– Spoiler Review –
With the loss of Juro and Nawaam’s attack splitting those aligned against him to different corners of the galaxy, a well-placed time jump lets the full effects of these developments take shape in Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi “The Storm of Violence”. After the thrilling and emotional midway episode, the fifth episode makes the most of the time left and its exploration of the fallout respects the characters and story so far.
Delivering the time jump via some narration over some colorful constellation representations of the various characters and factions was a neat way of doing it. I wasn’t expecting a time jump either, but by the end of “The Storm of Violence” it felt like the right thing to do. “Nawaam Attacks” was a momentous episode and, while there was only four episodes left after it, moving onwards and not letting its events stick would’ve degraded them and the show. And by throwing in a time jump, we get to really see how it changed things for everyone, from Kwana, Homen, and Ethan’s attempts to keep the resistance together and hopeful, Nawaam’s unthreatened march across the galaxy, and Kara’s self-doubts and loathing. It did throw me off though, right after the narration about the time jump, “The Storm of Violence” picked up right where “Nawaam Attacks” left off with Lah Zhima and Gennoh having a lightsaber duel. How quickly Lah Zhima put Gennoh down, showcasing his considerable skills have not lessened, allowed this moment not to linger and or the show to follow through on the time jump.
Nawaam’s progress in bringing the galaxy his version of justice and peace not only is meeting less and less resistance, his plans with the kyber cannon make a surprising leap forward. It was interesting to see his attained nothingness state of mind in action, as he chats with a rebuilt Gennoh over a holo he holds in one hand, while in the other is his silver saber, slicing through war droids. It’s almost more frightening than an anger, emotionally filled Sith or typical bad guy, as the destruction of the droids, and the death of the remaining alien solider barely register as a blip on his radar. It’s like he’s not even there and what he’s done could’ve been done by someone else. At least a Jedi cares about the lives lost and tries to do right by those still left and a Sith latches to their anger and wants to bring pain and suffering to those in front of them, so for someone to not even really notice is unsettling to say the least. The animation team at Production I.G. does this so well in small ways too, with Nawaam’s eyes so wide open, unblinking, and soulless…it makes me shiver every time they focus on his face. And to take over the galaxy, bringing it justice without even caring about the things within it, what they’d want, and what one’s actions are doing to them…what sort of peace and justice is that and who is it really serving? It’s a great showcase of how Nawaam’s interpretation of Zhima’s silver-blade moment, of his balance, is such a damning and fundamental misunderstanding. And interestingly enough, we see what it means when someone cares too much later in the episode…
But before we get there, Nawaam’s advance across the galaxy gets another boost with the return of Gennoh and the next stage of the kyber cannon plan. Gennoh got his butt handed to him by Zhima, who barely broke a sweat and escaped shortly after, and Nawaam brought him back as General Grievous Gennoh! He looks scary, even more machine than man than Grievous, and his reaction to it is the most interesting. He tells Nawaam he appreciates the care given to him, yet he’s wearing clothes to hide everything but his non-mechanical eye. Nawaam didn’t ask if this what Gennoh wanted. And he doesn’t care. And while Gennoh is still a Sith, still seeing the tenants of his chosen side in Nawaam’s actions, if he actually appreciated the rebuild and was eager to follow, he’d show off his frightening new look and not hide it. It makes me interested to see if there’s anything to my interpretation, that he almost ashamed of what he’s become, and Gennoh helps the resistance/Jedi in the end, especially if Kara finds her kindness once again, which certainly looks more difficult than ever after the events of “The Storm of Violence”. Beyond Gennoh’s return, Nawaam has his scientists reveal they’ve figured out how to make the kyber cannon work again. Instead of using a bunch of small crystals made into a big one…they’ll just use a big one…the one at Juro’s old hideout on Hy Izlan!! The planet has been mentioned several times throughout the series, but beyond flashbacks to maybe explain why Juro left Master Tsutara to move there first and how/why Zhima had Kara in his arms alone when he showed up later, I never expected us to return in the show (besides maybe for a happy ending moment). And now the show is heading to where the story all started as it marches into the final three episodes and I love the poetic nature of the choice. As for how the cannon and Nawaam’s group is going to get there…turns out his little fortress turns into a big ol’ ship and this fan, who has been enjoying all the new ship designs, gets another one to geek out over.
Despite all of Nawaam’s progress, Kwana, Homen, Ethan, the miners, and survivors of Bibin are still out there in the galaxy, avoiding the Jedi hunters and Nawaam’s army, trying to keep the resistance alive and well. We get our first hint at the threat the Jedi hunters pose, Force-less assassins with some particular skills, like the knife-throwing masked hunter who almost gets Homen before he manages to sneak away. And we see how Nawaam’s spreading control makes the galaxy feel compelled to turn the Jedi and their allies in, blasting their faces across the galaxy and threatening trouble for those who don’t rat them out. And Homen and Kwana must contend with the breaking spirits of those they have to protect, especially when they hear news of a powerful General losing to Nawaam single-handedly (I’m assuming it was the individual towards the beginning). Thankfully, Ethan brings better news from the frontier, as a group wants to join their resistance, and it’s able to bring some hope to the group despite the growing opposition, the loss of Juro, and Kara’s continued absence. And it’s not just Kara who can’t be found, but Zhima is out there too, watching and waiting, as we see him astride what appears like a boga (glad they didn’t change such a great design) with Four Nines at his side. When will he make his presence known and when will Kara make her way back?
Well, it might be less about when…and more about how she’ll come to feel ready to come back. When we first see Kara again, she’s living a lonely, yet peaceful life amongst a group of aliens and their worriless and quiet community respecting the nature around them. A youngling from the village visits her, Eesha, and they appear to be friends to some extent, as they share food and keep each other company, giving her someone to talk with, even if he doesn’t totally understand. But as pleasant as her life appears to be, residing in a peaceful existence, the loss of Juro, and how she blames herself, weighs heavily, as sleep doesn’t come easy. She steps out into the night, wielding her saber, but where it used to bring light to the world around her, it darkens it, making her unable to see into the forest, and she can’t bring herself to use it for long. Despite her pleading with Juro to be with her again, like he was to help her escape, she can’t get past her role in his death, sobbing into the night. Sleep continues to evade her but it works out, as Kara senses Nawaam’s army approaching. They make themselves known swiftly, bombing the harmless villagers and their forest, burning it all to the ground and nearly killing Eesha in the process. Can Kara overcome her self-imposed guilt and bring their destruction to an end? Or better yet, is she in the right state of mind to even try it?
I was pretty hyped as the sequence begins, Kara taking out some jerks on speeder bikes, hopping on one to take the fight to them. Heck, I was cheering when she started heading towards the really tall tree, as I was hoping she’d ride up it and jump over and off her bike and land with a sick flourish. And damn, when she does, it looks slick as hell!! But as the sequence goes on, it got harder and harder to watch and my excitement drained. Kara’s progress through the ship is impressive, no doubt about it, but the increasing anger, the eagerness to leap into battle and kill the next person, it just gets darker and sadder to watch. As the commander of the ship watches the security feed, it almost made the whole sequence feel like the inverse of Darth Vader’s big hallway scene in Rogue One. Whereas his was to showcase his ruthless, frightening power, her ruthless, frightening power isn’t awe-inspiring, it’s disappointing to see she’s let her self-imposed loathing get to her, forgetting what Juro told her, or honestly, misinterpreting what Juro said and thinking her actions here still fit the bill of focusing on her kindness. When Kara lunges at the commander, digging her blade through him and taking down the ship, what should’ve been a big moment full of celebration feels hollow instead. When she returns to the villagers, she’s seems so sure of her actions, of how she helped save them, but she’s not the same peaceful neighbor they’ve welcomed to stay near their community. And saying she killed them all, almost like slaughtering them like animals as a certain Skywalker did, doesn’t help their growing fear at her presence.
It’s her lightsaber which tips things over the edge, as the once green blade shines a haunting red. Kara didn’t even notice it and looks at it like her hand has turned into a deadly rancor, about to eat her. She drops it in shock and confusion, running off into the forest, her brief moment of victory vanishing with her. As she flees again, like she did after Juro’s death, the Jedi hunters amongst the forces on the planet arrive and kidnap Eesha, readying him and the villagers as bait to bring her back. It’s going to be a hard place for Kara to come back from, but given her shock over the red blade and her desire to run away from it, shows she’s not fully fallen yet. She has a chance to come back, to remember the strength of her kindness, and I really look forward to how The Ninth Jedi will help bring her back from this precipice in the next three episodes.
Here are a few other things:
- There hasn’t been a lot of non-human denizens of the galaxy in the series so far, with a lot of human-like beings, so I was very happy with the rainy planet scene, as we got to see various species milling around. And heck, the rainy look of the town was gorgeous, from the wet and dripping walls, to the rundown nature of the town, and I hope we get to see more places in rain or other weather patterns before the series is done.
- The Jedi hunters are not Inquisitors and I do like their weird many eyed helmets. Very sinister.
- Always appreciate a story that allows characters to fail, to fall a little bit. To run and hide when things go astray. The way they pick themselves back up and what brings them back from the edge is always more fascinating than always powerful and never stumbling hero.
Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi “The Storm of Violence” wallows in the fallout of the mid-season episode and the series is all the better for it, providing viewers with a dark and more difficult series of hurdles for our characters to overcome before the series is done.
+ The hype for Kara’s big action sequence and the way it gets harder and harder to watch
+ Time jump lets the episode bring out the consequences of the show’s events so far
+ Nawaam’s push and its repercussions for the galaxy, those under his command, and those trying to resist
– Thrown off just a little by the time jump talk but still picking up where the last episode left off moment
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. 2: “A Hidden Weapon” | Ep. 3: “Voice From the Past” | Ep. 4 “Nawaam Attacks” | 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)