– Spoiler Review –
It’s weird to think, from clamoring for more of certain Visions stories to the continuations in comics and novels, we’re now at an unprecedented moment; a Visions short getting its own full-blown series! And what better place to start than with the world of “The Ninth Jedi,” a riveting, energetic, lore-packed, and heart-felt short that begged for expansion from the get-go. While its season three sequel short was a slow-burn reminder of the series’ and world’s potential, the opening episode of Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi “A New Threat” blows the door wide open with all its potential on display. It’s packed to the brim with story and expansions of the world that will make long-time fans happy we got more and new ones curious to keep watching.
Ages ago, I wrote an article titled ‘The Great Reboot of 2100‘. In it, I discussed how the Star Wars as a franchise could (or should) remain relevant, far into the future. This included the idea that, to be relevant for audiences in the year 2100, which is 74 years from now (and the original film would be 123 years old!!!), they would likely have to reboot everything, remixing ideas from both Legends and the current canon and create a new take on the franchise. Star Wars: Visions has sort of been a test of this concept, remixing familiar concepts or branching it out into new and intriguing places. So what does an entire anime series expanding on one of its shorts, which took an interesting turn of events in a far-flung future beyond the sequel era, bring to the table to remain unique and refreshing? In the premiere episode of Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi “A New Threat,” we see the same eyes in different people, so to speak. There’s a group on the run, with Jedi, who request aid from a reluctant ruler of an idyllic world for aide, and regardless of the ruler’s proclamations or wishes, a droid army controlled by a central computer is sent to bring them to heel. Meanwhile, the Jedi have largely gone extinct and a young woman shows the most promise for its future, though a masked individual, who has irregular ideas on how to run a fascist army/government and is likely not much older than the young woman, threatens to bring the galaxy under his rule forever. Sounds a little like a mixture of The Phantom Menace and The Force Awakens, no? It was fascinating to see these concepts remixed and presented in a new context, as it both felt totally familiar yet also fresh and new, making it easy to go along with the episode’s pace. I’ll be very interested to see how this remix continues to feel as the series goes on, as there is 8 episodes in total, but if the premiere is anything to go by, it’ll make the prospect of taking what we know and love and giving it a new spin even more enticing as the years for the franchise go on.
If you hadn’t watched the original “The Ninth Jedi” short, nor the second short, “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope“, I honestly don’t feel like you’d totally feel left out if you start watching the series. Part of it comes from the remix aspect of things, as the familiarity will make the show’s world easier to get into. The other comes from the essentially spoken aloud opening crawl, overlaying images of previous events, that begins the episode (much like The Clone Wars’ newsreels of old!) and provides more than enough context. I’d still say you really should watch the original short, while the second, even though it’s not as essential as it’s more of a character building episode for Lah Kara, feels like a really great gap between the original and the start of the series. How it slows things down, lets us get to know Kara and some of her history, and hear more about her father, adds some additional emotional context to the premiere and the journey ahead for Kara and friends. I’d had wished it had just been part of the series originally, but with the pace established in “A New Threat” and the fact there’s only 7 more episodes to go, I appreciate the second short much more now and glad we got it when we did.
Kara earnestness and eagerness take center stage in the episode and I like how already she’s meeting some resistance to them, giving her more to overcome. She understandably doesn’t understand Dunbai’s, the ruler of Makoma Ko, reluctance to join up in the fight and instead care only for his planet. As far as we know in the world’s story, warlords are creating chaos throughout the galaxy and there seems to be no central or united government against them, so it’s makes sense why Dunbai might want to avoid getting involved and focus on his home. Yet Kara informs him sitting out has its own consequences, saying that’s what she and her father were doing until he was captured, but it’s not enough to sway him. The arrival of Commander Gennoh forces Dunbai to take some action, first in not revealing their presence and then by stepping up to fight the droids with a lightsaber Margrave Juro offers him, so he’s not totally out of the fight. Yet I’m glad he ends up not wanting to join them to restart the Order/fight Nawaam even by episode’s end, as like I said, it gives Kara and team more obstacles to struggle against.
What really gets under Kara’s skin is something Gennoh says to her after their duel. The team sneaks aboard his ship, in a fun little maneuver, to take down the central droid control unit and stop their attack on the Dunbai’s city. Gennoh is waiting for Kara when she sneaks into the control unit room, and thankfully the two have a short, yet stylish duel that makes me very eager to see more fighting as the show goes on. It’s a compact, though long corridor they fight in, with droids floating around, and it’s has very dim lighting, making the lightsabers so vibrant in the small space. She holds her own, though just barely by the end, yet it’s enough of a distraction for the droid Gramps to disable control unit and stop the battle droids from killing more innocents. Recognizing it’s time to go, Gennoh tries to shake Kara’s confidence, remarking that her father, Lah Zhima, is actually a guest and trusted aide to his boss, Nawaam, not actually a prisoner. Kara claims she doesn’t believe it, but even during the celebratory party after Gennoh flees, the doubt is seeping in. Could her father be working with the dark siders? And do it willingly? It makes Kara question if she really knows her father at all and opens up the potential for us to learn some of Zhima’s backstory, which might not be all that Kara believes.
Yet we learn Zhima is a prisoner, as we see Nawaam talking to him behind bars and they aren’t very friendly. But the possibility of learning more about Zhima’s past, especially how he became a lauded sabersmith, remains very enticing for us and for what that story could do to Kara’s shaky confidence. However, Nawaam seems like a formidable threat to deal with, as we see his unconventional ruling style, his skills, and his lightsaber by episode’s end. Ethan is undercover on Nawaam’s ship, with Kara’s little droid 99-99 alongside him, though he’s not doing the best job of staying hidden. He starts to rile up the various mercenaries and fighters around him, all awaiting to meet with Nawaam to battle him for the right to rule the army, by asking far too obvious questions about Nawaam and his abilities. When Nawaam arrives in the room, it looks like Ethan’s cover is about to be blown, yet the masked ruler uncovers another individual as a Jedi, prompting the man to take up his spear and fight him. The duel is short and deadly, with Nawaam easily dispatching the fighter, yet the real concern is not how skilled he is, but that his lightsaber is blue, not the red of the Sith. In the world of The Ninth Jedi, lightsaber colors align with the heart of the wielder, and while that’s not too far off how it works in canon (as the kyber inside can be bled to red or healed to white, while kyber takes on a hue when a Force user first finds it), it’s still a shock to see the big bad with the color of a Jedi. Is it just how strongly he believes in what he’s doing will help others? Does he harbor no anger or other dark side feelings? Is he one who has fallen but not quite enough, like Ben Solo, the light always pulling at him? And what will it mean for Kara, who was ominously seen bathed in red lighting by the end of her duel with Gennoh, hinting at a darkness or anger inside?
Here are a few other things:
- I’ve really been looking forward to this show and the opening did not disappoint. And I’m definitely sticking to my plan to review each episode and hopefully it won’t take me too long to get through it, but I really do want to take my time and enjoy it. So thanks for your patience and for returning or checking out my coverage as it comes in!
- Over on the official site, they have a character guide, with little blurbs about many of the show’s and world’s characters and I wonder if it’ll be updated as we meet more.
- Found it very interesting Zhima senses Nawaam igniting his lightsaber. Is it because he could tell it was the color of a Jedi? Curious if such a skill will be used against him when Kara is ever near and ignites a saber.
With mysteries regarding Nawaam, Kara’s shaken vision of her father, and the hints of some more backstory to follow, there’s plenty of reason to tune in for more of the new series, while the way it so effortlessly picks up from the shorts before it and so quickly expands beyond, all while remixing stories we already know, makes “A New Threat” an excellent premiere for Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi!
+ Recklessly fun pace
+ Plenty of mystery and the story ahead for the show to explore
+ Gorgeous animation and the remixed vibe of it all
– Felt like Kara took a little bit of a backseat
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him and the website on on Bluesky and Instagram @mynockmanor.
STAR WARS: VISIONS PRESENTS – THE NINTH JEDI REVIEWS:
Ep. 2: “A Hidden Weapon” | Ep. 3 “Voice From the Past“ | Ep. 4 “Nawaam Attacks” | Ep. 5: “The Storm of Violence” | Ep. 6: “Light of the Force” | Ep. 7: “The Jedi Strike Back” | Ep. 8: “The Ninth Jedi”
STAR WARS VISIONS REVIEWS:
Vol. 3: “The Duel: Payback” | “The Song of Four Wings” | “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope” | “The Bounty Hunters” | “Yuko’s Treasure” | “The Lost Ones” | “The Smuggler” | “The Bird of Paradise” | “BLACK”
Vol. 2: “Sith” | “Screecher’s Reach” | “In the Stars” | “I Am Your Mother” | “Journey to the Dark Head” | “The Spy Dancer” | “The Bandits of Golak” | “The Pit” | “Aau’s Song”
Vol. 1: “The Duel” | “Tatooine Rhapsody” | “The Twins” | “The Village Bride” | “The Ninth Jedi” | “TO-B1” | “The Elder” | “Lop & Ochō” | “Akakiri”
Related Material: Takashi Okazaki (one-shot) | Peach Momoko (one-shot) | Art of Star Wars: Visions Vol. 1 (book) | Star Wars: Visions #1 (comic) | Ronin: A Visions Novel (novel)