‘Tales of the Empire’ Episode 3 Recap & Review: New Republic, Same Issues

Warning: The below contains spoilers for Star Wars: Tales of the Empire Episode 3.

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The New Republic has been disorganized, arrogant, and inept throughout the sequel trilogy, The Mandalorian and Ahsoka. It couldn’t be a competent group of people to allow the rise of the First Order regardless, but it’s shocking to witness first-hand how poorly they handle issues. Unfortunately for them, this trend continues directly into Star Wars: Tales of the Empire Episode 3.

Morgan Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto) is now flourishing in her miniature empire on Corvus, but the people of the planet are suffering more than ever. She is visited by a former citizen of Corvus named Nadura (Shelby Young) and a group of New Republic guards (Steve Blum).

However, their arrogance outweighs their tactical skills, and they find themselves outmatched by Morgan Elsbeth. Check out the final piece of Morgan’s story before The Mandalorian in our Star Wars: Tales of the Empire Episode 3 recap.

New Republic Troopers Underestimate Morgan Elsbeth in ‘Tales of the Empire’ Episode 3

Despite warnings from her friends still inhabiting Corvus, Nadura is determined to force Morgan to resign from her position as magistrate. She is filled with confidence and a sense of duty now that the Empire has fallen. However, in typical New Republic fashion, she doesn’t give her opponent the respect they deserve and plans to take down Morgan by herself with the help of only a few guards.

A firefight ensues as the only action sequence in Tales of the Empire Episode 3, and nearly every single New Republic guard perishes in the process. They’re no match for the skills Morgan has amassed over the years, and she sets her sights on Nadura to finish the job. Just before her death, Nadura sends a beacon for backup, something she should’ve done in the first place.

Despite Civil Unrest, Morgan Elsbeth Remains in Charge of Corvus

Although the residents of Corvus are now ready to revolt against Morgan, she doubles down with her fascistic ideals. She burns down the forests outside of the capital city and demands citizens perform slave labor around the clock for the planet’s economy to thrive.

In addition to boxing them into the city, the burning forest also sets the stage for Corvus to resemble the first meeting between Morgan Elsbeth and Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson). With their planet set in flames and Morgan seemingly more powerful than ever, all seems lost for those remaining on Corvus in Tales of the Jedi Episode 3.

‘Tales of the Jedi’ Episode 3 Teases Familiar Faces

Just before the episode concludes, a beacon begins to flash, and it appears help could be on the way. On the other side of the transmission is none other than Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff), completing Morgan’s origin before she appeared in Season 2 of The Mandalorian for the first time.

While Tales of the Jedi Episode 3 didn’t add much new lore to the Star Wars universe, Morgan’s set of stories successfully portrayed her origin and filled in most of the unknown gaps about her character. The combination of action, strong dialogue, and a great voice-acting performance by Diana Lee Inosanto make for a worthy addition to Star Wars animation.

All six episodes of Star Wars: Tales of the Empire are now streaming exclusively on Disney+. Follow the Agents of Fandom socials for the latest Star Wars news and reviews.