legendsofthegffa

[legendsofthegffa]

Rogue Planet Review

It has been three years since the Trade Federation was defeated at the Battle of Naboo…three years since Obi-Wan Kenobi struck down the Sith Lord that killed his Master…three years since Anakin Skywalker became a hero and joined the Jedi Order as Obi-Wan’s Padawan. As the galaxy marches ever forward to a dark, unseen future, shadowy forces are already trying to find an advantage that will ingratiate themselves with the coming New Order. A mysterious planet holds incredible technology unlike any other in the galaxy, and these dark forces will do anything to posses them…

Three years after the Battle of Naboo, Obi-Wan is struggling with being the master to an apprentice; Anakin’s unorthodox life and career make him all but an outcast amongst the other Padawans and Younglings, causing the youth to seek out death-defying races to find some solace in an old pleasure. During one such race, Anakin is almost killed by an assassin, only saved by Obi-Wan’s last minute intervention; meanwhile Wiluf Tarkin convinces his friend Raith Sienarr to share some of his secret intel with him and is shown a pair of organic starships unlike any other in the galaxy. However, the technology requires a bonding partner, without which the ship withers and dies; Tarkin again “convinces” his friend to aid him in claiming the source of such technology…a mysterious world known as Zonama Sekot.

Also searching for Zonama Sekot is Obi-Wan and Anakin; they are to be sent to the planet to find out what they can about the disappearance of a Jedi known as Vegere while posing as buyers seeking to buy some organic ships. As the two depart, they are secretly followed by Tarkin’s forces (who has been spying on Anakin and the other Jedi with spy droids unsuspectingly brought into the Temple by Anakin in order to “fix” them), who has acquired a small flotilla comprised of old Republic vessels and captured Trade Federation ships. Upon their arrival to Zoname Sekot, the two both feel a very strange presence within the Force unlike anything else they’ve felt before, as well as evidence of some recent battle that left great scars upon the planet.

After being summoned to meet the Magister, the erstwhile leader of the planet’s population, the pair’s cover story is blown, though they are allowed to stay and go through with their purchase if the seeds that grow their tech will allow it. Three end up choosing Obi-Wan while a record twelve choose Anakin; the two are then taken through the process of tempering and cultivating the seeds until they are ready to begin shaping themselves into whatever their partner chooses. When Tarkin’s forces finally arrive, they begin an immediate assault with sky mines and droid starfighters, while Anakin and the Magister’s daughter are kidnapped by the same assassin that tried to kill Anakin back on Coruscant.

The assassin takes off with his captives in Skywalker’s newly grown ship though he manages to concoct a plan that gets them to land the ship, after which Anakin unintentionally kills the assassin by unleashing a massive amount of Force energy; Anakin also discovers the mysterious presence within the Force is the consciousness of the planet itself known as Sekot. After Sekot shows Anakin the message Vegere left with him about strange, unknown outsiders that attacked the planet, it reveals to Anakin it’s intention to flee rather than continuing to fight the invaders. Unfortunately, Anakin is captured by Tarkin himself and taken back to the fleet along with his ship. Obi-Wan manages to rescue Anakin while Zonama Sekot flees into hyperspace, though Anakin’s ship is fatally injured in the escape. The two return to the Jedi Order to deliver Vergere’s message while Tarkin “appropriates” one of Sinnar’s designs for himself: an immense, spherical battlestation…

This isn’t the first time I’ve read this novel but this time I was able to appreciate the wider story and found a book that while not amazing, is an enjoyable read. The first time I read this book, I was so excited to see what connections it had to the New Jedi Order era only to discover that there was only the most tenuous of threads (aside from Zonama Sekot itself). I was so disappointed that it left me mostly feeling cool towards the story. We’ll have to wait until the next book to learn more about the Outsiders. I went back and forth on how much to get into the plot of the New Jedi Order series but I’ve ultimately decided to wait until we get to the part to talk about the strange beings where we’ll simultaneously discuss both the beginnings and the lead up to that series.

Rogue Planet is an unusual but enjoyable Star Wars story; those looking for a fast plot and lots of action would be better served reading other stories as this book is much slower and more introspective. Free of my previous preconceptions, I was able to enjoy this book much more this time around, and I rhink other fans will to, especially those looking for more stories off the beaten path or are curious about the early days of Anakin’s apprenticeship. Next time, our heroes are headed for the outskirts of the galaxy where we’ll not only find out more about the Outsiders and meet one, if not the most famous character from Star Wars Legends in Outbound Flight.

Connections to the GFFA

As previously mentioned, Sinnar has already designed a prototype Death Star.

Sinnar has IG-88 models in his private collection.

Anakin’s seeds provide a brief glimpse of his future transformation.

Obi-Wan is using Qui-Gon’s lightsaber after losing his in their duel with Darth Maul.a

 

I’d like to take a moment for some real talk: on January 20th, 2025, we entered our own Dark Times once again. To those of you that are being targeted right now, I want you to know that you are not alone; you have allies are willing to fight for you in every way that they can. To my fellow members of the resistance, remember to do what you can when you can: attend protest if you have the means to do so; donate to those who are knee deep in the fight if you have the money to spare; but above all else, be prepared to stand up and speak out if you encounter hatred, intolerance and cruelty in your own day-to-day life. This conflict is going to be fought day by day, battle by battle; none of us know how long this fight will last but as long as we stick together, we will overcome the darkness just as our forebearers did.

May the Force be with you all.

[legendsofthegffa]

Episode I: The Phantom Menace Review

Until 2017 with the Release of Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, Episode I: The Phantom Menace was seen as the most controversial and divisive Star Wars film ever released, far eclipsing the backlash against the supposed “kiddification” that occurred in Episode VI. I was eight years old when Episode I premiered in theaters and while I loved it at the time, it was, for a time, my least favorite of the film series. While I have never had anywhere near the amount of negative feelings towards this movie that other people have, I cannot deny that it remains my least favorite of the Lucas-era films.

The film opens by informing us that the Trade Federation has blockaded the planet of Naboo in protest of a new tax levied against them. The Supreme Chancellor, seeking a swift end to the situation, has dispatched two Jedi Knights, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, to negotiate a settlement. Unfortunately, just as the Jedi arrive, the Trade Federation’s shadowy benefactor, Darth Sidious, orders their immediate execution to prevent their interference, though the pair manage to survive and make their way to the surface of Naboo alongside a droid army invasion force. They meet a member of the native Gungan species, Jar-Jar Binks, who takes them to his underwater home where the Jedi procure transportation to the human Naboo city.

The droid army reaches the capital firsts and imprisons the planet’s ruler, the young Queen Amidala, though the Jedi manage to quickly free her and some of her entourage and steal a ship in order to escape the planet so the Queen can plead her case before the Senate on Coruscant in person. During the escape, their ship is damaged, and they are forced to land on the more nearby world of Tattooine. Darth Sidious dispatches his Sith apprentice Darth Maul to find the Queen in order to get her to legitimize the invasion of her world.

Unable to barter with the locals due to a lack of funds, Qui-Gon, Padme, Jar-Jar and the droid R2-D2 are taken in by a young slave boy named Anakin Skywalker. Hearing their plight, Anakin offers to race for them in a local event in order to get them the prize money for their parts. While his mother is understandably reluctant about allowing her son to put himself in harm’s way, she concedes, and Anakin works on fixing up his racer for the big day. During this time, Qui-Gon comes to suspect that Anakin is strong in the Force, something confirmed when Obi-Wan performs a blood test and his mother confides in the Jedi Master that Anakin has no father.

On the day of the race, Anakin suffers setbacks and sabotage but manages to emerge victorious; even better, he discovers that thanks to a side bet Qui-Gon made with the boy’s owner, Anakin is no longer a slave and Qui-Gon is willing to take him with him to train as a Jedi. Unfortunately, Anakin’s mother is still enslaved and even were she free, she would be unable to come with them to Coruscant and while heartbroken, Anakin agrees to leave her. Just as they are preparing to depart, Darth Maul attacks them, though Qui-Gon manages to hold him off long enough for the ship to take off.

Upon arriving on Coruscant, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan report their findings to the Jedi Council: that the Queen is being pursued by what is likely a Sith Lord and that Anakin is a vergence in the Force, and possibly the one prophesied to bring balance to the Force. While they are skeptical about the Sith’s identity, they outright refuse to allow Anakin to be trained, believing him to be to old and filled with too much fear and attachment. Meanwhile in the Senate, the representative for Naboo, Senator Palpatine, convinces the Queen to introduce a vote of no confidence in the sitting chancellor, which she reluctantly does after seeing him acquiesce to bureaucratic procedure. Palpatine is one of the nominees to become the next Chancellor, but Amidala has run out of patience and decides to return to Naboo to lead the liberation of her people herself. The Jedi order Jinn and Kenobi to continue to protect the Queen and Qui-Gon brings Anakin along as an unofficial apprentice.

Once they reach Naboo, Jar-Jar leads the others to a Gungan hiding place where the Queen begs the amphibious people to aid her in freeing their planet from the droid occupation. The Gungans agree and a plan is put together: a Gungan army will draw out the bulk of the droid forces and keep them occupied while the Queen and a small strike-force break into the palace to capture the Federation leadership and force their surrender; they will also launch what fighters they can to attack the droid control ship in orbit to shut down the droid forces across the planet one way or another. At first, the plan goes off successfully, with the droids taking the bait while a handful of fighters are able to take off; the plan runs into a snag when Darth Maul confronts the Queen’s forces, causing the two Jedi to hang back and try and hold off the Sith Lord.

As Jar-Jar leads Gungans against the droids and Anakin is stuck in a starfighter bound for the battle in space, the Queen and her entourage are captured by the droids while Jinn and Kenobi battle Maul throughout the heart of the palace. Tragedy strikes when the Sith manages to strike down Qui-Gon Jinn though the Jedi Master is swiftly avenged by his padawan who manages to defeat and seemingly slay Maul; Anakin destroys the droid control ship which saves the remaining Gungan army while Amidala turns the tables and captures the Trade Federation leaders. A victorious Chancellor Palpatine arrives while the Federation leaders are taken into custody and the Council grants permission for Obi-Wan to train Anakin. Despite the losses sustained, the Naboo, Gungans and Jedi celebrate their shared victory and the beginning of a new era of peace.

Let’s get one thing out of the way now: I do not hate this movie; I do not hate the Jake Loyd or Ahmed Best, and the people who attacked them for literal years are all sub-human slime who aren’t worth the air they are sucking down. I was eight years old when this movie came out – the optimum age to see it. As a kid, I loved it wholeheartedly, but as I’ve gotten older it gradually began to diminish when compared to its sequels. And unlike a lot of people who deride the so-called “focus” on boring politics, my real problem is actually with the middle of the film; once they get to Tatooine, the movie slows to a crawl for me; the Podrace scene was cool and exciting when I was a kid but now, I’m just indifferent toward it. Not helped is the contrived reason they are there in the first place. I know it’s been hammered into the ground by this point, but the idea that there was absolutely no one in Mos Eisely who would take Republic credits (proprietor or smuggler) is just ridiculous. I don’t have a problem with Anakin being an innocent little boy or that he constructed C-3PO, it’s all the stuff around it that I find tiresome when revising Episode I; I much prefer the stuff that happens before and after that. I’m also indifferent towards Jar-Jar; I don’t have nearly the number of negative feelings that other people do, and I feel that the same thing could have been accomplished without him tagging along the whole time, but honestly he’s not nearly as annoying or intrusive as others would have first time viewers believe.

In terms of novelization, the book sticks pretty close to the source material, with the major difference being the inclusion of Anakin chapters before the rest of the characters encounter him on Tatooine; we get to see the end of his last Podrace that demolished Watto’s pod, meeting with a former Republic pilot and reaffirming his dream of escaping to the stars as a pilot himself someday; and an encounter with a Sand Person that includes Anakin having a nightmare about losing his mother that really makes me wonder just how much of Anakin’s story was decided before the Prequals even began filming. It’s also here that we get the history of the Sith that would lay the foundation for the story of the Sith that would slowly be filled over the next decade or so with works like the Darth Bane Trilogy and the Darth Plaguies novel, some of the greatest works of Star Wars outside of the films. It doesn’t do nearly as much as the Episode III novelization does to add to its own film (and don’t worry, we’ll get to that one), but the little extra bits we do get with Anakin are a nice addition and the perfect thing to expand upon in a novelization.

While Episode I lays the foundation for Star Wars going into the next millennium, it is also merely one part in the larger story that we’ve seen so far. By the end of the film, the Sith have infiltrated the highest echelons of the Republic’s power structure after a millennia of hiding and scheming; now, the new Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious (after assassinating his own Master as seen in Darth Plaguies) is ready to deliver a killing blow to both the Jedi and the Republic that neither will see coming. The flip side of that is the introduction of the Prophecy of the Chosen One; its believed that the Force created Anakin as response to the experimentation done on midichlorians by the Sith as means of eliminating the dark side cult and bringing about balance to the cosmos; this also applies to the Jedi of this era, who are depicted as being dogmatic and so shackled to following Republic policy that they allow slavery to flourish outside their borders. What this cosmic reshuffling means will only be revealed in the future.

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is my least favorite film in the six-part Lucas Saga; while the story drags for me in the middle, the rest of the story is both compelling and entertaining and the novelization of the film is not only serviceable but adds some extra depth for Anakin that the film was unable to depict. For me, the story only goes up from here, but before we can move on to Episode II, we have a few other stories to go over in between so join me next time as we continue through the Star Wars Legends continuity with the novel set a few years into the partnership between Obi-Wan and Anakin in Star Wars: Rogue Planet.

Connections to the GFFA

As previously pointed out, Anakin’s nightmare about his mother while around the Sand People may be foreshadowing for Episode II.

In an odd bit of continuity errors, Palpatine says the Sith have been gone for two thousand years instead of one, and that Qui-Gon’s Master lived to be about four hundred years old; the first is contradicted by this very story while the second would be revealed to be false in Episode II

Final Score: 7/10

[legendsofthegffa]

Star Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter

By: Z.H. Brown

The rise of the Sith is imminent. As the Dark Side continues to gather in strength like a serpent rearing to strike, the Sith are maneuvering their pawns into place to begin the endgame of the Republic and the Jedi. But when one of those pawns goes rogue, Darth Sidious is forced to dispatch his apprentice, Darth Maul, to hunt him down and eliminate him, along with anyone else that might know about the impending invasion. While Darth Maul believes the mission will be simplicity itself, the involvement of both the Jedi and a pair of underworld information brokers will make this one of the Sith Lord’s most important mission.

On the eve of the blockade of the Naboo, one of the Trade Federation leaders Hath Monchar, who is fully aware of the plans that are in motion and has collected the information onto a holocron, has disappeared, intending to deliver the information to someone in the Republic in exchange for immunity and protection. While Nute Gunray tries to placate Darth Sidious (and even dispatches a bounty hunter to find his rogue colleague), Sidious doesn’t trust the Nemodians and so charges Darth Maul with hunting down the missing viceroy and eliminating him and anyone that he talked to. While Maul is disappointed with the seeming insignificance of the mission, he obeys his Master without question.

Meanwhile on Coruscant, Lorn Pavan and his droid friend and partner I5YQ are down to their last credits and desperate. Lorn once worked for the Jedi Order, only to be fired when they inducted his own son, Jax, into the organization; Lorn recovered I5 and discovered that he was an incredibly “human” droid who he kitted out with a number of utility mods. Through their contacts, they find out about a Nemoidian with information to sell. Lorn procures the information, only for Maul and the bounty hunter to show up; Maul learns that Pavan has the holocron and escapes while the bounty hunter accidentally kills herself.

As Maul begins to chase Lorn and I5, the three cross paths with a Jedi Master and his padawan who were nearby on other business. The Master tasks his apprentice, Darsha, with protecting Lorn and the droid while he holds off the assassin, though he his killed in a speeder crash. Darsha leads I5 and Lorn into the Coruscant underworld where they are captured by cannibalistic humanoids, though working together they manage to drive them away. Lorn finds himself warming up to Darsha, leading to conflicting feelings within him, though they are forced to continue to rely upon each other as they not only escape Maul once more, but an underground monster that is not only immune to the Force but even to lightsabers.

Just as they are within reach of safety, Maul corners them once more. Darsha seals Lorn and I5 in a vault used for carbonite freezing while she attempts to stop the Sith permanently; while Maul is no question the superior swordsman, Darsha allows the Force to guide her actions and not only stalls Maul long enough for I5 to but the finishing touches on their plan, she almost kills him by setting off a large explosion, though at the cost of her own life. Maul escapes, though since he cannot sense Lorn or the droid, he believes them to have been killed in the blast.

Shortly after, Lorn and I5 thaw from their carbonite freeze and believe themselves safe, though Lorn is devastated by Darsha’s death. He contacts on old friend who picks them up, though they soon spot the Sith still alive. Lorn deactivates I5 and tasks his friend with delivering the droid to the Jedi Temple while he goes to kill the assassin. After following him for a bit, Lorn does get the jump on Maul, though the Sith quickly turns the tide and forces Pavan to flee…straight into the waiting entourage of Senator Palpatine; Lorn gives Palpatine the holocron while he is taken into protective custody. All patched up, Lorn wonders why he hasn’t heard from I5, unaware that his so called “friend” decided to keep the droid and sell him, aware of his unique capabilities. However, Lorn’s triumph quickly turns to tragedy as Maul reveals himself once more and finally strikes Pavan down. The forward is now clear and soon the Sith will reveal themselves to the Jedi…

Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter is a great read that flies by as the plot hurtles along at an almost breakneck pace, while never feeling like things are going TO fast and also slowing down to get to know Lorn, I5 and Darsha. Speaking of I5, he is easily the best character in the story; Star Wars has an exceptional track record with nearly every Star Wars project, either Canon or Legends, almost guaranteed to introduce a new droid character that will become beloved, and I5 stands shoulder to shoulder with other droids like C-3PO, HK-47 and L3-37; he’s as dependable as a Wookiee and as versatile as R2; he’s quick with his wit, insights, and weapons, and is treated like an equal by Lorn, something other people find baffling. I5 will return down the line, and I am all here for it.

Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter is a great read that sweeps the reader up in an adventure that carriers them straight to the beginning of Episode I. While Darth Maul is as terrifying and relentless as ever, the new characters not only manage to stand out, but to shine as in I5’s case. If you want a book that makes you excited to see what came just before the events of the films, then you need to pick up Shadow Hunter. Next time, it’s finally here: we will be looking at one of Star Wars films for the first time with a review of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Connections to the GFFA

Maul mentions Exar Kun, the creator of the double-bladed lightsaber, who appeared in the Tales of the Jedi comic series.

Maul incorporates teras kasi, the fighting style featured in Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi.

 Final Score: 8.5/10

[legendsofthegffa]

Maul: Lockdown Review

By Z. H. Brown

The Sith Grand Plan is nearing its fruition. As Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious work ever closer to attaining their revenge on the Jedi and Republic, Sidious' apprentice Darth Maul acts as their agent on the galactic stage. In his latest mission, though, Maul will find himself pushed to his very limits as he tries to survive in Maul: Lockdown.

In an attempt to claim a nuclear bomb, Darth Sidious dispatches his apprentice Darth Maul to a prison space station called Cog Hive Seven; CHS is no ordinary prison, as the whole structure can reconfigure itself for the death matches arranged by the Warden and bet on by beings from across the galaxy. To make matters even more difficult, Sidious forbids Maul from drawing on the Force, leaving the Sith apprentice with nothing but his physical strength, martial training and cunning mind to keep himself alive.

While searching for the arms dealer who had turned the prison into his secret headquarters, Maul cuts through a veritable army of combatants, prison gangs and middlemen before he located his target...at the same time Jabba the Hutt launches his own attack on the prison in an attempt to snuff out his betting competition. Maul manages to make his way off the station with his prize just before the whole thing rips itself apart.

Maul: Lockdown was an... interesting read. On the one hand, it does not shy away from depicting the brutal reality of life in the Hive; a lot of detail is spent on the various injuries and disfigurements prisoners have accrued during their time (but that shouldn't be surprising since the author also wrote the equally brutal and visceral Red Harvest and Death Troopers). It also has some unique idiosyncrasies: for one thing, the prison Warden is repeatedly depicted as drinking coffee when the standard replacement for that in the Star Wars Universe is called kaf. Also, whenever Jabba appears, his dialogue is written so that it seems like he's speaking Basic, only for it to be revealed that the characters are just mentally translating what he's saying in their heads. On a side note, I've found it odd for a while now that Jabba uses a translator when Huttese is supposedly a common form of parlance; I know it's for the benefit of the viewer/reader, it's just something I've noticed. There's also a subplot about a father and son living in the prison, and I was afraid Maul would take the son under his wing (which I just can't see Maul doing), but this only happened at the very end of the book and didn’t really affect things. Speaking of the ending, the book just...ends. There's no resolution between Maul or Sidious, no set up for Shadow Hunter or Darth Plagueis, it just ends right after Maul completes his mission.

It also doesn’t add much to our overall look at the evolution of the Sith; we find out how Sidious orchestrated the assassination attempt against Plagueis as well as the fact that he was somewhat aware of his apprentices’ schemes as he also had an agent working inside the prison as well as supplying the bomb maker with the means to produce artificial lightsaber crystals for the mass production of the weapon (in Legends, Sith lightsaber crystals were typically synthetically created, while in Canon they are made by ‘bleeding’ (or corrupting) a normal crystal); it doesn’t go anywhere since the weapons manufacturer and his whole operation are wiped out, which means we’ll never know just what exactly the intentions were for these lightsabers. As well as finding out that Darth Maul is just as much a badass as he is when he can’t use the Force, that’s about it.

Maul: Lockdown is an interesting side story for the titular Sith, full of brutal violence and a mystery that twists and turns through-out. While it’s not a title that I’ll return to anytime soon, it did prove to be at least entertaining while it lasted. Next time, we inch closer towards Episode I with Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter.

 

Connections to the GFFA

The book opens with Maul fighting a Yuuzhan Vong warrior!

The prisoners use knotted cords as a form of currency, something similar to what Lumiya sends to Jacen Solo in the Legacy of the Force era

Maul’s systematic take over of the prison gangs is a nice foreshadowing to his rise as a crime lord in Canon

Maul has a vision in which he foresees his fate at the hands of Obi-Wan (as well as almost realizing the truth that his Master serves his own Master)

Though it isn’t explicitly stated, the bomb maker is almost certainly a Chiss, the same reclusive species as Grand Admiral Thrawn

Final Score: 8/10

[legendsofthegffa]

Darth Maul: Saboteur Review

By Z.H. Brown

Unbeknownst to the wider galaxy, the Republic is in its twilight. Those who do know are the dark lords of the Sith who are working on bringing down the Republic and their hated Jedi rivals along with it. Darth Maul, apprentice to Darth Sidious, has been dispatched to help bring the Sith Grand Plan to fruition in Darth Maul: Saboteur.

On the Outer Rim world of Dorvalla, two rival mining and shipping companies are engaged in knife-edge competition with one resorting to performing sabotage on the other. Acting quickly, Darth Maul creates a doctored recording to deliver to the competitors, which results in both sides being betrayed after hiring the same criminal gang to work for both of them. With their companies in shambles, both sides are forced to sell themselves too the Trade Federation and a pleased Darth Sidious congratulated Maul on his cunning which has allowed their pawn Nute Gunray to rise even higher amongst the TF.

Darth Maul: Saboteur is quick but enjoyable short story that helps fill in more of the gaps prior to Episode I. It is also a good example of the more cunning side of Maul that often gets overlooked; while it's true that he may not be as intelligent or devious as Plagueis, Sidious or Tyrannus, it still shows how he is more than a brutal, thoughtless monster, something that both Legends and Canon goes out of their way to show. Next time, we continue our look at Darth Maul with one of the novels released near the end of the Legends era with Maul: Lockdown.

Connections to the GFFA

Other than this story taking place before Cloak of Deception, I couldn’t find any other notable mentions.

Final Score: 8/10

[legendsofthegffa]

Cloak of Deception Review

By Z.H. Brown

It is the twilight of the Republic. While the Core worlds enjoy a so-called "Golden Age", those worlds on the fringes of galactic civilization are beset by hardships and exploitation by greedy corporate factions; within the Galactic Senate, corruption has taken root, and any attempts at reform or improvement are stymied by self-interest and apathy; and unbeknownst to the Senate and the Jedi Order, the Sith are working from the shadows to bring their Grand Plan to fruition.

In the Outer Rim, an undeclared war is being waged between the citizens of the exploited worlds and the corporate entities exploiting them for the benefit of the few. During a routine mission, a Trade Federation ship is attacked by a group known as the Nebula Front, who manage too not only ruin the shipping run but also make off with a fortune of rare ingots; the Jedi Order has dispatched Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi to combat this small but potent threat, despite somewhat sympathizing with the culprits.

In the Galactic Senate, the Trade Federation is causing an uproar over the threat to their profits and demand to be able to properly arm themselves, despite the reservations of some who don't wish to see the TF and other corporate entities accrue more power. In the middle of this politicking is Senator Palpatine of Naboo, secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Sidious is of course playing all sides: slipping information to the leaders of the Nebula Front while also pushing the Trade Federation on in their calls for armament, while as Palpatine striking a balance between the more extreme Senate factions while also subtly manipulating Supreme Chancellor Valorum; he proposes a summit be held on a world closer to the Outer Rim so that all sides can come together and find a solution, while also planting the seeds of Valorum's political demise by laying incriminating evidence of self-enrichment.

The Jedi Order is pressured into intervening on the Trade Federations behalf and dispatches a team of Jedi to bring the Nebula Front leaders to justice. However, the Front is already ready for them and the Jedi find themselves outnumbered and outgunned while Sidious' agents carry out his orders for their seeming benefit. At the summit, the Jedi manage to save the Chancellor from an assassination attempt, though Sidious' manipulation causes the deaths of nearly all the Trade Federation leadership, except for Nute Gunray who steps in as Viceroy. With the summit a bust, the leaders of the Republic return to Coruscant where the accusations against Valorum are levied while Sidious' suggests taking a bold action against a mostly powerless world to Gunray: the home of Senator Palpatine, Naboo.

I'll be honest: I've read this book before and remembered the opening and ending quite vividly, but the middle part just didn't grab me as much. I was surprised and delighted to see so much politicking, but the story involving the Nebula Front just wasn't something I found particularly interesting. I was more fascinated at seeing more of the pieces falling into place that set the stage for Episode I.

And let us not forget the other Sith that we're also active at this time; Sidious' master, Darth Plagueis is still hard at work in his midichlorian experiments, leaving the political maneuvering to Palpatine, while Sidious' own apprentice, Darth Maul, is dispatched on a mission of his own (which we'll cover shortly).

Cloak of Deception is essential reading for those wanting to see how all of the pieces of the Sith plan fall into place as the flip-side of what we saw in the novel Darth Plagueis. While some may find the main story more engaging than I did, I still enjoyed the Palpatine moments, and as I said the beginning and ending have always stuck with me. Next time, we'll find out what Darth Maul was up to during this time as we look at Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter.

Connections to the GFFA

One of the characters swears by “the moons of Bodgen”…maybe he meant to say Bogden?

Palpatine warns that Senate fractionalization will lead to “secession.”

We get a bit where Qui-Gon reminisces on his youth, and yet no mention of Dooku…

Jorrus C’baoth appears; his story continues in Outbound Flight.

Valorum recalls the time of the New Sith Wars, which ended with Darth Bane’s secret victory.

Vergere appears, with her story continuing in Rogue Planet.

The Stark-Hyperspace War is briefly mentioned.

By this point in Legends, Palpatine knows Tarkin.

We find out the “scandal” that is dogging Valorum in Episode I: the Sith have manipulated it so that it appears that his family company is profiting from his position and inside-knowledge.

Final Score: 7.5/10

[legendsofthegffa]

This year I'm celebrating May 4th by watching The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.

[legendsofthegffa]

This year, I'm celebrating today like most fans with the Bad Batch!

[legendsofthegffa]

Darth Maul: Saboteur Review

By Z.H. Brown

As Darth Plagueis works to manipulate both the galaxies disparate factions as well as the midi-chlorians themselves and Darth Sidious operates both publicly as Senator Palpatine and secretly as the “face” of Plagueis’ manipulations, Sidious’ apprentice, Darth Maul works to hone his skills as a merciless weapon of the dark side. While he wishes for nothing more than to test himself against an actual Jedi, his Master has other plans in store for him, plans involving sabotage in Darth Maul: Saboteur.

In a remote Inner Rim system, two companies are racing to harvest a valuable mineral essential in the creation of transperisteel; the mining is hard, low-paying and unfulfilling, but still both companies want to expand their business to other, more lucrative systems, and in order to do this, one of them has begun engaging in acts of sabotage. The security chief of the victim company is charged with getting to the bottom of the actions and, if necessary, engaging in some nefarious means of payback.

Darth Sidious is made aware of this escalating conflict by the Trade Federation and charges Darth Maul with destabilizing the situation enough to make both companies forced to become subsidiaries of the Trade Federation in order to monopolize on their valuable mineral, and to do so without leaving any trace of their involvement. While not the assignment he would prefer, Maul is utterly obedient to his Master and sets out to complete his mission.

Maul makes his way to Dorvalla where he quickly susses out the current situation; he locates a listening device planted by the rival company as well as some of their agents in a bar before trailing a local to a meeting being held by the security chief where he suggests hiring a local crime gang to interfere with their rival’s business. Maul then passes this information along to the other company who hire the same gang in an attempt to get them to double cross their other client, only for the gang to decide to sabotage both during a major shipment.

The security chief reaches out to his opposite and suggests they team up temporarily in order to eliminate the criminals that betrayed them both. Maul shadows the assault in order to ensure that nobody survives to possibly bring back incriminating evidence indicating his own sabotage. It is here that Maul is finally able to let loose, though he makes sure to kill all the survivors in a way that doesn’t leave any lightsaber wounds. 

With both companies on the brink of ruin, they are forced to merge their assets as well as sign an exclusive contract that makes them reliant on the Trade Federation. Darth Sidious is pleased with his apprentice and tells him that he already has his next mission in store for him.

Darth Maul: Saboteur is an interesting slice-of-life story that perfectly encapsulates the Order of the Sith Lords and how they operated for a millennia; manipulating entire worlds from behind the scenes, adding more and more to their over-all plan against the Jedi and doing so all in a manner that leaves no trace of their involvement for the Jedi to become suspicious of. While those looking for a tale of Darth Maul going on a killing spree will be disappointed with this novella, those looking to see more of how the Sith engineered their revenge (especially after Darth Plagueis) will get it here. Next time, we continue our expose on the Sith in Maul: Lockdown.  

Connections to the GFFA

The leader of one of the companies accuses the Trade Federation of threatening to sick their droids on them, obviously foreshadowing the Blockade of Naboo.

Sidious mentions moving Gunray on to the Trade Federation Directorate, laying the groundwork for his eventual masterstroke in Cloak of Deception.

Final Score: 8/10

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Darth Plagueis Review

By Z.H. Brown

“Did you ever hear ‘The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise’?”

The Republic is in a Golden Age while the galaxy at large enjoys a peace that has lasted nearly a millennia. But beneath this prosperity, corruption and suffering fester; the Galactic Senate is almost universally filled with self-serving politicians or have been bought out by various, wealthy corporations and business; the Outer Rim is left almost completely at the mercy of organized crime, with violence, poverty and slavery running rampant. Over seeing this time of peace is the Jedi Order, which has become both completely reliant on the Senate for action while also being so wrapped up in their own meditations and traditions that all but a few have failed to notice the creeping spread of the dark side once more beginning to envelop the galaxy. And behind it all is the Order of the Sith Lords, operating both from the shadows and in public personas to facilitate this decay as the Grand Plan draws nearer to its culmination. This is the story of two of the most important Sith in the history of Bane’s Order; the Dark Lords that would enact their long-awaited revenge and once more bring Sith rule to the galaxy. This is the story of the Sith Lord that trained the most powerful Sith the galaxy had ever seen. This is the story of Darth Plagueis. 

The story opens with Plagueis’ on his final mission with his own Sith Master, Darth Tenebrous. While investigating a deposit of the lightsaber-resistant metal cortosis, the stumble upon a pocket of natural gas which triggers an explosion that threatens to bury them. The two use the Force to shield themselves from the cave-in, but Plaguies suddenly sees (or receives) an opening and allows his master to be crushed by some of the debris. Tenebrous is both impressed and disappointed in his apprentice, as while he acted exactly as the way of the Sith and the Rule of Two dictates, Plagueis himself is both wounded and now trapped deep underground. Plagueis assures him that he has enough strength and skill to escape as he watches the midi-chlorians within his master slowly fade back into the Force, though Tenebrous gets in one last dig by hinting that Plagueis was not his only apprentice, to which Plagueis finishes off his master himself. 

Plagueis does indeed escape, and eventually makes his way to a spaceport where he stows away aboard a ship heading in the general direction of Muunilinst, his homeworld. The crew discovers the Sith Lord, and while Plagueis tries to get them to get him to take him to where he needs to go, they prove resistant enough for him to resort to slaughtering the crew and commandeering their ship and droid, 11-4D. Plagueis takes the droid into his personal service before arriving at a gangster controlled space station to have his ship and evidence of his crime destroyed and to commander another craft. 

Plagueis finally makes it home, where he inducts his new droid into his experiments; Plagueis had long been fascinated in midi-chlorians and their connections to both the Force and life within organic beings. Plagueis has been attempting to influence the midi-chlorians in other beings in order to stave off death, but so far had been unsuccessful; with the Sith Grand Plan entering its final stages, Plagueis has grand plans of his own: to achieve immortality for himself, to bring the very Force itself to heel with the power of the dark side, and to rule the galaxy forever alongside his future apprentice and partner, as Plagueis also intends to discard the Rule of Two, believing that it has served its purpose but that the Sith must work together to bring their goals to fruition. 

Whilst attending a private gathering in his public persona as Hego Damask of the InterGalactic Banking Clan to tend to both personal and Sith business, Plagueis is drawn into a trap by none other than Tenebrous’ other apprentice, Darth Venomous. Venomous sees himself as Tenebrous’ true apprentice and attacks Plagues in a fury; the Bith is indeed a capable Sith Lord, but Plagueis is simply to strong in the Force to be overcome with a lightsaber and Plagueis turns him into another midi-chlorian experiment, bringing him to the very brink of death before slowly coaxing him back to life. The last loose end he has to tie up is Venomous’ own candidates for apprentices, though he finds none of them to be worthy of the title.

As Plagueis’ experiments and plans continue, he is drawn into a on the planet of Naboo as some of the Mid Rim world’s nobles are opposed to getting into bed with either the IGBC or the Trade Federation. However, Plagueis receives unexpected assistance in the form of extortion material from an unlikely source; the son of a minor noble named Palpatine. As Hego Damask, Plagueis reaches out to Palpatine and finds that not only is the boy strong in the Force but also already seeped in the dark side. Palpatine’s father tries in vain to stymie the friendship, but eventually the elder Palpatine pushes too far and his son gives into the dark side completely and murders his entire family. Plagueis takes the boy under his wing, shaping him into a politician that could one day sway the galaxy to embrace his rule, as well as inducting him into the Sith and dubbing him Darth Sidious. 

After years of training together, things begin to take shape for both Plagueis and Sidious; the Sith Master is slowly beginning to understand how to bend midi-chlorians to his will, while Palpatine has managed to rise to the rank of Junior Representative in the Senate for Naboo. Following the assignation of the previous Senator, Palpatine is promoted to the position, just as his Master begins his search for the tool that will be used to destroy the Jedi. His first candidates, the Yinchori proved not only ferocious fighters, but also highly resistant to Force-influence. Unfortunately, the reptilian species proves to be too un-pliable for the task, though Plagueis’ study into their unique midi-chlorian abilities gives him new insight into his experiments.

Plagueis also begins working on Jedi Masters that have proven to be outspoken on the corruption in the Senate and the Order’s subservience to the legislative body rather than actually doing their duty to protect and serve. Two such Jedi are Masters Dooku and Syfo-Dyas. Dooku has grown exacerbated and disillusioned with the Jedi because of their adherence to tradition and serving the Senate, while Syfo-Dyas has long been worried of a coming galactic war that Jedi would be unable to handle with their limited numbers. Plagueis both works on widening the split between Dooku and the Order as well as laying the seeds for Syfo-Dias to consider creating an army in secret to be used when needed. Plagueis also imparts on Sidious the necessity of turning the galaxy against the Jedi, so that when their destruction ultimately comes about, the citizens of the galaxy will celebrate their destruction; this stroke of genius leads Sidious to bequeath his master with the title he would forever be known by: Darth Plagueis the Wise. As the Sith grow in strength, they begin attempting to bend the Force fully to the dark side, while around this time, Sidious comes into the possession of an infant that Plagueis allows him to train to be their weapon, dubbing him Maul, though Plagueis insists that Sidious keeps his own master’s existence a secret.

As Sidious grows in both Force power and political power and Plagueis’ control over midi-chlorians increases to the point that he is able to heal his own body from grievous injuries sustained in an attempted assassination; Maul continues his training, turning himself into a devastating weapon of the dark side with a singular focus of slaying Jedi, while the Sith move their pawns in the Senate and corporations closer to both open conflict as well as sowing the seeds for secession amongst the dissatisfied and the greedy in the Republic.

After years of positioning Sidious for the spot of Supreme Chancellor, as well as weakening the current Chancellor’s position and prestige by engineering scandals of corruption, things come to a head on the world of Naboo. Just as a new queen assumes power, Sidious uses a new tax about to be levied on Outer Rim trade to convince the Trade Federation to blockade their trade partner in the name protesting the tax; the Sith intend to use this incident to finally get Palpatine elected after which he will appoint “Hego Damask” as Co-Chancellor, at which point the two would effectively be in position to rule the galaxy for an eternity.

However, things do not go as planned, as Chancellor Valorum secretly dispatches two Jedi to convince the Trade Federation to give up their blockade. The Jedi, Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi survive an assassination attempt before making to the surface of Naboo and rescuing Queen Amidala before escaping from the planet completely; unfortunately, their hyperdrive is damaged in the escape, forcing them to land on the Outer Rim world of Tatooine. Sidious is forced to dispatch Maul to capture the queen and return her to Naboo, but just as the Sith apprentice locates his prey, the Jedi mange to escape once again and this time make it back to Coruscant.

From there, everything comes to a head: Senator Palpatine manages to convince Queen Amidala that the Senate has become to ineffective to help, and that the only way to save Naboo is to replace the current leadership of the Republic via a vote of no-confidence in Chancellor Valorum. However, Sidious also learns of something that might potentially jeopardize their entire plan from his friend, Master Dooku; Qui-Gon discovered a boy on Tatooine so strong in the Force that he believed him to be The Chosen One of Jedi prophecy, believed to have been conceived by the midi-chlorians themselves. Sidious is flabbergasted by this, as he was in the boy’s presence multiple times and sensed absolutely nothing about him; Plagueis is likewise stunned by this news, and even considers the possibility that this boy, Anakin Skywalker, was created by the Force as a counter-action following his and Sidious’ attempt to bend the Force to their own will; Plagueis tries to peer into Anakin’s future, only to be overwhelmed by a deluge of intense sensations and dark premonitions. 

While, Amidala, Skywalker, Jinn and Kenobi return to Naboo to free the planet themselves, with the election for the new Supreme Chancellor pending, as Sidious and Plagueis shore up Palpatine’s support, Plagueis imparts upon Syfo-Dyas one last time his concern of an immanent galactic war, and that he believes he has found the means of creating the secret army he once spoke of in the form of the cloners of Kamino, though he imparts upon the Jedi Master that it would need to be Jedi to commission the army if it is to be used by the Republic. At long last, the Sith achieve one of their goals when Palpatine wins the election and is proclaimed the next Supreme Chancellor. Plagueis and Sidious retire to celebrate their victory privately, though as Plagueis overindulges in drink (and not having slept in nearly two decades due to his ability to refresh himself via midi-chlorian stimulation), Sidious takes this opportunity to turn against his master, mocking him with is moniker “The Wise” by revealing that Sidious never intended to share rule of the galaxy with him, and that he was merely using him to achieve ultimate power; something Plagueis had become blind to due to his belief that the Rule of Two had been ended and he and Sidious were considered equals. Sidious short-circuits Plagueis’ breathing apparatus before strangling him with the Force in order to make it seem like his death was due to natural causes. 

As Sidious celebrates his ascension to the highest office in the Republic, he laments the loss Darth Maul at the hands of Kenobi, though he has already started to move on, first by intending to induct now-Count Dooku into the way of the Sith, but also by keeping a close eye on Anakin Skywalker in order to watch for a potential threat to his plans or for a useful tool. But mostly, Sidious plots to bring about his ultimate victory by destroying both the Jedi and the Republic and ruling over the galaxy with an iron fist and the unstoppable power of the dark side.

Going into this book, I was already aware of most of the broad strokes, namely that this book is meant to tie up the loose ends and offer explanations for much of what we see in the Prequel era. However, despite ostensibly knowing what the book was about, getting into the nitty-gritty of it was still a fascinating read; not only do we learn about the life, accomplishments and philosophy of one of the most famous Sith never to appear in the films, but we also get to see all of the little maneuvers made to both weaken the galaxy and ensure their own ascension; whether its by backing Jabba the Hutt in his muscling in on Tatooine, stirring up resentment amongst the disenfranchised who have been marginalized by the Senate and convincing them to invest in weapons and other war material manufacturing, or even just operating in plain sight of the Jedi while completely hiding their true nature, seeing everything that went into the culmination of the of Grand Plan and the revenge of the Sith was impressive in just how much thought went into the politicking. 

Despite shedding light on many heretofore unknown machinations of the Sith, as well as clearing up some contention in the canon (namely that midi-chlorians do not correspond to one’s power in the Force, but rather one’s connection to the Force), there is still plenty left unanswered; I was surprised in that Palpatine’s first name wasn’t in this book, instead calling him by his family name by his own choosing; we also don’t get a definitive answer on Anakin’s creation, just speculation on the part of Plagueis; and despite being another book steeped in the lore of the Sith, we only get very brief mentions of Sith Lords that existed in the time between Zhanna and Tenebrous. While I know that the book already had a ton of information to cover and wrap-up in a satisfactory way, I will admit to being slightly disappointed at the lack of information concerning the history of the Order of the Sith Lords in an official work; however, that is a pretty small complaint, as the revelations we did get were still fascinating.

It’s also fascinating to see the beginning of Bane’s Order versus the near end of it; Bane had insisted on working mostly from the shadows, using intermediaries and only involving themselves directly when need be while also trying to keep the Republic mostly intact, in order to make it easier to conquer. Bane also was completely dedicated to his new Rule of Two, insisting upon the apprentice overthrowing the master once they had nothing left to teach them. While still working from the shadows, Tenebrous, Plagueis and Sidious all have very public, high-profile identities that often bring them into close contact with the Jedi, though by this point, the Sith have mastered the skill used by Zhanna when she infiltrated the Jedi Temple in her days as an apprentice. They are now also at the stage in their Plan where they are ready to implement a ‘divide-and-conquer’ strategy by whipping up every grievance planets, sectors and business have with the Republic. Also, this is a minor difference that I noticed, but while Bane and Zhanna both considered the adoption of a Sith title to be a personal choice to be made by the apprentice, Plagueis (and as we would later see, Sidious), bequeathed their Sith names upon their apprentices, seemingly after being inspired by the dark side. 

Darth Plagueis is an essential read for fans of the Sith, fans of the Prequels, fans of Star Wars novels, or anyone looking to find out about what was going on behind the scenes that ultimately led to the events of Episodes I, II & III. While some readers might be turned off by it being essentially an exposition piece, finally learning about both Darth Plagueis and the beginning of Emperor Palpatine’s career makes it a must read in order to fully understand the Star Wars saga. Next time, we continue our time exploring the Sith by looking at an incident briefly mentioned in this book when we cover Darth Maul: Saboteur. 

Connections to the GFFA

Since this is both another deep dive into Sith history and lore as well as explaining the minutiae of the Prequel era, there are quite a few references: 

After slaying his master, Plagueis mentions prior Sith having to be wary of their vanquished master utilizing essence transfer, which is indeed what happened with Bane and Zhanna in Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil, though the technique had since been lost.

Plagueis also mentions another Sith technique: the ability to take life from others to extend one’s own, which is what Darth Vitiate did to become immortal and how he kept Reven alive for centuries as his prisoner in The Old Republic: Reven (though Plagueis himself is not entirely convinced on Vitiate’s “supposed” lifespan).

Amongst his collection of Sith artifacts is a piece from Queen Amanoa’s collection, who appeared in the Tales of the Jedi comic.

During his study of midi-chlorians, Plaguies also looked into the anti-Force abilities of the ysalimiri and the vornskrs, both of which would be utilized against Jedi decades later for this same reason by Thrawn and the Yuuzhan Vong, respectively. 

Plaguies mentions the exploits of prior Sith such as Naga Sadow destroying entire stars and binding his spirit to his sarcophagus, which we saw in the Golden Age of the Sith comic, as well as Exar Kun’s paralyzing of the entire Senate in the Tales of the Jedi comic.

Plaguies makes mention of Belia Darzu’s fortress on Tython, which Bane infiltrated in Darth Bane: Rule of Two.

Plaguies briefly encounters an Iktochi prophet is able to accurately predict the impending Clone Wars as well as the rise of the Galactic Empire.

Plaguies makes mention of several ancient names and entities at one point: he calls the light side of the force and the dark side by their original names – Ashla and Bogon, respectively. He also mentions the Celestials and their ability to move entire star systems (as was the case with the Corellian system) as well as the Rakata and their Star Forge, which was a major part of the first Knights of the Old Republic game.

When Sidious asks if the dark side will physically warp his appearance, Plaguies says it’s possible and points to King Omnim of Onderon (who appeared alongside his wife in Tales of the Jedi) as well as Darths Sion and Nihlus (two of the main antagonists in Knights of the Old Republic II).

Sidious’ lightsaber is partially made of phrik, a lightsaber-resistant metal like cortosis but of a lower quality; during the Clone Wars, Republic Commandos were dispatched to disrupt a Separatist production operation that was making battle droids with an alloy including phrik.

When Sidious expresses a desire to visit worlds important to the Sith, Plaguies lists off Korriban, Ziost and Droummund Kaas (all former capitals of the Sith), Yavin 4 (where Naga Sadow fled and where Exar Kun based his operation from), and Dxun (where the tomb of Freedon Nadd was located).

As previously mentioned, Plaguies insists on he and Palpatine learning to mask their Sith allegiance when in the presence of Jedi, just as Darth Zhanna did during her infiltration of the Jedi Temple in Darth Bane: Rule of Two.

He also mentions Sith ships imbued with consciousness, something that we’ll see waaaay down the line with Lumiya, Caedus and the Lost Tribe of the Sith.

Some Proto-Disney Canon tidbits: Both Mother Talzin and Savage are briefly mentioned (though the later not by name); they were of course created for The Clone Wars animated series. The Zillo beast also gets a roundabout shout-out as the name of a Malestare fuel company. The Senator of Rodia, Onnaconda Farr is also mentioned, though interestingly is described as a “typical militant Rodian.”

Plaguies introduced Palpatine to Sate Prestage, who would go on to become Grand Vizier of the Galactic Empire.

Ko Sai, the Kaminoan hunted by Clan Skirata in the Republic Commando series, was present during Plaguies preliminary plans for the Clone Army.

Palpatine mentions that there was a time when only Jedi were allowed to be Supreme Chancellor, which occurred during the Republic’s Dark Age and later Syfo-Dyas mentions the Ruusan Reformation by name, which ended the practice and effectively created the status quo amongst the Republic and the Jedi for nearly a millennia.

Following his near assassination attempt, Plaguies makes mention of other Sith Lords forced to rely on life-support, such as Darth Malak (who lost his lower jaw to his master, Darth Reven) as well as Darth Bane and his dependence on his orbalisk armor. 

The Stark Hyperspace War is briefly mentioned, as is the Battle of Galidran, in which Jango Fett slaughtered a dozen Jedi single-handedly, both of which occurred in the Republic comics.

Plaguies calls Maul’s lightsaber an “Exar Kun design; Kun was the first in recorded galactic history to wield a double-blade lightsaber. 

The Sun Guard, Plaguies’ personal protectors, refer to his abilities as “sorcererous ways,” which is how Darth Vader’s abilities are derisively described as in Episode IV.

Maul’s killer protocol droid, C-3PX, is briefly mentioned.

The events of both Cloak of Deception as well as Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter are briefly alluded to. 

Maul’s one-of-a-kind ship, the Scimitar, was designed by Darth Tenebrous and previously owned by Darth Plagueis.

It was Senator Orn Free Ta of Ryloth, who appears as a background character in the Prequels and is a minor character in The Clone Wars series, was the one to nominate Palpatine for the Chancellorship. 

The Jedi learned about the Rule of Two nearly a millennia ago from Darth Zhanna’s cousin, fittingly in the book Darth Bane: Rule of Two.

Final Score: 8.5/10

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Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil Review

By Z.H. Brown

Darth Bane’s time as Dark Lord of the Sith is drawing to a close; his body has begun to decay from a life-time of abuse and dark side usage but his apprentice, Darth Zannah seems reluctant to challenge her master for the title of Sith Master. In an attempt to find some way to extend his own life, Darth Bane will become caught up in a web of revenge decades in the making and come face-to-face with his past and his destiny. This Sith trilogy concludes with Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil.

After his near death experience, being removed of his orbalisk armor, and nearly being revealed to the Jedi, Darth Bane and his apprentice Darth Zannah have once again retreated into hiding, this time posing as a wealthy pair of reclusive siblings. Bane has noticed that his body has begun to show signs of weakening due to his hard life and reliance upon the dark side. While Zannah has noticed her master’s deteriorating condition, she is unsure if he is actually weak, or merely trying to lull her into a false sense of security to see if she will step up and attempt to claim the mantel of Sith Lord for herself; in the meantime, she is content to continue waiting. Bane, however, fears for the future of his order if his first apprentice is apparently unwilling to challenge him; as such, he has been searching for a Holocron belonging to an ancient Sith Lord rumored to posses the secret to eternal life.

Bane gets a lead on the Holocron, and sends Zannah off on a mission to keep her busy while he goes to retrieve his prize; Zannah is sent to find someone who killed a Jedi on a distant world. By the will of the Force, this world is also home to the daughter of Caleb, the healer who saved Bane’s life twice before and was butchered by Zannah. The girl is now the royal princess, and after she learns about the possibility of the Sith surviving, has her bodyguard hire an assassin to track him down and bring him to her. Zannah meanwhile locates a Dark Jedi named Set, who while far from an ideal candidate for an apprentice, does posses enough power and ambition to make Zannah believe that she might have found someone to train so that she can finally replace Bane as Dark Lord of the Sith.

Bane retrieves the Holocron and forces the secret of essence transfer from it, giving him the ability to shed his physical form in order to posses another. However, upon his return home he is ambushed by the hired assassin, a Force-sensitive known simply as The Huntress. Bane is taken alive back to the princess so she can exact vengeance for her father’s death and ensure the Sith are permanently destroyed. Zannah and her would-be-apprentice discover a clue to Bane’s location and go to find him so Zannah can eliminate him, though along the way she begins to have doubts about her apprentice’s worthiness. 

As the princess begins to torture Bane, her bodyguard becomes aware that they served together in the Sith army before Bane discovered he could control the Force. Torn between her loyalties, she slips Bane an antidote that will allow him to recover enough of his sense to escape, though hopefully after she has gotten the princess to safety. The Huntress, meanwhile, has become infatuated with Bane’s power, and wishes to become a true Sith. Zannah and Set also locate Bane’s prison and split up so that Zannah can face her Master alone, while Set watches their ship; however, Set senses the presence of a Holocron and sneaks away to acquire it for himself before abandoning his would-be Master.

Bane manages to break free (though without his lightsaber) and the princess triggers the prison to self-destruct in a final attempt to kill him before she escapes. Her bodyguard and Bane’s former comrade confronts the Dark Lord and tries to get him to swear of killing the princess before she is struck down by Zannah as she attempts to kill her master. Their battle is cut short however by the exploding prison, forcing Zannah and Bane to find separate means of escape. Bane comes across The Huntress, who returns his lightsaber and his personal Holocron to him and submits herself as his new student; in an effort to prevent his exsitance from being discovered, his first task is for The Hunbtress to find the princess, who is hiding in her old home on Ambria. After her death, Bane commands the assassin to stay out of the fight that is to come, and to swear to serve whoever emerges victorious, which she agrees to. 

Zannah arrives and agrees to accept The Huntress as her apprentice if she wins. Darth Bane and Darth Zannah then begin their final battle, with Bane unleashing dark side energy and a furious barrage of lightsaber strikes while Zannah holds him off in an effort to strike him down with Sith sorcery. Zannah manages to weaken Bane with magic just enough to strike at his mind, which Bane takes as an opportunity to attempt to posses Zannah. After their battle of wills, Zannah emerges as Dark Lord of the Sith and takes The Huntress, now known as Darth Cognus as her apprentice; and so, a new era in the Rule of Two begins.

When I first read Dynasty of Evil, it was my least favorite of the trilogy; I missed the inter-Sith and Jedi/Sith politics of the previous two, not to mention all the lightsaber fighting that went on. While I enjoyed it more this time around, it still feels like more of a wrap-up then a conclusion, if that makes any sense. Of course, since this is just one small piece of the Sith saga, I suppose it is more appropriate for it to tie up loose ends rather than serve as a grand finale to a long-running story. Still, the final battle between Bane and Zannah did give me vibes of Obi-Wan and Maul’s last battle, in which two masters are trying to find the quickest means of winning the fight, as opposed to Obi-Wan and Anakin’s duel, which was more a case of unstoppable force meets immovable object. 

Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil is a satisfying conclusion to one of the best trilogies in the Star Wars Legends library. Anyone looking to find out more about the history of the Sith prior to the films, anyone looking to get into Legends stories for the first time, or really anyone looking for a good story about a villain protagonist need to pick up the Darth Bane trilogy. Next time, we continue our look at the Sith with another of the most lauded works in Legends, and one that I have been looking forward to reading for a very long time: Darth Plagueis.

 Connections to the GFFA

The Holocron Bane pursued belonged to Darth Andeddu, who was supposedly the first Sith to use the ‘Darth’ title; this Holocron later winds up in Darth Tyranus’ possession.

Doan, the planet where Bane is held prisoner, gets spice supplies from Kessel.

Jedi Master Thon and his attempt to purify the planet Ambria by concentrating the dark side into a single lake prior to the Great Sith War is mentioned.

Bane notes that he recorded his own Holocron’s avatar while he was still bonded with his orbalisk armor, something we do indeed see when it is used by Darth Krayt over a thousand years later. 

This is more of a personal irritant, but post-Ruusan Reformation the Jedi believe the Sith only care about conquest and destroying their enemies, where as Dark Jedi are only concerned with their own power and desires; this seems like an distinction to me, as plenty of Sith have pursued both power and pleasure.

Another aside, but this line really stuck out to me in our current day and age: “It was always easier to make people accept a lie that they hoped and wished for.” A-fucking-men.

Final Score: 7.5/10

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

A Satisfying Conclusion to the Sequel Trilogy, But an Underwhelming Finale to the Skywalker Saga

**SPOILERS!**

Well folks, here we are; four years ago, Episode VII came out and, despite leaning very heavily on nostalgia, still proved to be an exciting new beginning for Star Wars on the big screen. Three years ago, we saw Rogue One, which has proven to be a film that I enjoy more with each viewing. Two years ago, Episode VIII divided the fan base in a way not seen since Episode I, and proved to be an emotionally trying film for me personally. A year ago, we were without a Star Wars film, as Solo had already come out, and unfortunately had been caught up in the backlash against The Last Jedi, despite being a solid film in its own right. And now here we are with Episode IX; an exciting and enjoyable film, but one that stumbles to deliver on forty years worth of films and storytelling.

Rather than go into the plot, I want to touch on various aspects kind of like I did with my review of The Last Jedi; in this way, I can address some of my thoughts, critiques and predictions from that film as well as about the Sequel trilogy as a whole. First and foremost, let’s look at the biggest and probably most controversial aspect of the film: Palpatine. Making Darth Sidious the final villain was an excellent choice as a means of tying all nine films together; where it stumbles in his sudden and inexplicable return. As a hardcore Star Wars fan who liked the original story of the Emperor’s return in Legends, I was fine with them doing the same thing in the movies; while I do wish Snoke had returned instead (would have really been that hard to hand-wave Snoke’s return? It would have established him as having powers that Sidious didn’t, would have turned him from the joke that he became back into a serious villain, and would have given this trilogy its own unique feel, rather than the post-script that it ultimately was). Unfortunately, one of the core tenets of this film seems to be doing damage control for Episode VIII, rather than allowing it to tell its own story. While I appreciate that in other aspects, Snoke and Sidious is one place where I wish they had stayed the course rather than appeasing the really-sour fans that take their dislike of the film to new levels. 

So with that spiel out of the way, let’s get into Palpatine proper. We don’t get any definitive answer to how he returned, but the body he’s inhabiting his decrepit and corpse-like, suspended from a mechanical arm (which, in all of the reviews I have seen of the movie, have yet to mention that it looks like Megatron’s setup from Beast Machines), and missing fingers. My guess, and we’ll get into this more when we look at the quote-unquote “build-up” for his return in the EU, is that he managed to transfer his spirit into a clone body, but the body can’t handle Sidious’ dark side power and is wasting away. When Kylo comes to confront him, we learn that Sidious has been manipulating Ben for years, including creating and using Snoke as a puppet to train Kylo Ren and speaking to him as his grandfather, Darth Vader. His plan (such as it is), is to either get Kylo to kill Rey, before I can only presume draining his life-force after proving he was the stronger Force-user, or getting Rey to kill him so that his power will pass into her and she will take his place as Sith Empress of the galaxy. Ultimately, neither of those things happens, and he ends up draining the life of both Ben and Rey to regenerate himself, but even for Palpatine this seems like a messy and convoluted “plan”. 

Speaking of the “plan”, lets look at the hints that were laid since 2015, now that we know what it’s all been “leading towards”. We know that Palpatine was looking to expand into the Unknown Regions due to sensing a strong dark side-presence there; while at first we all believed this to be Snoke, but now it seems to be the planet of Exogal. What comes next is a muddled and uncertain, but at some point Sidious seems to have found this planet and set up his ultimate fail safes: a duplicate body for him to inhabit should he die, and a cult of ultra-loyal and dedicated Sith adherents to serve as his attendants, instruments and Final Order. The events of the Original Trilogy occur, and after Palpatine is killed by Vader, he puts some of his other contingency orders into effect: Operation: Cinder, and laying the groundwork for the First Order (which we now know has just been a front for the Final Order). The Emperor believed that if he was killed, then the Empire and the rest of the galaxy deserved to burn; had this gone on without a hitch, its likely Palpatine would have returned with his combined forces of ultra-loyal followers once he had regained his power and swept up the remnants of the galaxy beneath him. However, the New Republic and some of the Imperials interfered in his plans and prevented Operation: Cinder from being carried out, as well as forcing the Empire’s surrender at the Battle of Jakku.

Now, its likely that as with in Legends, Palpatine’s clone body couldn’t handle so much dark side power, and this is why he looked like a corpse in the film: if this is his one-and-only perfect clone body, then its probably been wasting away since day one, and even if he’s been able to keep transferring his body, its clear that this is not a long-term solution, unlike in Legends, where Palpatine was fine with transferring his essence to fresh clones until that plan was sabotaged by his supposedly-loyal underlings. Either way, with his body wasting away, Sidious needs to either transfer his power to his chosen vessel i.e. his granddaughter, Rey, or he needs both Rey and Kylo Ren so he can draw on their Force-bond (which is a whole other thing that I’m not even sure how to address in this review) to regenerate himself. Ultimately, he winds up nearly killing Rey and Ben Solo before Rey is able to redirect his Force Lightning back at him and cause him to destroy himself; his final defeat is one of the weaker aspects of the film, but I’ll get into that more in a bit. While Palpatine’s return was great, and can be made to fit with everything that has been leading up to Episode IX, there is no denying that at the end of the day Sidious’ inclusion will always feel like a messy addition at best, and empty fan service at worst.

Now, with that long-winded look at Palpatine out of the way, let’s move on to… a…different…Palpatine….who’s also a Skywalker…Rey, I mean Rey. Rey Palpatine is one of those base-breaking decisions that seem to be ever-present in Star Wars these days: some people feel that the evidence supports it, others feel that it’s a random pull for the sake of “subverting expectations”. Where do I stand? I think there is juuuust enough wiggle room within Episodes VII and VIII to leave it ambiguous enough for me to accept the answer. The biggest question I’ve seen is where the heck Palpatine’s son was this entire time, and I definitely think that that is an interesting story to be told, especially in regards as to whether or not he (and his wife, for that matter) were Force-sensitive. Me personally, I would have preferred it if Rey was the reincarnation of Anakin – being sent back to complete their task and bring balance to the Force. Some people also have issues with her rejecting her name and choosing to call herself a Skywalker but 1) at first, I honestly thought she was going to call herself Solo, just because Han was the first of the three she met and he seemed to have had the most influence on her (along with Luke) 2) I think the Hitler parallel is perfectly app here, most especially because Hitler was one of Lucas’ inspirations for Palpatine, and no one in their right mind would go around the galaxy with the last name that was equivalent to Hitler, regardless of how much good she did (for crying out loud, Leia was forced out of politics because the galaxy found out who her father was), so I don’t really have a problem with her changing it, and 3) with the Skywalker bloodline now (most likely) extinct, I think it’s good to have someone to carry that torch forward, along with the Jedi. As for her ultimate ending, well, that still remains to be seen. Rey Skywalker now has her own, orange lightsaber, and a brand-new galaxy to explore and rebuild. I’ve heard that Daisy Ridely is done with Star Wars, and while that makes me incredibly sad to hear since I really like the character, I can understand her decision to walk away from so much toxicity. Besides, I never thought that I would ever see an Episode VII, let alone be writing a review for Episode IX so who knows? All ways in motion is the future.

Now, lets move from one Skywalker to another, or rather, a Solo. I believed that Kylo Ren was irredeemable, after murdering his father and clearly trying to kill his uncle. I believed that the Skywalker legacy would be one of failure, and it was another problem that I had with the Sequel Trilogy as a whole, which flew in the face of both in the belief in redemption as well as Skywalker legacy of Legends. Thankfully, I can say that I was completely mistaken; while Kylo does have to pay with his life, he ultimately redeems both himself and his family in a very beautiful way. It starts after he and Rey engage in yet another battle, only for her to impale him with her lightsaber; Rey quickly uses the Force to heal and save Kylo, who is left stunned at both his brush with death and his salvation coming from someone he has been trying to kill for months. Kylo then has an internal discussion with a mental projection of Han where they repeat the dialogue leading up to Han’s death only this time, Ben does reject the darkness and discards his Sith saber. After rushing to aid Rey in her confrontation with the Emperor (which involves Ben completely destroying the Knights of Ren), Ben is unable to prevent Rey from dying while defeating Sidious, but after tapping into the Force, he is able to bring Rey back long enough for them to share a kiss before becoming one with the Force himself. 

Ben’s sacrifice is one of the best moments of the film and one of the extremely few ways it ties into the wider saga. Anakin fell to the dark side because he was afraid of losing Padme, which ultimately he did because of his anger and lust for power. His grandson, despite making many of the same mistakes as him, is able to do what Anakin wanted most in the entire galaxy: to save the one’s he loves. It does come at a price, namely that to bring someone back, someone else has to give up their own life-force, but it still brings us full circle in a very nice way that parallels Anakin’s journey. It also helps that in doing so, he helps redeem the Skywalker name by passing the torch so to speak and helping undo some of the damage he caused by aiding the Sith and the First Order. Ben’s redemption is one of the strongest moments of Episode IX, and it makes me a little sad that we wont get to see more of him in the future.

  So, now that we’ve gotten most of the important stuff covered, lets move on to some nitpicks before we look at the film as a whole as well as the Sequel Trilogy. The biggest wasted potential in this film to me was the Knights of Ren and, by extension, Luke’s Jedi Order. Ever since Episode VII, we’ve had only the most tantalizing hints about this dark side order, and when they finally appear on the big screen, it’s to stand around looking intimidating before getting slaughtered by Ben on his way to join Rey in confronting Palpatine. We no exactly zero about them, what their philosophy is, how they differ from Sith or why they decided to join Ben when he fell and turned against his uncle; maybe those that joined him were so appalled by Luke’s attempted murder that they cast off the identity of Jedi completely. The point is we don’t know anything about them, nor do we ever learn anything about Luke’s Order and how it differed from the old Jedi Order; from what I can gather it seems that Luke recreated the old Order nearly exactly rather than improving on it like he did in Legends, and I can’t exactly blame some people from going nuts after joining a religious extremist group.

 Just like with Phasma and Snoke, the Knights of Ren and Luke’s Jedi are treated as an afterthought, an interesting idea that other media can talk about, but the movies cant be bothered with, and that is not only frustrating, but poor writing as well; and I know that all of these have a parallels with stuff from the Original Trilogy and the Prequels as well, but that just leads me to the jagged bedrock of my complaint: not learning from past mistakes, and just shrugging shoulders and saying “good enough, let someone else fill in the details.” The same also holds true for the final battle of the film; compared to the space battles of Episode III and VI, the one here is again, treated as almost an afterthought – something that needs to be there, but only serves as a backdrop to what’s going on with Palpatine. This battle includes fleets, ships and troops in almost never before seen numbers, and yet we only get a few snippets of action and shots here and there; when the reinforcements arrive, they fill out the screen, but none of them do anything special, or memorable or impressive. They go through all that trouble of having such an immense fleet, only for 95-99% of the action take place off screen. As with Palpatine’s defeat, the massive fleet had great build-up and potential, but fizzled out rather than concluding with a bang. 

Speaking of the final battle, lets talk about the other half of that coin and its own lackluster finish. We’ve already gone over how Palpatine is defeated, but what I and so many other fans lamented was that no Force ghosts appeared, only spoke to Rey, and that the one appearance that would have really worked and helped give the film that sense of finality that it’s been claiming to represent, would have been an appearance by Anakin Skywalker. Seeing Anakin again after a decade-and-a-half since Episode III would have been incredible, given hardcore fans something special, and made sense within the story. We do hear him speak directly to Rey, but I have to wonder if either J.J. didn’t want to do it so as to keep the focus on Rey and her purpose/identity as All-the-Jedi-In-One, or maybe Hayden decided he didn’t want do it (and I cant say I blame him, after how toxic members of this Fandom treated him), but having three actors and characters from each of the three eras would have been a treat for everyone, and it’s yet another misstep that the film made.

So, overall, how do I feel about Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker? While I can appreciate everything that we got and how much it seems like they really wanted to repair the damage The Last Jedi did to the fanbase, I cant help but wonder at what could have been: what if the trilogy had been planned out from the start, or at least handled by one unifying creative director? Either way, it seems like what really hurt this trilogy was lack of direction and having to play catch-up when you only have half the pieces of the puzzle. In turns of the grand culmination of the Skywalker Saga…it’s not; it’s a satisfying conclusion to its own trilogy of stories, but in terms of being the grand culmination of forty years worth of stories, it just isn’t. If it was, it would have been treated that way and actually tied more of the three trilogies together instead of relying on nostalgia to round out the story the same way it began with Episode VII. I know this sounds like I didn’t like the movie, but I did: when I left the theater I was pleased with what I had just seen, and excited to see where the future was going to take these characters (well, mostly Rey, but that’s because Poe is barely involved in the story and poor Finn gets almost nothing to do – I heard how his entire character has been distilled into “the guy who shouts ‘whoo!’”, which is entirely apt and correct and yet another major misstep with this series since we finally have a character that was a former stormtooper, and they do nothing with him). While there are currently no plans for future films with these characters, there was a time when we all thought we would never, ever ever, ever see an Episode VII either, so I hold out hope that someday, these characters will return to pass the torch off to the next generation someday. 

Final Score: 7.5/10

*Bonus*

My Star Wars 11 Films Rankings

Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope

Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens

Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

Star Wars: Rogue One

Star Wars: Solo

Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones

Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace

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Darth Bane: Rule of Two Review

By Z.H. Brown

It is a new era for the galaxy; the Sith are extinct, and the Republic is once again spreading across the stars, alongside a new, non-militarized Jedi Order. But unbeknownst to the victors of the last galactic conflict, the Sith yet survive, in the form of Darth Bane and his apprentice Darth Zhanna. Already, the Dark Lord of the Sith is laying the groundwork for the eventual revenge of his order and triumph over the galaxy, but first he must ensure the survival and continuity of his new philosophy in the Rule of Two.

Picking up immediately where the last novel ended, Darth Bane and his new apprentice journey to the site of the thought bomb and encounter Zhanna’s surviving cousin, Darovit. Zhanna both saves her cousin’s life and proves her commitment to her new life as a Sith by severing Darovit’s hand with the Force, but other-wise leaving him alive. Bane provides a new test for his apprentice by charging her with making her way to Onderon while he goes to investigate a Sith Tomb on the planet’s moon. Bane recovers a Holocron from the tomb, but in the process becomes infested with orbalisks, semi-parasitic creatures with shells that are impervious to even a lightsaber. Bane rendezvous with his apprentice (who had hijacked a transport ship after brutally murdering its crew, which included two children), the two embark on their new lives in hiding.

Ten years later, and Darth Bane is focused on creating on his own Holocron, the orbalisks now encasing his body in a nearly-impervious suit of armor, while his apprentice carries out missions for her Master. Her present one is eliminating an anti-Republic extremist group before they can become too powerful to disrupt the Sith’s plans, which she does by convincing them to ambush a former Supreme Chancellor and his Jedi bodyguard. The Jedi slaughters most of the terrorists, but the survivors capture Zhanna before she can make it off-world and deliver her to their Master. It turns out this particular noble is also a Force sensitive and Sith disciple, and he had been desperately searching for a true Sith to teach him the ways of the dark side. After discovering his collection of Sith lore and his own personal entourage of Sith assassins that survived the last Force war, Zhanna seriously considers the offer.

Darth Zhanna returns to her Master with her new ally, but he and all of his forces are quickly cut down by the Dark Lord of the Sith. Bane is impressed with Zhanna’s ambition, her ability to spin the situation to her advantage, and her new trove of Sith tomes, and gives his apprentice a new mission; Bane has failed to make a Holocron multiple times, and he believes that the orbalisks might be the cause, disrupting his focus during crucial moments. Bane dispatches Zhanna to the Jedi Archives on Coruscant to research a means of removing the parasites, while he goes to Tython to recover another Holocron that might have more information on their construction.

While in the middle of her mission, Zhanna encounters her cousin, Darovit, who had been brought to the Jedi Temple by the same Jedi that had saved the former Chancellor from Zhanna’s plot because he knew about Bane and Zhanna’s survival and was going to testify before the Jedi Council. Zhanna flees the Temple with her cousin, but not before leaving enough evidence behind to point the Jedi to Tython. On the Deep Core world, Bane had successfully recovered another Holocron and discovered that orbalisks weren’t the cause for his previous failures. Before he can leave, his apprentice arrives and informs him that Jedi know of their existence.

A Jedi strike-team arrives and outnumber the Sith two-to-one. Unfortunately, the sheer power of the Sith, and Bane’s masterful lightsaber skills and impenetrable defense allow them to slaughter the Jedi, but not before one of them is able to rebound Darth Bane’s Force lightning back at himself, frying his orbalisks and rendering him near death. Zhanna is forced to take Bane to a healer that had saved him once before, but only after her cousin broaches the idea of letting the Jedi know their location. However, when they arrive they find only corpses and a madman wielding a lightsaber, who the Jedi cut down; believing they had avenged their fallen comrades and ended the Sith threat once and for all, the Jedi depart, unaware that they had killed an innocent man. Zhanna had used her powers to drive her cousin mad and take the fall for them, ensuring that her Master had been healed, and their secrecy preserved.

Darth Bane: Rule of Two doesn’t pull any punches; it is just as brutal as its predecessor, and fittingly so, for a book about power-hungry psychopaths with incredible powers. Zhanna is forced to prove her commitment to the Sith by maiming her cousin (and later driving him insane and offering him up to the Jedi as a sacrifice), and killing four good people that had offered to take her in (including, as I previously said, two children) – all at the age of ten. From there she is taught to use Sith sorcery to subject people to mind-shattering madness and despair. She is taught that the Jedi are evil and will not hesitate to kill her on sight, and while that may be partially true, it certainly says something about what Zhanna had already been through that she took to Bane’s teachings so readily so quickly.

 Darth Bane: Rule of Two continues the story of one of the most influential Sith in the Star Wars galaxy as well as shows us the beginnings of the Order that would strike down the Jedi and transform the Republic into the first Galactic Empire. It is also a fascinating insight into the minds of those who do bad things but with such utter conviction that they are in the right that it’s easy to see their mindset…at least from a certain point of view. While it didn’t suck me in quite the same way its predecessor did, it was still an enjoyable and highly recommendable read. Next time, we conclude this trilogy and close the door on another era of Star Wars history in Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil.

 

Connections to the GFFA

The Jedi relocated Freedon Nadd’s tomb in the Tales of the Jedi comic, and the aftermath of Exar Kun’s visit is also seen by Bane.

Bane mentions Nadd’s apprenticeship under Naga Sadow.

Master Valenthyne says grief is a natural emotion to express at loss, a stark contrast to the Jedi a thousand years later.

The Ruusan Reformation, which drastically overhauled both the Republic and the Jedi’s place in it, is used to explain the discrepancy between Palpatine calling the Republic a “thousand” years old in Episode II, versus Obi-Wan saying it lasted over a “thousand generations” in Episode IV.

It’s strange that none of the Sith warlords wanted anything to do with the wealthy nobles of Serreno; maybe nobody wanted to risk upsetting the Sith power-balance by associating it with any one Sith Lord in Kaan’s Brotherhood of equals.

One of the Jedi strike-team members is an Ithorian, and allusion is made to the species being able to channel the Force through their voices; while it’s not depicted here, we do see exactly that in the Clone Wars microseries.  

Final Score: 8.5/10

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The Last Jedi could have been (at least somewhat) redeemed with one major change to its ending

There is a ton of stuff in The Last Jedi that could and should have been completely different. But, as I continue to imagine what might have been, and think about how I would have done things differently, one major plot point comes to mind.

Towards the end of the film, two of the Resistance members tells Leia, “Our distress signal’s been received at multiple points, but no response. They’ve heard us, but no one’s coming.”

After waiting two films to see what any of this means to the galaxy, the only response we get is literally nothing. Nobody cares, nobody’s coming. For all we know, this planet could explode right now, wiping out the Resistance and the First Order, and the entire galaxy would be better off. They have no impact on anything of actual importance, like children fighting in a sandbox.

In my mind, much of the bitterness in my mouth by the time the finale came up could have been washed away with one simple change (technically two but who cares):

Luke does his “See ya around, kid,” line and vanishes, followed immediately by a massive fleet appearing in the planet’s orbit. Ships of all different sizes and shapes, from countless planets throughout the galaxy, uniting and standing up to the First Order for once. They don’t even have to attack, just show up and fire a few shots to blow up a few walkers or something as the First Order retreats in a panic. Luke also isn’t dead. Instead of just buying 3 seconds to retreat deeper into a cave, we find out that he appeared as a “force hologram” to several major leaders in the galaxy, calling them to arms. He then bought the Resistance time to hold out until help arrived.

This gives SEVERAL intriguing leads for the next film.

We see the galaxy fully united against this threat. To see a legitimate fleet and to see that the galaxy really does give a shit about what’s happening, would literally be the first hopeful thing we see in this entire goddamn trilogy that’s supposedly all about “hope.” Think something on the level of the Rohirrim and Gandalf riding in at the end of Helm’s Deep.

Luke is alive and now rallying people to stand up to the First Order. His meager prank is supposed to inspire the galaxy? If you want to inspire them, you NEED to put in more leg work than that. We need to see that Luke gives a shit and has truly accepted the mantle he’s been rejecting the entire trilogy. His final act in this film could be EVERY BIT AS MEANINGFUL without him just giving up and dying afterwards, if not far more so.

We can see how desperate the First Order gets in the third movie. After taking so many beatings, this militant faction seems to suffer no actual losses. To see them reduced to guerrillas in need of a last resort - to see how dangerous they can be at their most desperate - would be a refreshing and interesting twist on something that has now been done to death.

Granted, the movie still would have had all its other problems. and still probably would have been one of my least favorite films in the series, but I would not have loathed it as entirely as I do, and I would have actually been excited to see what happens next.

Instead Johnson was so obsessed with subversion and metacommentary and wanting an edgelord ending where The Resistance is in tatters that they all fit on the Falcon that he literally forgot to create an even remotely compelling set-up for the final film and everything else needs to be explained in the books.

[legendsofthegffa]

If we don’t fight, who will? 

Better late than never! My contribution to #RebelsRemembered. I thoroughly loved the characters and the direction of the story for this series. And, even though I joined the hype just as the final season aired, I love the series a year later.

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“The dark side of the Fourth is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural…” Happy Revenge of the Fifth from @starwarsvillains!

[legendsofthegffa]

A late start to my Star Wars Day, but I’m celebrating with the Stand-Alone Stories. May the Force be with us all.