Disney Plus’s original series Star Wars Visions, Season 2 Episode 2, “Screecher’s Reach,” explores the story of Daal (Eva Whittaker), a teenage factory worker. Daal’s entire childhood was her being a child worker who lived in poor working conditions. She is frustrated with her life as a worker and desires to leave it. Nevertheless, Daal had friends who kept her company and gave her happiness: Baython (Alex Connolly), Quinn (Noah Rafferty), and Keena (Molly Mccann). The episode begins with Daal having the goal to head to Screecher’s Reach for unknown reasons. Her friends accompany her travels and believe the journey to be nothing more than an exciting adventure. Screecher’s Reach is a haunted cave where a ghost (Niamh Moyles) inhabits. Despite the danger of Screecher’s Reach, Daal and her friends head there because of Daal’s desire to do so. Daal and her friends have fun and enjoy playing child-like games during their journey to Screecher’s Reach.
Daal and her friends set up camp before heading into the cave, and during that moment, Baython, who is like the older brother of the group, talks with Daal. Daal is frustrated with her life working in the workhouses and farms. She desires something more and looks up to the stars in the sky, indicating a desire for adventure and freedom. Baython is content with his life but supports Daal’s ambition by telling her, “Daal, you’ve always wanted something more. And if you ever get the chance to find out what that is, take it. Don’t look back.” Daal listens to Baython’s advice yet feels conflicted when hearing it. Soon, Daal and her friends enter Screecher’s Reach and confront a “ghost,” causing Daal’s friends to leave the cave while she stays behind. The story continues with Daal fighting the “ghost” and discovering the “ghost” to be none other than an old lady who uses the Dark Side. The fight concludes with Daal taking the “ghost’s” red lightsaber and using it to kill the “ghost.” Daal leaves Screecher’s Reach with the red lightsaber and returns to her friends.
The episode ends with a plot twist. Daal was sent to Screecher’s Reach to kill the “ghost” and claim the “ghost’s” red lightsaber as a test for an entity called the Sith Mother (Anjelica Huston). The Sith Mother is proud of Daal for passing her test and proclaims Daal as her Sith Apprentice. Daal becomes conflicted and leaves behind her friends, who feel betrayed by Daal’s actions. Despite this, the Sith Mother gave Daal an option: stay with her friends or leave the planet to become her Sith Apprentice. Remembering Baython’s advice to “don’t look back,” Daal joins the Sith Mother on her ship and leaves the world. Before the door of the Sith Mother’s ship closes, Daal still looks back in fear for what will happen after.
Star Wars Celebration LIVE! 2023 – Day 4
Director Paul Young and those involved with the episode “Screecher’s Reach” in Cartoon Saloon did an excellent job creating a Star Wars story imbued with Irish mythology. During the Star Wars Celebration LIVE! 2023 – Day 4 event, Director Young explained how the team incorporated the island of Skellig Michael into the story as a mountain with Screacher’s Reech as a cave at its bottom. The use of Skellig Michael was an influence to add the Irish landscape in the episode. However, Skellig Michael is important to Star Wars because it is the island where Rian Johnson filmed Ach-To in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Ach-To is the island where Luke Skywalker traveled to retire and study information on the first Jedi Order. Jedi are like space monks, and what is interesting is Director Young explained that Skellig Michael is where monks traveled to in the sixth century. Director Young also explained how the team is “dedicated to hand-drawn animation to tell a good story.” He explained how the team wanted to “sort of push the expressive nature of ink, paper, and pencil to visually tell the story emotionally [and] use conflicting marks of ink and watercolor to [portray expressions] of anger” and other concepts. Overall, the animation and the Irish influence in the episode brought a lot of intrigue, horror, and mystery throughout the story.
The Sith Mother (A Banite Sith?)
The story setting has likely happened in the High Republic Era. The High Republic Era was the Golden Age of the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic. However, it was also the time of the Banite Sith. Following the fall of the Old Republic and the “extinction” of the Ancient Sith Order, Darth Bane created the Rule of Two, and the rule is that there should only be two Siths: a Sith Master and a Sith Apprentice. During the Old Republic Era, the Sith Empires had countless Sith Academies to train and raise Sith. However, the Sith Mother recruited Daal as her Sith Apprentice quietly and disguised her nature as a Sith by looking like an angel and having a golden-white flower-like ship. The Sith Mother’s choice of an angelic appearance likely hints that the Sith Mother is one of the Banite Sith, who worked as a powerful politician or a corporate leader to gain power for the Sith Order and gradually turn the Galaxy against the Jedi Order. The Banite Sith’s schemes would culminate with most of the Galaxy turning against the Jedi Order and approving Darth Sidious’ Order 66: The Jedi Purge. The Sith Mother secretly recruits Daal as her Sith Apprentice without anyone knowing in a discreet location near Screecher’s Reach to avoid any attention from both the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic. The sad part of the episode’s ending is how Daal will soon be trained as a Sith and succeed the Sith Mother as the next Sith Master, causing her to become a ruthless, cruel, and selfish monster who works to bring chaos and destruction in the Galaxy for the Sith Order. In other words, Daal will become evil and violent over time, with her innocent nature slowly disappearing as she grows up as a Sith.
Rating: 9/10