The exploration of hope in Tales of the Jedi and Tales of the Empire

As many parallels are often drawn between Star Wars stories, let's look at the concept of hope in Tales of the Jedi and Tales of the Empire. Both focus on fan-favorite heroes and villains, with the latter exhibiting more of a cautionary tale of straying down a dark path. There are also stories of former Jedi who managed to find their way back to the light. 

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi has three episodes featuring Ahsoka Tano of The Clone Wars fame and three episodes of former Jedi Count Dooku, whereas Star Wars: Tales of the Empire has three episodes of Morgan Elsbeth of the Ahsoka series and Barriss Offee a former Jedi who betrayed Ahsoka in The Clone Wars.

Both Tales have moments of tragedy, whether it’s Yaddle losing in a battle to Dooku or Morgan’s Mother losing in a battle to General Grievous.  Both villains meet their end in Revenge of the Sith but have even more weight added to their backstory with these additional victories under their belt.  Morgan Elsbeth also fights Rukh, who fans of Star Wars Rebels will know to be a skilled assassin for Grand Admiral Thrawn (who is an Admiral in this story), and she gets the better of him.

There are several ways that both Tales series set the stage for the Ahsoka series as well. In Tales of the Jedi, the very first episode gives fans the origin of Ahsoka Tano for the first time. By the end of it, we see Anakin Skywalker training Ahsoka on how to hold her own against the Clone army, which not only sets up the finale of Star Wars: The Clone Wars but also pays off when Anakin is ultimately able to help finish Ahsoka’s training. Tales of the Empire shows Morgan Elsbeth establishing her reign over Corvus at the behest of the Empire, giving some more backstory to the villagers who will encounter Ahsoka in her debut episode (Chapter 13 of The Mandalorian, titled The Jedi).

There is a parallel between Ahsoka Tano and Barriss Offee as well. Though their journeys are different, they both leave the Order and wind up following their own path as Force users. Offee succumbed to the dark side and attacked the Order, framing Ahsoka in the process. They both were convinced the Jedi Council had gone down the wrong path. Barriss Offee trained as an Inquisitor under The Fourth Sister, named Lyn Rakish, (who appears in live-action in Obi-Wan Kenobi). After she returns to the light as a wandering healer, Barriss loses in a final confrontation with the Fourth Sister, but in the process, she actually helps Lyn return to the light.

While there is hope in the redemption arcs of Barriss and the Fourth Sister turning to the dark side and then returning to the light, there is also hope in Ahsoka Tano defeating an Inquisitor and contacting Bail Organa to let him know that she will continue the fight against the Empire. It’s also a good reminder that no matter how far the Jedi Order has strayed (hints offered in The Acolyte set in the tail end of The High Republic era), characters like Ahsoka Tano and Barriss Offee are a testament to the recurring theme of hope that runs through the Star Wars: Tales series.