While this Jedi Master’s temptation has driven his arc throughout Star Wars: The High Republic, a new revelation shows the root cause of his struggle.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: The High Republic #5 by Cavan Scott, Ario Anindito, Mark Morales, Annalisa Leoni & VC’s Ariana Maher, on sale now.
Star Wars: The High Republic has had a strong focus on Jedi Master Sskeer’s struggles with the dark side. At first, the cause of this struggle seemed to be Sskeer’s grief over losing Jora Malli to the Nihil. However, in Star Wars: The High Republic #5, Sskeer reveals the truth: his connection to the Force began waning at the beginning of the series, possibly even before the Great Disaster.
Throughout this arc, Jedi Master Sskeer has behaved erratically and been prone to anger. After coming into contact with the Drengir, he seemed lost, but in Star Wars: The High Republic #4, he explains that he allowed himself to be taken over by the Drengir to help the Jedi learn how to combat the new threat. At the beginning of Star Wars: The High Republic #5, at first Sskeer appears to be in control. However, when Myarga the Benevolent from the Hutt cartel arrives and claims Sedri Minor, Sskeer flies into a rage and attacks. In the ensuing battle, it becomes clear that the Drengir have retaken control of Sskeer again, and Sskeer begins fighting everyone, including his fellow Jedi.
Once more, Keeve Trennis, Sskeer’s newly knighted former Padawan, is able to break through the Drengir’s control and free Sskeer, but Sskeer makes it clear that her efforts will not last. He desperately tries to explain to Keeve why he made the choice to bond with the Drengir. His earlier explanation was not the complete truth. His connection to the Force has been fading since before Keeve’s trials. Thus, Sskeer’s inability to fully access the Force has been preventing him from sensing threats such as the Dark Side presence on Sedri Minor.
This reveal puts Sskeer’s behavior throughout this arc in perspective and makes his actions even more tragic. For Sskeer, the temptation of the dark side was much stronger precisely because he could no longer access the Force as reliably. Also, his desperate move to bond with the Drengir was an attempt to continue to be useful to the Jedi despite his fading Force abilities. His failure to communicate his struggles out of shame has prevented the people he cares about from helping him confront the problem. Instead, he has been trying to fight on his own.
Sskeer’s choices backfire, and he now is losing his internal battle with the Drengir. In his moment of clarity, Sskeer explains the main horror of the Drengir to Keeve. He states, “Pull them up or cut them down. All they need is one tiny ssscrap in the darkness… a ssseed or a root… hidden away, out of sight, out of mind. They grow back ssstronger than before. Indomitable. Unwielding.” To combat this seemingly impossible threat, Sskeer tells Keeve to use the Force to convince the Drengir that the harvest is poisoned to make the Drengir leave. Keeve’s efforts seem to be successful as the Drengir begin retreating. However, the issue ends on a cliffhanger, with Jedi Master Sskeer’s life hanging in the balance.
Sskeer’s fading connection to the Force could have larger implications for the Jedi Order as a whole. Is he the only Jedi who has been experiencing these struggles, or are there more? Why Sskeer’s connection to the Force is fading also is not yet clear. It may be exacerbated by his grief over the Great Disaster, but there also might be a hidden cause yet to be revealed. Ultimately, Sskeer’s fading connection to the Force may cost him his life in the face of the Drengir threat, and more Jedi may experience similar struggles as the Drengir continue to infest the galaxy.
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