Star Wars: Tales Of The Empire Reveals Who Created One Of The Deadliest TIE Fighters
There will be spoilers for the "Star Wars: Tales of the Empire," episode "The Path of Anger," so beware.
In "Star Wars Rebels" we were introduced to a new prototype TIE Fighter that was far superior to the standard TIE Fighter in use by the Imperial fleet. Unlike the common TIE Fighters seen across "Star Wars" media, TIE Defenders had shields and hyperdrives, and they were deadly and far less disposable than the usual fleet. Grand Admiral Thrawn spent time lobbying the Empire to allocate resources to further develop the TIE Defender program and put them in use for battlefield superiority.
Unfortunately, Grand Moff Tarkin and Director Krennic worked to funnel every credit they could into developing the Death Star, putting all of their eggs in one basket. As the crew of the Ghost found out on "Star Wars Rebels", TIE Defenders were some of the most deadly ships the Empire ever fielded and spent so much time and effort to disrupt the production of the ships and thwart Grand Admiral Thrawn himself.
But who designed this lethal ship that could have changed the course of the Galactic Civil War? Thanks to "Star Wars: Tales of the Empire," we finally have an answer.
Morgan Elsbeth designed the TIE Defender
Morgan Elsbeth was first introduced into the "Star Wars" universe in the second season of "The Mandalorian" as the Magistrate of Corvus, a planet that she takes control of later in this series. In that show, she fights against Ahsoka Tano, who is desperately seeking information on the whereabouts of Grand Admiral Thrawn, hoping to prevent his reemergence in the galaxy while also tracking down Ezra Bridger. In the "Ahsoka" series, we discovered that Elsbeth did not perish in her conflict with Ahsoka in their fight and in fact, she was a witch of Dathomir with a past on that world. Now, the first episode of "Tales of the Empire" shows us her tragic past tied to the famous battle from "Star Wars: The Clone Wars."
After the defeat of the witches on Dathomir and her exile from the other clans on the planet, Morgan Elsbeth sets her sights on getting revenge on those who destroyed her life and her people. The second episode of "Star Wars: Tales of the Empire", entitled "Path of Anger," begins with Elsbeth giving a briefing on Coruscant about her proposed TIE Defender program, revealing that she herself designed the upgraded fighter for the Empire, connecting her inextricably to the story of Thrawn's origins, rather than just his reemergence in "Ahsoka."
Thrawn's role in creating the TIE Defender
Thrawn is a tactical genius, first introduced in the current canon in "Star Wars: Rebels" alongside the underfunded and undernourished TIE Defender program, and he immediately sees the advantage of Elsbeth's design. He recruits Morgan into his inner circle, making her an ally in this episode of "Tales of the Empire." Thrawn's appearance — presaged by the cameo of Rukh, his Noghri bodyguard — is the only time he appears in the "Tales of the Empire" series, but it is a chilling moment and shows us the beginnings of how far ahead he thinks out his strategies.
By recruiting Morgan Elsbeth, Thrawn ties this single episode of "Tales of the Empire" to "Star Wars: Rebels," as well as the Timothy Zahn novels that intertwine with that series, and "The Mandalorian" and " Ahsoka" TV shows, offering a pivotal moment that impacts many different avenues of "Star Wars" storytelling.
Looking at the incredible and deadly performance of the TIE Defender in "Star Wars: Rebels," Thrawn had a thorough understanding of what it would take to defeat the Rebel Alliance, and Morgan Elsbeth was key to that. They just couldn't account for the will of the Force and the powers of Ezra Bridger and Ahsoka Tano.
"Star Wars: Tales of the Empire" is available to stream in its entirety on Disney+.