All 8 Retcons & Continuity Problems In Star Wars' Latest TV Show

May 11, 2024, 2:30 p.m.

Movies

All 8 Retcons & Continuity Problems In Star Wars' Latest TV Show

0 0

Summary Significant retcons in Tales of the Empire challenge established Star Wars canon, especially regarding the Inquisitors' origins and actions.

Episodes provide in-depth character studies of Barriss Offee and Morgan Elsbeth, shedding light on their experiences beyond the main storyline.

Introduction of new elements like the Mountain Clan adds complexity to the Star Wars universe, hinting at potential future developments.

The latest Star Wars Disney+ TV show, Star Wars: Tales of the Empire, has retconned some aspects of Star Wars lore - and caused some subtle contradictions. Following the same format as Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, Tales of the Empire is an animated anthology show focused in on two characters: Jedi traitor Barriss Offee and Nightsister Morgan Elsbeth. Tales of the Empire moves through the timeline, revealing Barriss' fate after the Clone Wars and Morgan's backstory.

These episodes are really character studies, providing context for what these women had gone through, and revealing what their journeys looked like beyond the main Star Wars story arc. Despite this, there were a few choices that have retconned other aspects of Star Wars canon. Here are all of the major retcons from Tales of the Empire.

Related Star Wars: Tales Of The Empire Episode Guide Everything you need to know about 2024's Tales of the Empire, including recaps, cast and character lists, Star Wars trivia, and more!

8 The Fortress Inquisitorius' Construction Contradicts Star Wars Comics

Tales of the Empire Episode 5 Poses Some Continuity Issues

The Imperial Inquisitors made their canon debut in Star Wars Rebels, and comics later revealed they were originally based in a skyscraper tower in The Works district of Coruscant. A chase across Coruscant - targeting two of their own - led to the death of a senator, prompting Palpatine to force Darth Vader to relocate his Jedi hunters. In order to keep a watchful eye on the Inquisitors, they were relocated to the planet Nur in the Mustafar system. Charles Soule's 2017 Darth Vader run revealed the Inquisitors moved to Nur in 14 BBY, five years after the Empire came to power.

Tales of the Empire showed that Barriss Offee along with other former Jedi were brought to the Fortress Inquisitorius while it was still under construction - and, unfortunately, this seems to have been within days of Order 66. From an out of universe perspectiive, of course, this is because elements of the Inquisitorius' lore have already been retconned over the years, and there are contradictions that are difficult to straighten out. In-universe, the best explanation is that Darth Vader ran two groups for a while, one based on Coruscant and the other in the unfinished Fortress Inquisitorius.

Barriss Offee The Mirialan apprentice of Luminara Unduli, Barriss Offee became disillusioned with the Jedi Order during the Clone Wars. She ultimately betrayed the Jedi, even launching a terrorist attack on the Jedi Temple itself, and framed Ahsoka for the crime. Exposed, Barriss was imprisoned - but she was recovered by the Empire shortly after Revenge of the Sith, joining the ranks of the Imperial Inquisitors. Created By George Lucas Cast Nalini Krishnan , Meredith Salenger , Tatyana Yassukovich First Appearance Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

7 The Inquisitors' Numbering Makes Absolutely No Sense

It’s Been Years, And It’s Still Confusing

When a former Jedi joins the Inquisitors, they are given a new name according to a simple formula - "Second Brother" or "Fourther Sister," and so on. What's more, it's generally believed that an Inquisitor's number is not reused after their death. But what rhyme or reason is there behind the allocation? They are not in order of recruitment, nor do they appear to be by age. Some Inquisitors are even sometimes called by their names and not their numbers, further confusing everything.

In Tales of the Empire, the Fourth Sister Lyn Rakish appears to have been an Inquisitor from the very beginning of the Empire - if not before, given she approaches Barriss the day after Order 66. Obi-Wan Kenobi, however, features Third Sister - Reva, who was only a child when Order 66 took place and didn't join the Inquisitorius until she was older. It’s possible that the numbering system may eventually be revealed in a different Star Wars title. However, for now, it will continue to stump Star Wars audiences.

6 Morgan's Story Still Has Massive Gaps

Tales of the Empire Only Filled In Some Holes

The three episodes focusing on Morgan Elsbeth in Tales of the Empire span more than 30 years, meaning there’s a lot of time not explored in her history. Even more frustratingly, the story is visibly incomplete - Morgan claims she's joining the Empire for revenge, but against who? While Count Dooku ordered the massacre of the Nightsisters of Dathomir and General Grievous carried out the orders, both characters were dead before the rise of the Empire. While Morgan has every right to be angry about the decimation of her people, the revenge aspect doesn’t quite make sense.

Meanwhile, there are other clear gaps - such as how Morgan acquired a beskar spear, which she used in battle against Ahsoka Tano in The Mandalorian season 2. Tales of the Empire shows Morgan already serving as the Magistrate of Corvus, but how did she get this position? And how did Morgan run her Imperial shipyards on Corellia, even in The Mandalorian era, when she hadn't been outside her compound for some time? Many of these questions could’ve been resolved with a throw-away line but weren’t addressed.

The massacre of the Nightsisters of Dathomir was orignally seen in Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 4.

Morgan Elsbeth Hailing from the planet Dathomir, Morgan Elsbeth's people were almost wiped out during the Clone Wars after their leader, Mother Talzin, became a rival to Darth Sidious himself. Morgan swore loyalty to the Empire, and became a close associate of Grand Admiral Thrawn himself. When Thrawn was stranded in a distant galaxy, she spearheaded efforts to retrieve him, prompted by visions cast by the Great Mothers of Peridea. She was sacrificed by Thrawn to buy him time to escape Peridea, with Ahsoka and her allies stranded there. Created By Dave Filoni Cast Diana Lee Inosanto First Appearance The Mandalorian Died Ahsoka

5 Morgan Elsbeth Has Been Retconned Into A Star Wars Rebels Story

Morgan’s Past Ties Into Rebels

Moving on to Star Wars retcons, Tales of the Empire reveals Grand Admiral Thrawn's TIE-Defender project originated with Morgan Elsbeth. This was a huge plot point in the later seasons of Star Wars Rebels as Thrawn was looking to build the TIE-Ds at the factory on Lothal. This means that Morgan had likely visited Lothal, or at least worked with high-ranking Imperials who were based there to help create her design.

Previously, it was believed that Grand Admiral Thrawn was the person who designed and streamlined the building of the TIE-Ds, but this was changed with Tales of the Empire. If Thrawn and Morgan’s plans for the TIE-Ds had come to fruition, then it would have been a game changer for the Empire and likely would’ve won them the war against the Rebel Alliance. However, after Thrawn went missing along with Ezra Bridger in the Rebels series finale, the Empire reallocated the funds for the TIE-Ds to the construction of the Death Star.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

4 Admiral Thrawn Shouldn't Have Met Pellaeon Yet

It Goes Against Timothy Zahn’s Novels

Grand Admiral Thrawn was originally introduced in Timothy Zahn's Legends novel Heir to the Empire, where he worked closely with Captan Gillad Pellaeon; when Thrawn made the jump to canon, Zahn got to write new novels fleshing out his rewritten backstory. In this new version, Thrawn initially worked closely with an Imperial named Eli Vanto, and only crossed paths with Pellaeon later in his career. Pellaeon's voice was heard in Star Wars Rebels, and he was revealed to be a member of the Imperial Shadow Council in The Mandalorian season 3.

Tales of the Empire retcons this, revealing Pellaeon recruited Morgan Elsbeth on Thrawn's behalf - back when the Chiss strategist was still an admiral. At the moment, the continuity feels messy and confused, and viewers are desperately trying to come up with fixes. Whatever the truth may be, though, it's now clearly the case that Pellaeon worked with Thrawn for some years.

Grand Admiral Thrawn The only alien to ever ascend to the rank of Grand Admiral, Thrawn is a strategic genius who hails from an isolationist race known as the Chiss. Thrawn's motives are enigmatic, but his tactical brilliance made him a vital asset for the Empire. Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger successfully defeated Thrawn during the Battle of Lothal, resulting in Thrawn's exile to the distant planet Peridea in another galaxy, but the Grand Admiral has now returned. Created By Timothy Zahn Cast Lars Mikkelsen First Appearance Star Wars: Heir to the Empire TV Shows Star Wars Rebels , Ahsoka

3 How Does Barriss Offee Age So Much, When Mirialans Live For Centuries?

Barriss Looks Much Older in Episode 6

Tales of the Empire episode 6 showed an older Barriss Offee working as a healer on a remote icy world. This episode takes place about 10 years after Tales of the Empire episode 5, meaning that while Barris would appear older, she shouldn’t have aged that much. It’s known that Barriss Offee’s race, Mirialans live for centuries if they are attuned to the Force.

The timing of this particular story couldn't be worse. The Acolyte will feature Jedi Master Vernestra Rwoh, active - and still looking as though she's middle-aged - when she's just 100 years old. It’s possible that Barriss Offee looked older in Tales of the Empire episode 6 because she was using her life-force as a healer and it was making her age more rapidly. It’s also possible that Barriss’ brush with the dark side made her age much faster.

2 What Is The Mountain Clan, and How Are They Different From Morgan?

New Nightsisters Were Introduced

Tales of the Empire introduced a new clan on Dathomir, the Mountain Clan, adapted from Star Wars Legends. These have never been seen before in canon, and it seemed as though the Separatists didn't realize they existed - otherwise they would surely have been wiped out as well. The Mountain Clan links in to Ahsoka's retconned Nightsister history, raising the possibility the first Dathomiri were light siders not dark.

The relationship between the Mountain Clan and the Nightsisters is unclear, although they clearly seem to have different opinions when it comes to the use of violence. Ahsoka's ending - decades later - saw Grand Admiral Thrawn take refuge on Dathomir, so it's possible the Mountain Clan will return in live-action. If they do, it will likely be all-new characters from the clan, considering how much time has passed.

1 Fortress Inquisitorius' Design Is True To Obi-Wan Kenobi... But Not Jedi: Fallen Order.

Specifically, the Interiors Have Stayed the Same

The Fortress Inquisitorius has now appeared three times in Star Wars canon, and it’s looked different from the outside all three times. When it first appeared in the canon video Jedi: Fallen Order, the triangle-shaped exterior looked a bit more narrow and had a red line going down the center; however, in Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Fortress looked a bit darker, and the landing platform seemed to be higher up. Tales of the Empire avoided choosing what design they were going to choose by having the building still under construction.

However, the inside of Fortress Inquisitorius is nearly identical to its appearance in Obi-Wan Kenobi. The design is seemingly based on a Star Destroyer, with red lighting that is consistent with the TV show. This differs dramatically to Jedi: Fallen Order, where the designs look more like a series of catwalks. It's possible Cal Kestis was in a different part of the Fortress, but this is particularly odd given he and Obi-Wan broke in using the same method and infiltrated the same levels.

Even though Tales of the Empire was short, it will have lasting impacts on Star Wars continuity moving forward. Hopefully, some of these characters and story points will be revisited in the future, to better help flesh out the details. Like any huge franchise, Star Wars is not immune to retcons subtly changing the canon to better fit the direction of the story trying to be told. Only time will tell if these retcons will stand, but for now, audiences should enjoy Tales of the Empire for what it has added to the franchise.