Yaddle’s ‘Tales of the Jedi’ Episode Proves There Are No Minor Star Wars Characters

It’s kind of a running joke that every single alien and scoundrel in every nook and cranny of every Star Wars set has their own elaborate backstory — and that is true! It’s an incredibly extra way to run a franchise, but Star Wars keeps taking minor background characters and making them awesome. Case in point: the Tales of the Jedi limited series, which explains what happened to Yaddle in Star Wars.

Odds are that Yaddle is nothing but a silly name to you, even if you consider yourself a Star Wars fan. But if you have ever at one point been, I don’t know, 14 and beyond obsessed with Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, so much so that you bought every action figure, studied every visual guide, and spent more than a few summer afternoons in the movie theater just to see the “Duel of the Fates” lightsaber battle one more time? Uh, you know who Yaddle is — and that’s one of the many, many reasons why you’re freaking out about Tales of the Jedi right now (and yes, Tales of the Jedi is canon).

For those of you who have a less obsessive relationship with Star Wars, Yaddle was the original other Yoda alien. There was Yoda, and then, seated amongst the Jedi Council in Phantom Menace, was another Yoda (reminder: we still don’t have a name for Yoda’s species). But that Yoda inexplicably had locks upon locks of auburn hair. It’s entirely possible that, even if you too have seen The Phantom Menace a dozen or more times, you’ve missed Yaddle completely. Her name was never said in the film; fans had to learn it from the film’s companion books. And her screentime was limited to just under 10 seconds in shots that basically amounted to…

And that’s zoomed in. You pretty much had to be looking for Yaddle in order to find Yaddle. Over the course of the past 20 years, all of Yaddle’s fellow council members have been given backstories and recurring — sometimes even starring! — roles in various comics and episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. But Yaddle? She fell into obscurity and became the kind of Star Wars character that fans ironically loved, usually to show off how much they know about Star Wars (yes, I am talking about myself).

But that’s all changed thanks to the Tales of the Jedi episode “The Sith Lord”. Not only does this episode remember that Yaddle exists, it permanently ties her legacy to a major Star Wars turning point. Oh — and I can’t forget to mention that Yaddle is voiced by Bryce Dallas Howard. From the OG Gwen Stacy to the CEO of a dino theme park to director of The Mandalorian to voicing a legit Jedi Master — what a trajectory.

But anyway — about Yaddle’s legacy. “The Sith Lord” acknowledges what the deeply devoted have felt since 1999: Yaddle has to have a legacy. Yes, she looks like Yoda in drag, but Yaddle still has to be important to the overall canon. Not only was she on the High Council, she was the only other Yoda-type being in all of Star Wars for 20 years. Thanks to Dave Filoni, a writer who never found a dangling plot thread that he couldn’t knit into a whole new sweater, Yaddle has a place in the grand scheme of things — and it’s important.

In the episode, Yaddle suspects somethings off with Jedi Master Dooku when he skips out on the funeral for his padawan Qui-Gon Jinn. She tails Jedi Master Dooku off-world and tracks him to a secret rendezvous with Darth Sidious. We know from Episode II: Attack of the Clones that Dooku steps into the role of Sidious’ apprentice after Darth Maul is killed. “The Sith Lord” actually shows it happen, and Yaddle becomes part of Dooku’s tryout. She makes a move, offering to stand with Dooku against this Sith lord, but Dooku has already lost all faith in the Jedi. Instead, Yaddle and Dooku duel all the way to what looks like Yaddle’s death. It looks like she’s been crushed under a massive hangar door, until…

This is one of the great things about Star Wars. A character like Yaddle, a character reduced to a question on Star Wars trivia nights, can come back and get a breathtaking moment like this. That’s Yaddle, the Jedi formerly known as Lady Yoda, showing that she’s an impressive character in her own right. Even more impressive: the look on Dooku’s face as he sees Yaddle pull off this miracle, his face bathed in awe and lit by sunlight, it makes you feel like Dooku could come back from the brink. He looks genuinely moved by the power of this little warrior, and then he sees that power ultimately fail her. She’s wiped out, she falls, she’s dying. He’s snapped out of that wondrous trance and knows what he has to do: he has to give his former ally peace in death.

Yes, Yaddle dies in Tales of the Jedi. And yes, again, Tales of the Jedi is canon. Explaining Yaddle’s Star Wars death is important, but it’s not the important thing. The important thing is how it feels.

That’s a moment. That is a story. Not only does this episode fill in a few blanks — like why Yaddle was never seen again after The Phantom Menace and the when and how of Dooku’s defection — it also adds real gravitas to an otherwise forgotten character. Now when we see those 10 seconds of footage in Phantom Menace, we know to look for Yaddle. Now she’s not just a little character in a big scene. She’s still a little character, but one with a massive legacy.