Star Wars Tales – The Characters & Connections Guide
Who's who in Tales of the Jedi and Tales of the Empire — Ahsoka, Dooku, Morgan Elsbeth and Barriss Offee, and how they connect to Clone Wars, Rebels and Ahsoka.
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TL;DR – Who’s Who and Where They Connect
Want the full reviews? They’re below. Want to understand how four side-stories tie the whole animated saga together? Read on.
Two Anthologies, Four Characters, One Saga
Dave Filoni’s two animated anthologies — Tales of the Jedi and Tales of the Empire — look, at a glance, like minor side projects: a dozen 15-minute shorts, easily missed. They are anything but. Between them they deepen four pivotal characters and quietly knit together the entire animated and live-action saga. If you’ve watched the major shows and wondered how it all connects, these anthologies are the missing map.
The trick is that each anthology pairs one “light” journey with one “dark” one, and each of the four characters reaches out toward a different corner of the franchise. Understanding who they are — and where their threads lead — turns the Tales shorts from beautiful curios into essential viewing. This guide is that key. (For the wider picture, see our best animated Star Wars guide.)
AdStar Wars The Black Series Ahsoka Tano (Clone Wars) Figure (opens in a new tab)
The heart of Tales of the Jedi — young Ahsoka, whose origins the anthology traces.
Ahsoka Tano – The Heart of It All
Tales of the Jedi traces Ahsoka from her very first moments of life, through Anakin’s relentless training, to her quiet survival of Order 66. For longtime fans, it’s a tender deepening of a character we’ve followed across The Clone Wars, Rebels and the live-action Ahsoka series. Her shorts connect directly to the Ahsoka novel — both fill the gap between the Order’s fall and her resurfacing as the rebel agent Fulcrum. She’s the spine the whole animated era hangs on.
Count Dooku – The Tragic Fall
The other half of Tales of the Jedi charts Dooku’s slow descent from idealistic Jedi to Sith Lord. It’s the franchise’s clearest explanation of how a principled man becomes Darth Tyranus, and it enriches both the prequel films and The Clone Wars in retrospect. Dooku’s thread reaches backward, into the rot of the late Republic — a cautionary mirror to Ahsoka’s resilience. Where she survives a broken institution, he is broken by it.
AdStar Wars The Black Series Morgan Elsbeth Figure (opens in a new tab)
The breakout of Tales of the Empire — Morgan Elsbeth, the future Ahsoka-series villain.
Morgan Elsbeth – The Road to Ahsoka
Tales of the Empire opens with Morgan Elsbeth as a child, surviving the destruction of her Nightsister home on Dathomir during the Clone Wars. Consumed by vengeance and a hunger for order, she rises through the Empire and devotes herself to one obsession: the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn. If you’ve seen the Ahsoka series, you’ll recognise her instantly — she’s its villain, and these shorts are her tragic origin. Her thread reaches forward, straight into live-action.
Barriss Offee – The Loop Finally Closed
The most surprising arc belongs to Barriss Offee. Fans know her as the Jedi who bombed the Jedi Temple and framed Ahsoka in The Clone Wars — the betrayal that drove Ahsoka from the Order. Tales of the Empire picks her up afterward, conscripted into the brutal Inquisitorius (the Jedi-hunters of Rebels and the Obi-Wan Kenobi series), and follows her toward an unexpected redemption. Her thread ties three shows together and finally closes a loop left dangling for a decade.
| Character | Anthology | Connects To |
|---|---|---|
| Ahsoka Tano | Tales of the Jedi | Clone Wars, Rebels, Ahsoka, the novel |
| Count Dooku | Tales of the Jedi | The prequels, The Clone Wars |
| Morgan Elsbeth | Tales of the Empire | The Ahsoka series, the Nightsisters |
| Barriss Offee | Tales of the Empire | Clone Wars, Rebels, Obi-Wan Kenobi |
How to Watch: Placement & Order
The golden rule is simple: these are companion pieces, not entry points. Save both anthologies until you’ve watched The Clone Wars, Rebels and ideally the Ahsoka series. Watched cold, the shorts are gorgeous but emotionally thin — every beat depends on knowing the characters already.
When you do watch them, go in release order: Tales of the Jedi first, then Tales of the Empire. That’s also the natural light-to-dark progression — origins and idealism first, then the Empire’s long shadow. Each anthology is only about 90 minutes, so the pair makes for two easy, rewarding evenings once you’ve done the bigger homework.
Why These Four Characters Matter
It’s no accident that Filoni chose these four. Together they map the full moral spectrum of the saga: Ahsoka holds the light against impossible odds; Dooku surrenders it entirely; Morgan is consumed by the darkness loss leaves behind; and Barriss, against every expectation, claws her way back toward the light. Place their stories side by side and you get a quiet thesis on the whole franchise — that the Force isn’t really about powers, it’s about the choices people make when everything is taken from them.
The connective genius is that each character is also a bridge. Ahsoka and Dooku reach back into the prequel era and The Clone Wars; Morgan reaches forward into live-action and the Ahsoka series; Barriss links The Clone Wars, Rebels and the Obi-Wan Kenobi show through the Inquisitors. Watch all four and you don’t just learn their backstories — you feel the entire animated and live-action saga lock together into a single, coherent picture. That’s why, for fans who’ve done the homework, these two short anthologies punch so far above their modest runtime.
AdStar Wars: The Clone Wars – The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (opens in a new tab)
The essential context for all four Tales characters — watch this first.
Pros
- Deepens four pivotal characters with economy and beauty
- Ties Clone Wars, Rebels and the Ahsoka series together
- Morgan's shorts are essential backstory for the Ahsoka villain
- Barriss's redemption closes a decade-old loop from The Clone Wars
Cons
- Strictly companion pieces — they assume you've done the homework
- Short by design; rich side-stories rather than main events
From the screen to the shelf: the Tales shows trace the Jedi-and-Sith character web — the LEGO Yoda Bust (75438) review is a fitting brick centrepiece for it.
AdLEGO Star Wars Yoda Bust 75438 (opens in a new tab)
The Grand Master in brick — a fitting display piece for the Jedi-and-Sith character web the Tales shows trace.
The Bottom Line
If you’ve watched the major animated shows and the Ahsoka series, the Tales anthologies are mandatory — they fill in four key characters and reveal how the whole saga interlocks. Watch Tales of the Jedi first for Ahsoka and Dooku, then Tales of the Empire for Morgan and Barriss.
Two short anthologies, four characters, one beautifully connected web. This is how Filoni rewards the fans who did their homework.
Our full reviews of both anthologies appear below.
Series Content
Explore all articles, reviews, and guides in this series.
“Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi is Dave Filoni's six-short animated anthology, and it's a quiet gem. Three shorts trace Ahsoka Tano from her earliest years to her survival of Order 66; three trace Count Dooku's slow, tragic fall from idealistic Jedi to Sith Lord. With stunning art direction and deep ties to The Clone Wars, the prequels and the Ahsoka series, it's a must-watch once you've seen the major animated shows — beautiful, economical, and emotionally rich.”
“Star Wars: Tales of the Empire is Dave Filoni's darker companion to Tales of the Jedi — a six-short animated anthology about two women navigating the Empire. Three shorts trace Morgan Elsbeth from the destruction of her Nightsister home to her rise as an Imperial power broker (and the architect of Thrawn's return); three trace the fallen Jedi Barriss Offee through the brutal Inquisitorius and toward an unexpected redemption. With stunning art and deep ties to Clone Wars, Rebels and the Ahsoka series, it's essential follow-up viewing.”
Disclaimer: This review and its visuals were created with the help of AI. Some links may be affiliate links – we may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.