Summary
“Lop & Ocho” suffers for its length and lack of resolution, but it’s a pretty, charming tale that deserves to be fleshed out more.
This recap of Star Wars: Visions season 1, episode 8, “Lop & Ocho”, contains spoilers.
“Lop & Ocho” rests on an intriguing dilemma. There are, really, only two possible outcomes to it, but they’re radically opposed on almost every level. It’s an interesting crux for what is essentially a family drama, one about two sisters, united by love but not biology, who are pulled in opposite directions while under Imperial rule.
Star Wars: Visions season 1, episode 8 recap
The planet of Tao is resource-rich, making it a tantalizing prospect for the Empire, who promised its residents industrial advancement in exchange for occupation. But years of industry strips the planet bare, leaving those who remain on one side or another: Either for the Empire or against it.
This matter is complicated by the titular Lop and Ocho. The former is a space rabbit, one of the Empire’s laborers, who manages to escape and find herself in the care of Boss Yasaburo and his daughter, Ocho. Their family is well-off, but the father’s traditionalism is at odds with Ocho’s belief that the Empire should be embraced, especially after we skip several years into the future and find the children much older and capable of making their own decisions.
Ocho’s decision is to side with the Empire. When her efforts to talk her father out of attacking an Imperial refinery fall on deaf ears, she’s given a pitch by an Imperial officer, who invites her along to help redevelop the planet. Symbolically chopping off her ponytail, she accepts, much to the disgust of Lop, who has come to see this planet as home.
As it turns out, the Yasaburo family has a long history of preserving the Jedi arts, so when Lop comes to her father for help, he passes down an ancient lightsaber to her, reminding her that even though they aren’t related by blood, they’re still family. Yasaburo sets out to confront his daughter, and Lop isn’t far behind, but the battle that ensues proves she’s beyond redemption. She strikes out her father’s one good eye, destroys Lop’s faithful droid companion, and fights Lop to a standstill. Just when it looks like Ocho is defeated, she’s saved by an Imperial shuttle and carried away, with the story left very open-ended.
With its pretty, fitting art style, and story of family nestled within a larger conflict of technological advancement versus natural preservation, “Lop & Ocho” makes for a compelling installment that really could have stood to be fleshed out more in a different format.
You can stream Star Wars: Visions season 1, episode 8 exclusively on Disney+.
