2x02 Screecher's Reach

[7.7/10] I really dug this one. The art-style was very cool, with a hard of hand-scratch edge to a lot of the characters and movements that gave it a distinctive character. I particularly enjoyed the fight with the witch-like darksider who lived in the cave and who Daal defeated. I feel like I’m going to use this turn a phrase a lot for Visions, but there’s a strong impressionistic vibe to how the short envisions the Force and illustrates it in action.

I also enjoyed the twist here. The short does a good job of evoking the sense of a bond between Daal and her buddies in a short amount of time. The idea that these are child laborers under the thumb of the Empire is heartbreaking, but the sense that they get to enjoy one another’s company as a respite from all that is quite wholesome. It makes Daal’s desperation to get away, to where she's willing to brave a witch and go off with a stranger, sad on multiple levels. Sad that she's going to leave her friends behind, sad that it came to this sort of “anywhere but here” last resort in the first place, and sad that this seemingly decent young woman is going off with a Sith.

That's the interesting thing though The credits give away that the force-sensitive character played by the inimitable Anjelica Huston (who had a Star Wars-adjacent role in Captain Eo), is a Sith. But honestly, I wondered if she was a Jedi, come to take a young force-sensitive child away from all they know in the way that the order did for many years before their fall. It raises interesting questions either way, and even reaches a commentary on how forces of evil find their recruits among those who have no better options.

Overall, this is another short full of character and life, with some thought provoking elements at play in addition to the stunning imagery.

What do you get when you let the studio behind The Secret of Kells do what they want with Star Wars? Star Wars at its best. Taking the original trilogy and prequel approach of tapping into something primal and archetypal and applying it to Irish folklore gives this short a sense of authenticity and magic. It could stand alone as it’s own story.

The visuals are spellbinding and jaw dropping, literally in my case. The horrific darkness and ethereality of the witch in shadow contrasted with her withered but bestial appearance in the light, stripped of pomp and illusion and revealing what her journey, whatever it was and whatever spurred her, led her to become: nothing more than an animal led by instinct. And in further contrast, the Sith Mother being angelic in Murillo senses- the biblical light behind her, but also the majesty and surrealist look of her design, so unique in Star Wars and so… much. This is a being that knows something. That can teach you something. But not without change, not without cost.

In such a short amount of time it fleshes out the cast and gives each of them a presence, a reason to care for them. Baython’s steady hand, Quinn’s hotheadedness and pride to hide fear and hurt, Keena’s love and trust. And of course, Daal’s desperate desire to be more. It’s a better ‘fall’ than any other in Star Wars, in part because it doesn’t moralize it in those terms. Daal’s reasons are grounded and real. The Sith Mother is less frightening for what we know as evil and more that we don’t know her. The redness of her eyes contrasted with the sunlight behind her. She’s an angel as much as demon, giving Daal what she wants at a cost. Giving her a choice, not forcing her along. And Daal makes it.

The conclusion is just pitch perfect. The words, the final shot… it all left me breathless. I want more of this story, and there could be more, but there also doesn’t need to be more. They made a beautiful, gorgeous story worthy of folklore, self contained and rich, and if that’s all we get that’s all we need.