The Ninth Jedi is a spin-off of the highly popular anime series, Star Wars: Visions. Released in 2021, the characters were first introduced in the episodes, The Ninth Jedi and The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope.
The first episode was released to fans at Anime Expo, the largest anime convention in the United States. The series officially landed on Disney+ on August 5th, and all eight episodes were dropped on the day of its debut.
Join me as I talk and share my thoughts about the events that occurred in The Ninth Jedi episode 2. Warning—there will be spoilers ahead!
Kara and Juro Journey to Bipin
The episode opens with Kara attempting to hone her Force skills as Juro supervises. Though she does well, she still worries that her father is working for Nawaam. Juro takes her to Bipin, a special place for him and Zhima; it is where they both first studied to become Jedis.
He pleads for help against Nawaam to the planet’s ruler, Lady Tafflah, but she, too, rejects his efforts. It is revealed that, years ago, a Padawan murdered his Jedi Master, causing many to be wary of the Order.
Gramps lands their ship in a giant asteroid full of miners, where Juro and a miner named Kwana engage in a fierce, yet brief sword fight. Following the battle, Kwana hugs Juro tightly, and the clash was actually a reunion between two men who see each other as brothers.
While the miners and visitors celebrate and drink, Kwana talks about his youth and his friends, including Zhima, whom he now sees as a criminal. This confuses Kara, and she soon learns that Zhima was the Pawadan that killed his Jedi master, Reno Tsutara, and was exiled. Upset, Kara presses Juro for more information, including why he still believes in her father and even sheltered him after the incident. Instead of answering her questions, he asks the miners for aid. The miners refuse to join them, even though Kwana has already agreed. It isn’t until that Kara tells them about her own experiences; she never believed the war could touch her until Zhima was abducted. It is then that they swear fealty.
Nawaam’s Weapon
While Kara, Juro, and their team travel to Bipin, Ethan and 99-99 continue to sneak around Nawaam’s ship and gather intel. During their espionage, they discover vats of Kyber Crystals—used as the living heart of each lightsaber—that Nawaam is using to power a weapon of his own. However, the Kyber Crystals are temperate and nearly all the men working are killed when the weapon malfunctions.
Because Zhima is one of the last sabersmiths, he is brought to Nawaam to fix the issue. He is in shackles, which he dislikes, and Nawaam removes him and offers his apologies to his “master.” Brushing off the term, Zhima uses the Force to stabilize the giant crystal. He expresses his distaste for Nawaam’s actions, but the latter believes he needs the strength to bring peace to the universe.
Nawaam tracks Juro’s ship to Bipin and uses a hologram to talks everyone in the galaxy. He speaks of his dream for peace and warns that anyone—mostly likely addressing Juro’s gang particularly—who opposes him will be crushed. To present the full extent of his power, he fires the now-repaired Kyber Crystal cannon and destroys an entire planet.
My Thoughts
I was on the edge of my seat the entire episode!
In addition to the beautiful animation and character designs—Lady Tafflah is stunning—fans are going to love the tiny homages to the original trilogy, such as the Death Star and the Kyber Crystal and Luke and Kara’s similar training.
Though there is a lot going on, the pacing is done well, and gives us gasp-worthy moments at the right moments. I think the moment the Kyber Crystal is fired is especially bone-chilling. There is so much fear in the inhabitants screams as they watch their planet turn to dust. It reminds viewers that the Star Wars universe is exciting and action-packed, as well as absolutely heartwrenching.
Of course, episode two will leave so many questions buzzing through the viewers’ heads.
Why did Zhima betray Reno Tsutara? Is he not the father Kara thinks, or is there something much darker happening?
What made Kara’s speech more powerful to the miners that they were willing to stop protesting and finally join the cause? I personally think that they are afraid that they will be dragged into it, like she was. They might as well take a stand before they lose something they cannot replace.
And the biggest question: Why does Nawaam refer to Zhima as his “master?” These are answers that we’ll definitely be looking for as the The Ninth Jedi progresses.
