Screecher’s Reach
Episode 2 of Star Wars: Visions season 2 starts with an alarm blaring. Through a beautiful panning shot, various slavers get to work. Daal is our main character here, and she’s desperate to get out and go to Screecher’s Reach. It’s a three day walk but she’s determined to leave the Empire’s tyrannical reach and go on this quest, joined by three of her plucky friends.
There are numerous droids outside, but they pay no heed to Daal and her friends, as they steal some speeders and head to this mountain cave. Apparently it’s haunted by a ghost and on the way, sleeping under the stars, Daal contemplates whether they should just leave the workhouse forever and not go back.
For now though, they focus on the task at hand and head inside the cave. There’s definitely something in here and it screams at the kids, shrieking so loudly that it begins to shake the cave. Daal is not scared and decides to find her path with strength and courage. Unfortunately, this ghost appears to be part of the Dark side, and it wields a lightsaber, slashing at Daal and trying to pull her down. Under extreme stress, she uses her power and manages to knock down part of the ceiling and slam it into the Sith. Daal uses the lightsaber herself and destroys the ghost.
Daal’s friends are shocked that she would lead them into such grave danger, but she ignores them and holds her amulet out as she makes it into the open. A voice calls out, followed by a spaceship, with a woman appearing and confirming that all of this was a test.
Daal has a choice to make. Stand by the courage and kinship of her friends or choose the selfish option and try to better herself. Given her friends aren’t allowed to follow her, Daal decides to leave them to be slavers and better her own life.
The Episode Review
I’m jot quite sure what message we’re supposed to take from this episode, which shows a warped sense of morality. The episode basically tells us that if a good opportunity comes, we should forsake our friends and give in to selfish desires. That certainly doesn’t sound like anything from the Light side does it?
Whether intentional or not, this is a pretty poor episode narratively. The message is skewed and I can’t help but feel a better option would gave been for Daal to stand by her friends no matter what, using that lightsaber she found to liberate the workhouse and get the others out.
Visually though, the episode looks great and the opening shot, which pans across the area, is really well done while the consistent use of colour and lighting makes for another beautifully rendered chapter. It’s just a pity that the narrative doesn’t follow suit.
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Episode Rating
(2)
It’s leaking heavily into the Irish folklore of the Banshee.
From the lilting Irish accents of the workhouse kids to the screaming terror in the dark, it’s a warning.
All who hear the banshee’s cries of despair, are doomed.
This is about the pull of the dark side. Daal is destined for much more than a cog in the Empire’s machine. She has the raw ability to be a Sith. She could have walked out of that cave and left the Sith warrior the way Obi Wan left the decrepit Anakin. But she gave into dark feelings and killed her. I thought this was a brilliant episode.
I believe you missed the point of this story. It is meant to show the tragic reason why someone might resort to the dark side. Not all Sith Lords are born evil. Some where dealt a terrible hand in life and were vulnerable.
The episode is not trying to depict a heroic story, it pretty clearly is a villain’s origin. She abandoned her friends in search of what she thought would be a better life, and in search of that goal she hunted down and killed a woman.
Now she’s a Sith apprentice, and, like her friend said, there are worse lives. That’s one of them. She’s likely to lose an arm to learn a lesson about “loss”. You’d think the red lightsaber and the Sith would have made it clear that she’s not supposed to be the hero of the story lol
I think the point of this season might be there perspective and makings of a liberated sith… Jedi would have chosen to do right but this who episode shows her lack of virtue and complete self centeredness.
She never invited her friends to begin with, they invited themselves, she just said that she was leaving, period.