As Tales of the Empire digs its means by way of the story of Barriss Offee—and her quest to outlive the rise of the Empire, at any price—there comes a second that climaxes a decade-plus watch for followers who’ve wished to see what occurred to the previous Jedi Padawan after the stunning conclusion of her story in Clone Wars. It’s a second lengthy within the making, and one which was essential to the actress behind her as nicely.
That second comes on the climax of the second of Barriss’ three episodes in Tales of the Empire, “Realization.” Having already accepted—and survived—the supply of becoming a member of the brand new Imperial Inquisitorius after the Republic’s fall, whereas on a mission to seek out a Jedi in hiding alongside the Fourth Sister (Rya Kihlstedt), Barriss is horrified by the Inquistors’ violence and chooses to go rogue herself, flinging the Fourth Sister off a cliff face with a push of the Drive, and throwing her personal helmet down together with her.
Within the subsequent episode, “The Method Out,” we meet Barriss as we’ve by no means had the possibility to see her earlier than. An undisclosed variety of years later, she has had the possibility to dwell and get older. She’s lower her hair, and on a distant, icy world, she has grow to be a religious healer, a clever girl who cures and advises the individuals who search her in want. It’s an enormous second, not simply to see Barriss flourish and thrive, however to see her dedicated to the the best of the Jedi—the best she’d so fiercely consider the Order had fallen away from in its participation within the Clone Battle—and grow to be somebody who is aware of when to struggle and when to supply an open hand. She’s a great distance from being a younger girl so shocked and horrified by what she noticed the Order changing into, her solely response to its participation in interstellar warfare might be violence in form. And for Meredith Salenger—who has thought concerning the selections Barriss made in Clone Wars for so long as followers have—it was a robust second to be part of.
“I imply, I feel it’s like in life—as you undergo your life, while you’re a teen you’ve obtained this vitality to struggle, to grow to be combative, and I feel for Barriss, she was at all times so… methodical and conservative in her coaching and eager to do the correct factor, enjoying all the pieces by the e book,” Salenger lately advised io9 about attending to see Barriss develop and grow to be the clever girl we meet in “The Method Out.” “I feel as you develop and be taught, and as you grow old, Barriss makes errors—eager to do issues the best way they’re completed—however all of it might probably solely change if there’s an underlying love for everybody and eager to shift folks’s views to being extra caring and extra therapeutic. As an alternative of doing this by violence, let’s do it by altering folks’ hearts and minds and displaying compassion. Serving to.”
It’s a shift in perspective that provides Barriss a chance to be explored additional in Star Wars’ future. In a mirror to the climax of “Realization,” when the Fourth Sister lastly tracks Barriss down for her betrayal, their encounter culminates with the previous unintentionally managing to stab the later—and in doing so realizing that Barriss’ pleas to her to alter and see a brand new path have been potential. Tales of the Empire concludes with the Fourth Sister, reclaiming her former id as Lyn Rakish, carrying a wounded—however seemingly nonetheless alive—Barriss to assist. It was a very long time coming, however ultimately, Star Wars followers obtained to see what turned of the wayward Padawan… and the way she turned a Jedi far past something the Order she grew disillusioned with may think about.
Star Wars: Tales of the Empire is streaming on Disney+.
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