– Spoiler Review –
After a rocket-paced opening episode, Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi‘s second episode, “A Hidden Weapon,” slows things down but doesn’t let up the momentum or finding ways to raise the stakes. And by letting the characters shine through more and developing some intriguing backstory and mysteries, the series only gets better.
Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi is not just a remix, after all, but I liked what did feel like a remix in “A Hidden Weapon” and what was different…and how the show pulled in Lord of the Rings as well! On the remix side of things, Lah Kara training with the remotes on a ship while an old Master watches was a lovely little nod to Luke’s own journey, but the juxtaposition between their skill levels shows how much further along Kara is to Luke, so it does more than just play on an old trope. As for the superweapon, which is different than the Death Star or Starkiller Base, though it is closer to the latter than the former, but at least I felt like I understood how it worked thanks to less J.J. Abrams techno-babble and lack of needing a reference book to clarify things. And the gorgeous effect of the beam, tearing through space, entering and then exiting a wormhole, and blasting through the thin space between Bibin and the gas giant, the gas plumming away from after the blast passes…left my jaw on the floor. Wish the effect of Starkiller had been similar, because this thing was beautiful!! Elsewhere, it was fun the miners felt like a clear, almost too on the nose, reference to the dwarves of Lord of the Rings, from their shorter overall stature, hardy opinions, and, well, being miners. If anything, it’s another way to help viewers quickly understand what kind of people these miners are and why it’ll take an impassioned speech to get them involved as Juro hopes. Plus, we even got a remix of Lando Calrissian and Han Solo’s greeting on Cloud City via the little sword fight that led to a hug between Juro and Kwana. But the episode’s biggest remixed element involves some of its biggest revelations, so we’ll get to those in just a moment!
Just as her time with Teto in “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope” pushed her to start having a little confidence in herself, Commander Gennoh’s claims her father is a guest of Nawaam’s, not a prisoner, is sticking to her like a leech, taking it all away. While she shows off some good skills against the training remotes, Juro can sense she’s conflicted and thankfully, she wastes no time in telling him. She confesses what Gennoh said to her about Lah Zhima and Juro’s able to offer some hope it’s a ruse planted by the enemy, though she admits she’s still worried there’s more to it than either of them realize. Her hope and confidence take further hits as “A Hidden Weapon” goes on, as Bibin’s ruler, Lady Tafflah, tells Kara, Juro, and Homen she sees the Jedi as bringers of chaos and mentions an incident locals have yet to forget that involved an upstart Jedi Order some time ago. We get our first hint at what this might be when Homen tells an inquisitive Kara about how the Jedi Order ended on Bibin when one of the Padawans killed the Jedi Master (sounding a little like Ben Solo/Kylo Ren and Luke’s Order, no?). She continues to face less than hopeful developments when Juro’s miner friend, Kwana, isn’t able to sway the other miners to their cause, and more importantly, when she learns the Padawan who killed the Master was none other than her father, Zhima. I had a feeling Zhima’s backstory was going to be more complicated than Kara would’ve imagined and I have a good feeling, especially after Juro says he doesn’t even know the why of it, there’ll be far more to this story. Despite the setbacks and worries and dark details of her father’s past, it’s Kara’s passion, itching to go on display in front of Dunbai in the premiere but she had to contain it, which flips the miners to their cause. It’s a somewhat silly scene, given the feats she’s managed with the Force already, as Kwana and Homen try to hold her back from falling as she stands on a railing* to deliver her speech. Yet what she says holds weight to counteract the silliness, as it shows her resolve, even if right now it’s focused on getting her father back, remains regardless of all the loses and bad news stacking up against her.
There’s no shortage of backstory in “A Hidden Weapon,” not only about Zhima, but also Juro’s time in the Jedi Order and Kwana’s connection as well. It turns out they both were training under Jedi Master Reno Tsutara. Juro, Zhima, and Kwana all called each other brothers at one time, under Tsutara’s tutelage, and hoping to become Jedi, reviving the Order and bringing hope back to the galaxy. Yet it all came down in flames after Zhima’s actions, but his reasonings for it remain elusive to everyone. Kwana isn’t too eager to help Zhima given what happened, but Juro and Kara convince him to change his mind. For Bibin, it’s an event that’s left a dark mark on their planet. And for Juro, he helped hide Zhima away and didn’t ask any questions, believing he must have had a reason. I think it’ll boil down to Kara, as Zhima appeared before Juro, who already left Master Tsutara for some unknown reason, with her as a baby in her arms shortly after killing their old Master. Could Tsutara have seen a dark future for her and thought about killing her, even for a second, and Zhima acted to defend her? Is Kara even his daughter? Was Tsutara against them having children/attachments and was going to do something drastic about her? It’s a great mystery and I’m sure it’ll have a satisfying answer considering how well this series has been written since the original short.
Ethan does a far better job at sneaking around with Four Nines this episode, getting a bird’s-eye view of Nawaam’s superweapon and his reason for capturing Zhima alive. Forging one giant ass kyber crystal from the remnants of the thousands of kyber (where are they getting all that kyber?!) to make a…Kyber Crystal Cannon! Looks, it does exactly what is says on the tin, at least. It’s kyber-crystal made cannon. No need to question what it’s capable of or can do! But it’s not working and the scientists involved are stumped. That’s when Nawaam brings out Zhima, who is shocked at the cannon yet steps right up and helps heal it, making it finally work. It felt strange he’d so easily help, as the original short and Kara & Juro’s faith in him suggest he’d do otherwise, though the revelation he killed his Jedi Master tries to make viewers think twice. Yet when Nawaam gives his big speech and fires the weapon, Zhima steps up and adjusts it, just enough, so that the resulting blast narrowly misses Bibin and the gas giant next to it. Will Nawaam force him to refix it? Will he be able to do it himself? Will the scientists find a way regardless? Either way, I don’t think Zhima will be treated as kindly going forward. Yet who knows with Nawaam, as he has a very Kylo Ren sense of the galaxy about him, as he addresses Gennoh as the last Sith, not taking that title for himself, but calls Zhima his Master, whether the sabersmith has agreed to it or not. His belief he’s bringing order to the chaos, and leaving such titles as Sith and Jedi behind, makes one wonder what brought Nawaam to this point. Is he Kara’s brother, hence why Zhima took one baby and ran, and Nawaam was left behind? Mayhaps Tsutara was going to kill both children for whatever he sensed in Nawaam, making this another interesting twist on the twins separated at birth part of Star Wars’ tale? I’m eager to keep watching and find out, that’s for damn sure!
Here are a few other things:
- Really felt like the score took over more often in “A Hidden Weapon” than in the premiere, with Kara’s theme being very pronounced in the training opening. I’ve always really enjoyed the song, called “Kara and Father” in the original short, as it’s very very inspired by Rey’s theme, to the point it has a very similar hook but it goes it just a slightly different direction. Fantastic work once again, Nobuko Toda and Kazuma Jinnouchi
- Forgot to mention this in the previous review, but there’s a great interview with supervising director Kenji Kamiyama over at Crunchyroll!
- *You know it’s an alternative universe, aka Visions, when you see railings in Star Wars!
As Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi slows down for “A Hidden Weapon” and is all the better for it, allowing things to breathe, develop, and stakes still raise.
+ Mysteries deepen as backstory expands
+ Slowing down to focus on the characters
+ Kara’s resilience and focus
– Some silliness that seemed a touch unnecessary
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. 1: “A New Threat” | 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)