Star Wars has had difficulty walking away from beloved characters, and their newest addition is no different. But with its short format and quick pace, Tales of the Jedi is a welcomed addition to the universe and the series canon.

An anthology series that follows Count Doku (Corey Burton) and Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) as one drifts away from the path of the Jedi while the other comes into her own way, Tales of the Jedi works best when following Ahsoka, but that doesn’t mean that the series isn’t great when following Doku. Still, it doesn’t have the same impact Ahsoka might have on fans of the Clone Wars series.

With three episodes each, the anthology tries to dive deep into the psyche of those characters but is stopped from trying to explore too much with the short run time of each episode. With only six episodes, all of them around 15 minutes each, the show doesn’t have much time, and by choosing to cover two characters, it splits its attention even more.

Tales of the Jedi want to parallel Ahsoka and Doku, which works. The show would have benefited from mixing the two, but it also makes sense timeline-wise to have that split this way. The pacing is clunky, with the series opening with Ahsoka’s birth before going to three straight episodes of Doku and finally finishing Ahsoka’s story with two episodes.

The series’ exploration of characters that we know before we know them is well done. While Ahsoka is more familiar to fans, Count Doku benefits a lot and shows that he isn’t just a moustache-twirling villain but really – just like Anakin – lost fate into the Jedi Order. An interesting parallel is drawn because Ahsoka also loses her faith as the Empire rises, unlike Doku, who never turns to the dark side. It’s why these two characters are explored and not just one. And the main reason why I think mixing the two stories in the same episodes instead of separating them would have worked much better.

All of this doesn’t mean that the anthology isn’t impressive. It is clear that there is a vision, and while some things can be nitpicked, it is hard not to fall in love with it. As a massive Clone Wars fan, this was what I loved about the animated series, and while short and sweet, it made me miss the show even more.

Tales of the Jedi might benefit in the future by exploring lesser or unknown characters, it’s an idea that is fun, and its short format might be a great way to show part of the Star Wars universe that we might have never had the chance to see before. It’s a story that works best when focusing on the emotions of each character and even better when it draws parallels between its main two subjects.