Review: Beautiful Reunions and Surprise Twists Fill ‘The High Republic’ #5
For light and life, the comics keep getting better and better! This latest edition of The High Republic from Cavan Scott left me breathless, speechless, and emotionally… all over the place. The High Republic Phase III continues to make me fall deeper in love with what I am firmly OK with publicly declaring as my favorite era in Star Wars.
The latest comic gives us the reunion we have all been waiting for, but dreading at the same time. Keeve Trennis comes face to face with Sskeer, her former Jedi Master. Beyond this emotional reunion, we have threads from Phase II of The High Republic comics weaving their way into the story. It felt like the conclusion of one arc and the beginning of something else incredibly special. Let’s dive into it.
Spoilers Ahead
The first few pages of the comic could be my favorite. Sskeer looks about as scary as anything I’ve ever seen in my life. Just check out this photo below. He looks thirsty for blood; ready to strike out against anything that breathes. Keeve’s other lightsaber is in his hand ready to ignite at any moment. Sskeer looks like he’s ready to challenge Jedi Barnabas Vim to a “who’s the most muscular Jedi in the Order” competition.
Keeve holds back tears as her master is lunging forward in an attempt to kill her. The emotions that must be coursing through her right now are hard to imagine. The person she trusts, and cares for most in the universe is attempting to kill her. That will do a number on anyone. What I love about Keeve throughout the comics and even a short story we see of her in Tales of Light and Life is her unwavering devotion to hope. She clings to it like it’s a life preserver. Now, this isn’t a naive Jedi assuming everything is going to be OK, but rather the opposite. It’s this firm belief in hope, and the light despite everything that has happened and what she thinks could still happen in the future.
The story shifts back to the other group of Jedi. Archivist OrbaLin, Master Goonral, along with Jedi Terec and Ceret have discovered their ship has been compromised, which can only mean one thing: the Nihil are nearby. Terec and Ceret separate briefly after a dispute about what to do. Terec runs off and realizes they overreacted a bit but is still struggling. Ceret is in a horrible state themself. The group is feeling the presence of one of the Nameless. Its effects are increasingly difficult to manage and Ceret’s last words for a few pages are “The Force is gone. The Force is gone.”
Terec and Ceret have been out of sync with one another for a while, but the tension has been growing steadily throughout Phase III. Now, Terec finds himself alone and suddenly cast amid giant, hungry Drengir. The same Drengir threat had been thought to be eradicated, but here they are. I thought some shenanigans were going on here, and later I turned out to be right. These are nothing more than powerful illusions being put on display. However, Terec doesn’t realize that for a while and ends up going through the emotional ringer.
Continuing onto the other front, Keeve and Sskeer are locked in a conflict, but Keeve is determined to reach him. She knows that after his encounter with the Nameless, the pace at which his Magrak Syndrome has progressed has probably amplified tenfold. For those who don’t remember, Magrak Syndrome is a rare disease specific to Trandoshans. Over time, it slowly brings them back to their base instincts of aggression and anger. This would also cause Sskeer to lose much of his connection to the Force. The intensity of Starlight going down must have sent him over the edge, and this is the result. For a moment, it looked like Keeve was getting through to him, but in classic Lourna Dee fashion, she chose to ruin it in favor of a little violence.
The storyline in the comic then runs back towards Teret and Ceret. Now, it’s the other twin’s turn to start seeing some nasty illusions. Thankfully, Ceret can at least realize that they are illusions and not real, although the giant force of Nameless and Drengir would be enough to drive someone insane. However, a hooded figure appears out of nowhere with some sarcasm and attitude to, in their own way, try and help the Jedi out against the voice speaking these lies in their head. Ultimately, Teret and Ceret are both able to break free of the illusions in a glorious display of defying fear.
Unfortunately, not everything was an illusion. Out of the forest, a giant Nameless comes jumping onto the scene, but before it’s able to strike against anyone, a massive surge of lightning energy encompasses the creature and kills it.
The hooded figure helping the Jedi finally chooses to reveal themselves, and it’s who I thought it was all along. I was so freaking excited when Tey Sirrek revealed himself. The guy is old as dirt at this point, and I guess Sephi can live a long time. What is most fascinating is the hand he used to electrocute the Nameless. We have seen that level of power before in an issue of the Phase II comics. The Hand of Siberius was a weapon with tremendous power but was flooded with the dark side of the force. Has Sirrek been able to harness that power into a weapon of his own? Is this the actual Hand of Siberius? If so, can Sirrek be fully trusted? Not for a second do I think Scott would alter Sirrek’s character away from being a helpful hero. I am so curious as to what the source of his power is, and how he’s arrived on the scene.
The final pages of the comic launch us back into the conflict with Sskeer. The inflicted Jedi is about to land a killing blow to the former Tempest Runner. But before that happens Keeve steps in to save her once again. It’s in these moments through sheer force of will she reaches Sskeer and forces him to remember her and who he is. The two come together in a loving embrace.
This phase of the High Republic has delivered us something we haven’t gotten a lot of in the other two: beautiful reunions. Typically, we have had to deal with the devastating feeling of getting oh-so-close to a reunion or oh-so-close to making it out alive before one of the authors snatched away a character we love. However, much of the phase so far has been incredibly hopeful. I can’t wait for them to smash what I just said into the dirt…
The final moments are where we learn Sskeer has been protecting a child this whole time. Of course, he wasn’t fully aware of his actions, but his primal instincts of caring for a young girl were fully locked in. The child he is protecting is dressed as a young member of the Yacombe. Little is known about them other than they were a group of Force-sensitive individuals that once tried to join the Convocation of the Force on Jedha during Phase II of The High Republic. It’s going to be fascinating to see how this plays out.
The next comic features none other than Tey Sirrek on the cover. Scott has promised this was a flashback and flashback only. However, with Tey back in the fold in the present timeline, the stakes for this comic seem to be significantly higher.
Rating: 9/10
Finding ways to nonchalantly incorporate Star Wars quotes into 8th grade classroom, Tyler lives and breathes Star Wars. His morning tradition is sending the latest number in the countdown for different Star Wars projects and loves engaging in uplifting Star Wars dialogue. If you are passionate about Star Wars you can follow him on Twitter at TyBrad5.
