Summary
A soft and charming short feels a little too reiterative of the same hero’s journey theme we’ve seen play out in some of the others, but it’s still a distinct little outing on its own terms.
This recap of Star Wars: Visions Season 2 Episode 9, “Aau’s Song”, contains spoilers.
The second volume of Star Wars: Visions doesn’t cap things off with its biggest or most technically impressive episode, but instead its lightest and most gentle.
Some of this, admittedly, is down to the work of the African animation company Triggerfish, who deliver a charmingly cuddly aesthetic. But even at the story’s core, there’s a sense of soft understanding; love and pride, and purpose after realizing your place in a world where you don’t really fit.
Star Wars: Visions Season 2 Episode 9 Recap
Like “The Pit”, “Aau’s Song” revolves heavily around the importance of kyber crystals. Here, they’re the primary export of a world called Korba. Title cards inform us that the planet is rich with the crystals, which the Sith poisoned and bled. However, the locals continued to mine the crystals for the Jedi, who can will them back to their harmonious natural state.
Harmony is a persistent concept in this short. Korba exists in a state of delicate balance, and our protagonist, Aau, threatens to upset that balance with her song, which reacts dangerously with the crystals.
Aau is essentially led on a coming-of-age quest as her desire to sing and to understand the relationship her song has with the crystals leads her into danger. Her father, Abat, is overprotective and doesn’t quite understand Aau’s gift, but a “trader”, Kratu, who is clearly a Jedi, very much does.
Star Wars: Visions Season 2 Episode 9 Ending Explained
After Kratu saves Aau and Abat from their near-death experience, she realizes that Aau’s song has purified the kyber crystals.
Recognizing that this is a unique and important power, Kratu invites Aau to leave with her, which would, of course, mean leaving Abat behind. Eventually, she decides to do so, pursuing a life of greater meaning in the wider galaxy.
As charming and pretty as this episode is, it suffers a little from its position in the anthology, delivering yet another story about a young innocent being forced to leave their home and the people they love to seek purpose in the wider world. This is the same climax that we also saw in “Screecher’s Reach” and “The Bandits of Golak”.
Still, familiarity notwithstanding, “Aau’s Song” is still a lovely and distinct way to cap off Star Wars: Visions Volume 2.
You can stream Star Wars: Visions Season 2 Episode 9, “Aau’s Song” exclusively on Disney+.
