Jedi Fallen Order: Dark Temple 2: "Trapped on Ontotho" by Matthew Rosenberg

Jedi Fallen Order: Dark Temple 2: "Trapped on Ontotho" written by Matthew Rosenberg, illustrated by Paolo Villanelli and Arif Prianto

     I'm really enjoying this series so far. In this issue we get a close look at the Fylari which seem to be, for the most part, an actual species rather than just a culture. They have pointed ears, large foreheads, and darkened skin around their eyes. The Fylari children can even sometimes communicate with the local fauna--musk teaves. Perhaps the surrounding forest Force nexus actually has something to do with the Fylari people themselves... There are also a variety of other sentients living in Fylar, revealing it to boast a diverse, open, and peaceful culture. See an image of the diversity below--the man in the middle is of the Fylari species.
     As for the title, I don't feel like Junda is exactly trapped. I mean she's in a tight spot and a tough situation, but trapped? Not really.
     We begin during the Imperial era with the Inquisitor, Second Sister, attacking a Fylari Jedi??? who tells her about the presence of a temple...the same temple Junda and Cordova are tasked with negotiations over in the Republic era timeline.
     Then we go back in time to just after the attack on the caravan headed for Fylar. Junda has been imprisoned by the Fylari...or has she??...and Cordova is presumed dead. After a heated discussion between the Padawan and the Fylari, it is revealed that the Fylari were not the attackers. Instead, Daa's own men attacked the caravan to set up the Fylari to look aggressive and hostile so that the Ontothons would stand by him in a full-scale war against the actually peaceful people of Fylar.

     I can't say any of this is all that surprising. I kind of saw it coming from a mile away, but it still makes for an interesting story. My biggest gripe with this series is how darn brash Junda is!! She consistently and aggressively takes matters into her own hands. She makes, I would venture to say, dumb haughty decisions, not realizing that most people see shades of gray within shades of gray and that corruption is rampant around every corner. Junda seems to think everything is very black and white and she suffers for it.
     Regardless, I am definitely excited to see what comes next!! I'm curious about the temple and what secrets it holds and want to see how Junda fares against the Ontothons...will her brashness be her doom? Or will she survive and succeed against the odds? And I'll leave you with an image of Second Sister fighting the Fylari Jedi??? that I thought was just really cool: