Star Wars: Forces of Destiny week continues on Disney’s YouTube channel. The animated micro-series puts the focus on the women of Star Wars, from Rebel heroes like Jyn Erso, Sabine, Hera, and Princess Leia to Resistance fighter Rey (hopefully season two will include the mysterious Rose seen in The Last Jedi promos). Each story ranges from two to three minutes long, making it just right for a bite-sized break at home, school, or work.
The first episode — ‘Sands of Jakku’ — caught up with Rey in what could be seen as a deleted scene from The Force Awakens. Yesterday’s episode, ‘BB-8 Bandits,’ series picks up the next morning, before Rey and BB-8 make it to town. What? Just because America paused to get drunk and light off fireworks on July 4th doesn’t mean the action stops in a galaxy far, far away.
So far, what I enjoy about these shorts is how they can show the fortitude necessary to survive in the wastes of Jakku as long as Rey did. The nature of the beast in The Force Awakens meant there wasn’t time for a lingering look at her life before BB-8 and Finn fell into it. Even though these first two Forces of Destiny shorts feature BB-8 in a prominent role, the droid is clearly out of his element and would long be dead if not for the streetwise (desertwise?) ways of his newfound friend. I’m interested to see how Lucasfilm Animation expands the lore of their other women warriors later in the week.