Star Wars: Tales of the Empire is the second installment in the series of animated shorts that detail the deeper backstories of certain Star Wars characters. Obviously, the title of the second installment implies that the characters in question venture into darker paths than those seen in Tales of the Jedi – but that’s not entirely true.
One of the characters that Tales of the Empire focuses on is Barriss Offee, one of the most controversial characters introduced in the Star Wars: The Cone Wars animated series. A Jedi padawan who turned terrorist and bombed the Jedi Temple, Barriss offered a dark vision of what her best friend Ahsoka Tano could’ve become. However, Clone Wars gave Barriss a somewhat ambiguous fate: she was locked up for her crimes by the Republic, and never heard from again — until now.
Star Wars: What Happened to Barriss Offee? Explained
(Photo: Lucasfilm Animation)
Tales of the Empire‘s three segments about Barriss Offee reveal that she was in jail on Coruscant the night of Order 66, and was freed from her cell by Lyn Rakish, the Jedi who fell to the dark side and became the Inquisitor known as Fourth Sister. Barriss was put through the Inquisitors’ horrific training, ultimately slaying her former Jedi colleague Dante in the audition.
As an Inquisitor, Barriss was partnered with Rakish on a mission to hunt down a Jedi. However, when Barriss tried to sway the young Jedi into becoming an Inquisitor, Rakish simply slaughtered them, claiming that was the true role of Inquisitor. Barriss could reconcile herself with that idea, and defected from the Inquisitors by turning on Rakish and Force-pushing her off a cliff.
As it turns out, Barriss Offee returned to the light side, giving up her lightsaber(s) in exchange for using her Force abilities as “The Healer,” living on a remote icy planet, aided by a few loyal disciples. When two parents come to her to “heal” their child, Barriss recognizes the Force potential of the child and senses that a familiar presence is hunting it: Lyn Rakish. Barriss distracts Lyn by luring her into a cave, where the Force is especially strong. Inside, Rakish lost her way (literally and figuratively), while Offee tried to talk her friend into renouncing her dark allegiances. In the end, Lyn was redeemed when she accidentally impaled Barriss in a rage. Barriss was barely clinging to life when last seen being carried out of the cave by Lyn.
(Photo: Lucasfilm Animation)
Star Wars: Tales of the Empire has offered more development on Barriss Offee than any other Star Wars content. That said, the series did leave us in the same place: wondering if Barriss Offee is even still alive – and if so, what happened to her after the Empire fell.
Star Wars: Tales of the Empire is now streaming on Disney+.
