The Prince and the Pirate Recap
In the season finale of Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures, Kai, Lys, and Nubs set a training course record. They are excited to be returning to Starlight Beacon for a grand celebration. Tabor, however, is planning on stealing a precious Jedi object called the dedication plaque. His crew of 2 look unexcited.
Who is Taborr, really?
In a shocking reveal, Taborr’s true identity turns out to be Prince Cyrus, from episode 20. Kai, Lys, and Nubs are excited to see him, not knowing who he really is. They learn that the dedication plaque is being protected before a ceremony that is important to the Jedi. Kai takes Cyrus and the others on a tour. Cyrus has trouble hiding his identity from the young Jedi but convinces them to track down the plaque. Nash figures out that Taborr is close by.
Does Taborr’s plan succeed?
Cyrus tricks the young Jedi into leaving him alone with the plaque. He changes into Taborr’s gear. Kai, Lys, and Nubs make it back but are too late. He escapes through a vent with the plaque. They chase Taborr down a trash chute. Then, cornered, they ask what he’s done with Cyrus. Under the helmet, Cyrus is stunned to learn they care about him more than the plaque.
Just before Cyrus reveals himself, the walls of the trash compactor room they’re in start to close in. Tabor escapes with the plaque, but the young Jedi catch up with him in an open area of Starlight Beacon. Taborr loses the plaque and does not reveal his true identity. He assures the safe release of Cyrus in exchange for walking away scot-free.
How does the season end?
Cyrus thanks the young Jedi for rescuing him, and the ceremony goes on as planned. Yoda congratulates the young Jedi and expresses his pride in them. He tells Cyrus that he senses much conflict within him, and reassures him that there’s greatness within him too, if he makes the right choices. Kai reunites with Jedi apprentice Bell and his ‘dog’ Ember. The Jedi conclude the ceremony by calling out together “For light and life” with their lightsabers in the air.
The Episode Review
Without Taborr’s droid companion sarcastically asking, “A… plaque?” this double-length finale would have been off to a bad start. The subtle joke landed though, and the finale ended up as one of the best episodes of an overstuffed season.
It felt intentional that this episode started with a training exercise to display how much the young Jedi have improved. Cyrus’s reveal manages to elicit genuine surprise, given the length of time spent developing Taborr independently. The young Jedi calling him a friend created satisfying conflict within him and added weight to Taborr’s and Cyrus’s arcs. The trash compactor callback managed to be rather cute despite being a rather forced callback. It also doesn’t bode well that the old twist was by far one of the most tense moments of the entire show. The bombshell reveal doesn’t end up amounting to much.
The Prince and the Pirate ends without much closure because Cyrus maintains his secret identity. He could change, but given the length of this season, Disney will pump this out as long as children will watch. It’s a way to keep things optimistic if the show isn’t renewed. Unless this is an attempt to tell a new story to a new generation as they grow up, it’s not likely that this will last long.
All in all, the showrunners managed to fill a 30-minute runtime with some genuine thrills and stakes, despite much of it relying on the prior strength of Star Wars itself. The finale proves that over the course of a very long season, these young Jedi improved their skills and learned about the nature of goodness, teamwork, and what it means to be a Jedi.
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You can read our Season 1 Review of Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures here! |
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