even though I was left a bit disappointed with the conclusion of her arc. I like a redemption arc, but not sure if she deserved one.

Now hoping for Tales of The Sith next year on Star Wars Day. May the 4th be with you.

Like Tales of the Jedi before it, Star Wars: Tales of the Empire is a story of two halves where one is noticeably stronger than the other. The added edge here is this show being completely unafraid to go to some really dark territory. Star Wars hasn't been this dark since Revenge of the Sith and just like that film, hope is still present deep down.

Diana Lee Inosanto's Morgan Elsbeth and Meredith Salenger's Barriss Offee were thinly sketched characters but thanks to just 30 minutes of screen time for each of them they've got so much more depth and both actors are given a lot to work with. Diana Lee charts a strong course through the journey of the dark side and Meredith Salenger brings a wise presence to the redemption of Barriss.

The Clone Wars animation style only gets better with every new show that uses it. The level of detail in the environments is incredible and the character designs at this stage have none of the stilted nature that the show started off with. Kevin Kiner's score is amazing with a more mournful quality as the show spends almost all of its time in the bleakest parts of the Star Wars timeline.

An animated Star Wars miniseries where the appeal lies in the fact that the protagonists are the villains.

It's entertaining but only suitable for fans. It lacks originality, and its production level is far from the highest standard of the saga.

It fulfills its purpose, but it leaves a bittersweet taste by showing much greater potential in this Sith-centered storyline. In the end, the villains are not being properly utilized in the latest series, which is unfortunate.

Of course, it features plenty of deep lore, which is always well-received by fans of the saga, making it one of its strongest points.

It's worth noting that this production consists of only six episodes, each about fifteen minutes long, so watching it in one sitting is the most common approach.

Was so enjoyable watching the characters wrestle with their inner light & darkness, until nearing the end of episode 5...

If I was to retell others about this episode the way the filmmaker tells the story without spoiling it by referring to names and what had just happened, then it would be like... (read without the stuff in the brackets)

"It was utterly ridiculous hearing 'them' (plural, the Sith Inquisitors) commenting on 'them' (singular, a person) whom 'they' (pl.) have just dealt with, as if 'they' (pl.) cared about 'their' (sing.) life enough to a point that 'they' (pl.) decided to referred to 'them' (s.g.) as 'they/them' (sing.)... Were 'they' (pl.) trying to show 'them' (sing.) 'their' (pl.) respect? Were 'they' (pl.) trying so hard to not offend 'them' (sing.) Whom 'they' (pl) came to offend in the first place?

It also confuses the audience whether there were more of 'them' out there that 'they' were referring to whom 'they' might have forgotten about?"

Also, Disney isn't being consistent when 'they' wanted to refer to an individual person as 'they/them' in other languages, if you can read subtitles in other languages, give it a try and have a look/laugh!

Clearly 'they' wanted to play safe and didn't want to rattle the non-English speaking market.

This is an animated Star Wars anthology series. This is six episodes on the people struggling within the Empirical system. The first three episodes deal with Morgan Elsbeth. The first episode does throw me off since the lead is a survivor of an attack although it is General Grievous and not the Empire. It may not exactly fit the premise of the series, but it's an origin story for Morgan. There is quite a jump from the first episode to the second episode. I like the second and third episode the most. They fit the concept a lot more and the character is more compelling. The last three episodes has something more expected with the Inquisitors. This is good Star Wars material.

I am very excited to see Dave Filoni do another anthology series like Tales of the Jedi only this time from the perspective of the bad a** empire!

Unfortunately, this series doesn't quite live up to Tales of the Jedi...

While it is well made and tells interesting stories as well as making interesting connections to other Star Wars shows. The stories being told just aren't as strong.

I found the second half of this 6 episode season far more enjoyable as it covers the time Barriss Offee was imprisoned and her short time as a Sith Inquistor. Her arch was well done and felt of classic Star Wars.

Then, the first half of the season while solid just wasn't as good as the latter half. Though, to be honest, that could be due to the fact I remembered very little of the character Morgan Elsbeth, who I guess was in The Mandalorian S2 and Ahsoka. But she was a character I didn't care all that much for.

Irregardless, while this was not as good as Tales of the Jedi, it was still an overall enjoyable watch. I look forward to what Dave Filoni will do next.

IMDb: 7/10 Letterboxd: 3/5

Watched on Disney+ in 4k Dolby Vision.

1. Overall Plot - 6/10 This is what hurts this series the most. Half the series is about Morgan Elsbeth. And Half is about Barris Offee. I just don't really care about the Morgan Elsbeth. She is boring and forgettable. The best part of her episodes is the Clone Wars stuff. But that is very brief.

And I was excited to see what happened with Barris, but I don't really like what they did. It starts out great. But by the third episode I think they took it in the wrong direction. Her story just feels generic and overdone by now. I also wish we got to see more Darth Vader.

2. Entertainment / Engagement - 9/10 This was very entertaining to watch. They made the story with a boring character, very entertaining. And seeing what happened to Barris is cool. Seeing how the Empire created their inquisitors is super cool.

The last episode is kind boring, as I don't like what they did with Barris.

3. Emotion / Investment in Story - 10/10 This has so much emotion. Morgan Elsbeth looses her entire race, and family pretty much. And Barris Offee is getting taught the opposite of everything she's believed in. It's super cool to see what this does to these characters.

4. Theme and Depth of Story - 10/10 A big theme for this one is choices. We see how these characters make choices based off of their tragedies. It defines who their characters are. In Morgan's case it shows how she became the character that we've seen. And for Barris' case it shows what she did after embracing some darkness.

5. Characters - 5/10 Morgan Elsbeth is just a character I don't care about. So seeing more of her story is just kind of boring. But seeing appearances like General Grevious is very cool. I do like how we see how she becomes a villain, and seeks out the Dark Side. Young Thrawn is also cool to see too.

Barris Offee is a very interesting character. I think what they did with her character is dumb. They had it set up so good with her becoming an inquisitor. But how her character ended up developing and where she ends up is disappointing. It's overdone at this point. And makes no sense with what she had done in the past. I'm not a fan of the Barris story, and wish they did it differently. Especially the last of the three episodes.

6. Acting / Writing - 9/10 All of the voice acting is great. And bringing back other voice actors for characters like Grievous or Barris is what they needed to do, and did do.

The writing is very good in the Morgan Elsbeth episodes. And for the Barris Offee episodes it is also very good. I just don't like the direction they took for the end of her story.

7. Cinematography / Sets - 10/10 This show is beautiful. Star Wars animation is getting better and better. I love how all the shots fit the feel of the episodes. They feel very scary and dark. I love how evil the Empire feels in the Barris episodes. Especially with Vader's presence.

8. Score / Sound - 10/10 Star Wars music. The score helps make it feel evil, and definitely gives it a darker tone.

9. Editing / Pace - 8/10 This is an anthology. So the pacing is different every episode. They are all paced very well. I just wish the episodes were longer. Because of the shorter runtime, there is no filler. It is all great content.

10. Animation - 10/10 This is peak animation. I love it. It is animated beautifully. The fight scenes look very good, and are action packed. The animation does a phenomenal job at setting the tone of each episode.

Average Score: 8.7/10

My Overall Rating and Final Thoughts: 8.9/10 I want to love this and want to think it's peak Star Wars. But it just isn't. Don't get me wrong, it's still very good. It just had the potential to be even better. I would say I feel more disappointed after watching this. Because they has the opportunity to do something very cool with Barris, but instead did something usual, predictable, and boring.

This is pretty much a waste of time. Why anybody would think there is any value in having six 15-minute episodes that amount to nothing is beyond me.

There is so much available in the Star Wars Universe, this show accomplishes nothing. It gives some background information on throw away characters that nobody will remember after the credits roll.

Not sure why Disney keeps ruining a perfectly good brand with this kind of nonsense. Kids are not watching this and adults find it tiresome.

Disney either commit to the brand or retire it but why are you actively ruining it?

Storyline, worthless. Animation, tolerable. Voice acting, irrelevant. The whole thing is just a huge disappointment.

This one had a great potential, seeing the background of dark characters is always a treat since general rule it is about exploring their humanity and how they lost it at some point, with that being said I feel they could've explored many other characters rather than these two...

The animation is fantastic, the pace is great and the stories are fine, the only thing is, the characters are not that interesting... they both have appeared before in animation and Morgan has even appeared in live action in Ahsoka, but not every character is worth exploring... There are so many "villains" or characters with a questionable morale that could've made it to this series that I feel that it was a missed opportunity.

If you choose to explore irrelevant or blend characters you need to make it more interesting with maybe a glimpse of a pivotal moment that they affected or the cameos of well known characters and how their journeys crossed...

Other than that it's a fine show fans will enjoy it I guess but it's not memorable.