Later, Barriss is visited by another former Jedi, Lyn Rakish, who has fully embraced the dark side and become an Inquisitor hellbent on hunting down the last of the Jedi. Lyn, who we all first met as the Fourth Sister in Obi-Wan Kenobi, recruits Barriss for the newly-founded Inquisitorius and takes her to meet the Grand Inquisitor. After passing a set of trials, including a fight to the death with another former Jedi, Barriss is knighted as an Inquisitor of the Empire and brought before her new master, Darth Vader.
But we learn quickly that this is actually meant to be a redemption story. During a mission to hunt down a fugitive Jedi in episode five, Barriss witnesses the cruel methods of the Inquisitorius firsthand when Lyn slaughters a village of people trying to protect their prey. When Barriss and Lyn catch up to the Jedi, Lyn cuts him down despite the fact that Barriss was able to get him to surrender peacefully. This is the last straw for Barriss, who turns on Lyn and Force pushes her off a cliff. She decides that she’d rather be a Jedi than a cruel monster for the Empire and goes into hiding like the rest of what remains of her Order.
The Redemption of Barriss Offee and Lyn Rakish
A time jump follows in episode six. Set years later, seemingly after the events of Obi-Wan Kenobi but before Return of the Jedi and the fall of the Empire, we now find an older Barriss living on a remote ice planet. A family running from the Empire bring their Force-sensitive child to Barriss, who is now know only as “The Healer.” Barriss arranges with “an old friend” for the family to travel to a hideout across the galaxy where their child will be safe from the Inquisitors (we can assume that she is referring the Path network introduced in Obi-Wan Kenobi as the hideout in question, although it’s unclear who the old friend is—perhaps Ahsoka herself?).
But just as Barriss’ crew lead the family into a cave that hides the ship that will get them off-world, Lyn arrives at Barriss’ camp. The Fourth Sister is surprised to see Barriss and considers a stroke of luck. Not only has she tracked down the child she’s been after but she can also take down Barriss. Lyn heads into the cave after the family, promising that once she has the child, she’ll return to get her revenge on her former Inquisitor sister.
Despite Barriss’ warnings to not go into the seemingly magical cave because she’ll never find her way out, Lyn rushes in, but it’s too late to catch up to the family, who zip off into space. Now trapped inside, Lyn tries to use the dark side to escape to no avail, with Barriss’ voice telling her that she’s chosen the wrong path (both literally and figuratively). Barriss offers to help an increasingly desperate Lyn, who is beginning to see that her embrace of the dark side is a trap.
Just when Barriss appears in the cave to show Lyn the way out, the Inquisitor’s instincts kick in and she lands a killing blow through Barriss’ abdomen with her lightsaber. The moment seems to shock even Lyn, who realizes how far she’s fallen. Before she falls unconscious (or dies), Barriss tells Lyn that she forgives her and that there’s “a way out” (again, both figuratively and literally) of her predicament despite what the Empire and the dark side wants her to believe.
