Star Wars #33: This issue is great. I haven't really been feeling this Kezarat Colony arc until this point, but, man, Soule sells it here.
At the Great Hall, Luke saves Chewie, Holdo, and Lando when he summons the Force to save himself from the Killdroid who destroyed his hand and unexpectedly winds up throwing all the Killdroids off the asteroid. He manages to grab the sacred Jedi text beforelosing consciousness, and the team collects him and the Nihil path engine before leaving.
Back at the Colony, Blythe addresses the Kezaratians; Musabekov and Rosenberg do a great job with this scene by evoking the end of "Star Wars" where Leia awards Han and Luke their medals in front of the assembled Rebellion. The gang surrounds Blythe as he speaks, and it reminds you just what a crazy life they all lead. Lando describes to the colonists how the path engine works, and Leia explains that a tyrant now rules the galaxy. But Lando goes beyond Leia, explaining to the Kezaratians that the team is part of the Rebellion against the tyrant and thus they're criminals.
Before they leave, Lando ponders a world where he and Holdo stay in No-Space, and I have to say Soule really gets Lando in a way others don't. At the Great Hall, for example, Lando led a charge to Luke when the Killdroid destroyed his hand, and Lando was later the one to bandage Luke's wounds and give him a brotherly pep talk. As Holdo acknowledges, Lando also did an amazing thing by telling the Kezaratians the truth about the Rebellion, something Leia didn't do when she mentioned it. I mean, it isn't often when Leia isn't the most virtuous one. But, despite all that, Holdo rejects Lando's offer to stay in No-Space, commenting that she's just getting started. (I was meh on Holdo when she appeared in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," but I'm really digging her now.
With the truth on the table, the younger colonists largely decide to follow the heroes into the galaxy. The remaining Kezaratians will recolonize the Great Hall now that Luke has emptied it of Killdroids. In exchange for the fuel, the colonists place two conditions on the heroes: they give the Kezaratians the path engine so they can now come and go as they please and they never tell anyone of No-Space. Leia agrees, and the team heads home.
Back in our galaxy, Soule wraps up the most important loose end, as he makes sure Luke's power burst wasn't just a deus ex machina. Instead, it turns out it's the result of the Fermata Cage's destruction (see below). Leia realizes this disruption likely also affects the Emperor and Darth Vader (it does, as we learn below) and heads to tell Mon Mothma. Meanwhile, Luke tells Artoo that he's going to have to build himself a new lightsaber.
Honestly, I think this issue is one of the best of this second series. Lando really steps into the hole that Han's absence left, and I'm excited to follow Luke deeper into the Force's mysteries.
Star Wars: Hidden Empire #5: I've made it clear that I feel like this story has gone on way too long, but Soule brings it to a satisfying conclusion here.
It turns out Qi'ra didn't procure the Fermata Cage to release a great Sith Lord; she got her hands on it to capture two great Sith Lords. Too late, Palpatine and Vader realize the Cage is empty, but, before they can escape, the Archivist springs the trap. However, before the Archivist can collect the Cage to destroy it (by throwing it in a sun), the Knights of Ren free the Sith Lords by destroying the Cage. Ren figures, not unreasonably, that Qi'ra can't keep on winning and that Palpatine will eventually find a way to free himself and Vader, so he switches side.
Qi'ra is devastated but recovers quickly; she orders Crimson Dawn to disband and flee. Cadeliah plays the message Qi'ra left for her, informing her that she now has access to Crimson Dawn's resources. She notes that they were the same, the two of them: people trapped in a game. Qi'ra admits she never managed to free herself and beseeches Cadeliah to make her own decisions, since she's now free from who her past says she is.
Meanwhile, Palpatine and Vader discuss how the Cage's destruction has rent the Force, with Palpatine admitting that his grip on it feel tenuous. Palpatine isn't nearly as forgiving as the Knights hoped, striking them with lightning and informing the ones who survived they work for him now.
The epilogue reveals that Luke and Leia are the ones watching the Archivist's recording, which has served as the series' framing device. They admit what I said last issue, that Qi'ra's rebellion was a fundamental part of the Rebellion. Her agents informed the Rebellion about the second Death Star, and her attack on Palpatine and Vader distracted them, giving the Rebellion time to regroup the fleet after Zahra's attack. Leia wishes that Qi'ra would approach them, now that they defeated Palpatine.
Soule ends by flashing to a scene in a cantina where people later celebrate Palatine's death while Qi'ra sits alone with an enigmatically sorrowful look on her face. It's easy to see why Qi'ra would have mixed feelings about the Rebellion's win, though I wonder what she feels most. Does she feel jealous that Luke and Leia did what she couldn't? Does she feel sorrow because she knows that their victory won't be complete? I need a break from Qi'ra for a while, but I wouldn't mind somewhat taking up those questions at some point.
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