This past weekend, Lucasfilm dropped , the second entry in its animated anthology series exploring the dual stories of characters in the galaxy far, far away. But what worked and what didn’t in getting to explore the stories of and Barriss Offee during the time of the Empire? Click through for our spoilery thoughts. One benefit of the Tales series’ focus on short-form content is that it can pump out some of the strongest technical features Star Wars animation has, freed from the need from the consistency and constraints of a season of weekly 24-minute episodes (that’s not to say Bad Batch’s final season looked bad or anything, quite the opposite; Tales just looks even nicer).
But one consistent highlight throughout Tales of Empire is each short’s use of light. From the fires of a burning Dathomir and Corvus, to the harsh light of day, to the shadows of Fortress Inquisitorius, Tales of the Empire makes for some really evocative moments absolutely enhanced by some really deep and striking lighting. Say what you will about LFL Animation’s house style as it’s developed over the years, but in this regard it’s rarely looked better.
Star Wars fans have waited over a decade to see what happened to Barriss Offee after she was jailed by the Republic for her part in the Jedi Temple bombing in Clone Wars season five. While there’s a lot of structural quibbles to be had about what we got (more on that later), at the core of it all beyond structural and pacing decisions, .
