Created by Dave Filoni, Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld is a six-part animated anthology series that is the third installment of the Star Wars Tales series that includes Tales of the Jedi and Tales of the Empire. Tales of the Underworld focuses on the stories of two of the most notorious bounty hunters in Star Wars, Asajj Ventress (Nika Futterman) and Cad Bane (Corey Burton), that finally come to light.
The Star Wars Tales series of shorts has honestly been one of the best yet underrated additions to the Star Wars universe, adding more depth and context to the characters and universe we are familiar with, making us feel even more attached to them or giving us a new perspective on them. We have seen the stories of two members of the Jedi Order and two members of the Empire but now we are focusing on two of the deadliest lone wolves in the galaxy that each have their own dedicated episodes.
Does this third season continue the solid streak of the Tales series? After watching all six episodes I felt this was a good season although I’ll admit it isn’t as strong as the previous seasons. The voice acting, the animation, the action and the music are all perfect as one would expect but I felt the writing, while not bad, didn’t have as much depth or layers compared to the stories of the previous seasons making for a weaker third addition that could have been much stronger as a whole.
Since this is an anthology series I will be going over every short individually without going into major spoilers.
Episode 1 “A Way Forward” follows Asajj Ventress directly after the events of the novel “Dark Disciple” where she was killed protecting Jedi Quinlan Vos. We see her be “reborn” and then some time later go into hiding before reluctantly teaming up with a young Jedi on the run, forcing her to return to the life she thought she left behind. This first episode begins the story of what happened to Asajj Ventress in between the events of Dark Disciple and her appearance in The Bad Batch, giving us some beautiful visuals and thrilling action sequences that serve as a fairly good start to the season. It begins with a cold and emotional opening before transitioning into a thrill ride that gives us the Asajj Ventress we know and love in action but this time taking a more heroic turn that sets her on a new path forward.
Nika Futterman does an excellent job reprising her role, proving how perfect she is as this character and never losing any of the qualities that made her such an investing character in The Clone Wars, but given the emotional weight of opening of this episode I was expecting a lot more of her performance wise in this episode and the following.
Episode 2 “Friends” continues with Ventress and the young Jedi who seeks to find intel on “The Path” but must acquire it by completing a risky mission for an old mercenary friend of hers. This heist-themed episode isn’t anything particularly new or unique compared to what we have seen before in other Star Wars projects but it was interesting to get a glimpse of the underworld that Ventress had been a part of since having left the Sith Assassin life. The episode offers plenty of fun and thrills with Ventress taking the lead, but narratively feels like a filler episode of what could have been a much larger story that’s been condensed to three episodes. There’s really not as much to say about this episode other than the action, the voice acting and the animation were all solid.
Episode 3 “One Warrior to Another” continues with Ventress and the young Jedi on direct route to the path where they find themselves in the middle of a local dispute on a backwater planet. They meet an interesting character in the form of a war veteran from the Separatists, who I found to be really interesting as he seems to be unable to move past everything like Ventress has in her new life. You can’t take the war out of a soldier, which Ventress knows all too well, but you can become better. This theme is something I wish could have been further explored, not just in three episodes but in a full-on series following Ventress, which could have been a really interesting watch. However, there is hope of this being a possibility after the episode ends on an unexpected note that could open the door to a new spin-off series that I am completely open for, because these three episodes were just not enough for a layered character like Ventress. She deserves so much better.
The first half of this season may not have been as strong as I hoped for but the second half of the season focusing on Cad Bane is easily the best half hands down. Episode 4 “The Good Life” follows the early childhood origins of Cad Bane and his friend Niro, who began life as street rats until they are both caught up in a gangster’s scheme. It was fascinating to see Cad Bane’s beginnings and exactly what caused him to be on the path that leads him to become a cold blooded killer, as well as how it could have been avoided with the inclusion of his friend Niro, who is a polar opposite of him in terms of personality. I like how much context this episode gives to such a fan-favorite character and gives a great start to a great three-part origin.
Episode 5 “A Good Turn” takes place several years after the previous episode where Bane has become an outlaw who reunites with Niro, who has become a lawman who stands in the way of his new mission. This episode feels like a classic revenge western where we see Bane at a more vengeful and aggressive stage of his life, before becoming the professional bounty hunter he would be later on who doesn’t let emotions get the best of him. This episode is full of emotional kick and intense thrills like a classic western setting and we get to see major consequences from Bane’s actions that not only cement his fate as an outlaw but cause a sharp divide from his oldest friend, who has far stronger morals and heart compared to him.
Episode 6 “One Good Deed” takes place five years after the previous episode, where Cad Bane and his gang return home to settle a score with Niro. This was such an awesome follow-up of tension and drama from the previous episode, showing the direct consequences of the actions of Bane and Niro and leading to an expected but explosive outcome that comes with a surprising twist that not only will change your perspective on Cad Bane forever but also sets up a possible story avenue for Star Wars to follow. Corey Burton delivers some of his best work as Bane for both this episode and the previous, really nailing down the cold and merciless nature of the fan-favorite villain. It’s an extremely solid conclusion to the three-episode arc that ends the season on a dark yet strong note after a weak first half.
I do wish this season of Tales could have been more on par with the previous seasons in terms of having strong narratives with compelling themes and character arcs but it is still a decent watch that delivers fun moments and interesting additions to that lore that long time Star Wars watchers will more than likely enjoy. I do hope for whatever the next season of Tales might be they could step things up a bit from this one because they are able to do so much better than this. I’m going to give Tales of the Underworld a B- = 83.
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