Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi review: Moody and sombre
Episodes: 6
Running time: 13-17 minutes
Voice Cast: Ashley Eckstein, Corey Burton, Liam Neeson, Micheál Richardson, Bryce Dallas Howard, TC Carson, Ian McDiarmid, Matt Lanter, James Arnold Taylor, Phil LaMarr, Dee Bradley Baker, and Clancy Brown.
Three and a half out of five stars.
I can't deny that when I first heard about Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, I thought it was a shallow attempt to cash in on the Star Wars: The Clone Wars fandom. It had all the right elements — Jedi, Sith, popular characters, and the distinctive animation style of The Clone Wars. But I was pleasantly surprised with the six episodes, and the short episode run only served to prove that this wasn't an attempt to pander to fans. This was a labour of love, from those and to those who love The Clone Wars. But to understand, we have to go back to 2020.
One of the few highlights of 2020 was when the animated series The Clone Wars was granted a reprieve on Disney+ with a seventh season, aptly named The Final Season. It was a bittersweet feeling, given that the series had sort of "ended" in 2014 with the sixth season, but was now given a new lease of life (and a definite conclusion to the series). Since then, we've gotten a spinoff in the form of Star Wars: The Bad Batch — but its focus on the titular "bad batch" of Clone Troopers meant that a Force-shaped hole was left in the wake of the conclusion of The Clone Wars.
Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi is the answer to that hole. Telling the stories that The Clone Wars couldn't (mainly because of chronology issues), it explores the journeys of Ahsoka (Ashley Eckstein) and Count Dooku (Corey Burton), while also featuring other Jedi like Mace Windu (TC Carson) and Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). The six-episode series is set in the Prequel Trilogy era, overlapping the time period in The Clone Wars.
While Tales of the Jedi serves as a continuation (or spin-off) of sorts to The Clone Wars, the mood and tone are distinctly different. After all, the conclusion of The Clone Wars coincided with that of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Order 66 had been enacted, the Jedi had been defeated and sent into hiding, and the dark times had begun. Tales of the Jedi implicitly acknowledges that the good guys have ultimately been defeated by providing thought-provoking, grim stories that foreshadow this outcome. In one episode, it even examines the repercussions of this outcome. There's still a fair amount of action, but there's a great deal of sombre melancholy that pervades the series, subtly reminding you that no matter what happens, the Jedi will be defeated.
As a Disney+ exclusive (meaning it was developed for a streaming platform, rather than for broadcast television), Tales of the Jedi is also freed from the shackles of a 30-minute programme (which is what The Clone Wars was), meaning episodes can be as long or as short as they need to be, to tell the tale that it set out to. The result? No filler. Every minute serves a distinct purpose, and this leanness of storytelling translates to shorter, but more intense episodes. Some of them are just 12 minutes long, which is half the length of a regular 30-minute show.
As an anthology series, it's the ideal space to tell stories that cannot chronologically take place during The Clone Wars. We get to see Count Dooku's gradual descent into evil — and his surprising moral struggles with what he has been ordered to do. We also get to see an animated Qui-Gon Jinn, both as a young lad and as a more seasoned Jedi Master. Anakin (Matt Lanter) and Obi-Wan (James Arnold Taylor) also make an appearance, but the story is no longer about them. The Ahsoka stories aren't as strong (since her character has been quite well-defined in The Clone Wars and many other stories), but they serve more to explore her relationships with other characters.
It's stating the obvious, but it bears mentioning — seeing more stories about Jedi is exciting. Yes, we've got The Bad Batch and Andor, but these are series that don't quite feature the Jedi. For me, and many others, the major draw of Star Wars is to see space wizards wielding laser swords. The clash between Jedi and Sith is what endears me to Star Wars, and to have a series that embraces this is quite a thrill.
Tales of the Jedi turned out to be much better than I had first imagined, showing us new stories and perspectives while still giving us what we want to see (Force-wielders and lightsabers). It's short run and episodic nature means that it's easy to put down and continue at your leisure. Hopefully, we get a second season — and more Qui-Gon Jinn.
All six episodes of Tales of the Jedi are now available on Disney+.
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