The pairing of Dave Filoni and Lucasfilm Animation is auspicious. We have said it! Their collaboration has given gems like The Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Bad Batch to Star Wars fans. And Tales of the Jedi is another worthy addition to the space opera franchise. The latest SW anthology series is truly a product of Filoni and Lucasfilm. We can feel it just by watching the series. Everything that the duo has perfected in all of their animated SW projects remains intact in Tales of the Jedi.
However, Tales of the Jedi also manages to stand on its own. We have witnessed various protagonists carrying out tons of clandestine missions, taking part in large-scale battles, and trying to stop the Separatists or the Galactic Empire at all costs in The Clone Wars and Rebels. Well, you are not going to find these exhilarating elements in Tales of the Jedi. Instead, the anthology series relies on its melancholy side and character-driven approach.
Also, the newest SW entry shows how ineffective the Jedi Council is. They always talked about keeping the peace as the peacekeepers of the galaxy. But their conventional methods and inflexible nature allowed the Dark Side to spread its roots across the galaxy. And ultimately, this led to their doom as well.
The six-episode anthology series evenly divides its focus on Count Dooku (Corey Burton) and Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), giving each character three episodes.
The first episode shows Ahsoka’s birth and her first hunting trip with her mother, Pav-ti. There is not a single trace of a lightsaber in this episode. Apart from Ahsoka’s Force sensitivity reveal, we see focus given on the concept of the Force. Also, Episode 1 perfectly sets the tone for the episodes to come.
Then, the next three episodes give us a young Count Dooku before he joined the Dark Side. He was an exceptional Jedi and master of Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). And most importantly, he was not evil in the beginning. But his dissatisfaction with the Jedi Council augments with every passing episode. He witnessed members of the Council sticking with outdated rules and regulations instead of trusting their instinct. This allowed corruption to grow inside the Republic. As a result, regular people paid the price for it.
Dooku even calls the Jedi the lapdogs of the Senate. So many Jedi blindly followed the Council without even questioning their methods. Therefore, they allowed the Senate to grow and get rich. It was one of the things that helped Palpatine in manipulating the Jedi for so long.
Dooku also pairs with Qui-Gon Jinn, Mace Windu, and Yaddle in every one of his episodes. We see him sharing strong bonds with Qui-Gon and Yaddle, a female from Yoda’s species. The anthology series gives her a strong foundation. In many ways, she is wiser than Yoda himself.
The last two episodes take us back to Ahsoka. We get to know how a 14-year-old girl became Anakin Skywalker’s padawan. Also, the series reveals how the hell she managed to survive the infamous Order 66. Both Anakin and Ahsoka possessed the same rebellious spirit, fostering their bond with each other. Also, this unique master-padawan duo allowed Anakin to learn a thing or two about responsibility.
Eckstein and Burton provide excellent voice performances in Tales of the Jedi. Bryce Dallas Howard’s Yaddle also looks compelling. Additionally, the show’s small scale and runtime (13-17 minutes) of six episodes allow Filoni and his team to deliver an elegant, emotional, and atmosphere-based Star Wars entry rather than being a mere action-packed instalment. All episodes of Tales of the Jedi are streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. Stay tuned for more updates.
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