– Spoiler Review –
Can the dynamic duo of Porter Engle and Barash Silvain unravel the complicated situation in front of them or will it test them beyond their limits? The High Republic – The Blade #4 is a fitting finale to all that’s come before, as the characters and their choices push us towards the inevitable, but still saddening conclusion.
What separates the legendary duo of Porter and Barash? Why is there a vow, centuries later, where a Jedi removes themselves from the galaxy to commune solely with the Force, named after Barash? And how does the complicated situation on Gansevor manage to best both of these excellent Jedi? While many of these questions have persisted since the character of Porter was introduced or the Barash Vow first revealed, and they have fueled this intriguing series, as the series sits on the cusp of the answers, it ensures the characters we’ve come to love are at the forefront, the answers merely the dressing in the end. Managing to make the characters the priority when there’s been so much interest in the larger answers might be Charles Soule’s greatest feat across the four issues of the miniseries, as while I was excited to learn the full truth of the everything this issue, I was more concerned about Barash and Porter than anything else.
Porter stands against the giant army of the Bethunian forces and their mercenaries, the single line of defense as they lead a charge on Firevale’s gates, attempting to get back their princess. Barash stands inside the walls, the siege closing in on them, listening to all sides to understand how this can be resolved peacefully. And the deadly General Viess is the chaotic factor no one is really ready for as her own intentions, while already technically stated, becomes clear. Porter and Viess clash, and while she talks a big game about all the Jedi she’s killed, he shows her how unmatched she is against him, singeing her cheek with his blade regardless of her beskar-lined armor and weapon, saying he won’t let anyone else die today and she should just give up now. She throws a grenade to test him, nearly killing the men around them, and she scurries away so he sets about destroying their tanks, attacking the pricey items which will cause mercenaries to pack up and leave. Angered by the confrontation, Viess goes to Field Marshal Tozen to increase their attacks and cause more damage to the city, but it’s not what he wants, what they are trying to do, and he resists, so she opens fire and kills him and the other leaders, effectively taking over and laying waste to more of the walled city’s infrastructure.
As the attacks increase, Princess Sicatra, who told Barash her part of the story, receives a message and secrets away, but Barash follows, learning the actual truth of the complicated situation of the planet. Queen Keraan, who definitely seems like a “Karen,” overbearing and unwilling to give up her seat to her son given his choice of woman, has inspired a tricky game between her son and his wife to push the planet forward instead of leaving it focused on the past. Sicatra and Colden decided to hire the mercenaries and have her people come to Firevale’s walls, Tozen leading them, and threaten the city enough where Keraan would abdicate, leading Colden to take rule and ‘negotiate’ an already agreed upon treaty to allow Bethune to get in on the trade of the valuable mineral Firevale was hording under the current rule. To ensure Barash listened and believed them, Sicatra even made up her pregnancy. Keraan tries to kill Sicatra, as is the way on the planet of knives, but Barash stops it and has Sicatra call off the attack and end the siege, turning the Bethunians into a mob, taking out the mercenaries. Porter tries to save as many lives as he can in the process, pushing himself to his limits, and Viess sees the profit is gone and flees, though as she flies away she attempts to kill Porter from afar…only for Barash to take out her lightsaber the one and only time all miniseries to protect her exhausted brother.
While Barash tells Sicatra the lies have lain all the lives lost at her feet, Barash takes on the blame as well. Whereas I thought the previous issues’ flashbacks were to increase our knowledge of Porter and Barash’s connection, it wasn’t the only purpose of those scenes, as it gave us vital information to tell us how this perfect system her and Porter had going could fail. As a Kage, Barash can remember her whole life and in the previous issue’s flashback we learned this is why she and Porter bonded so well because he filled in the void she was missing from her family. But those feelings remain alongside the memories and she allowed those feelings to cloud her judgement, which led her to believe Sicatra’s lies, making her sure of the wrong thing for once. The uncertainty this moment has left with her causes her to make a drastic choice: take off to parts unknown to listen to the Force and hope to gain certainty again, so others can come to trust her again, taking no action on behalf of the Order until she’s listened to the Force enough. This is the Barash Vow, one which many Jedi will take after her, and I’m very glad it didn’t have to come from her death or something like that. To Porter, this is a devastating choice, as he believes they only work best together, but through the Force, and via the Force itself, she reminds him he’s never truly alone. The next scene finds Porter in front of the Jedi Council on Coruscant, explaining his report about what happened and Barash gone to parts unknown, though he’s a changed man already: His hair, usually flowing behind him, is now braided like hers, while his greyer robes have been replace by white, to match her hair and skin. Despite everything, the Council wants him back out in the field, specifically to Bardotta, and while the opening crawl sort of made it seem like he already had the “Blade of Bardotta” nickname, it seems it’s about to come next. The final page sees him hooded, sitting before the Great Tree in the Temple, facing away from it, the final panel igniting his blade to be the protector before it, to show he’s ready to move on and go out and do good in the galaxy without Barash. I’m curious if he ever sees Barash again or if she ever manages to return, but it seems like he’s confident his sister is still with him, through the Force, and will go on to become the great Jedi we heard so much about in Phase I, until he retires.
But the issue isn’t done there, as it reveals Porter will be back…in The Broken Blade! There’s no information other than the title…is it another 4-issue miniseries? Will it be set in Phase III? Or something set outside of the Phases? Like after Phase II but not yet Phase I? With the Celebration Europe panel closing in, April 8 to be exact (7am CST for those in the US), we might not have to wait too long to learn what this is all about. But more Porter, and maybe more Barash, will always be welcomed after this miniseries!
While artists have juggled around in the middle two issues, it’s Jethro Morales who brings the series to a close, alongside colorist Jim Campbell, and letterer Travis Lanham. Morales certainly does much of Porter’s epic lightsaber-ing justice, but the issue’s most memorable lightsaber moment is Barash igniting hers. As I said earlier, it’s the only time we see her do it in these four issues, as she’s as certain in Porter’s abilities as she is in hers, and even though she’s found uncertainty due to the events here, she has no hesistation igniting her blade to protect her brother. The stance alone is powerful and assured, the lightsaber swung out wide from the body almost like a dare, with a little dose of poetry to it from the stillness in her clothes and her pose, though from the dust kicked up from the obviously fast movement it took for her to get to him from the confines of the walled city displays swiftness of her response. Heck, even her face says it all, as she’s not even looking up at Viess who shot at Porter, so confident is she there won’t be any follow-up attack after she arrived. And then Porter kneeling, his tired hands in his lap, not even looking up, shows his trust in his sister. Campbell’s colors backlight her from the explosion of the bolt she deflects, her green blade bright against the explosion to show the strength of the light, though Porter remains shaded considering he’s tired and exhausted. Lanham’s SFX for Barash’s deflection, a quick hiss and ping against the blade, showing how close she came to not being there, serves to punctuate the surety of her work protecting Porter. Morales’ work for Sicatra as she slowly reveals the truth to Barash and later in front of the Queen, with Colden holding her, gives us a great idea how much this whole thing got away from them and their initial ideas for it, while Barash’s face, with the resigned look not what I initially expected, is a reminder of who she is, no matter the outcome. She knows what she did wrong immediately, at least that’s what I got from Morales’ faces for Barash in these scenes, and it’s only when she’s with Porter she lets sadness and guilt creep in, but just for a moment, as her resolve and how to deal with the problem return. It was great to see her like this, as while it obviously pains her over how her feelings clouded her judgement and led them to this situation, she’s willing to own up to it, to accept what she’s done, and rather wants to face her uncertainty head on instead. If only more Jedi could accept the truth of their actions and how far they might have to go to recenter themselves!
Here are a few other things:
- If you picked up Chronicles of the Jedi, an “in-universe” book about the High Republic era and the Jedi doing their best to protect it, it sort of spoiled the events of this comic (though names the wrong planet), but leaves out crucial details and all the great character work, which I’m very glad it left for here!
- This might be the end of The Blade, but Phase II barrels on to its end, starting with April’s Cataclysm and Quest for Planet X novels. We have reviews for the first, which wraps up a lot character arc and threads, though there’s plenty of questions of left ahead of the Phase II’s end by May (besides the final The High Republic Adventures – Phase II issue in June).
The High Republic – The Blade #4 is a great finale to the character-focused and thrilling miniseries, with some intriguing answers to the bigger questions and leaving some parts an intriguing mystery.
+ Characters remained the focus as answers came in
+ Barash using her lightsaber for the first time all series
+ Like what it answered but yet left opened
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.