Posted by Tales of the Jedi is a series of animated shorts focusing on two different Jedi from the Star Wars saga released today on Disney+. Three of the shorts focus on fan-favorite Ahsoka Tano, Padawan of Anakin Skywalker, and three focus on Count Dooku, Qui-Gon Jinn’s Master and eventual apprentice and pawn of Palpatine.
Overall, these stories are wonderful. The animation is beautiful and it is lovely to see some of these characters in the updated animation style used for the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. The scores for the episodes are moving and set the tone perfectly- and have been done by the original Clone Wars (and other animated Star Wars projects) composer, Kevin Kiner.
While Dooku’s three episodes form an arc for his character, charting moments that lead to his dissatisfaction with the Jedi and his eventual fall to the dark side, the Ahsoka Tano episodes are more about seeing various time periods in her life. For example, as revealed at Star Wars Celebration earlier this year, one of the episodes features a very young Ahsoka with her family before she is taken to the Jedi Temple. The stories are interesting insights into these characters, though some of the episodes may have been better served by a longer format.
The following will contain light spoilers for the six episodes of Tales of the Jedi, so if you wish to go into the series knowing nothing about what happens, pause reading here and come back later! Each episode is only roughly 10-15 minutes so it’s not a long watch.
Count Dooku: “Justice”, “Choices”, and “The Sith Lord”
Dooku’s arc in Tales of the Jedi focuses on his differences of opinion with his fellow Jedi as well as some of his legacy in being the Master of Qui-Gon Jinn. Early on, we see him with a young Qui-Gon who seems almost used to having to pull his Master back from going too far in their missions. It’s clear from the start that Dooku is often willing to go farther than most Jedi would, and would like to go even further but doesn’t. At first.
We also see Dooku paired with Mace Windu on a mission together. While Windu, at this point not yet serving on the Jedi Council, wants to stick to their given parameters and nothing more. But Dooku pushes further, wanting answers instead of just retrieving what they were sent for. As he investigates, he discovers even more people who have come to distrust the Senate and even the Jedi. Ultimately, he gets his answers, but at a cost. And there’s a growing distrust between himself and the Jedi Council.
Lastly, the culmination and fate that any Star Wars fan knows is coming. The caution of the Council and his distrust in their methods finally tip him over the edge. This episode in particular is filled with unexpected characters and moments so I really encourage you to watch this episode before anyone spoils it for you.
Sure, some of it is things we knew of his story already, but it is heartbreaking to see how his fall comes about. Even more so when it’s clear that he’s conflicted about the methods being used. Truly, Palpatine knows exactly what to orchestrate to push his apprentices to his way of thinking and trap them in a cycle they are unable to break out of.
I greatly enjoyed that Dooku’s three episodes formed a near-complete story of his suspicions, choices, and fall that lead to his fate in the Star Wars story. Personally, I have not seen or read much of his story outside of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and his movie appearances so it was interesting to see some of these moments that we hadn’t been privy to before.
I especially loved seeing that he was, at one point, conflicted in his convictions. He did believe that the Jedi and the Senate were losing their way, but when offered a way to make what could be a “difference”, he questioned those methods. Ultimately, he chooses the dark side. But what might have been if the Council had taken his concerns to heart a little more…?
Ahsoka Tano: “Life and Death”, “Practice Makes Perfect”, and “Resolve”
While Dooku’s stories are firmly about his fall to the dark, Ahsoka’s stories serve to connect various stages of her life and give us a little more insight into what she went through during those periods.
The first story features something we knew nothing about- Ahsoka’s life before she was discovered by the Jedi. It’s wonderful to see her family and to learn a bit more about Togruta culture- even parts of the culture that some from her world consider a little outdated themselves.
“Life and Death” is probably the crown jewel of Tales of the Jedi in my opinion. It’s breathtakingly beautiful with a story that has so much to say. Pav-ti, Ahsoka’s mother, teaches her lessons that, while she may not clearly remember given her age, stick with her for the rest of her life. Young Ahsoka’s connection with her planet and a creature that at first means her harm is wonderful and heartbreaking to see. Had she been born at another time in the history of Star Wars, she may have grown up to be a very different Jedi. But fate had other plans, and she must learn to be a warrior instead.
That fate is explored a bit more in her second episode. As seen in the trailer for Tales of the Jedi, we see more of her training as Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan. Mostly the episode consists of Anakin coming up with challenges greater than what the Jedi use in the Temple for all of the Padawans.
“This is about life and death. And as your Master, I’m responsible for you.” -Anakin Skywalker to Ahsoka Tano
Really, it’s tricky to talk too much about this episode without spoiling some moments from “Practice Makes Perfect”, but suffice it to say that this story connects with ones we have seen before. And in heartbreaking ways.
And in keeping with the “tricky to talk about without giving too much away” theme, Ahsoka’s final episode of Tales of the Jedi. “Resolve” takes place after Order 66 and deals with some of Ahsoka’s story after she and Captain Rex escape from the other Clones. Part of the episode takes place in the days immediately following Order 66, and part takes place roughly a year or so later.
Fans of the Star Wars: Ahsoka novel by E.K. Johnson may note some similarities between this episode and the story told in that novel. A short animated episode is perhaps not the best avenue for the story of how Ahsoka joins the Rebellion. The same beats are all there, but without more time spent with the characters involved and more time spent on what Ahsoka is thinking and feeling at this point in her life, it falls a little flat. The story may have been better served by all of Ahsoka’s episodes of Tales of the Jedi taking place during this time in her life so that the audience can understand a little more about what she is going through.
Final Thoughts
Tales of the Jedi is a wonderful series that gives an opportunity to learn more about and spend more time with characters in moments that we haven’t gotten to see before. Some of the stories may have benefited from a bit of a longer format, but overall the episodes do their job and do it with stunning art and animation.
I hope that Disney and Lucasfilm will continue this series. While there is no official confirmation that there will be more episodes yet, there are so many Jedi (and other Force-wielders) that they could tell more stories about. Personally, I would love to see some shorts focusing on Caleb Dume/Kanan Jarrus during his time as a Padawan. It’d also be great to see more stories from lesser-known Jedi or even ones from different time periods in the Star Wars universe such as characters from the High Republic series! There’s a lot of ground that they could cover in this format.
Check out Tales of the Jedi (along with a ton of other great animated Star Wars series) streaming on Disney+- and let us know what you thought of the episodes! Who would you like to see feature in a possible future season of the show?
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This article is so well-written! I have to filter through a lot of content these days before I give my children permission to view it, but this article told me everything I needed to know about Tales of the Jedi, and all without major spoilers. I’m deeply appreciative!