Very disappointed by the storyline decisions this time around. To the point where I was actively hating every second of watching Episode 6.
Visually, they have mastered their craft. The art style and thematic depictions are top-notch, probably the best we’ve ever seen in Star Wars animation.
Nothing wrong with Elsbeth’s episodes, other than I find them to be somewhat… pointless? I guess it provides a little bit more context for her appearance in Mando, and some of her attitude in Ahsoka. But when you have an entire universe of characters to choose from to tell 40 minutes of high-quality visual storytelling, I am not exaggerating when I say I could name 200 other characters I would have rather seen get the spotlight than Elsbeth. Her arc here just doesn’t mean anything at the end of the day. Grievous was the highlight of her episodes, followed up by Thrawn. Overall, very mediocre plot with great visuals and thematic presence. 6.2/10
Episode 4 starts incredibly strong with Barriss adjusting to a new life in the Empire. The pacing was as good as it can be in a 15-minute timeslot, and everything here was pure setup potential. Episode 5 appears to start to deliver on this with a very dark and compelling opening scene, but wow does it go off the rails. All of the setup from the previous episode gets tossed out the window, and we get example #100 of dark sider turns good. I just really can’t fathom how that decision makes sense in the second half of the episode. Then 6 just completely lost me from the very premise, to the point where I actively disliked watching it anymore. The Sister gets just as much focus as Barriss, the stupid stab through the chest doesn’t kill people trend, she ALSO turns light, Barriss looks 50 years older but the Sister hasn’t aged a day? And what a tease of Vader for absolutely nothing. That was by far the most interesting premise in the entire show, yet we don’t get anymore than the trailer. Visually still looked great, but I strongly disliked the storyline choices to the point of not even enjoying watching it and now having to try to wipe it from my mind, so a 2.3/10 for me on this arc.
I was a huge fan of Tales of the Jedi, but Tales of the Empire really, really dropped the ball for me. The title of the show barely even makes sense… The Empire was not the focus at all, and at least half the show is set in a time period where the Empire doesn’t even exist. Just very confusing directing decisions, and I left feeling like at best this is simply not worth watching because it adds nothing to the saga other than an improvement in visual effects, and at worst feeling like I disliked it so much I’m going to pretend it doesn’t exist in my headcanon. It gets a 3.1/10 overall from me and I would not recommend it to anyone unless you view it as a tech demo for what the future of Star Wars animation could be.