It's Taken 11 Years, But Star Wars Has Finally Made An Unfinished Clone Wars Story Work

May 5, 2024, 5:10 p.m.

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It's Taken 11 Years, But Star Wars Has Finally Made An Unfinished Clone Wars Story Work

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Summary Star Wars: Tales of the Empire resolves Barriss Offee's story arc after Star Wars: The Clone Wars left it open-ended.

Barriss Offee's character suffered due to The Clone Wars' lack of resolution to her fall to the dark side.

Tales of the Empire provides closure to Barriss' arc and leaves room for her story to continue in future Star Wars releases.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars was never able to resolve a crucial story arc, but 11 years later, Star Wars: Tales of the Empire has finally made it work. Following Disney's purchase of the Star Wars franchise, The Clone Wars was canceled in 2013, leaving several plotlines unresolved. However, as Star Wars continues to expand across every storytelling medium, fan-favorite characters are given another chance for their arcs to continue. Because Tales of the Empire picks up where The Clone Wars left off, it was the perfect place to expand on one of the show's most powerful story arcs.

Tales of the Empire follows former Jedi Padawan Barriss Offee as she is recruited by the Imperial Inquisitors. Barriss last appeared in the season 5 finale of The Clone Wars, and despite her being why Ahsoka Tano left the Jedi Order, Star Wars never followed up on this episode. Fans were left to speculate on what happened to Barriss and how she could return in future Star Wars movies and TV shows. Thanks to Tales of the Empire, Barriss' Clone Wars arc has come full circle in a way that honors her character's history in Star Wars canon and Legends.

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!

Barriss Offee's Story Ended On A Cliffhanger

The Clone Wars never revealed if Barriss lived or died

The Clone Wars season 5 ended with the shocking revelation that Barriss was the Jedi who bombed the Jedi Temple hangar. Not only that, but she was willing to kill her former accomplices and anyone else necessary to protect her secret, showing how far she had fallen to the dark side. However, her most heartbreaking act was to betray Ahsoka, her closest friend, by framing her for the crime. Barriss' final speech to the Senate where she rightly notes how far the Jedi and the Republic have fallen was one of the most tragic moments in Star Wars.

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 Race Mirialan

Unfortunately, The Clone Wars was canceled shortly after, leaving Barriss' fate a mystery. The Clone Wars Legacy Project adapted a few of the show's unfinished arcs, and The Clone Wars season 7 eventually premiered on Disney+ in 2020, but there was no hint of what happened to Barriss after she was arrested. Since Admiral Tarkin wanted Ahsoka to receive the death penalty, it seemed likely that Barriss would also have been executed for her crimes. However, since Jedi like Pong Krell turned to the dark side during the war, it was possible that Palpatine could have kept her alive.

The Clone Wars' Lack Of Resolution Hurt Bariss Offee's Character

Barriss' fate in the show was different from the original Expanded Universe

The lack of resolution to Barriss' arc also hurt her character because of how her fall to the dark side was handled. The original Clone Wars books and comics focused on Barriss' role as a Jedi healer who dedicated her life to saving lives during the war. The MedStar Duology by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry did an excellent job exploring how the war made her want to give in to the dark side and why she chose not to. The Clone Wars season 2 stayed true to this portrayal by making Barriss the ideal Jedi Padawan.

In the original Clone Wars timeline, Barriss Offee never betrayed the Jedi and was killed on Felucia during Order 66.

That's not to say Barriss' ultimate fate didn't have potential, and her previous characterization made it a shocking twist. In The Clone Wars season 2, Ahsoka asked Barriss whether it was right for the Jedi to be warriors, and while Barriss didn't have an answer at the time, Ahsoka's words clearly stuck with her. Had The Clone Wars not been canceled, there could have been a flashback episode revealing how Barriss changed between seasons, and a follow-up arc could have shown Ahsoka confronting her former friend. Thankfully, Star Wars animation has finally provided the latter after 11 years of waiting.

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Tales Of The Empire Brings Bariss Offee's Arc To A Satisfying Conclusion

Barriss rejects the dark side and is given a redemption arc

In three short episodes, Tales of the Empire succeeds in continuing Barriss' story and bringing it to a close. The show reveals that Barriss was one of the Jedi Palpatine kept alive so she could become an Inquisitor, and the episode handles Barriss' conflict effectively. Barriss turned against the Jedi because she saw them as an army fighting for the dark side, but she herself committed terrible acts to get what she wanted. When the Grand Inquisitor shows how the Empire has brought an end to the Clone Wars that the Jedi helped escalate, Barriss' decision to join makes sense.

The next two episodes could have committed to Barriss embracing the dark side, but a redemption arc was the most logical approach. Despite the horrible things Barriss did, she genuinely believed the Jedi had become villains and used them to justify her actions. Barriss thought she was doing what was best for the people of the Republic, so when she sees how the Inquisitors will blindly kill for no reason, it gives her a much-needed wake-up call. It allows Barriss to return to her roots as a Force healer in the final episode, ending her story on a high note.

Related Tales Of The Empire Timeline: When Each Episode Takes Place Tales of the Empire spans the Star Wars timeline from The Clone Wars to The Mandalorian, revealing key events between the movies and TV shows.

Tales Of The Empire Leaves Room For Barriss Offee's Story To Continue

The finale keeps it vague whether Barriss survived

While Tales of the Empire's final episode brings closure to Barriss' Clone Wars arc, the show surprisingly leaves room for her to return in future stories. Despite being stabbed by a lightsaber, the episode highlights that Barriss is not dead yet when Lyn Rakish (the Fourth Sister) carries her out of the cave. Barriss' healing abilities could allow her to keep herself alive long enough for Lyn to get help, or she could guide the Inquisitor to use Force healing. While characters surviving a lightsaber wound has become far too common in Star Wars, it's worth considering as a possibility.

Barriss could have been working with the Hidden Path to save Force-sensitive children, and she may have reunited with Ahsoka Tano.

Even if Barriss dies, there are many ways she could return. Tales of the Empire's final episode has to take place after 9 ABY since Lyn Rakish was still an Inquisitor in Obi-Wan Kenobi, so there are at least 10 years to explore what Barriss was doing after she left the Empire. Barriss could have been working with the Hidden Path to save Force-sensitive children, and she may have reunited with Ahsoka Tano. Whether Barriss Offee returns or not, Star Wars: Tales of the Empire has finally given her arc from Star Wars: The Clone Wars some much-needed closure.