2x03 In the Stars

[8.3/10] I really liked this short! The stop motion style is not a first for Star Wars (see: Robot Chicken and, not for nothing, Phil Tippett), but it’s still a novelty. Punkrobot does a super job using the aesthetic to both create the sense of a hardscrabble pair of sisters fighting the Empire in a world made barren by it, and in selling the industrial machinery of the Imperials giving way to a cleansing rebirth for the land and for a family’s connection. The sisters’ outfits, the imperial base, and the moments of wily combat all stand out for the imagery alone.

But I also really like the story of two young women who took different lessons from their mother’s bravery. The older sister is bitter about how her mom chose to fight and, in the process, left them orphans. The younger sister admires their mother’s bravery and wants to follow in her pugnacious footsteps. The two siblings loving one another but struggling with whether to simply survive or fight makes for a good spiritual conflict, which bolsters the practical conflict of sneaking into an imperial facility to steal clean water.

That's the other interesting thematic angle in this one. Environmentalism has never been a key theme of Star Wars, but I think the once-crunchy George Lucas would approve. The idea of the Empire showing up to extract resources, killing the land in the process, adds a different dimension to their evil. There is great symbolism in the renewal not just of the sisters’ ability to connect with their mother in the stars, hence the title, but how destroying the facility begins to restore the environment to its natural state, with blooming flowers and clear skies.

I like how the sisters’ coming together achieves that. There’s a great turn here, with the younger sister stiving to use the Force, while the older sister denies that fight. But in the end, it’s the older sister who channels the energy that binds the universe together, to save someone she cares about from a terrible fate. (Hello *Jedi: Fallen Order( fans!) The two siblings then banding together to wreck the Imperial facility using their collective powers, following in their mother’s footsteps, is one of hell of a stirring scene. And the skies clearing the way for them to make a stellar and spiritual connection to the woman who paved the way for them, is all the sweeter.

Overall, this is another win for Visions with a distinctive look and cool miniature story that endears us to plot, theme, and character all at once.