After a successful run, the decision was made not to pick up where the story left off, but rather dive further back, exploring how the galaxy got to where it was in the original story. To do so, George Lucas followed, much to fans’ chagrin initially, a young boy named Anakin Skywalker, preferring to go further back than many imagined to help tell a wider story of not only the fateful character’s life, but the machinations of those around him conspiring to the take over the galaxy, while still leaving a large chunk of time unexplored between trilogies. Prequels are nothing new to Star Wars, though that doesn’t mean it still wasn’t surprising to fans of The High Republic’s first Phase to find out Phase II: Quest of the Jedi, would actually jump a full 150 years backwards, leaving many fan favorites in the grips of the dreaded cliffhanger. With the second Phase all wrapped up, Chris and I (Ryan) explore its strengths and weaknesses like seasoned Pathfinders in our latest retrospective!
I’m old enough (to yell at a cloud) to remember when a full season of a show didn’t have the option to be dropped all on a single day, while many relied on cliffhangers (Alias season two when Sydney Bristow wakes up and it’s been TWO FULL YEARS will forever be one of the most unforgettable shocks of my TV viewing life), to keep viewers hooked for the show’s return as social media was only a nascent option to stay in touch and be engaged. I was still left confounded by the announcement of Phase II’s journey to the past, but the age of exploration, a mysterious Force cult, and a smaller story left me intrigued and open to the choice. Which means one of the biggest questions hanging over the Luminous authors’ decision to go back 150 years before solving Phase I: Light of the Jedi cliffhangers is: how much would the past hold to better explain the present, and future, of the era? As you’ll see below as Chris and I dive into all the things we felt worked, didn’t, and everything in between, the answer really depends on the reader. And without the clarity of the final Phase to maybe add context to what Phase II did and didn’t all answer, which again is a matter of perspective at times on whether it met expectations or not (if you had any specific expectations anyways), will those answers and said readers change when it’s all said and done? As of now, we just have these two Phases, so we took into consideration only what’s yet available to explore our feelings on the Quest of the Jedi’s merits. Head below to check out what we thought of the Phase, brought to fans not only by the original Luminous team of Cavan Scott, Justina Ireland, Claudia Gray, Daniel José Older, and Charles Soule, but also from new additions: Lydia Kang, George Mann, and Tessa Gratton!
What We Liked About It
Marda and Yana Ro (Chris):
Phase II is at its best when it realizes that it’s about Marda and Yana Ro. Sure; the Penguin Random House novels are about the Forever War waged between Eiram and E’ronoh, the Insider short stories are about Enlightenment, and the comic series are about the Jedi, but the heart and soul of Phase II is Marda and Yana Ro. More than being the ancestors of Marchion Ro, the Eye of the Nihil in Phase I, the Ro cousins gave us the most intimate look into the galaxy around 380 BBY. Marda Ro’s story, of one who believes so strongly in an ideology, who is shaken to the core by members of another ideology, and even members of her own group, presents a new point of view that still feels fresh in a galaxy far, far away. As Marda grapples with her worldview being shaken, first by falling for someone she obstinately stands again and again by those whom she would look up to, Marda brings us into the world of cults, religion, and family in ways only Star Wars can – and in that case, only Star Wars young adult novels can. Yana, on the other hand, brings us the point of view of one disillusioned with the ideology she grew up in, turning away from all she knows…but potentially in a good way? By framing these women within the Path of the Open Hand, a group the readers understand to be the antagonists of Phase II, we see Anakin’s story played out from another angle. By framing these women within an antagonistic group, the reader is forced to grapple with villains who aren’t (always) as villainous as they could be, and opens up exploration in deeper ways in a new time period. I might argue had these women been introduced after, say, a dozen Phase II stories, their impact would have been lessened. But introducing a new time period, with new characters in new settings with a bit of twist, led for a much more interesting and unique storytelling experience.
Consistency in the Mediums (Chris):
Back when we were doing a retrospective on Phase I, I think both Ryan and I would have agreed that we would’ve liked to see certain stories play out in fewer mediums. In Phase I, to read the whole story of Lula Talisola, a reader would’ve needed to follow the IDW all-ages comic series The High Republic Adventures, one of the Disney Press young adult novels, and finally, the Dark Horse 2023 Free Comic Book Day story. This could be a lot, and is only one example. (Another big one? Losing Avar Kriss’ POV from The Fallen Star because her story was playing out exclusively in the Marvel comic series.) Phase II has (mostly) addressed this, and readers are fairly free to read only a single medium. The PRH novels focused on the Forever War; the young adult on Dalna; and the middle grade readers on Rooper Natani and hyperspace exploration. This is a pretty nice win for inclusivity, as it lets more readers keep up better (and may let them focus on what they like to read and can afford). This didn’t work every time – which we’ll get into shortly – but for the most part, I hope this sticks in Phase III.
Avoiding the Answers (Ryan):
The title of this point might sounds like it belongs in the negative column somewhere, but actually it’s another of Phase II’s strengths. Going back 150 years, with sprinkle of hints of what all went down littered throughout Phase I, there were some expectations for what Phase II would all potentially answer…and how those answers would look. It doesn’t all seem to totally add up in some cases, but 150 years is a long time for people to misremember or pass down prejudices or more positive takes on events and people, something we’re not immune to even in our world, so it makes sense it wouldn’t be perfect one for one. The franchise is riddled with such inconsistencies that George Lucas, the creator himself, took liberties the longer he wrote the franchise (consider Obi-Wan telling Luke that Vader killed his father), so its something baked into the Saga’s DNA to not always be exactly like what someone in-universe told us. And if Phase II went out of its way to focus on answering a list, how fun would the story be and would we have fallen in love with any of the Phase’s characters? Simply connecting the dots has caused consternation before from fans, be it the prequel’s answers to some things (midichlorians, anyone? And now we’ve all mostly cooled on it?) or Solo: A Star Wars Story, a fun movie that tried too hard to answer it all and floundered a bit from it (like how Han gets his current last name), so I for one was happy it felt some of the connections to Phase I and beyond open, either for new stories or for readers to make their own path between points. It meant Phase II could focus instead on its characters and their journeys, something far more entertaining and readable than a checklist.
Not Everyone Carries a Lightsaber (Ryan):
Avon Starros was a Phase I delight and one of my favorite characters so far, while the Vessel’s crew was a true stand out and Lina Soh a Republic treasure, but most other non-Jedi characters were seemingly Nihil. I felt Phase II consisted of a better collection of non-Jedi characters to follow, as there were the planet-crossed enemies to united in peace and love Phan-tu Zenn and Xiri A’lbaran; Dass Leffbruk and his father Spence, hyperspace prospectors; Sky Graf, whose search for belonging and self fuel a great story; Marda and Yana Ro, cousins whose actions reverberate 150 years later; Axel Greylark’s journey sparking Chaos; Keth Cerepath’s choices and sacrifice which finds praise from Jedi Master Silandra Sho; the dual Chancellors of Kyong Greylark and Orlen Mollo trying to bring peace to warring worlds and the Republic’s light to the Outer Rim; Maz Kanata and her pirate crew of misfits, outcasts, and storytellers; and even Tey Sirrek and his penchant for no one listening to him…to name a few. Not only were these characters often integral to the plot, pushing and pulling the story of Phase II, they were main characters or POVs in various stories and mediums, making them more than simply characters our heroic Jedi interacted with, but ones who were the heroes (or villains) often on their own. Having them so prominently involved alongside the Jedi definitely sets the stage for and the feeling which grows into a big Phase I statement: “We are all the Republic”
In-Between
As of right now, was it worth going back in time? (Chris):
One of the biggest questions THR fans may have had coming into Phase II was, well, was it worth it? With the momentum building at the end of Phase I, culminating in both The Fallen Star and Midnight Horizon, excitement for the storyline of Phase I was at its highest. With the fall of Starlight Beacon, promises of future stories featuring Yoda and other Jedi, and the fates of around a dozen characters in the air, fans were excited to see where Phase II would take the new cast we had grown to love. But, this isn’t what happened. Despite the cliffhangers, all of THR pivoted 150 years before the Great Hyperspace Disaster, bringing in a new cast of characters, villains, and locations. As Phase I came to a conclusion, and readers sat in the liminal space between I and II, we started to wonder: would these stories be worth a year long (approximately) pause? The answer is, for me…the jury is still out. As we moved into Phase II with Path of Deceit, I found it to be a good read, but one that didn’t tickle any of my fancies. I wasn’t expecting a lowkey romance story, I wasn’t expecting such an intimate cast of characters, and I certainly wasn’t expecting new authors. I enjoyed the novel, but still, I found the momentum Phase I had built had started to slow down too quickly for my liking. By the time I had finished Convergence, all of that momentum had personally been washed away. (This is not necessarily a commentary on the novels, which were mixed bags for me personally, but definitely a commentary on expectations and storytelling methods.) As the Phase went on, none of the stories really grabbed me.
This has made it really difficult for me to judge whether or not I would say Phase II has been “worth it” or not, or if that’s even an important or necessary question. One thought I continue to come back to is if these books were released without the THR banner, not called Phase II, but released at some point as stories in the THR timeline, I would have enjoyed all of them about the same, without the weird expectations being “Phase II of The High Republic” brought upon themselves. But when these are sold as integral parts of The High Republic, so important they simply must come in the middle of other stories, it brings about expectations I don’t think this Phase was ready to handle.
One other thing makes me struggle to admit whether or not I think this was “worth it” was the way Phase II elucidates Phase I. The Phase sought to answer some questions and fill in the blanks of Phase I, but they didn’t always feel successful. Some times, the details didn’t seem to fit with what happened in Phase I, or at least, they didn’t seem to. One example is the way that Mari San Tekka joined the Nihil, whether she was taken, or born into the proto-Nihil. Sometimes, the details introduced in Phase I weren’t addressed in Phase II, such as Yoda and Tromak meeting, how the Leveler ended up on ice, or who the mysterious figure was at the end of the Battle of Corellia. Of course, this is in the “iffy” section, and not the bad section, because we haven’t seen all of these play out yet. Certainly, details that seem wrong may be cleared up later, and stories we expected (like the Leveler on ice) could be told later, but it felt like they may have needed to be addressed more head on. (And, as a related aside, some of the details within Phase II seemed to not match up, like mentions of the Battle on Dalna in Yoda and the actual battle, or how long the Phase was.) Now, it may seem unfair to put this in the “iffy” section. I’m not committed to calling it bad simply because we may find these details are smoothed over and we may find everything fits better than we really thought they did. That’ll be great, I’ll be happy and satisfied with those answers, but…right now? I think it took some of the wind out of the sails.
This inability to tell, without equivocation, whether THR should’ve taken the break or not between Phases I and III, is a bummer to me, and that’s why I put this aspect into the iffy section.
Repetitive (Chris):
I put this in the iffy section because I cannot call it objectively bad, but I personally found Phase II to be relatively repetitive. All three of Penguin Random House’s releases focused on the Forever War between Eiram and E’ronoh, but they couldn’t always find ways to make the war stick. After the war (which started off-screen and had off-screen ripple effects across the galaxy) raged for five years, Convergence seemed to offer an end to the war with the marriage of Xiri and Phan-Tu. But we learn that doesn’t stick, as a lot of important people on both sides would rather the war continues. Another tenuous peace is struck at the end of Cataclysm, which we know also evaporates by the beginning of Phase I. I understand this is an actually fairly powerful commentary on war, but in such a short phase, and with all of the stories so close together, it started to get repetitive. Especially since this wasn’t the “main” story of the Phase, so spending so much time on what felt so repetitive felt like it could’ve been spent elsewhere.
A Communications Disruption Can Only Mean One Thing (Ryan):
Phase II was touted for being different than Phase I due to it being the Age of Expansion, Pathfinder teams of Jedi and Republic working together to open relations to the Outer Rim with a robust communications network. When this difference was highlighted, it really sung in stories like Quest for the Hidden City and Cataclysm, as the lack of reliable communication made easy situations in other eras all the more difficult for those involved in this era, be it not knowing if and when reinforcements will come to help in a fight, to parse through what is true, or alerting allies/foes of an unfolding situation. But far too often, it felt like this approach to the galaxy’s communications didn’t always come to the forefront, or were more about weather problems than easily manipulated infrastructure, and many Phase II works felt like they easily could’ve happened in Phase I. Likewise, many of the stories were focused on already established planets, especially E’ronoh and Eiram, meaning we didn’t often see the Pathfinders really doing their job, a missed opportunity.
Cast of characters is vast, but may not have staying power (Chris):
Phase I of The High Republic has some of the most memorable characters (at least, to me) in non-screen-based-SW history. Bell Zettifar, Avar Kriss, Loden Greatstorm, Marchion Ro, and plenty of others will live on in the annals of Star Wars history, beloved and remembered fondly (if, Force-forbid it, they don’t survive Phase III). But, as we noted when we looked back on Phase I, there were also a *lot* of characters, and a lot who may not make it too far into the annals of history. Even with about a dozen prose books, the cast was bigger than I think the Phase could’ve handled. Phase II leans into the negative aspects of this a little too much, in my opinion. With fewer books overall, more characters had to make more of an impression with less “page time”. Some characters, while good characters on their own, will survive based on memorable characteristics, like Silandra Sho and her incredible lightsaber shield. Some may survive due to how much they connected with readers, like Axel Greylark and Marda Ro. But even as I write this, I struggle to pull too many super memorable characters out of the air, which is a bit of a disappointment. (And maybe more disappointing – the characters I could remember, I only did because we’ve known them for a while or, in my opinion, their ages were made impossibly too long just to feature them in this era.)
Hype Train Mainly at the Station (Ryan):
There’s a lot of factors into this next part, but it all added up to the effect the hype for Phase II wasn’t quite at Phase I’s levels. With the authors less on social media, largely for relatable reasons like Twitter being run into the ground due to terrible policies that allow hate to explode back across its timelines, there was less of the interactions and back and forth with fans and creatives. There still was a decent amount of communication and tons of Older’s canon gavel, but with less of them as accessible or as interactive, it was noticeably different during Phase II. Likewise, The High Republic Show went from having 9 episodes to 4, and I know there are a ton of things which go into that decision, from potentially the availability of our THR fandom polestar Krystina Arielle to the shifting release dates for some titles, but less of such a main coalescer for fans was acutely felt. And before Phase II really wrapped up, the hype train started for Phase III and beyond at Celebration, which is really the last time we spent much time on Phase II from a marketing perspective. As I said, there are a lot of reasons behind why there were such differences in Phase I and Phase II hype, and I’m not even getting into starting over with new characters and the possibility they could die more of an old trick than a new one this time around, but these changes made it feel like the team behind it wasn’t as excited as well, so it left us to wonder if we should too, even though I have no doubt they have been and are excited about this work, it was just harder to notice it.
What We Didn’t Like About It
Marketing Push was…at the least, very weird (Chris):
The first two things I would call truly “bad” about Phase II are more meta than they are about The High Republic itself. But since we are real people who live in the real world, I feel like these are worth addressing. The first problem I think THR faced was the radio silence in terms of marketing. The Phase began with a few videos that introduced us to some major players in the world, but those were either too light or, in the case of The Mother, extremely spoilery without any warning whatsoever. These were accompanied with a lack of THR Show videos, which, whether or not you’re a fan of these, were a major help in selling the material to readers and to us. I remember more conversations wondering when material would come out than in Phase I, with some material receiving very little of the spotlight (I wonder how many may not know Phase II also had a manga release?) and some receiving none (Insider short stories, anyone)? At the end of the Phase, the THR Show returned…mostly to talk about Phase III and to tell us whether or not our favorite Wookiee Jedi Burryaga survived or not. This was abrupt, but came with material we would’ve loved to see for Phase II, such a cover reveal. It felt as if LFL had given up on Phase II, and when momentum in the books was stalling out, this didn’t help readers (or me).
Maybe the worst part about the lack of marketing is Phase II brought in a larger group of authors, some with Star Wars debuts, most with full-length book debuts, with little to no fanfare. These authors may have looked forward to more of a marketing push, and even better sales, based on the way Phase I was marketed, but might’ve found themselves disappointed. I found myself disappointed; I have a feeling some of the new talent brought in would be more disappointed by the silence. I feel like this left some, like Tessa Gratton writing the Middle Grade story, in a lurch; hopefully, they get a bit more marketing time before the launch of the Penguin Random House novel Temptation of the Force.
Publishing delays drove stories’ momentum’s to a halt (Chris):
This is another thing that was out of the creative’s hands, but I felt like publishing delays were felt a lot more strongly with Phase II than anywhere else in the galaxy. Specifically, Dark Horse’s massive delays on THR Adventures ground the series to a halt each time a new issue would come out. While I ended up enjoying the series a lot, I felt like I was constantly starting and stopping with the series. The delays got so bad they ended up releasing the final three issues in a single day – which, as a reader, was great, but probably couldn’t have helped sales that well. The Nameless Terror also received some pretty big delays. Both of these series also had huge casts, which became hard to remember and feel iconic when we spent so much inconsistent time with them.
Connected Yet Disconnected (Ryan):
I’m all for making it easy to read one or two items and not feel left out, especially in such a big, sprawling story like THR has, but while I felt Phase I threaded the needle well of allowing readers to stick to one medium yet get a sense of the larger picture, Phase II went too hard on the concept of sticking to one medium. For fans reading it all, it was weird books didn’t mention comic characters or moments from their panels, while it was weird for a comic on Jedha to barely acknowledge the bigger situation in the Holy City playing out in the Phase’s big audiobook. It works well if you just want to read the comics this time around, as you wouldn’t feel like you’re missing out on anything because there’s not many hints at the larger picture, but they felt disconnected for those reading both the books and comics. A lot of the magic of Phase I was seeing that crossover, of getting to be like the Leonardo DiCaprio meme pointing at references to favorites or other events from different mediums, so for it to dissociate so fully so suddenly, it was jarring. I hope Phase III can get back to Phase I levels and maybe strike an even better balance.
Age of exploration…off-screen:
Actually, the more I think about it, the more I realize this is also a marketing thing. The impression that the promotion for Phase II gave me was that Phase II was going to focus on the frontier, on new characters with new roles and new tech (well, technically, old tech), and new sorts of adventures. I expected more frontier-based adventures on new worlds, charting new territories and finding new dangers in the unknown galaxy. Which, to be fair, is sort of what we got in the middle grade (unofficial) series. But most of this happened off-screen: Dass and Spence explored hyperspace before the Phase started; Gella Nattai led a Pathfinder team…before her series, etc. This is one of the most unique parts of this era, so I was disappointed how much it was built up to happen elsewhere.
Top Five Moments
Chris:
- The Shrii Ka Rai emerges from the egg and defends the Mother (Path of Deceit)
- Porter Engle slams into Bethune forces, using two lightsabers to defend himself (The Blade #2)
- Poor Azlin Rell succumbs to the nightmare of the Nameless (Edge of Balance: Precedent)
- Pretty much anything Barnabas Vim – let’s be real (Quest of the Jedi #1)
- Silandra Sho(ws) off her lightsaber shield (Quest for the Hidden City)
Ryan:
- Exploration of Planet X aka the Nameless planet, teasing the larger picture (Path of Vengeance)
- Sav Malagán finding herself (THRA #8 – Phase II)
- Barnabus Vim solving the puzzle of Angcord, big implications for the rest of the era abound (THRA: Quest of the Jedi #1)
- Silandra Sho’s efforts during the Battle of Jedha. I mean, anything she does is noteworthy, long may she reign as a shield for light and life! (The Battle of Jedha)
- Axel gives into his Chaos nickname (Convergence)
As I read through both my own responses to what worked, what sort of worked, and what really didn’t work, and then read through Ryan’s, one thing really strikes me: Phase II is The High Republic’s big turn of concepts. As I remember the Phase, I think about a lot of concepts I personally think worked really well. As a concept, the Path of the Open Hand is a formidable foe to the Jedi, not necessarily in terms of might and power, but in terms of ideologies. Few times in canon have we seen a group come against the Jedi, focusing more on an ideological battle (at first) than battles of starships and blasters. More: as a concept, the idea of Pathfinders and broken communications arrays, of hindered travel and dangerous frontiers, Phase II offered an extremely interesting setting. Finally, as a concept, this Phase’s look into the Jedi Order, in a time before they’ve hit their peak, but before they’ve hit their lowest, as well, brings us a unique point of view in bringing out new ways to explore our favorite space wizards. Unfortunately, not a lot of this worked out as well as we would have liked in execution. The story of the Path of the Open Hand felt a bit rushed, with fewer books and comics than the Nihil got in Phase I. While there were some amazing stand out Jedi, like Silandra Sho or Barnabas Vim, a lot of the Jedi will probably fade into distant memories before too long. Finally, the setting of the frontier, while used in the middle grade novels, didn’t color the whole of the story as much as we would have liked.
But even then? Even despite some of the problems we seemed to face in terms of enjoying this Phase as much as we could? I think we would both say that it definitely offered a lot, and we’re happy to have it. Sure, I said above the timing wasn’t perfect, and I stand by that. I would have loved these stories at a different time in real world history. But, I am happy we have them. And, more, I am happy for the ways in which they serve the greater High Republic narrative. I am excited by some of the teases this Phase offers, and I stand with more knowledge, looking forward to how Phase II is going to inform the grand finale of this story.
In the last retrospective article we wrote, I said the golden box on the cover of The High Republic offers a world of adventures, love, and excitement. The blue box, while struggling to completely find its footing, still offered adventure, love, and excitement. It offered some of the danger, fear, and heartbreak we came to expect from Phase I, while offering new glimpses of hope and triumph for our heroes, even in a dark time in their history. While we maybe catch up with Phase II, and look forward to Phase III, the newly minted black box from The High Republic promises more adventure, more excitement, and more to find joy in our favorite franchise – all built on the foundation of Phase II.
Chris is Mynock Manor’s Sous Chef. You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisWerms. 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.