Barriss Offee – ‘Star Wars’ Character Spotlight

This Star Wars Character Spotlight is an updated version of an article summarizing Barriss Offee’s story before her return in Tales of the Empire. It has since been updated with details on her appearance in the animated series.

 

Barriss Offee got her start in Legends material. The Mirialan Jedi was created for the novel The Approaching Storm, written by Alan Dean Foster as a tie-in to Attack of The Clones. In that story, Barriss and her Mirialan master Luminara Unduli work with Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi to resolve a border dispute on Ansion. This event is technically canon, as it was referenced by Mace Windu in Attack of the Clones, though the details are cloudy due to that story’s Legends status.

 

She was nearly killed off at two separate points in the prequel era, but George Lucas and Dave Filoni took a shine to the character and left opportunities for her story to continue.

 

Attack of The Clones

 

 

Some people do not realize that Barriss Offee has already had her live-action debut — in fact, it came before her animated appearances. Barriss Offee has multiple appearances in Attack of the Clones, though she doesn’t have any lines of dialogue. The first comes in Chancellor Palpatine’s office at the beginning of the film, when that “border dispute on Ansion” is first mentioned. Barriss stands at the back alongside her master Luminara, while Yoda, Windu, and Ki-Adi Mundi confer with the Chancellor.

 

She later appears in the Battle of Geonosis, fighting alongside her master as they travel with hundreds of Jedi to rescue Anakin, Obi-Wan and Padmé.

 

Animation debut

 

 

Barriss Offee didn’t really become known to most fans until her debut in season 2 of The Clone Wars animated series. She first appeared in the Second Battle of Geonosis, the beginning of a three-episode arc which paired her up with Ahsoka Tano. Barriss was painted as a much more traditional Jedi padawan than Ahsoka, obeying her master Luminara’s every order without question, while Ahsoka frequently argued with Anakin.

 

The two Padawans ended up trapped underground and isolated from their masters — Luminara was relaxed about the prospect of losing her Padawan, while Anakin did everything he could to save Ahsoka — Barriss was resigned to her death in service of the Order, while Ahsoka fought to survive. They ended up destroying a Geonosian droid and weapons factory, with Barriss choosing to prioritize Ahsoka’s life over their mission, a bit of personal growth for her.

 

Things got a bit rough for Barriss from here though, as she became possessed by a Geonosian brain worm and effectively became part of a zombie hive mind. She chased Ahsoka around a cramped ship, in which they were the only Jedi aboard. At one point, Barriss begged Ahsoka to kill her in a brief moment of consciousness, but her friend managed to find a way to extract the worm from her body and kill it.

 

She was also glimpsed later in season 2 as a witness to Jedi Master Eeth Koth’s torture at the hands of General Grievous, was seen attending Obi-Wan Kenobi’s sham funeral and participated early on in The Battle of Umbara in season 4, fighting alongside Ahsoka. The pair were shown to have become good friends and would spar together later in the series. Even though Barriss had witnessed and experienced many horrific things during the Clone Wars, she still strove to remain a traditional Jedi, often chastizing Ahsoka for her non-traditional methods.

 

Fall to the dark side

 

 

By the fifth season of The Clone Wars — which mostly covered the final year of the war — Barriss had become a Jedi Knight in her own right. However, her opinion of the Jedi had become distorted over the course of the war as she’d witnessed so much cruelty and pain both from the enemy and the Jedi themselves. She came to the conclusion that the Jedi had lost their way and it seems this crisis of faith precipitated her fall to the dark side of the Force.

 

She decided to make a statement against the Jedi Order, working with a civilian to bomb a hangar bay in the Jedi Temple. This act of terrorism killed multiple Jedi, clone troopers, and civilians. Barriss kept her role in the bombing secret, opting instead to frame it on Ahsoka by Force-choking her civilian accomplice from afar while she was being interrogated by the Padawan.

 

Her plan was successful. Barriss pretended to help Ahsoka solve the mystery by giving her false leads, eventually planting enough evidence to frame the padawan that she was branded a fugitive from the Republic. When she saw that Asajj Ventress had partnered with Tano in her investigation, she attacked the former-Sith-acolyte-turned-bounty-hunter and took her outfit and lightsabers, disguising herself as Ventress to drive a wedge between the unlikely duo.

 

It’s unclear why Barriss framed her closest friend specifically, but perhaps she felt Ahsoka was a symbol of what the Jedi had become in her mind. Ahsoka was a good person, but trained as a warrior first and peacekeeper second, opposite to everything the Jedi stood for. Her unorthodox and non-traditional methods in conflict evoked her equally non-traditional master, who had become the poster boy for the Jedi Order, so maybe Barriss thought framing her would make the Jedi realize how far they had fallen and convince them to withdraw from the war entirely.

 

Eventually, Anakin Skywalker discovered that Barriss had been behind the bombing all along and the pair fought, with Barriss opting to use Ventress’ red blades instead of her own blue saber. She remarked that the color “suited” her, making it clear that she had fallen to the dark side. Anakin won the fight and Barriss was imprisoned.

 

Apparently, Barriss was supposed to be killed in that finale, but Dave Filoni had her imprisoned instead as he had plans for her. It took several years for those plans to come to fruition.

 

Becoming an Inquisitor

 

 

In Tales of the Empire, we see Barriss imprisoned in a New Republic facility while Order 66 took place. Despite her own terrorist actions, she was alarmed to feel the deaths of her fellow Jedi and saw smoke coming from the Jedi Temple through her cell window. She was soon visited by former Jedi Lyn Rakish, who had quickly turned to the dark side and become an Inquisitor.

 

Rakish informed her that the Jedi had tried to assassinate Palpatine and take control of the Republic, before offering her the chance to join the Inquisitorius. Barriss hesitated, but given her lack of options — it was heavily hinted if she rejected the offer, she would be killed by her clone guards — she accepted the offer.

 

She was brought to Fortress Inquisitorius, where she met two other former Jedi and the Grand Inquisitor, who delivered a speech offering them a position working to deliver Emperor Palpatine’s vision. The following day, Barriss accompanied the Grand Inquisitor in a training session. He told her to pick a lightsaber from a table and attempt to strike him with all her might.

 

Barriss struggled to land a blow on him as the Grand Inquisitor taunted her, seeking to provoke her into anger and fuel her power in the dark side of the Force. Eventually, she Force pushed him into a wall and he was satisfied that she had passed the first test. The final test would force her to kill one of the other former Jedi, cementing her place as an Inquisitor. Barriss was reluctant but had to defend herself as the other former Jedi picked up a lightsaber and charged her. They fought, and Barriss won by snapping his neck.

 

She passed the test and the Fourth Inquisitor (Lyn Rakish) presented her with her Inquisitor helmet. Barriss joined her, the Eleventh Brother and the First Brother in an initiation ceremony performed by Darth Vader.

 

 

We next see Barriss working with the Fourth Sister early on in the Reign of the Empire tracking down a Jedi refugee on a remote planet. They arrived in a simple village with the goal of learning the Jedi’s location. While the Fourth Sister used aggression and violence to try and force the intel out of them, Barriss used her compassion to coax the information out of a child, reassuring him that he’d be alright. The Fourth Sister, who disapproved of Barriss’ softer tactics, was furious at the locals’ deception and massacred them all, to Barriss’ horror.

 

They soon found the Jedi hiding in the mountains nearby. The Fourth Sister attacked immediately but was overpowered by them. Barriss intervened and begged the Jedi to surrender. As the Jedi considered her proposal, he was slashed across the back by the Fourth Sister. Barriss wanted to get them medical help as they were still alive, but the Fourth Sister declared that she wanted to kill all the remaining Jedi, not caring if they could be swayed to their cause.

 

That was it for Barriss. She had witnessed too many acts of cruelty from the Fourth Sister, and likely many more from other Inquisitors. She declared herself a Jedi, which of course made the Fourth Sister furious. Before she could attack, Barriss Force-pushed her off a cliff. She held the dying Jedi fugitive in her arms, promising she would stay with them as they passed away.

 

A Force healer

 

 

Barriss hid on a snowy world far away from the Empire’s reach, setting up a small home for herself where she lived in near-isolation. Her only interactions with others were helping to heal travelers passing through the mountain blizzards. She lived there in peace for many years, until she was eventually found by the Fourth Sister, who had been tracking a young Force-sensitive child on the planet.

 

It was hinted that Barriss was in contact with the Hidden Path. When meeting a small child with Force abilities, she directed their parents to a starship that would take them to an “old friend”, who could train them in the ways of the Jedi and keep them safe from harm. We have no idea who that friend is, but it’s possible it could be Quinlan Vos or any other Jedi associated with the Hidden Path.

 

The Fourth Sister tracked the child to Barriss’ home, discovering her old Inquisitor comrade. She was surprised by her discovery but still eager to take revenge for her former sister’s betrayal. Barriss lured the Fourth Sister into a crystal cave nearby, losing her in the mirrored maze.

 

The Inquisitor quickly became lost in the maze and slashed wildly at the walls whenever she saw Barriss’ reflection, as Barriss tried her best to convince her old partner to turn away from the dark side and the Inquisitorius. Her pleas began to work, as Rakish became confused and frustrated even as she continued aimlessly slashing.

 

Unfortunately, she accidentally impaled Barriss with her lightsaber, not realizing that she was real and not a reflection. Lyn instantly regretted her decision, dropping her lightsaber and holding Barriss in her arms. She left the crystal maze cave holding Barriss in her arms, leaving her Inquisitor lightsaber behind.

 

Legacy

 

For a long time, Barriss Offee was known as the Jedi who turned to the dark side and became a terrorist in order to show the Jedi that they were on the wrong path. While her observations about the Jedi were correct, her extremist methods went too far and forever altered the future of her best friend Ahsoka Tano.

 

Now, Tales of the Empire hints that Barriss was responsible for turning Lyn Rakish away from the dark side and the Inquisitorius. It’s tempting to believe that her last act was a redemptive one.

 

What next?

 

Though Barriss Offee likely died at the end of Tales of the Empire, Wookieepedia is careful to note that she was merely injured the last we see of her. This does leave open the possibility for her to return in a future story further in the timeline, though it does seem unlikely.

 

If she does return, Legends material offers no hints as to where her character might go. George Lucas originally included her in the Order 66 montage in Revenge of the Sith, but her death scene was cut. It was included in comics though, so in Legends the character never survived the Clone Wars. It seems likeliest that her final act was redeeming the Fourth Sister.