Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld gives us exactly what we were craving
- Camila Domingues
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
Happy May the Fourth! May the Force be with you today!
This lovely morning, I woke up refreshed and ready as I remembered that Disney has decided to shower us with six amazing, emotionally packed episodes featuring two iconic fan-favorites in the franchise: the Sith-apprentice-turned-assassin-turned-good-person-kind-of Asajj Ventress and the bounty hunter Cad Bane.
What's so exciting about these? We get two amazing stories on two characters we can't get enough of - a continuation of Asajj's post-resurrection life and her newly found purpose, and we get a hell of a heartbreaking origin story for Cad Bane.
But, I won't spill the beans here. Let's examine both stories and talk about some of the takeaways, shall we? Brace yourselves, it's a smidge long-winded.
Beware spoilers for all 6 episodes of Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld below. Read at your own risk.
Star Wars: Tales from the Underworld - Asajj Ventress' story takeaways
We woke up to three incredible episodes about my personal all-time favorite Star Wars character, and a character that is deeply relatable on a personality and saber-fighting level - the Dathomirian Nightsister and overall badass Asajj Ventress.
For those unfamiliar with Ventress, she made her first appearance as Count Dooku's assassin in the 2008 animated movie Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Since then, she had several appearances in the show Clone Wars as well as The Bad Batch, where she surprised us all by coming back from what we assumed had been death (spoiler alert if you haven't read Star Wars: Dark Disciple by Christie Golden). The first scene of the first episode of Tales of the Underworld, "A Way Forward", shows Ventress' lover, Vos, and Obi-Wan Kenobi putting Ventress' corpse down to rest in Dathomir, with the rest of her Nightsisters - one of the last moment of the book Dark Disciple brought to animation. Once Mother Talzin's voice awakens her and gives her two paths to choose from (death or return to the living), Ventress is reborn and it's clear she has gone through a change for the good (she's still so freaking cool).
These three episodes are a lesson in how people can change, no matter how old they are, or how badly ingrained some old habits are. Asajj is more balanced, less focused on herself this time, and even proves to be a different person by not killing first and asking questions later. She takes care of Lyco, a Jedi hiding in plain sight from the Empire, and even teaches him a couple of life lessons while she's at it. She meets up with old "friends" who only try to backstab her for profit, but she also teaches them a lesson in return: she allows them to live if they give her and Lyco the intel they're looking for. Which they do, and she keeps her word. I think, upon her resurrection in Dathomir, she has shed that last bit of Dark in her, and she's a true Neutral now. Even more neutral in the Force than Ahsoka herself claims to be as a Grey Jedi in my entirely honest opinion. Ventress has been touched by both the Light and Dark sides during her tumultuous lifetime, and she now knows the true meaning of balance, the give-and-take, the overwhelming decisions one must make to keep tip-toeing the line in the middle.
It was such a refreshing watch.
I now demand Lyco and Ventress adventures. We need them, and I need to see more of my queen. She's a masterclass in how people can change and the see good in things.
Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld - Cad Bane's story takeaways
Not Disney trying to soften blows by delivering them through animation instead of live-action. Didn't work, I still teared up a couple times during these 6 episodes. But, I won't complain too much - it gave us a hell of an origin story for one of our favorite bounty hunters ever, Cad Bane.
In these three episodes, we see a life full of instability for little Cad, then Colby, and his friend Niro. Both orphaned, living on the streets, and trying to steal and cheat their way to money for food and essentials, Niro and Colby run into a man with a hat and a very familiar attitude named Lazlo, and their lives change forever and take off very different directions. This is where Cad is born. When he and Niro are split up for the following years, there's a clear difference between them, and this is the point of these episodes. Crossroads. What path to taken when you're presented with two and you have very limited time to make a choice. Colby chose Cad. He left Niro with the law enforcement and joined Lazlo's crew, carving his path. Niro took this as a lesson as seems to become a better person, ultimately joining the police once he grows up.
We get a little tiny look into Cad's early career and personal life. He very clearly has a partner, Arin, and things are good with Lazlo, his mentor and head of his crew. And Disney does nothing on purpose. In his second episode (episode 4, "A Good Turn"), there's a scene of her returning to her seat next to Cad briefly cradling her stomach. During the fight that ensues against the Marshall as Cad seeks vengeance for Lazlo's death, she tells them that they have a future and to not throw it away. She was pregnant with their child. And didn't tell him. UGH.
Well, then we see the resolution of all this mess. As Cad Bane is put away for killing the Marshall, Arin is taken care of by Niro and they eventually find love and marry, and he raises Arin and Cad's son, Isaac, as his own. Of course, this is not spelled out directly, but it is all heavily there. The look on Cad's face as he realizes in the end, after killing Niro, that Isaac is his and that Niro had been taking care of him only lasts a brief moment, but we know he knows. The fact he turns his back on his own kid as if he either didn't care nor realize he has his, as if telling the kid he's much better off without him in his life, will either help break this heartbreaking cycle of vengeance-killing or only make it worse as Isaac grows.
These episodes kind of humanize Cad Bane a little. We've seen him as a ruthless Bounty Hunter who does what he wants and can to take what he wants and needs, we've seen him as a killer. We have now seen him as an innocent kid trying to get by with his best friend, getting in too deep to turn around and leave, and shedding his innocence, Colby, behind. We see the birth of Cad Bane as he steps into Lazlo's shoes. Literally, he dresses exactly like him.
I would love a few more episodes on Cad Bane's growth and his early years as a bounty hunter under Lazlo. Would love to see the bonds that forge so tightly to make him kill his best friend over it. This was a deeper look into a very intriguing character, and it's not fair to just tease us with a little bit, Disney.
Here's to hoping there will be more to these limited episodes on some of the most iconic Star Wars characters we know. Not only do they make the lore so much better and richer, but they also feed the Star-Wars-hungry-machine in all of us.
All six episodes of Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld can be streamed now on Disney+.
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