The Star Wars prequels aren’t the best movies to come out of the Star Wars franchise, but they did present fans with a cavalcade of new ideas and characters. From the prequels we got the animated series Clones Wars, which led to Rebels, which leads to the new Disney+ series Tales of the Jedi.
All six episodes of the new animated series were released at once, giving fans a better look at two characters who went down very different paths: Dooku and Ahsoka Tano. Three episodes were dedicated to each character, with each episode following a specific turning point in each of their lives. Each episode is around 20 minutes long, so you can easily get through the show in a couple of hours.
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Going through the show, we learned a lot about Ahsoka and Dooku, as the series follows their travels chronologically in the greater Star Wars universe, and is chock-full of Ahsoka stories. But the show isn’t just about them. Answer questions we didn’t even know we had, until now. Because of this, we found 13 moments throughout Tales of the Jedi that gave us a deeper understanding of the Star Wars universe.
Obviously, you’ll find some spoilers for the show below.
For more on the world of Star Wars, check out every Star Wars movie and TV show rated by Metacritic, 20 Pivotal Moments in Star Wars Movie History, and every upcoming Star Wars game.
1. The lines on Ahsoka’s face
Episode 1: “Life and Death”
The Ahsoka we know today and baby Ahsoka have some differences, obviously. However, one major difference is the white pigments on his face as a baby; ignore that blue line on her forehead, it was placed there. When Ahsoka was born, she had four white dots: one on each cheek and two on her forehead.
2. His first encounter with the Force
Episode 1: “Life and Death”
We know parts of Ahsoka’s life, but what we didn’t know was that she was kidnapped by a saber-toothed tiger while hunting with her mother when she was little. It seems as if any other baby would have been lunch for the beast, but not Ahsoka, who used her own Force powers to connect with the tiger, just before they ate her. She returned to the city after her, riding on her.
3. Dooku is not that complicated
Episode 2: “Justice”
In the prequel trilogy, it is understood that Dooku was a Jedi and became a Sith. However, he was not totally evil like other Sith. In Tales of the Jedi, we get a better understanding of the character. He serves the people of the Republic, not the Republic itself. He wants to defend those who cannot defend themselves. However, what separates Dooku from other Jedi is that violence can be seen as a necessary action to defend those who need it.
4. That’s Qui-Gon Jinn
Episode 2: “Justice”
Some may have forgotten, but Qui-Gon Jinn’s mentor was Dooku. Throughout the episode, he never names Dooku’s apprentice until the very end, when Dooku says his name. Why do all Jedi-in-training have Luke Skywalker’s haircut?
5. The Republic is a mess
Episode 3: “Options”
The prequel films portrayed the Republic as a functioning governing body, and the Clone Wars animated series showed cracks in behavior: the Republic came off as a functioning Mr. Bean rather than a functioning government. However, throughout Episodes 2 and 3 of Tales of the Jedi, we see another side of the Republic. It is a disaster. it is corrupt. There are some bad people in positions of power. He then sees the Jedi supporting this madness over and over again. There’s a reason he left the Jedi.
6. A familiar voice
Episode 4: “The Sith Lord”
When Qui-Gon Jinn first appeared in Episode 2 of this series, he had a different voice actor. Now, in Episode 4, none other than Liam Neeson has returned to reprise his role from The Phantom Menace.
7. Yaddle is back
Episode 4: “The Sith Lord”
The alien species known as “Whatever Yoda Is”, Yaddle is the second known alien after Yoda’s introduction, and long before Grogu in The Mandalorian. Making his first appearance in The Phantom Menace, Yaddle didn’t get much screen time. However, being the only other member of this species, it was long suspected that she was the mother of Grogu, also known as The Child. It’s also important to note that Yaddle speaks normally, not in that weird backwards-talk that is Yoda’s signature style.
8. Yaddle is very important in Dooku’s story
Episode 4: “The Sith Lord”
Voiced by Bryce Dallas Howard, Yaddle doesn’t just show up here to tell people, “Look! That could be Baby Yoda’s mom!” Yaddle is central to Dooku’s turn to the Dark Side. While serving the Jedi, Dooku worked with Darth Sidious. And while he helped Sidious with his plans, Dooku still wants what’s best for the Republic.
While meeting Sidious, he is confronted by Yaddle, who overhears everything. Dooku knows that he has hurt the Jedi, who are trying to do the best they can, even though they are constantly involved in bureaucratic nonsense. However, this confrontation from Yaddle, coupled with her asking Dooku to turn himself in, pushes Dooku completely to the Dark Side. He knows that he can never go back to the Jedi now, though Yaddle says that she agrees with him on many points.
9. Yaddle’s End
Episode 4: “The Sith Lord”
Since Yaddle’s history was never really explored, outside of her one appearance in Phantom Menace, there has always been speculation as to what happened to her, especially after Grogu was revealed in The Mandalorian. It was suspected that he ran away with his son during Order 66. However, that is not the case.
After confronting Dooku and Sidious, she was killed by a lightsaber. The events of this episode take place after Phantom Menace but before Attack of the Clones, so this raises more questions about Grogu, as her age in the Mandalorian might not match when she was born.
Is Yaddle his mother? Is Grogu actually a clone of Kamino?
10. Why do these training droids exist?
Episode 5: “Practice Makes Perfect”
Ever since A New Hope hit theaters, we’ve seen these flying, blaster-firing Jedi training droids. But why? Why do these things exist? In episode 5, we see Ahsoka training with them and learn why they exist. In the training room, Obi-Wan tells Anakin, “These are the new training remotes, designed to simulate battle droids.”
The Jedi know that the war will continue with the droids in the future, so the next generation of Jedi is training accordingly.
11. Ahsoka after Order 66 but before Rebels
Episode 6: “Resolution”
We know what Ahsoka is up to in the years leading up to A New Hope, as she was featured quite a bit in the animated series Rebels. However, before Rebels and after Order 66, all of that is a bit of a mystery. We know that he escaped from the clone army during the rise of the Empire thanks to Captain Rex, whose inhibitor chip was destroyed thanks to Ashoka. But what happened to her in the middle? Well, she went into hiding and worked as a farmer, under the name Ash-La, probably the name of the woman who voices Ahsoka, Ashley Eckstein.
12. This “Sith”
Episode 6: “Resolution”
We meet a Force-sensitive villain in the employ of the Empire, with the logo emblazoned on his cape. This is also the start of the Empire employing Force-sensitive baddies and calling them Inquisitors, a term we’re all very familiar with by now.
The show’s credits list this character simply as Arbiter, and he is voiced by none other than Clancy Brown (The Shawshank Redemption, Dexter: New Blood). In the novel Ahsoka, by EK Johnston, this is the Sixth Brother, as this sequence of events is in the book. However, this Inquisitor doesn’t look much like the Sixth Brother, as he appeared in some Marvel Comics series, and the two die in different ways. He’s probably just a new character at this point.
13. Why Ahsoka comes out of hiding
Episode 6: “Resolution”
While Ahsoka doesn’t say it outright, seeing the farm and town she worked in burn down by the Empire was her call to action. If she stays from her, there will be more inquisitors looking for her and anyone she stays with. The only way to truly gain freedom is to fight back.
