It's been two years since Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi hit Disney+ and Lucasfilm has finally confirmed the identity of the mysterious Inquisitor who tracked down and attacked Ahsoka Tano in the series.
That story played out between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, but contradicted E.K. Johnston's Ahsoka novel and seemed to suggest that Dave Filoni had no qualms about retconning or ignoring what happens in books or comics.
That was evident from how Tales of the Jedi changed everything from Ahsoka's first meeting with Bail Organa to how she got her "Fulcrum" codename.
Regardless, the new Star Wars Encyclopedia establishes that the mysterious villain is, in fact, named "First Brother."
"One of Darth Vader's Force-attuned Jedi hunters," reads the official character description, "this Inquisitor is dispatched to follow a tip that a Jedi has appeared in a remote village. He kills almost everyone there and is even ready to attack the Imperial informant, but Ahsoka Tano confronts and defeats him."
In Johnston's novel, the Inquisitor who attacks Ahsoka on a remote planet where she's found peace (following the events of The Clone Wars) is identified as the Sixth Brother. One way to explain this is that Tales of the Jedi and the Ahsoka book are telling the same story, albeit from different perspectives or in alternative ways.
Of course, it's also possible these are meant as two separate - albeit extremely similar - events, thereby "fixing" the apparent continuity issue. We don't think so, though.
Filoni has previously said he worked with Johnston on the book, though that was actually before both The Clone Wars was revived and Ahsoka was anywhere near close to becoming a reality. The filmmaker wanting to tell this story in a different way isn't a shocker, but it does lead to questions about how important any of these tie-in stories are.
After all, if they can become non-canon on a whim thanks to a TV show or movie, should we really be taking them with anything more than a pinch of salt? Lucasfilm has avoided telling stories within the same timeframes, but there are bound to be more contradictions down the line.
Ultimately, it might be best to take anything we see on the page with a pinch of salt because Lucasfilm can't be expected to be beholden to what happens in comics and novels that only a very small percentage of fans read. However, for the hardcore Star Wars fans, this will be frustrating.