Darth Vader (2017) 11: The Rule of Five: Part 1
What is it ? : Vader and the Ninth Sister have travelled to the world of Cabarria tracking a Jedi, but the sister questions as to why Vader is there at all, she recognises that she should be there looking for signs of Jedi, but Vader is too important to be tracking down clues. She tells him she is sensitive to emotions, and she can sense he is eager to fight another Jedi.
Vader leaves her guarding the outside of a bar, while he goes inside, but inside there are mercenaries awaiting him. They use a magnetic gun to grab his lightsaber, but he pulls at it with the force, but it shatters, the crystal falling on the floor. He grabs one of them with the force and begins choking them, but they throw an EMP grenade with shuts down all electronics, and he calls for the Ninth Sister to come and give him her lightsaber, but she pretends that her comlink is broken from the EMP. The mercenaries flee under cover of force shields, and grab a speeder skiff outside, while Vader pauses to grab the crystal.
Vader emerges, and accuses the Ninth Sister of manufacturing a Jedi sighting to lure him into an ambush. She tells him that she isn't stupid and wouldn't have come anywhere near if she'd made that plan, but suggests that the rest of the inquisitors as ex-Jedi cannot be trusted. He takes her lightsaber and tells her to wait, telling her that if she flees she will die.
Following the mercenaries on a speeder bike, he catches up with them and smashes their speeder with the saber, causing them to use their force shields to survive the crash. He grabs the youngest and holds the lightsaber against their throat demanding to know who hired them, but they say they don't know.
Revealing they are a family, the mother offers to slice the communication for Vader, if he agrees to let their daughter, whose throat his lightsaber is at, go. He agrees, and they get the daughter to swear an oath of non-revenge, that it was just business, so Vader won't feel threatened enough to go after her, and both sides come to an agreement.
The mother slices the message that was sent hiring them, and tracks it back to Coruscant, to the Senate building, to the very highest level, Emperor Palpatines office. . . .
High Points : First of all I adored the part of Cabarria we saw, buildings floating in the sky, but attached to long swooping also floating roads. The initial drawing is flawed, but I found it evocative and interesting, a sky cantina, but with paths and roads connecting it to the rest of the world.
I also liked the agreement between him and the mercenaries, they came to an agreement that Vader would abide by, that they knew he would kill them for having the audacity to attack him, but made their daughter swear to not seek revenage, to ensure she was of no potential danger to Vader so he wouldn't have any reason to kill her. (although apparently she lied and went after Vader for revenge later (in the War of the Bounty Hunters crossover series), and died with his Lightsaber through her chest, which serves her right, her parents found a way of saving her, but instead she committed suicide by Vader).
And although it went on a bit long, the Ninth Sisters dialogue with Vader was interesting, she hates him, and during their "training" he has destroyed one of her eyes, blinding it, but she knows that he is too powerful to act against in any way except minor defiance such as pretending her comlink is broken, or he'll just kill her.
Low Points : So what was it with that EMP grenade in the bar that the Mercenaries use? Vader Lightsaber is already destroyed, so it's not for that. His comlink still works, so it's not for that, and his suit doesn't shut down, so it's not for that. The Mercenaries make a point to everyone else in the bar that their weapons are ionised, but it never looked like any of them were going to come to Vaders rescue. The entire effect of the EMP grenade is that it gives the Ninth Sister an excuse to not help Vader as a petty level of revenge on him.
And since Vader left her guarding the outside of the Bar, and the Mercenaries steal her skiff at gunpoint, I'm surprised Vader didn't just kill her for incompetence anyway, despite any excuses she could give about not knowing what was happening inside. Getting your vehicle stolen by a group of mercenaries while guarding the outside of a bar when hunting for a rogue Jedi seems like the level of mistake that Vader just puts people to death for, so not sure why he lets her live (apart from we know she crops up in both Jedi: Fallen Order, and Jedi: Survivor.
So what do you really think ? : It introduces the idea of there being a conspiracy against Vader within the Empire, he's been going around throwing his weight around without any actual position within the Empire. I can see why admirals and other dignitaries might see the way that the Empire now works, and decide to remove this threat to their position. Now it's a problem solved easily, by Palpatine making his position official, but I'm not sure that ever happens, as his unofficial position still seems to hold in A New Hope, so perhaps this is an ongoing test by Palpatine. You'll be my right hand man, but you need to display the power, and earn the respect to keep that position from everyone else who might want to take it.
Final Words : So Vader's days carried Kiraks curved lightsaber is now over, it's polished gold handle with ornate markings on it seemed a little out of character for Vader, but that was part of it's interest, showing that he had taken it from someone who cared about the design and look of their weapon, rather than the utilitarian look Vader tends to project. I'd have liked if they'd made something of it, having the next Jedi he faces recognise it, or perhaps some other ally of Kirak, but alas no, it's just over.
Score : 7.5/10
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