[7.5/10] This is the least interesting of the Elsbeth shorts to date, but still good! Which says something!
I’ll admit, I’d forgotten some of the finer points of our visit to Corvus in The Mandalorian, so I had to look up who Governor Wing was and try to figure where in the timeline we are. (Especially since Wing mentions some “mercenaries” coming through. I thought that might meant this took place after Mando and Ahsoka’s visits, but now I assume he means Baylan Skroll and Shin Hati from Ahsoka.)
Still, I like “Path of Hate” as a sign of where Morgan’s childhood trauma and her association with Thrawn have led her. The first two episodes of the show are the cause, and this is the effect. We see a hardened warlord, ruling her fiefdom, generating fuel and resources to retrieve her master and “save the galaxy from ruin.” There is a cruelty, a by any means necessary spirit that has overtaken Morgan Elsbeth, and seeing her inflict that mentality on her people is tough at times.
From a diplomatic standpoint, it’s interesting to see the (presumably budding) New Republic try to make inroads in distant worlds like Corvus. The notion of Nadura, someone who lived and worked in the factories of Elsbeth’s enclave, come to free her people through diplomacy, and running into the perils of bigger stick diplomacy, again helps show the rough terrain the post-Imperial government is encountering.
There is some of the old Star Wars “don’t give up hope” here, with Naruda dying for her efforts, but inspiring Wing to play his part and making things right. More than any of the others, this episode is a prequel to a specific episode from another show, setting up Bo-Katan’s interest in Corvus and presumably setting up how she knows Ahsoka is there. There’s a gap-filling quality that isn’t always my cup of tea.
But this is mostly interesting as another brick in the wall of Morgan’s character development. Whether it’s the destruction of her people or Thrawn’s tutelage or both, Morgan has hardened out in these distant lands. She’s not afraid to deal death, to work her people to the bone, in the same of staging her cause. Even as the show lurches toward the present, we know where that leads, but not yet where it ends. Yoda’s famous aphorism suggests it's nowhere good, though.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2024-05-04T05:57:52Z
[7.5/10] This is the least interesting of the Elsbeth shorts to date, but still good! Which says something!
I’ll admit, I’d forgotten some of the finer points of our visit to Corvus in The Mandalorian, so I had to look up who Governor Wing was and try to figure where in the timeline we are. (Especially since Wing mentions some “mercenaries” coming through. I thought that might meant this took place after Mando and Ahsoka’s visits, but now I assume he means Baylan Skroll and Shin Hati from Ahsoka.)
Still, I like “Path of Hate” as a sign of where Morgan’s childhood trauma and her association with Thrawn have led her. The first two episodes of the show are the cause, and this is the effect. We see a hardened warlord, ruling her fiefdom, generating fuel and resources to retrieve her master and “save the galaxy from ruin.” There is a cruelty, a by any means necessary spirit that has overtaken Morgan Elsbeth, and seeing her inflict that mentality on her people is tough at times.
From a diplomatic standpoint, it’s interesting to see the (presumably budding) New Republic try to make inroads in distant worlds like Corvus. The notion of Nadura, someone who lived and worked in the factories of Elsbeth’s enclave, come to free her people through diplomacy, and running into the perils of bigger stick diplomacy, again helps show the rough terrain the post-Imperial government is encountering.
There is some of the old Star Wars “don’t give up hope” here, with Naruda dying for her efforts, but inspiring Wing to play his part and making things right. More than any of the others, this episode is a prequel to a specific episode from another show, setting up Bo-Katan’s interest in Corvus and presumably setting up how she knows Ahsoka is there. There’s a gap-filling quality that isn’t always my cup of tea.
But this is mostly interesting as another brick in the wall of Morgan’s character development. Whether it’s the destruction of her people or Thrawn’s tutelage or both, Morgan has hardened out in these distant lands. She’s not afraid to deal death, to work her people to the bone, in the same of staging her cause. Even as the show lurches toward the present, we know where that leads, but not yet where it ends. Yoda’s famous aphorism suggests it's nowhere good, though.