"The High Republic #8: Heart of the Drengir, Chapter III: The Root of Terror" by Cavan Scott

"The High Republic #8: Heart of the Drengir, Chapter III: The Root of Terror" written by Cavan Scott, illustrated by Ario Anindito, Mark Morales, and Annalisa Leoni

Hmmm...this issue was surprising in that the Drengir threat is dealt with handily and the angry plant monsters no longer seem to be a problem. While the Drengir briefly appeared and were mentioned in several entries into the High Republic publishing campaign, they really only feature in two books (Into the Dark and Race to Crashpoint Tower) and in the mainline "High Republic" comic series. And now they're done??? This seems so odd to me--to talk up a big bad so much and then make that big bad almost immediately impotent feels rushed and not near as impactful as it should've been. See my thoughts on how they could potentially return below.

Sskeer, Terec, Ceret, Cohmac, Reath, and Avar Kriss, along with Myarga the Hutt and her crew, have all gone to Mulita to put an end to the Drengir threat. I love how the High Republic has carried characters across different media quite regularly. It really makes the whole world seem much more complete and interconnected. Sskeer, Terec, and Ceret are regulars in this series, but Cohmac and Reath are typically found in the YA novels (see Into the Dark and Out of the Shadows, also see a panel of the two below with Cohmac in the background). And of course Avar has been a fairly ubiquitous presence throughout the High Republic media. The Jedi/Hutt force is quickly joined by Orla Jareni (from Into the Dark) and Keeve Trennis (see the cover above). I guess Keeve has had a change of heart in regards to her worth and the impact she can make (although this isn't addressed in this issue at all unfortunately--see my review of the previous issue here). 

Typical of the High Republic Jedi, they don't actually kill the Drengir's Great Progenitor--it's life and all life must be preserved--instead, they put it in a stasis field with the intention of taking it to the Bogan Vault on Starlight Beacon (remember that Bogan refers to the Dark Side of the Force). These High Republic Jedi are ridiculously good hearted and forgiving...like over the top so! It unsettles me that they let really bad beings (the Drengir and the Nihil) off so easy. There HAVE to be consequences for the terrible actions these two groups carry out! But no, life is life...I just don't get it at all. It's very strict and dogmatic but in an entirely different way from the Jedi of the Prequels. I wonder if this attitude has something to do with their downfall...

So, here's my theory (since I can't wrap my head around the Drengir threat being over so quickly within a super long-term storyline): we know from recent news pieces that Starlight Beacon is destined for total destruction in the next grouping of books. If the Great Progenitor is to be stored in a vault on said station then perhaps it gets loose in the wake of the Beacon's destruction?? We'll just have to wait and see...

Oh! I want to mention one more thing that has to do with Sskeer and Orla...apparently they've been intimate before!!! They keep making offhand comments hinting at it in this issue and it is hysterical how everyone reacts. Haha! Sskeer: "We've met before, a long time ago." Orla: "That's one way of putting it. You're looking as handsome as ever, Gwa Culna." Sskeer: "Orla, pleassse--not in front of the Hutsss." I have no idea what Gwa Culna means, but I'm gonna bet it's a pet name, lol.

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Trivia:

-Chief Norne is a person on Starlight Beacon who dispatches a maintenance team to figure out what is wrong with the Beacon's comms network.

-Maru Estala's droid is called Kaysee (KC-??)

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The issue ends with news of the destruction of the Republic Fair on Valo, leaving the victory over the Drengir overshadowed and seemingly unimportant...something else that I think was an odd choice. Oh well. This series is still incredibly engaging, enjoyable, and exciting and I'm not complaining, I just felt like the Drengir deserved more "screen-time."

I will leave you with some beautiful and frightening imagery of the battle with the Drengir on Mulita: