Asajj Ventress, 'The Living Force' updates, and April's Star Wars releases
Plus: My story on "The Phantom Menace's" 25th anniversary is in this month's Star Wars Insider!
She is risen
Thanks to heavy-handed teasing by Star Wars and the creators of The Bad Batch, we knew Asajj Ventress was going to be in this week’s episode. But that didn’t take away from her miraculous return.
*Spoilers ahead for The Bad Batch Season 3 Episode 9 and Dark Disciple*
In episode 9, titled “The Harbinger,” Ventress becomes just that for Omega and her Clone Force 99 brothers.
Sent by Fennec Shand, Ventress arrives on Pabu to test Omega’s abilities — specifically her “M-count” and Force sensitivity. This isn’t explicitly stated to the characters, but fans know what’s happening.
Though the episode sets an ominous tone of darkness to come, there are several bright moments involving Ventress and Omega — especially the testing montage that is reminiscent of Luke and Rey in The Last Jedi.
It was also incredibly magical to see Ventress again — this time, reconnecting with the light, natural side of the Force. Her joy and love of the Force are palpable even though she never smiles and maintains her signature icy wit.
For those who followed Ventress’s journey in The Clone Wars and the beautifully tragic end to her story in Dark Disciple, seeing her survive and thrive is a gift.
The episode didn’t elaborate on what happened to her since Dark Disciple — or if she and Quinlan Vos reunited — but that just means there’s more of her story to tell. That may be in The Bad Batch or (I hope) in a future spin-off series.
Many fans, including myself, would love to see her be a part of The Hidden Path — an underground network working to identify, rescue, and keep safe former Jedi and other Force sensitives. In Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Hidden Path was established with Quinlan as a part of it.
So, what Ventress (and by extension Fennec) is doing during the time of The Bad Batch could be The Path’s earliest efforts.
What do you think — how would you like Ventress’s story to continue? Share your thoughts and predictions in the comments!
What to read for more Asajj Ventress:
The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Life: “The Lost Nightsister”
My pal Catrina Dennis, arguably Ventress’s biggest fan, also wrote a fic about the character and her badass yellow lightsaber
The Living Force: A new excerpt and what to know about the planet Kwenn
With less than two weeks until the release date, Star Wars fans can already read most of Chapter 1 of The Living Force thanks to a new excerpt shared by Entertainment Weekly.
The new excerpt stars Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi in a quintessential prequel action scene involving space pirates trying to hijack their transport.
What ensues is cheeky banter between the pirates and the Jedi, who attempt to de-escalate the situation in the most peaceful, least harmful way possible.
“The Jedi barely bother with this route these days.”
“And yet here we are,” Qui-Gon said.
Wungo looked in panic between Qui-Gon and the girl he’d rescued. “Did you see how he made her float? I didn’t know they could do that.”
“Jedi don’t go around showing off,” Obi-Wan said, stepping forward. “But word gets around. I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors.”
Lobber frowned. “What rumors?”
“Of secret Jedi powers. Some are quite amazing. Disarming you of your weapon with just a few words, for example.”
Ghor gripped his blaster more tightly. “Is that so?”
Qui-Gon shook his head. “I won’t be doing that. Or anything . . . flashier.”
Of course, the excerpt ends right when the going starts getting good. But that just makes readers more excited to get their hands on the book.
The first excerpt, shared earlier this month, featured a scene pivotal to the main plot of the book — the Jedi Council discussing Qui-Gon’s challenge to the increasingly isolated group of Jedi Masters.
The Living Force is John Jackson Miller’s first full-length Star Wars novel since A New Dawn. The novel is set one year before The Phantom Menace and stars all 12 members of the Jedi High Council as they leave their high temple on Coruscant to go on a road trip to a Jedi outpost that’s set to be decommissioned.
The story is all about Jedi self-reflection, especially the higher-ups who clearly need to return to their roots of helping people instead of engaging in galactic politics.
I’m a little over a quarter of the way through my copy (thanks, Random House Worlds!) and I’ll have a full review by the release date.
The Living Force arrives on April 9.
New Star Wars releases in April
We’ve got some exciting new Star Wars releases in April, including the first full-length novel from John Jackson Miller since A New Dawn and issue 225 of Star Wars Insider — a.k.a. the one with my story on The Phantom Menace’s 25th anniversary.
April 2
Star Wars Insider: The High Republic: Tales of Enlightenment
Screen Comix: I Am Your Mother/Aau’s Song
April 3
Star Wars (2020) #45
April 9
The Living Force
Darth Vader (2020) Vol. 8: Dark Droids trade paperback
The Mandalorian: Season 2 Part 2 trade paperback
April 10
The High Republic (2023) #6
Darth Vader (2020) #45
Thrawn: Alliances #4
April 16
Bounty Hunters Vol. 7: Dark Droids trade paperback
April 17
The High Republic Adventures: Saber for Hire #1
Mace Windu #3
April 23
Star Wars (2015): Gillen & Pak hardcover omnibus
Doctor Aphra (2020) Vol. 7: Dark Droids trade paperback
Return of the Jedi: A Visual Archive
April 24
The High Republic Adventures (2023) #5
Darth Maul: Black, White & Red #1
Jango Fett #2
April 30
The High Republic: Shadows of Starlight trade paperback
Star Wars Insider #225 (this is the one with my Phantom Menace story!)
Really looking forward to your article in Insider! They definitely need to do some stand alone story at some point about Ventress's lives. Maybe three shorts for Tales of the Jedi, one with her as a padawan with her master, one kinda reshowing the end of Dark Disciple and her resurrection, and a third set later when we see The Hidden Path with Vos? Or a whole hidden path show... I do wonder whether Omega will go with Ventress and that would be the spinoff
As much as I enjoyed the return of Ventress this week, sometimes I wish dead people would just stay dead. That being said, "you're an odd little clone" was such a great line and so well delivered.