Tales of the Underworld Tells A Quick Action Story
Like the previous “Tales” miniseries for Star Wars, Tales of the Underworld is not actually one narrative. It’s multiple stories bundled together under one theme. And because of that, I decided it would work better to review them separately. The first three episodes are for Asajj Ventress, and the last three episodes are for Cad Bane.
So, then, how is the Asajj story? Well, I didn’t watch all of Clone Wars, so I don’t have all the backstory—but I do know that she’s Doku’s assassin, and I have the vague impression she tends to lose a lot. Considering the first episode starts with her literally dead, I guess that impression was proven correct. But, apparently, there’s some spiritual/force/magic going on, because she does not remain dead.
There Are Some Deep Lore Moments In This Series
No, instead, Tales of the Underworld throws us into a classic redemption story—which, considering Tales of the Empire also has a Sith redemption story, seems to be a favorite of these things. Asajj is not only forced to help out a Jedi, but she’s basically given her own hero’s journey, with very predictable plot beats at multiple points.
And that would be fine. Star Wars loves playing out classic stories. Nothing wrong with a good ol’ classic trope salad. But wow, do these three episodes fall apart under any scrutiny, and in so many weird ways, too. That short runtime forces the narrative to throw conveniences out at a steady pace. They arrive on a planet, and the person they’re looking for goes through a window. The only adult they meet in the desert happens to know an approximate way to get to what they want. I understand a story sometimes needs side quests for the sake of it being an actual story, but the way they pop into Tales of the Underworld is almost like a video game with how aggressively they are presented, and how specific the “rewards” are for completing them. It’s immersion-shattering.
Tales of the Underworld Is Mostly Lots Of Detours
Also, the deep lore stuff I do understand—unlike the resurrection—is muddled. Maybe it’s based on Asajj’s personal history and her personal stances, but I’m pretty sure this episode has a really weird moment regarding the politics of one of the recent wars. There’s something in there about a warrior moving past a war when the war is done—that’s interesting philosophically—but I’m wary of narratives that “both sides” a conflict and of the only character who’s disabled in this story being someone who hangs the masks of his kills on his wall. I think he’s supposed to be a decorated soldier of the Separatists—making his droid scarecrows have some deeper symbolism that I can’t quite parse—and besides being associated with General Grievous, Doku, and the Clone Wars in general, I only know the Separatists as the bad guys who make the generic enemy droids. Perhaps Asajj’s comment was in reference to how the Republic was later corrupted. I know these shows are mostly intended for people who have made their way through the longer series, but the whole scene threw me out of the story for a moment there.
The Third Episode Is The Worst Part Of The Story
The ending is also an odd one. I predicted it. It’s very predictable. But I have no idea how it’s going to go if the narrative has or will continue. Asajj Ventress and a young Jedi I guess will wander the universe together, trying to hide from Inquisitors. Asajj is trained in the Dark Side; Lyco the Light Side. It doesn’t seem like it’ll go well—or Lyco will slowly become more ruthless as survival becomes more dire. I will say I can accept their friendship from a few decent scenes. There’s a very classic dynamic, almost reminiscent of Anakin and Obi-Wan, where they get on one another’s nerves, but would die for the other.
I do want to wrap up with some praise, though, because I have been fairly negative, and it’s not like I didn’t have a fun time with Tales of the Underworld. The animation has only improved since Clone Wars, and the lightsaber fights—while occasionally hard to follow—are dynamic and fun. The heist action scene is an especially standout, involving multiple ships, combatants, and a big metal ball. It was both incredibly well-choreographed and established a lot of character without dialog. Asajj had a moment to abandon Lyco—but didn’t. I can only hope the second half, the Cad Bane half, has similar moments of action. I would never suggest someone start with Tales of the Underworld, but it was still created with skill and charm that shines through.
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