In Review: Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld Season One

Synopsis: Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld follows the galaxy’s criminal underworld. Asajj Ventress, a former assassin, flees with a new ally, while Cad Bane confronts his past when meeting an old friend turned Marshal.

The Stories

Tales of the Underworld unfolds over six episodes, telling two distinct stories.

The opening arc centers on Asajj Ventress, last seen in The Bad Batch. Though she was believed to have died while saving Quinlan Vos during a confrontation with Count Dooku, this event occurs off-screen. The story briefly addresses her return in a prologue, where Quinlan Vos is shown carrying Ventress’s lifeless body to the Waters of Life. After he leaves, a mysterious force within the water revives her.

With the war behind her, Ventress tries to settle into a quiet life, working security at a small tourist shop. However, her peace is short-lived when a young Jedi Padawan named Lyco arrives, on the run from the Empire. He reveals he’s searching for Quinlan Vos, rumored to be offering sanctuary to fugitive Jedi. Over the first three episodes, Ventress and Lyco forge an uneasy partnership as they navigate the criminal underworld in search of Vos.

The final three episodes shift focus to the origin story of the infamous bounty hunter Cad Bane. It begins with two young street kids, Niro and Colby (the future Cad Bane), surviving by running scams and scavenging from trash. A chance encounter with a gang leader changes their fate when he recruits them for a heist, using them as distractions. During the escape, Colby gets away, but Niro is caught by the authorities. Years later, Colby—now going by Cad Bane—returns home after learning the gang leader has been killed. Seeking revenge, he crosses paths with the local law enforcement, only to discover that Niro is now a deputy sheriff. In a tense standoff, Bane kills the sheriff but is betrayed by one of his own crew, who wants out of the criminal life. A few years later, Bane is released from prison on a technicality—and sets his sights on Niro.

Voice Acting

Nika Futterman does a fantastic job voicing Asajj Ventress, as we see her begin what could well be the start of a redemption arc. There are some great comedic moments too, particularly when Ventress takes the mickey out of the rather green young Jedi, Lyco (voiced by Lane Factor), who seeks her help in finding Vos.

Corey Burton returns as the voice of Cad Bane and, as always, absolutely nails it. Dawn-Lyen Gardner gives a solid performance as Arin, a fellow gang member who harbors secret feelings for Bane and ultimately betrays him just as he’s about to shoot his old friend Niro. Artt Butler voices Niro, a career lawman who ends up raising Arin’s son—and whose story meets a tragic end.

Overall

Released with very little promotional effort on May the 4th, Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld deserved more fanfare than it received. As someone who enjoys the more grounded stories within the Star Wars universe, I really appreciated this series and liked how it delivered two substantial stories across six episodes.

The first arc follows Asajj Ventress as she attempts to build a new life for herself with as little complication as possible. It’s a must-see for fans of the character, who played a major role in Star Wars: The Clone Wars as one of the main villains under Count Dooku. The second story gives us an origin tale for the enigmatic bounty hunter Cad Bane, another prominent figure from the Clone Wars series.

Both stories were tight and entertaining. I especially enjoyed the spaghetti western nods in Cad Bane’s arc, particularly in some of the music cues.

Overall, this was a solid series, and I hope we get a second season that explores more of the fantastic underworld characters we’ve come to know over the years.