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Tales of the Empire 1x04-1x06 Full Reaction! (Patreon)

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2024-05-23 12:45:01
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2026-06
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Tales of the Empire 1x04-1x06 Full Reaction - Sesskasays

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Thomas Corp

Now we have the material that we have been waiting for, for eleven years now: the continuation of the story of Barriss Offee. Naturally, there was hype. We have also a spotlight shown on the fallen Jedi, Lyn Rakish. A fallen Jedi who is more formally known as the Fourth Sister, whom we’ve met in the Obi-Wan show, though she did not get the strongest focus. Even so, Rya Kihlstedt made a striking impression, and it left me wanting to explore the character more. I thought it would happen in books or comics. Imagine my surprise to be sure, but a welcome one, when I learn that Rya reprises her role here and I get that focus. Haunting to open with Barriss sensing Order 66. I was nerdy when the clones told her to be thankful that she’s not a Jedi anymore. I quipped, “I’d think she’s more thankful that she’s not on Felucia as was established nineteen years ago.” Then to establish that the Fourth Sister and Barriss have some past history, I surmise through the Fourth Sister being a contemporary of Luminara. Lovely to see again the Grand Inquisitor, hello to Jason Isaacs. I enjoyed your reactions to the Grand Inquisitor’s session with Barriss, Jason has not lost his touch. Reasonable concern for Barriss and her lower back, but don’t worry, the Dark Side has a hell of a medical plan, so the lower back pain should be taken care of quickly. I loved your reaction to Barriss surviving the two enter, one leaves test. Yes, it is effective seeing how she has become lost to the darkness and ends the episode trapped. Neat to see the Inquisitors from Tales of the Jedi and Ahsoka, both of whom were felled by Ahsoka, assuming of course that the one was not dead to begin with. And we don’t see the Second Sister which makes sense given the timeline, likewise, the Third Sister is too young at this point, hence her absence. The glee from the appearance of Darth Vader was immense. Alas, no James Earl Jones, but the silence from Vader is most effective for the scene, particularly as he silently intimates that he remembers Barriss’s past actions and is choosing not to act on revenge. For now. The second episode, it is great to see the Fourth Sister and Barriss on the fateful mission where, as you observed, Barriss sees the pieces fall into place that she is on the wrong side. Nightmarishly BEAUTIFUL to see the Fourth Sister in action, your reaction to that, I adored. She really skyrocketed up my list of favorite Inquisitors. The strings having a day during her slaughter got me going. And when all is said and done, I note, “I like a woman who’s a hard worker that takes her job seriously.” I liked Barriss having the scenes with the boy, who mercifully, the Fourth Sister let live. The confrontation with the Jedi, Meredith Salenger sells the emotion and conflict well, culminating in that badass line which incited such a perfect reaction from you, Jess. Me, out of pure respect, I channeled Ian McDiarmid, saying, “So be it. Jedi.” Likewise, your reaction to the Fourth Sister’s tumble was delightful. And since it means that Barriss and her Inquisitorial tenure is as brief as it is, we never learn the title with which she was designated, though the idea of her being the Third Aunt is an especially amusing idea, loved that comment you made, Jess, and fortunately, I was not drinking my coffee as it was to the side when you said that. The last episode, I’m told is about six months after the Obi-Wan show, hence Barriss being visibly aged. Contrast to the Fourth Sister who looks about the same, which tracks as Rya has barely aged since Home Alone 3, and that was twenty-seven years ago now. A lovely thing to see Barriss becoming a Force healer, presumably on the Path, or something like it, aiding those precious children with the significant midichlorian counts. Massively great though your reaction to the Fourth Sister’s survival was, it’s similar to the whole Grand Inquisitor thing in Obi-Wan, where since she was in that show, you knew she wasn’t dead. Since you did not remember her in that, perfectly fine by the way, it caught you off guard, and led to a great reaction. Though there was than the dread of, “Damn it, I’m going to lose the Fourth Sister now. Aren’t I?” That cave was phenomenal, feeling like the cave on Dagobah meets the hedge maze at the Overlook Hotel. I greatly loved your love for Barriss’s lines and Meredith’s perfect delivery of them, about choosing fear, and fear being one’s master. The first line made me note, “Who said that there is a choice?” the second line called me out, and I said, “Well, that’s me told.” You are right, Jess, that these two, technically three arcs are such perfect explorations of fear, hate, leading to pain and suffering. I know well the darkness that eats you up inside, and how every day you choose to either feed it, or fight it, and how tremendously difficult the battle is. And how Barriss tries to get through to the Fourth Sister, even at the potential cost of her own life. And in the end, she convinces the Fourth Sister how there is only. One. Way. Out. And Lyn Rakish rises again and commits to saving Barriss, and Rya was perfect in those scenes, and I sobbed, I loved it all so much. I now demand so much more material about Lyn. I need this in my life. Unsurprisingly, fans were upset by the abruptness of the ending, demanding to know did Barriss live or die. Though I too was taken aback by the abruptness, I applauded the audacity of it, and in discussing it, I’m nonchalantly noting, “Well, they left it open for ya.” Oh, these reactions were most beautiful, Jess. I already adored this series, and it is now even more wonderful sharing it with you. I thank you so much for your lovely reactions and analysis of Tales of the Empire, it was all so spectacular.

Ryan

Filoni had talked for years about how they had further plans for Barriss in Clone Wars, but the compromised form the last two seasons ended up in meant they were one of several things that had to be dropped completely. This obviously isn't what those plans were given that it starts at the very end of the war, but it's still nice to recover something of what they had in mind. In the first episode, it's especially a treat to get Jason Issacs back as the Grand Inquisitor after he controversially didn't get to play the role in Obi Wan Kenobi, with a reminder of what's made him one of the greatest villain actors of the last three plus decades. And of course Vader's appearance is magnificent, instantly commanding such presence that you barely notice he doesn't actually say a single word (and seeing as his voice is entirely electronic now, this had to be a deliberate choice). Though I do question their going out of their way to give Marrok a cameo where he still doesn't take the mask off or even do jack shit. So what's the deal, is this guy's identity important or not? It always felt kind of weird that Obi Wan Kenobi featured an Inquisitor who was in several scenes but never actually did anything or showed any personality, and now I'm wondering if they were already thinking ahead to this show, setting up a character who could be expanded on. Fourth Sister (and I have to imagine it's a real pain to have to coordinate between so many different parts of the franchise to make sure they're not repeating any numbers) turns out to be one of the most openly cruel we've ever seen, which of course provides the perfect motivation for Barriss to realize this isn't the right side either. It's quite fitting that we get this reaction right after the Bad Batch Season 2 premiere, making a clear contrast that unlike Dooku, she doesn't forget why she became skeptical of the Jedi in the first place, and this new group just being against them isn't enough to be the right side if they're doing the same things and worse. I also have to point out this is my favorite kind of non-binary representation, just like Double Trouble in She-Ra and Morph in X-Men '97, not making any big deal of it and even the bad guys using the right pronouns like it's the most natural thing in the world. Unfortunately, Part 3 is where this story kind of falls apart for me. Everything with Barriss as the "healer" is good, and her allusion to Ahsoka is a marvelous way to get the fans thinking about how they could have reconnected and come to this new understanding, but then Fourth Sister has to show up again. It was weird enough when we were supposed to just ignore Reva cutting an innocent woman's hand off and see her as worthy of being considered a good person, but now apparently this one is back on the Light Side just ten minutes after we saw her massacre a whole village, just by spending a few minutes in the Overlook hedge maze? And the abrupt ending very much suggests that they had no real idea where to go from here during production and just left it as open as possible for what they decide later. It's a shame the show had to end on that note after I loved the rest so much, but I'm trying not to let that color my impression of the whole thing.

Ryan

I also have to point out, with this series now out of the way you 100% can finish The Bad Batch and The Acolyte one at a time before the start of Skeleton Crew in December, including another two week break, if you need to cut something in June.

Thomas Corp
>>138798578

Filoni did like going on about having “plans” for Barriss for quite some time now. I believe he has said she was possibly going to show up in the Martez sisters arc, it just didn’t work out. My brother and I are always appreciative of Jason Isaacs in anything that he’s in, and it is indeed lovely to have him back as the Grand Inquisitor. Concur with the thoughts on Darth Vader. I have a sneaking suspicion that the cameo from the Inquisitor in Ahsoka (whom I’m still waiting to learn what the title/designation for said Inquisitor was) is a further way of telling off the multitude of fans who thought for sure that said Inquisitor would turn out to be Ezra. By having the Inquisitor show up here, I even point to the screen and yell, “See? The Inquisitor’s a full-grown adult by the time of Revenge of the Sith! Ezra’s an infant by now!” That is a thought I’ve had in that Rya Kihlstedt was cast as the Fourth Sister with full knowledge that she would have the expanded role here, and likely beyond. I was intrigued by her in that show, even with the minimal screentime, which is part and parcel with lots of Star Wars characters with similarly minimal screentime. I was therefore very pleased to see her in action, being one of the more ruthless Inquisitors, and she’s now at or around the top of the list of my favorite Inquisitors. Good notes on the parallels of Count Dooku and Barriss. I also concur with your thoughts on the non-binary representation where yeah, even the villainous Fourth Sister doesn’t bat an eye and no big thing is ever made of it. I do hear what you’re saying about the conclusion. I was more hung up on how the Third Sister was fully prepared to torture little Leia with zero indication that she was bluffing and went so far as to blame the impending torture on Leia, saying, “You did this to yourself!” when it’s entirely the Third Sister’s own goddamn fault. To say nothing of how her arc of her desire to gain revenge against Vader lead to her being lost. By contrast, the Fourth Sister, cruel and ruthless though she was, is at least committed to the Imperial and Inquisitorial cause, and as was demonstrated in the Obi-Wan show, was more focused on that rather than the customary Inquisitorial petty power squabbles. And in retrospect, it gives further weight to the Fourth Sister glaring daggers at the Third Sister, really driving home that the Third Sister’s methods were extreme, even by the standards of someone as vicious as the Fourth Sister. It is the thing of the Light Side: they are preternaturally fixated on the idea that every soul can be saved. And I read the Fourth Sister becoming Lyn Rakish again as less she’s fully returned to the Light and rather, Barriss got her to break through the fog of the Dark Side. Lyn’s return to the Light, that is an arc for a later time, that I HOPE we get. I appreciate how you say that you’re trying to not let the issues you had color your impression of the whole thing as you said.

Saltire

Can't wait to dive into this again later! Got a few other things to catch up on first today, but looking forward to rewatching and hearing Jess's thoughts on Barriss.

Sharnia Buford

Phenomenal reaction. I love this journey for her.

B. Joseph

Best part of these episodes is the appearance of the Inquisitor Tower we see in Kenobi, but its still being built at this point. In addition, the other two Inquisitors in the Vader scene are the real Marrok from the Ahsoka series (not the risen one) and the big Inquisitor that Ahsoka faces down in Tales of the Jedi. Nice connections to the wider universe.

Saltire

I low-key love Barriss's arc here. During Clone Wars, they had plans to flesh out more of her story to see how she started thinking as she did by engaging in sabotage of the Jedi Temple and killing. With how it transpired, I never fully bought that she would go down this path as we hadn't seen anything from her since season 2 of the show, and then the next time we saw her, was that story which ended up framing Ahsoka and having her question how far the High Council had fallen, when they couldn't sense her own innocence. Its a real shame that never got fleshed out more during the series (the same with the massive Ventress arc that was due to be made for the series too), as it was around the time of the Disney acquisition, so they got shelved. Hence Filoni delivers us these shorts to give us snippets of what happened to her. There is plenty of geeking out in the first episode for me, seeing Fortress Inquisitorious getting built, seeing the Grand Inquisitor complete with Jason Isaacs back voicing him, Marrok and the other Inquisitor next to him, whom Ahsoka kills, and Lyn, who looked so badass during the Kenobi series but never got much screentime in favour of Reva and the other Inquisitors. Pretty great seeing Vader here too as this early squad comes together, and the easy thing for Filoni to do (and what many fans wanted) would have been to have Barriss eventually face off with him. Filoni however sticks her back on the path of redemption, and since as I say never bought into her becoming a darksider, we this path open for her after going through these trials putting herself in mortal peril, and in the subsequent episode when she has her eyes opened at what has replaced the Jedi and the Republic. My only slight issue with this arc is the jump from her rejecting the Inquisitorious, to becoming a healer - I would have like a bit more on that before we got her in the last episode, where she is back in the light, helping others get onto The Path it seems, mentioned in the Kenobi series, to ensure the force-sensitive kids make it. In the old expanded universe, Barriss was a healer in the Jedi, so Filoni adapts that to ensure that whilst she no longer is adherent to the Jedi Code, she is still back a being of light, helping others as Jedi of old did anyway. Its not her getting back into the fight, but this is just as important to those who need her help. She also looks quite aged for her young years, and I believe its because she's giving her life essence to heal others. The lines about the kid getting taken and trained as the old Order saw it, is paralleling the ideas in Ahsoka with Sabine, about how the Jedi arts should be available to all those willing to learn to use the force, even if they aren't strong in it naturally. Lyn's path is interesting too. We hear from her in the second episode about her mistaking strength for fear, and that those who are afraid of them, will respect them; and thats misguided as just because people fear you, that doesn't garner respect. It tells us more about what Inquisitors are, acting out of fear rather than strength. We see that with the GI in Rebels as he dies a coward, afraid to go back to Vader when he couldn't take care of Kanan; and its similar with Lyn here in the third episode, that her image of strength is really her hiding her own fear of what she has become and that she can't drop her guard due to it. Hence the cave section shows how trapped she and the darkside is; its not strength, but a limitation. After she strikes Barriss, we see how afraid Lyn is, whilst Barriss is at peace as she has embraced the light once more and accepted who she is and was; and her forgiving Lyn and showing compassion to her in that condition, brings Lyn back around. In that final shot we can then see Lyn dropping her Inquisitor lightsabre and emerging from the cave with Barriss's body and coming out of the darkness, into the light so that perhaps she too can free herself from the guilt and fear the darkside has built up within her. Barriss saves another soul potentially at the cost to her own self. Barriss also says that an old friend will help the family get free. That has to be Ahsoka surely. I think Ahsoka would forgive Barriss for all the pain she caused her, as Barriss forgives Lyn here. This is much more interesting than what I thought we were going to see with this story, and while its not perfect, there is parts to it which excite, which horrify, and which move. Its a story I will keep coming back to I'm sure.

Saltire
>>138798578

On Marrok, perhaps he is like Plo Koon in that he may need the mask to breathe on more regular worlds like we see mostly in Star Wars. You could be right Ryan that the development for Lyn's story here was already in the pipeline when Kenobi was airing, and we have to remember that these animations are generally two years old when they get to air, so would fit in with the production of Kenobi, and perhaps The Path that might be referenced in the final episode here. Similarly with Morgan's story. That would have been developed as the Ahsoka series was being written by Filoni and put into production.

Saltire
>>138796646

Yes I remember you being fixated on the Fourth Sister as Jess watched Kenobi, Thomas. She did look the most striking of all of them in that series and good to see we get far more from her here, than in that show. To see her being tied into Barriss's story too is a nice touch. The bit at the end of the first episode where Barriss puts on the Inquisitor mask and states "long live the Empire" is both horrifying and thrilling. I like the focus on that line here in these shorts and in Ahsoka when Thrawn uses it a number of times. I can hear many fans echoing them with that line, perhaps including yourself! ;) If I was granted a TIE Interceptor, I too may show allegiance to the Empire and gloss over their genocides in order to fly that stupidly sexy ship! Yes the Kiner's again nailed the score in this show, with the slaughter in the second episode and the claustrophobic nature of the cave in the last episode. I hope they have got a raise these last few years, the stellar work they always seem to do. Do we know who the Jedi is in the second episode? I thought when first watching that it may have been Cere Junda, but alas it wasn't. Mind you Cere would take care of Barriss and Lyn pretty easily. If I remember Cere also brings this note up about the darkside in Fallen Order (haven't played Survivor as yet mind), that it is the test a Jedi must take on their entire life, to be constantly vigilant and ensure they don't give in to it. I admit too that I sob at that scene with Barriss forgiving Lyn and seeing how tortured the Fourth Sister is, and as the music there swells as she finds compassion once more, it is deeply moving. I agree to an extent the final shot is a bit abrupt, but the more I dwell on it, the more I like it as it leaves it open for us to interpret what happened next and whether Barriss lived or died, and what happened next to Lyn. In that, its far more interesting than having Barriss meet her end in a duel against Vader, which seemingly most fans were displeased at missing out on.

Thomas Corp
>>138796646

I was fixated on the Fourth Sister both my own first viewing two years ago now, and again going through it with Jess. The Fourth Sister is like a few Star Wars characters in that they have relatively minimal screentime, yet they draw your eye, and you say, “Who is THIS?” Filoni can relate as that’s how his undying love for Plo Koon started. Massive credit to Rya in her coming back as the Fourth Sister and killing it. I always love good, “Long live the Empire” lines, the feeling is mutual with my brother. I’ll take the TIE Interceptor and the Executor. Of course, I’d still take the Ebon Hawk. Kevin Kiner and his family continue to do so well in adding to John’s mighty tapestry. The Jedi’s identity is unknown to me at this time. Whoever they are, they’re not Cere. I did borrow her line that she said to the Second Sister, good catch. The music, Barriss offering the forgiveness to the Fourth Sister, leading to Lyn rising again, the sobbing was strong with this one. It also felt like what Jess went through in the final Siege of Mandalore arc with Rex. She thought for sure that she would lose him and goes through so many emotions upon seeing that was not the case. I was so positive that, “I’m going to lose the Fourth Sister. She’s going to die. Isn’t she?” Then to see Lyn renounce that title, and she lives, it fueled the sobbing. The final shot feels Bolivian Army meets Lady or the Tiger, with slight feelings of one or two of the endings of the adaptations of the Ripliad stories. You have the most probable outcomes presented to you, we don’t ultimately see any of them, thus the audience is free to envision it however they see fit. It was surprising that Barriss did not face off against Darth Vader, but when this is what we got, and considering how fantastic what we got was, I’m not complaining.

Thomas Corp
>>138798578

Given the animation lead time, the timing tracks of Filoni having plans for the Fourth Sister having the expanded role here, and probably whilst filming, they let Rya know, and she was probably more than happy to hear that. Fairly positive that Barriss is with the Path, or something like it, if not the Path itself. Filoni had to have had Morgan’s basic backstory conceptualized when casting Diana as Morgan in The Mandalorian. He would have started with that, given her connection to Thrawn, and she’s not in any Thrawn books.

Thomas Corp
>>139282437

The arc Barriss had in Clone Wars is somewhat underdeveloped as it concerns her mindset and goals. It’s not unlike the arc Daenerys had in Game of Thrones, in that when I finally saw the show after it finished airing, her cheese sliding off her cracker and going mad queen, the signs seemed there as far back as the second season. And indeed, it progressed naturally and organically. Then the last two seasons got rushed as they did, and the execution felt slightly off, though I still maintain that her fall was perfectly in character, the presentation just wasn’t as strong as it could have been. Similarly, Barriss losing her way makes sense, given the intent of the arc being the longer the war continued, more and more Jedi were at risk of falling, not just Anakin, and what happens when one does. So, Barriss and her actions, I’m perfectly fine with that, just, like you’re saying, they don’t flesh out her motivations and mindset leading up to her fall as we might have ideally liked, so it is great to flesh Barriss out more here. With it, the jarring nature of she lives past Order 66 unlike nineteen years ago when it was established that she VERY unambiguously got killed on Felucia. Bly was very thorough on that one. Fortress Inquisitorious being built, Jason Isaacs back as the Grand Inquisitor, the Inquisitors from Tales of the Jedi and Ahsoka, and Rya Kihlstedt getting the greater spotlight as the Fourth Sister, plenty of nerd glee on my end too. The Darth Vader cameo was perfect. There is a theory. The clones tell Barriss to be thankful she’s not a Jedi. Ahsoka was not, strictly speaking, a Jedi, and Darth Maul was a Sith, yet the clones were undeterred. My thought is that the Emperor deliberately kept Barriss off the Order 66 list as a way to test Vader to see how much if any of Anakin still lived. The thing is Barriss wasn’t a Darksider in the old canon, though Filoni presents a strong enough story of her falling into the trap. I recall Jess expressing a similar issue with the Count Dooku arc of wanting just a little more to serve as a bridge between the second and third episodes of the arc. I could see exploring Barriss becoming the healer in a novel. Or maybe another small miniseries. The scene with the child does tie into the overarching theme that yes, a high midichlorian count is helpful in becoming a Jedi, but the Force is there for everyone, and anyone can learn if they have the commitment and self-discipline. Exploring the fear of the Fourth Sister is phenomenal. It is the consistent thing with the Inquisitorious, projecting strength to mask the fear. Like I said, sometimes there isn’t much choice. There’s the line in the third Pirates of the Caribbean film where upon Jack offering to set him free, Davy Jones replies with the absurdly relatable line, “My freedom was forfeit long ago!” And whilst Doctor Who has the wonderfully powerful message that fear is a superpower, the cave provides a Kubrickian presentation of how fear is limiting and has trapped the Fourth Sister. It does swing back and forth between those two extremes with no middle ground. It is a moment that gets you when the Fourth Sister becomes overwhelmed by the fear after running Barriss through. Meredith perfectly sold the compassion from Barriss and Rya perfectly sold Lyn’s newfound determination to save Barriss and renouncing her Inquisitorial ways; emerging from the shadows and beginning her journey back to the Light. So many fans got MAD that we didn’t see Ahsoka, when I was pointing out we don’t KNOW with complete certainty that Ahsoka was the old friend. The fans said, “The show basically tells us it’s Ahsoka!” I say, “It did not tell us that.” They reply, “It STRONGLY HINTS that it’s her.” which I don’t dispute, though I still say, “Ok. Supposing it is her, and yes, it seems highly probable, so we happened to not see her here. We could still see Ahsoka and Barriss reunite in something else. Why the hell is this so infuriating to you that we don’t see it here!?” In any event, yes, Ahsoka would forgive Barriss, just as Barriss now has forgiven Lyn. I loved this. Yes, there’s elements that are different than what we thought we were going to get, which I recall Gene Siskel saying about people shouldn’t focus on what we didn’t get, we should focus on what we did get. And how Roger Ebert had that mentality of even if you don’t understand something or you’re left with questions, it doesn’t matter; so long as you enjoyed what you saw, and you got the right feeling from it, just as I did here. This was great stuff.