The extensive world of Star Wars received its newest instalment on October 26, with the release of the first season of Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi. The series is a brainchild of Dave Filoni, who has a long history of writing and directing fan-favourite Star Wars series such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars and The Mandalorian. This new series tells the untold stories in the Star Wars timeline across the prequel trilogy, most notably filling in the blanks of The Clone Wars series. The animation style, voice actors, and plotline all push the audience into accepting Tales of the Jedi as an extension of the incredibly popular animated series. All six episodes of the first season were released on Disney+, and reviews have unsurprisingly been overwhelmingly positive, knowing Filoni’s reputation with this franchise. 

The season is an in-depth background analysis of two fan-favourite characters — Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku. Despite their popularity among Star Wars fans, there are still large chunks of their stories that remain untold. Ahsoka is the former Jedi Padawan of Anakin Skywalker, the main protagonist (who later becomes the antagonist) of the prequel trilogy. Three of the episodes in the show cover her birth and early childhood, previously unseen parts of her training and character development under the mentorship of Anakin, and later, her emotional trauma and self-reflection when she is hunted by her former master. Ahsoka leaves  the Jedi Order due to her disillusionment with the Jedi Council after a false accusation of treason. Despite this and other emotionally traumatizing events in her life in a war-torn galaxy, she stands by firmly to her morals. Despite no longer being a Jedi, she has an unwavering willingness to put herself in danger to protect those weaker, even those who do not approve of her. The reasons behind her attitude and the lessons she learns are explored in the story of her origins and the snapshots into her life in exile during her adult life. 

Count Dooku is one of the main antagonists in the prequel trilogy, being the character behind the mysterious “Darth Tyrannus” that brought fear to the Jedi Order all through the Clone Wars. Famously falling from grace from a Jedi Master to a Sith Lord, Dooku has experienced both extreme ends of the Force. However, far more of his story as a Sith Lord is told than that of his time as a Jedi Master, despite him being the Jedi Master to at least two other protagonists of the main Star Wars films and consequently having an integral impact on their development. Dooku has historically been portrayed in a very one-dimensional light, with his fall to the Dark Side being illustrated as a straightforward betrayal for power and influence. This is anything but the case, and Tales of the Jedi effectively fleshes this out in detail. Episodes 2 to 4 explore two missions that Count Dooku undertakes during his time as a Jedi Master that highlight his loss of faith in the Jedi Order. His internal conflict is not dissimilar to that of Ahsoka’s. Dooku is constantly forced to choose between the morals of the Jedi Code that was instilled into him during his training, and the influence of a Galactic Senate growing ever more corrupt. The breaking point of his faith in the Jedi and his final step towards becoming a Sith Lord is put on full display.

Animated in the same style as The Clone Wars, this series brings back waves of nostalgia while simultaneously introducing us to new stories and characters. The development of the traits of both well-known and rarely seen characters makes the Star Wars universe feel much more tangible and holistic — making the audience feel that time goes on and stories are created even behind the scenes. Seeing the familiar faces and voices of characters that we know to no longer be with us brings bittersweet pangs of emotion, but these seem to be welcomed despite their pain as Filoni plunges the world into the Star Wars universe once more.