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- "I've learned that 'trust' is overrated. The only thing the Jedi Council believes in is violence!"
- ―Barriss Offee, expressing her views
Barriss Offee was a female Mirialan who trained as a Jedi Padawan during the Clone Wars. She carried a blue lightsaber and trained under Jedi Master Luminara Unduli.
Offee was a survivor of the Battle of Geonosis and was extremely loyal to her Jedi Master. Offee preferred studying ancient Jedi texts to fighting and was a bit older than most Jedi Padawans.
During her time as a Jedi Padawan, Offee struck up a friendship with Ahsoka Tano, the Padawan learner of Anakin Skywalker. Though rather different in personality, the two bonded through shared experience in combat.
As the Clone Wars continued, Offee grew disillusioned with the Jedi's role in the wars, believing they had lost their way from the ideals that the Jedi Order was supposed to represent, and wary of the Jedi Council in particular. Deciding to act on her concerns, she orchestrated the bombing of the Jedi Temple as a means to foment further distrust of the Jedi, as clone troopers were killed during the attack. Despite their previous friendship, she allowed Tano to be framed for orchestrating the bombing, but ultimately confessed after being confronted by Anakin Skywalker, just before Tano was about to be convicted of the crime, and shared her views of the Jedi being corrupted by the dark side before being taken away.
Biography
Early life
Some time prior to the border dispute on Ansion,[3] Barriss Offee, a female Mirialan, was born on Mirial. She was found to be Force-sensitive and was brought into the Jedi Temple to train as a Jedi. She became Padawan to Jedi Master Luminara Unduli.[2]
At some point, she studied lightsaber techniques with Tutso Mara, and the two grew to become close.[5]
The Secessionist Movement
Barriss sits in on meeting between the Jedi Council and Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine
Offee, along with Unduli, sat in on a meeting between the Jedi Council and Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, who discussed the growing influence of the Secessionist Movement, and the threat of an imminent war between them and the Galactic Republic.
Later, Offee, along with her master, were part of the Jedi assault team sent to rescue Senator Padmé Amidala, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, and his Padawan Anakin Skywalker from the execution arena on Geonosis. The Mirialan survived the battle, as did her master, though the Clone Wars had only just begun.[3]
The Clone Wars
Sent on a dangerous mission
Barriss during her mission.
Offee was sent by Luminara Unduli on a dangerous mission to retrieve an old book. During the mission, she encountered a creature and many traps. When she finally reached the location of the book, she picked up the book and it turned to sand. Later she returned and told her master that she had failed. Unduli told Offee that she did not fail because she never expected Offee to actually bring it back.[6]
Second Battle of Geonosis
Barriss and Ahsoka infiltrate the Geonosian Catacombs
Early on during the Clone Wars, Offee accompanied her master back to Geonosis in order to assist the forces of Anakin Skywalker, alongside his Padawan learner Ahsoka Tano to infiltrate a large Geonosian droid and weapons factory. Offee and her master found Tano and Skywalker arguing over their tactical strategy upon arrival, and Offee unintentionally annoyed Tano with her authoritative personality. Leaving their masters to launch a frontal attack, both Padawans sneaked through the Geonosian catacombs below in order to plant explosive grenades from within. They were, however, discovered by Poggle the Lesser and his Geonosian Super tank. After Tano was rendered unconscious, Barriss was left with a choice: the bombs, or Tano's life. Ultimately, Offee and Tano decided to use the tank to destroy the reactor, knowing the explosion would kill them in the process. However, due to the tough exterior armor of the tank, both Padawans survived, much to the relief of their respective masters. Following their ordeal, Offee and Tano, having strengthened their bond, temporarily retired from the battlefield in order to recuperate.[4]
Skirmish on board the TB-73
- "Kill me... please."
- ―Offee briefly regains control of herself and pleads Tano to kill her
An infected Barriss attacks Ahsoka on board the TB-73
Shortly after Offee and Tano recovered from their wounds, they were tasked with making a supply run to Mace Windu on Dantooine from a station near Ord Cestus on board the medical frigate TB-73. Unknown to either Padawan, a swarm of Geonosian brain worms had been brought on board by infected clone trooper Scythe. Offee was infected herself after she and Tano were separated, and proceeded to stalk her friend across the ship, attacking and nearly killing her with her lightsaber. Eventually, Offee was freed from the parasite's brain control after Tano ruptured the coolant system, though she begged for Tano to kill her instead. Both Tano and Offee were taken to the medical wing of the station by Kit Fisto, once again to recover.[7]
Capture of Eeth Koth
Offee was present in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant when General Grievous sent a message to the Order, informing them of the capture of fellow Jedi Eeth Koth. Offee witnessed his brutal torture and left the room along with the younglings after they were dismissed by Master Yoda.[8]
Training Exercises
At some point in 21 BBY, shortly before Cato Parasitti's assassination attempt on Padmé Amidala, Offee trained with Ahsoka Tano in the Jedi Temple. Offee was very critical of her friend's unorthodox methods, stating that duels were meant to prepare Jedi for real encounters on the battlefield, and using non-traditional tactics served no purpose. Although Tano disagreed, the two acknowledged this difference in opinion as a result of their master's vastly different teaching style.[9]
Battle over Umbara
Barriss pilots her Jedi starfighter during the Battle of Umbara
During the Battle of Umbara, Offee and Tano led Republic forces against the Separatist blockade over the planet of Umbara, allowing infiltration from both Jedi and clone forces.[10]
Bombing of the Jedi Temple
- "I did it. Because I've come to realize what many people in the Republic have come to realize, that the Jedi are the ones responsible for this War. That we've so lost our way that we have become villains in this conflict, that we are the ones that should be put on trial, all of us! And my attack on the Temple was an attack on what the Jedi have become: an army fighting for the dark side, fallen from the Light that we once held so dear. This Republic is failing! It's only a matter of time."
- ―Barriss Offee admitting to, and explaining, her actions to the court
Offee testifies during Tano's trial
During the later years of the Clone Wars, Offee's views on the Jedi and their role in the galaxy became distorted, and she eventually came to believe that both the Jedi and the Republic had lost their way. Offee came into contact with Letta Turmond, a Coruscanti who opposed the Jedi's involvement in the Clone Wars. Offee shared Turmond's beliefs and decided that it was time to make a statement against the Order. Showing Turmond how to use nano-droids as a bomb, Offee had Turmond feed the droids to her husband, Jackar Bowmani, a munitions expert at the Jedi Temple. The nano-droids exploded when Bowmani went into the Temple hangar, killing several Jedi, clones, civilians, and Republic military personnel.[5]
Offee attended the funeral for the fallen Jedi, which included her old friend Mara. Afterward, she Force choked Turmond in her prison cell before she could reveal Offee's involvement, allowing Tano to be accused of killing Turmond.[5] She then pretended to help Tano investigate the murder via comlink, providing her false intel and leading her to an abandoned explosive warehouse containing crates of nano-droids, the same droids found at the scene of the crime. Offee then attacked Tano herself, disguised as former Sith apprentice Asajj Ventress.[11]
Offee disguised as Ventress
After Tano was discovered by Republic clones, she was blamed for the bombing and put back under containment. After a short Council meeting, Offee's former friend was expelled from the Jedi Order. Anakin Skywalker, angry and suspicious of his Padawan's expulsion, interrogated Ventress, who revealed that someone had stolen her lightsabers. Visiting Offee in her Temple chambers, Skywalker spoke to her, and then attacked her with her own lightsaber. Offee, in self-defense, used the Force to grab Ventress' lightsabers, which she had hidden in a nearby vase, thereby revealing herself. Though Offee was able to defend herself for a prolonged period of time, Skywalker eventually overpowered and captured her. Skywalker burst in during Tano's trial with Offee, who was handcuffed and being led by several temple guards, one of whom would eventually become the future Grand Inquisitor. Skywalker demanded that she tell the full truth; Offee admitted she did it because she had come to believe the Jedi were the ones responsible for the war, and that they were the real villains of the conflict. Offee was then taken away while Tano was cleared of all charges. Tano was offered to return to the Order, but she refused and left, feeling betrayed by both the Order and her former friend.[12]
Legacy
- "Barriss Offee was wrong about a lot of things. She let her anger cloud her judgement and she tried to justify her actions without considering their wider effects. She was afraid of the war and she didn't trust people she should've listened to. But she had a point about the Republic and the Jedi. There was something wrong with them, and we were too locked into our traditions to see what it was. Barriss should've done something else. She shouldn't have killed anyone, and she definitely shouldn't have framed me for it, but if we'd listened to her—really listened—we might have been able to stop Palpatine before he took power."
- ―Ahsoka Tano expressing her feelings over Barriss Offee's actions
Offee's betrayal had a deep impact on Tano and the Jedi Order itself. Months after Offee's arrest, Ki-Adi-Mundi supported the idea of executing the fallen Jedi Quinlan Vos, citing Offee's treachery as a sign that the Jedi had a problem with traitors within their own ranks.[13]
Eventually, the Jedi Order fell with the final stage of Darth Sidious' plans for the galaxy, and the Republic was transformed into the tyrannical Galactic Empire. One year into the reign of the Empire, Tano was still haunted by Offee's betrayal and later expressed her belief that while she was wrong in what she had done, she did have a point about the Jedi and the Republic, and that if they had truly listened to her, they might have been able to stop Darth Sidious before it was too late.[14]
Personality and traits
Barriss Offee was a Mirialan female who had black hair and tattoos, blue eyes, light greenish-yellow skin, and a height of 1.66 meters.[2] Offee was considered a seemingly ideal example of a Jedi Padawan by some members of the Order.[13] She was a daring and studious individual, able to memorize the entire layout of the system of Geonosian catacombs when her master asked her to.[4] She was also quite selfless, as she pleaded with her friend Ahsoka Tano to kill her when she was being mind-controlled by a brain worm, though Tano refused.[7]
However, as the Clone War dragged on, Offee grew to believe that the Republic and Jedi Order were the ones responsible, viewing the latter's role in the war as a betrayal of the Order's ideals.[15] Her growing disillusionment eventually led her to bomb the Jedi Temple, killing several civilians, clones and fellow Jedi, including her friend Tusto Mara. She even murdered her co-conspirator Letta Turmond to keep her betrayal a secret and framed Ahsoka Tano for the deed. In doing all of this, however, she fell to the influence of the dark side; during her duel with Anakin Skywalker, he chastised her for not getting rid of Ventress' red lightsabers, to which she snidely responded, "I think they suit me". When taken before the court, Offee finally confessed her crimes, thereby acquitting Tano, but nevertheless maintained her belief that the Jedi and the Republic had lost their way.[12]
Powers and abilities
As with any other Jedi, Barriss Offee was Force-sensitive, and skilled in the use of telekinesis. She utilized Force push during battle. She was trained in Form III.[source?] She was also skilled in Jar'Kai; with Ventress' lightsabers, she was able to overwhelm Tano—who, at the time, had use of only one lightsaber—and hold her own for a time against Skywalker, a Jedi with significantly more training and experience.[11][12]
Behind the scenes
Offee was portrayed in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones by Nalini Krishan. She was voiced by Meredith Salenger in the 2008 Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series.[16]
Offee was introduced in the novel The Approaching Storm, which was written by Alan Dean Foster. Offee was also featured widely in a number of other Expanded Universe products, in which she eventually advanced to the rank of Jedi Knight and was also a noted healer, but these have been re-branded as Star Wars Legends, and details found within them cannot be considered canon. Offee was originally meant to have been depicted in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith being killed as part of Order 66, but this scene was cut along with the deaths of Luminara Unduli and Shaak Ti. An animatic was made of Offee's death showing her on Felucia fighting battle droids at the time of Order 66 when an AT-TE walks up behind her and shoots her. Interestingly, toward the end of this animatic her lightsaber was depicted as being green.[17] Unused footage from Attack of the Clones was going to be used for this appearance.[18] Her scrapped death in Episode III would later be incorporated into the third issue of the Revenge of the Sith comic adaptation.
Offee was originally written to die in "The Wrong Jedi," but Dave Filoni "had plans" for the character and cut this scene.[19]
Appearances
Non-canon appearances
Sources
Notes and references
- ↑ Ultimate Star Wars
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10
Barriss Offee in the Databank (backup link)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2
Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Weapons Factory"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "The Jedi Who Knew Too Much"
- ↑ "[[Tales from Wild Space: The Journey]]" — Star Wars Adventures (2017) 20
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Brain Invaders"
- ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Grievous Intrigue"
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedFoD Ahsoka & Padmé - ↑ Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Darkness on Umbara"
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "To Catch a Jedi"
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "The Wrong Jedi"
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Dark Disciple
- ↑ Ahsoka
- ↑ Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded
- ↑ In the Hands of The Padawans... on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Disc 7, Star Wars Archives: Episode III Deleted Scene: Kahyyyk and Order 66 Animatic
- ↑ C.C. Banana Interviews the Stars of STAR WARS!, published by C.C. Banana on www.ccbanana.com (archived from the original on November 2, 2007)
- ↑ SWCA: The Untold Clone Wars Panel Liveblog on StarWars.com (backup link)
