‘Star Wars: Tales of the Empire’: What Happened to [Spoiler]?

[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Star Wars: Tales of The Empire Episodes 4, 5 and 6.]

The subject of Barriss Offee’s (voiced by Meredith Salenger) whereabouts after the fall of the Republic has long been a debated subject among Star Wars fans. Some thought she’d managed to escape prison and saved Grogu… which turned out not to be the case. Some thought she’d show up in Ahsoka as an antagonist for her former friend to battle… which turned out not to be the case. Others, still, hypothesized that the disgraced former Jedi might’ve become an Inquisitor… and they were right. But Tales of the Empire proved that turning to the Dark Side was only part of Barriss’ story.

As of the end of the final episode, we’re left conflicted about Barriss—and, again, we’re not sure whether she survived. Let’s break it down.

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Did Barriss Offee Die?

That’s the question most Star Wars fans will certainly be left wondering after they’ve finished Tales of The Empire’s six short episodes. When we leave Barriss, she’s being carried from a series of maze-like caves on a frozen planet in the arms of Lyn (voiced by Rya Kihlstedt), the former Fourth Sister who worked with Barriss during her brief tenure in the Inquisitorius. Before you get too sentimental about Lyn following Barriss’ example in renouncing the Dark Side and leaving behind her double-bladed lightsaber, remember she stabbed Barriss in the gut. Really, carrying her out of the caves was the least Lyn could do.

To Lyn’s credit, she seems to regret hurting Barriss the moment the blade pierces through her. She promises a dying Barriss that she’s going to get her out of there, and she does—moments after white puffs of breath stop appearing below Barriss’ nostrils. It seems a rife setup for an emotional burial scene, but for whatever reason, Tales of The Empire chooses to leave the two former Inquisitors in the snow, their fates unknown. There’s no post-credits scene to give indication of Barriss’ or Lyn’s fates. Even the comics are vague about Lyn’s survival status; while a Rebel Alliance Commander appears with her armor at one point, there’s no mention of whether or not she’d killed Lyn to obtain it.

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Could Barriss Have Survived?

In Star Wars, characters have come back from worse than a lightsaber stab to the gut (just ask Darth Maul). Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), in fact, survived an extremely similar wound after Rey (Daisy Ridley) used the Force to heal him. Also worth noting is that Barriss was living in exile as a healer, so she might’ve had materials in her dwelling for Lyn to use to save her life.

If the creatives at Disney wanted to revive Barriss or even bring her to live-action in a hypothetical second season of Ahsoka, the door has been left suspiciously wide open. However, even if Barriss did die, Lyn survived—and she’s appeared in live-action before, too, in Obi-Wan Kenobi. Either, or both, of the former Inquisitors might appear on-screen again. Even if they don’t, theirs was a moving story about redemption and forgiveness that rings true to the central themes of Star Wars.

Star Wars: Tales of The Empire, Streaming Now, Disney+