– Spoiler Review –
While the Nameless is dead, the Child of the Storm still lurks nearby, but is the real enemy of Keeve Trennis and company from without or within? Find out in our review of the intriguing, thought-provoking The High Republic #7 – Phase III!
While we spent a larger portion of issue #6 in the Phase II past, there were still hints of the growing frustrations and issues of the Jedi stuck on Kindosorn, which begin to boil over here. As we’ve seen, the broken connection between Ceret and Terec has led to them behaving differently than we’ve ever seen them before, especially Ceret, who has been more aggressive. Keeve Trennis managed to calm down her former Master Sskeer, but the Magrak Syndrome still makes him unpredictable, quick to violence and anger against his fellow Jedi. Tey Sirrek has proven himself but his association with a dark side artifact has left everyone on edge. They are all aligned with Lourna Dee for now, whose history with the Jedi only Keeve seems to be able to see past. And Keeve’s been trying to keep everyone level, together, especially with the threat of the Child of the Storm, who can prey on all their fears, out in the jungle around them. But H’tar barely has to lift a finger at this point, as Sskeer’s young Yacombe’s charge’s large outburst of the Force after seeing the dead Nameless, which happened at the end of last issue, pushes the constantly on the edge Ceret over it, who takes out their saber and is eager to stop her from harming anyone. Keeve manages to stop them from carrying out their misguided efforts, pointing out an alarming situation: the Yacombe girl is seeking safety in Lourna Dee’s arms. Keeve absolutely pops off on Ceret, and all of them, and if I had been on Kindosorn I’d been her hype man, shouting “Say it louder for the people in back!” and “Pop off, girl!” as loud and as often as needed. She makes a stellar point with an important question, what does it say about them, about the Jedi, if this young girl is more willing to jump into Lourna’s arms, a woman they have all said is their enemy, who has done terrible things, and yet she’s the only one to make a child feel safe? The fear of the Nameless, driving Jedi to hide while light and life go on without them, has changed the Order more than they realize, and definitely the perception of the Order in the eyes of the galaxy as well. It’s not just in how they interact with the galaxy, but so with one another: If they hadn’t been squabbling amongst themselves, working together instead, seeing past the issues with one another, then maybe they would’ve given Goonral Monshi peace to surround himself with in his final moments. Despite Tey’s help, Goonral passes away here, and I can only imagine Keeve and crew being so disjointed didn’t help his situation in the slightest, as there was little to no light side of the Force to draw strength from.
Sending Monshi off with a funeral pyre, the team decides to hunker down for the night, attempt to reach Tey’s shuttle and return to the Ataraxia in the morning. Before they head to the Temple to hole up and take turns on watch for the Child of the Storm, we get two interesting scenes. First, Tey attempts to help Sskeer, whom so far only Keeve’s been able to bring back from the edge of his disease, by using the Balm of the Luminous! These wraps were first introduced in writer Cavan Scott’s Dooku: Jedi Lost, helping characters pull themselves back to the light, so hopefully they can help keep the Transdoshan Jedi Master from falling over the edge, avoiding potentially violent outbursts at the very least. Keeve watches this with Terec, disappointed she’s not the one helping him, but glad Tey could offer something like it to assist. As she and Terec discuss what to do next, she offers to take the first watch since she thinks it’s her responsibility, as she’s the one who dragged them here to chase down her Master. She’s not totally wrong, but how could she know it would be so fraught with danger and problems, and most of the injuries with Goonral happened before she came out anyways? Keeve has been her biggest enemy, despite her being the most Jedi-like of those around her, and I’m really eager to see when she’s able to put those aside. These doubts about her choices, despite being the only level-headed one seemingly, hound her late into the night, as suddenly a Nameless digs its way out of the ground and presses its attack! And those around her start calcifying, using their last moments to blame her, let the Nameless’ effects take her as well, but she sees through the Child of the Storm’s tricks quickly enough! She breaks through when she uses the truth depth of her doubts about herself to prove these images before her are only the surface ones someone like H’tar could sense and try to use against her. By acknowledging the feelings inside, Keeve is able to break the spell, proving once again she might be just too good for the Order, as Ceret and Terec needed help to shake off H’tar’s effects.
Despite her success, H’tar distracted her enough to get away with something very valuable: the young Yacombe girl! H’tar’s near enough where Tey’s about to whip out his Hand of Siberus, but Lourna stops him, concerned for the child, and the Child of the Storm gets away, prompting an outburst from Sskeer against Lourna. Whereas Keeve had her big speech earlier, Lourna gets her own moment while facing scrutiny from those around her, revealing something Phase III has been building towards, and Tempest Runner hinted at: Lourna’s time with Keeve, with Keeve believing in her, has changed her. While Lourna did use the young girl as bait, having placed a tracker on her in case something like this happened, it’s because she wants to find the Baron and save all the kids he’s had his minions round up. Not only that, but she’s been watching them all and, having had her own complicated history and problems figuring out who is and what she wants, she points out they are as messed up as they like to think she is! She’s not denying she is, but the Jedi, so eager to hide their feelings thinking it’s what the Order wants from them, can’t admit what’s wrong with them, so she thinks they need to worry about themselves before they try to pick her choices and past apart. When Keeve asks her what she wants, what she’s trying to be by talking through what’s wrong with them, she’s more honest than any of them, admitting she’s not sure either, but she does know she’s listened to Keeve and is trying to be better, whatever that might mean. It’s been a blast to see their interactions and how much Keeve’s constant saving of Lourna, sticking out for her even against fellow Jedi, has helped the other woman see this light and life stuff isn’t just bluster, most of the time, so I hope she doesn’t backtrack now, as Lourna developing this way is a very welcomed storyline and I’m eager to see where it all goes, especially with Tempest Breaker on the horizon!
We see Lourna’s idea for using the Yacombe girl as bait pays off, as H’tar has returned to Baron Boolan’s lab with the girl! We meet Reek for the first time, who was introduced via concept art release back in December 2023, but only briefly; while Baron Boolan is finally seen visually, outside of concept art, in Phase III (he has a small role in The Eye of Darkness), the Ithorian we first met as a child in the Path of the Open Hand in Phase II but is now a devious master of arcane sciences for the Nihil, promising the series will let us see behind the scenes at his creepy lab in the coming issues!
Stepping up to the plate on art this issue is Marika Cresta, joined of course by Jim Campbell on colors and Ariana Maher for lettering. While it’s not as wild as the visions H’tar brought to Ceret and Terec, Keeve’s in the middle of the night has some great components, in particular I really enjoyed Maher’s Nameless “skritch” sound FX with an abnormal look heralding the monster’s appearance, the big panel of its paw breaking out of the ground with another almost otherworldly SFX for it, and the calcified grey on the zombie-like ghoul versions of Keeve’s friends by Campbell, as it makes them seem lifeless and Cresta draws them in horror-movie-like poses. This is all followed by Keeve breaking through H’tar’s effect, a swirling vortex of color from Campbell bursting out behind her, little pieces of the perceived calcification flying away and a calm, focused face by Cresta, while Maher’s word bubble looks forceful with the red outline and the SFX makes it seem like the Force is blasting through H’tar’s vision; the team’s work made it easy to hoot and holler over Keeve’s continued excellence and control over the Force. Earlier in the issue, I really felt like Cresta and team managed to showcase the tenderness Tey employs when dealing with Sskeer and the Yacombe girl, from his cute little wave to her to the way he wraps the Balm of the Luminous on Sskeer’s forearms, which goes a long way for new readers who maybe didn’t know Tey before this to tell he’s truly a good person inside (beyond the story last issue) while showing readers familiar with him more of what we love from him.
Here are a few other things:
- By the time we get the eight issue of this series, we’ll have seen the opening two episodes of The Acolyte!! To see the High Republic era, albeit the tail-end of the timeframe, on screen after this whole publishing effort kicked off three years ago is mind-boggling to some degree! We’ll have reviews on the Manor, of course!
- Speaking of reviews, Wave II of Phase III kicks off with Temptation of the Force on June 11, but my review will be up May 28 when the embargo drops. I’ll keep it as spoiler-free as possible, maybe hide some if I can’t help it. Also, a recent publishing panel in the UK solidified June 2025 is when readers will experience Phase III’s grand finale.
- In June, the next issue will have an annual Pride Month variant, this one showcasing Cair San Tekka and Xylan Graf, who recently starred in The High Republic: Defy the Storm.
The High Republic #7 – Phase III gives the Jedi plenty of introspection to deal with before they’re able to truly stand for light and life again, all thanks to the most unlikely of sources: Lourna Dee!
+ Keeve’s got a point…
+ …but Lourna’s got one of her own!
+ Art team bringing Keeve’s doubts to life
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Bluesky, Twitter @MynockManor, and Instagram @mynockmanor.
THE HIGH REPUBLIC – PHASE III REVIEWS
Children of the Storm: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 — The Hunted: #5 | #6