– Spoiler Review –
With an expansive scope which ends up holding its own weight, Studio Mir’s Star Wars: Visions Vol. 2 short, “Journey to the Dark Head,” builds intriguing new lore in an enticing time in the galaxy, flush with rich animation and enjoyable characters which will leave viewers ready for more.
Back in Vol. 1 of Star Wars: Visions, which is full of excellent entries as well, “The Ninth Jedi” was an immediate standout for its unique take on the Galaxy Far, Far Away and from how it was dripping in potential to be expanded on. Studio Mir’s “Journey to the Dark Head” immediately feels the same way, as its additions to the galaxy are grounded by entertaining characters and dazzling realization of its themes and concepts. Where “Ninth” dealt with the far future and introduced lightsaber-smiths, “Dark Head” journeys to a far-flung past where the Jedi and Sith war with one another and it introduces a group which deal in prophetic Force stones. Sitting beneath two monstrously large statues which extend into the clouds, there’s a temple which contains a large opening to the sky, where rain falls onto a central platform full of stones, where disciples read visions which appear on the stones and they are simply recorded on tablets. As for the war, we don’t learn much about the why or how long it’s been going, or necessarily how events within “Dark Head” will bring about any change one way or another, but the idea of seeing Sith and Jedi fighting it out, maybe even in cold war style across the galaxy, is appealing to say the least, as we’ve only really heard about the eras where Sith were plentiful in canon without actually seeing them.
Ara, when we first meet her, is one of the disciples of the temple devoted to reading the prophecies, but she’s frustrated with how they only record what they find, never inform anyone nor do anything about what they uncover or see. According to the temple leader there, it’s not their place and it wouldn’t matter anyways, more war or conflict will come regardless of their actions, but this answer isn’t good enough for Ara. When we see her next, she’s older and has a meeting with a council of Jedi, telling them of her home planet, what they did there, and her plan: destroy the Dark Head statue and hopefully the Light Head and the resulting visions from just it would offer a way to bring the Jedi and Sith conflict to an end. The Jedi assign a young Knight, Toul, on the mission with her, who we see is struggling after watching his Master and other Jedi perish at the hands of a Sith Lord named Bichan, the resulting trauma and lingering anger and fear over the event holding him back. He doesn’t seem like the right fit for such a mission, but the Jedi Master on the council who approves the mission believes the Force has picked him.
Ara and Toul’s interactions are fantastic, be it in Studio Mir’s native language of Korean by actors Jang Ye Na and Lee Kyung Tae, respectively, or in the English Dub by Ashley Park and Eugene Lee Yang. Without opening her mouth, we already know how she feels about Toul, as a point-of-view shot has her look down to see him, since she was expecting someone older, while Toul doesn’t understand the point of her mission, as what’s destroying a head on a statue doing to do in a fight against the Sith, so they of course bicker with one another. Despite this, they work together, trusting in one another and the mission, wanting to see it through, and I quite liked how they end up becoming friends and how their time together helps them push forward as characters. I’d easily love to see more of their adventures on their camaraderie alone, while I really like the idea of a Jedi and a mechanic working together, as they both bring something unique to the fight against the Sith, and it recalls the Jedi working with the Republic in the Pathfinder teams of The High Republic’s Phase II part of the story.
As the team speaks about in the Filmmaker Focus extra on Disney+, incorporating yin and yang fits perfectly in the Saga’s focus on light versus dark, and I love the approach they took to bring out those themes in “Dark Head.” When they get up to the statue’s heads, we find out they are connected by a ring structure, which looks to be full of kyber crystals when the fight between Toul and Bichan finds its way inside, but it’s initially clear which is the Dark Head and which is the Light. As the fight rages on between the two Force users, the resulting war inside Toul seems to activate the rings, showing how you can’t have light without the dark and vice versa, as the Head’s energies seem to intermix, making it unclear which one is which. Destroying one Head wouldn’t solve anything, as it would only make the prophecies on the stones worse, as then they’d only see what they wanted to, not what they need to, as uncomfortable as it might be. In Toul himself, we see his internal conflict, fear and skepticism raging inside after having watched his Master and other Jedi die by Bichan’s hands, only for the Sith to leave him alive, sensing the conflict within. Bichan might be a Sith Lord, but he understands how connected the light and dark can be, believing he and Toul are destined to work together, but expecting him to join the dark side. He digs into Toul’s internal fight throughout their dazzling duel, where Yun Yong Sik for the Korean Dub and Daniel Dae Kim (as a big LOST fan, always glad to see him) for the English Dub really provide an almost unhinged performance for the Sith, matching his wide eyes when he finally takes his mask off and sounding quite menacing and dark for when he’s still in his memorably unique outfit. As their duel rages on, Ara comes full circle to the vision she saw in the rocks at the beginning of “Dark Head,” realizing all three of them are the shapes she saw, and she helps Toul get the advantage in the fight after he comes to terms with the conflict inside.
Having finally watched Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra during the start of the pandemic, I’ve always wondered since what Star Wars might look like by Studio Mir, which worked on Korra but one of its founding members originally worked on ATLA, and I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. There’s a ton of beauty throughout the short, especially in the big, wide shots of the landscape, be it the statues covered in the clouds, the inside of the temple, or even in the final plunge as Ara dives to catch Toul as he tumbles to the ground below. It’s where the team seems to put another message of how, despite the war or who is winning in the moment, there’s plenty of beauty in the now and present, as visions are well and good, but relying on them makes one lose sight of what’s in front of them. The lightsaber duel on the rings around the Heads felt grounded enough but unique and high energy that I was glued to my seat, trying my best not to blink so I could see every moment of these two combatants hop around and slice at one another. I really wanted more dueling in Studio Mir’s style, another reason why I’d love to see them tackle this era of the Saga after what they showed off with here.
Here are a few other things:
- I loved learned about the real-world inspirations for the prophecy library and Bichan’s imposing look, as well as how the music incorporated traditional, older instruments to give it a unique sound palette. The most surprising detail in the Filmmaker Focus extra was learning human screams were used to create Bichan’s lightsaber sound, as I could tell it was something far different than normal and quite enjoy its haunting sound, but now I know why it was so damn haunting!
- Speaking of the music, composers Jang Young Gyu and Lee Byung Hoon, have quite the sonic playground for our ears and I think what really made it stood out was the inclusion of those older, unique instruments. Check out their score on Spotify now!
Studio Mir’s “Journey to the Dark Head” has a big scale but focuses in on core themes of the franchise, resulting in Star Wars: Visions Vol. 2’s first short which immediately begs for expansion.
+ Expansive world ripe for expansion
+ Ara and Toul’s interactions
+ Gorgeous animation, especially in action and big scenery, and a memorable score
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.
STAR WARS VISIONS REVIEWS
Vol. 2: “Sith” | “Screecher’s Reach” | “In the Stars” | “I Am Your Mother”
Vol. 1: “The Duel” | “Tatooine Rhapsody” | “The Twins” | “The Village Bride” | “The Ninth Jedi” | “TO-B1” | “The Elder” | “Lop & Ochō” | “Akakiri”
Related Material: Art of Star Wars: Visions Vol. 1 (book) | Star Wars: Visions #1 (comic) | Ronin: A Visions Novel (novel)