Disney Plus’s original series Star Wars Vision, Season 2 Episode 1, called “Sith,” explores the story of Lola, a former Sith apprentice who left the Sith Order and chose to follow her own path. Lola’s path is to become an artist and practice using the Force to create art. Lola struggles because she only conjures black paint in the end. It symbolizes Lola’s struggle to let go of her path as a Sith whose power relies on using the emotions of fear, anger, and pain to strengthen themselves. These emotions cause many Force wielders, like Lola, to fall to the Dark Side, become Sith, and hurt others. Lola left her life as a Sith but struggled to leave it behind. Despite Lola’s efforts, she soon reunites with her Sith master, who tries to find and bring her back to his side.
The duel between Lola and her Sith master is magnificent as it is a war of art. Lola uses the Force to create bright colors to push back against her Sith master’s dark colors. From the duel, Lola learned that using the Dark Side alongside the Light Side is the solution to creating the perfect art. In other words, Lola has learned to accept who she once was and embrace the Light Side and Dark Side to achieve balance. Lola’s realization helped the former Sith Apprentice defeat her Sith master with one lightsaber strike. Lola emerges victorious and fixes her droid companion, who her Sith master previously broke with the Force. She knows the Sith Order will send more Sith after her, so she and her droid companion leave their home to search for a new one.
Star Wars Celebration LIVE! 2023 – Day 4
Director and writer Blaas and those involved with the episode “Sith” in El Guiri Studios did a tremendous job portraying the inner conflict of Lola via art. On Day 4 of the Star War Celebration 2023, Director Blaas explained how he and those involved with making the episode looked into their filmmaking choices by using the right “film language” and “color” (2:33:14). They thought of using “the palette of red to orange to yellow to convey hope and darkness” in the episode’s “different frames” (2:33:30). These colors did just that as the bright colors gave Lola hope while the dark colors brought her terror and fear. The colors reflect Lola’s inner conflict, which all Force wielders face when connecting with the Force. However, Lola learned to overcome her fear of the Dark Side (Dark Colors) and use it alongside the Light Side (Bright Colors) to properly wield the Force and create the art she wants to make, finding balance in the Force. Overall, the colors and animation were tremendously well made.
The Jedi symbol of the Old Republic
The story setting has likely happened in the Old Republic Era. The Old Republic was when the Sith ruled the galaxy through various rival Sith Empires and rival Sith Factions. This era is slightly detailed in the Star Wars Archives Episodes I-III (1999-2005) book’s section of the Rule of Two. George Lucas explained, “There was never a war between the Jedi and the Sith Lords. The Sith Lords were in control for a long time. And what happens when you have a world full of Sith Lords? They start killing each other to see who will be the top Sith Lord. They don’t vote; they just kill. It’s like a medieval feudal system. There may have been thousands or millions of them, and eventually, after 100 or 150 years, they killed everyone except for two. And the more powerful of the two decided, ‘You’re my apprentice. I’m your master.’”
From what we see in the episode, it is likely Lola used to be a Sith when thousands or millions of Sith ruled the Galaxy with barely any opposition. It wasn’t until the Sith’s destruction, with only Darth Bane and his apprentice remaining as Siths, that the Jedi and the Republic regained their hold over the Galaxy, eventually leading to the fall of the Old Republic Era. This era was briefly hinted at when Lola told her droid companion, “They will send more,” in the end, hinting at more Sith.
Rating: 9/10