Review – ‘The High Republic Adventures: Saber for Hire’ #3 Sets Up a Fascinating Finale, but Is It Too Late?
Saber for Hire has been a perfectly harmless addition to the High Republic Phase III with some nice character work. But now, with only one issue to go after this week’s issue #3, I am left wondering: Is it too little too late for this series to leave its mark? Writer Cavan Scott has almost exclusively told the story of Jedi turned monster hunter Ty Yorrick, with this newest chapter forcing her to get back in the fight after running away for so long. It’s a trope as old as time, but I fear that the lack of intrigue until now will hamper Ty’s story as we head into the final stages of the initiative.
Issue #3 finally drops the hammer, introducing who appears to be a figure from Ty’s past. Unfortunately, we will only spend one more issue with this character and the inevitable reveal of what’s going on. That’s just not enough. Unless Scott has a game-changing finale in the chamber, Saber for Hire just isn’t going to have staying power.
Spoilers ahead…
In the world of fun easter eggs, I finally realized the importance of who Ty has been trying to protect from the Nihil. The child, Lene Kostana, will eventually become Sifo Diyas’ master — a fact we learned in Scott’s Dooku: Jedi Lost. So that’s cool. Scott’s world-building has always been stellar.
Ty is trying to leave the planet to find Drewen before he does something stupid like try to save Chancellor Soh’s son alone. She commandeers a Nihil ship before she senses Lene is in trouble again. The Nihil returned to the village with an extra threat in tow. Leading the charge is a hooded figure and a Nameless creature. If you’re reading Scott’s Marvel run, this new threat is a Child of the Storm, monstrous Force-sensitive creations made by Baron Boolan. They can control a Nameless because… mad scientist things.
When Ty returns to the fight, she quickly tracks down Lene but is confronted by the unknown figure and the Nameless while trying to escape. The individual speaks Ty’s name, and there’s a sense she knows who it is. The only features the issue shows us are its hands, one robotic and the other a yellow four-fingered limb.
Who is this Child of the Storm? We’ll have to see. Ty has kept entirely private over the years, to the point where even the Order had no record of who she is when she reappeared in The Rising Storm. She has a past we still don’t really know. It’s the one big plot point heading into the finale, and I am into it. Ty isn’t my favorite, but that’s because she is painfully one-note despite her intriguing backstory. Saber for Hire is giving its all to fix this, and it’s a valiant effort that’s worked reasonably well.
It’s how this issue ends that frustrates me. We rejoin Kitrep Soh and his partner, who are trying to escape the Nihil. Drewen finds them and saves them from a monster, but the Nihil immediately greets them. And boom, the issue ends. This is the slowest-moving B-story ever. It has rehashed everything for three straight issues and is only now getting to the point. The only saving grace is knowing how vital Kitrep’s fate is to both the Nihil and the Republic. In Temptation of the Force, Lina Soh is desperate to get her son back, even willing to barter his life for peace. So, I wish we had spent more time developing Kitrep’s story within this particular series. This miniseries could have really used five issues.
The High Republic Adventures: Saber for Hire #3 set up a finale I want to see, but this series feels undercooked. It will accomplish its goal and make Ty Yorrick a valuable player for the Jedi somewhere down the line. However, I feel like the only thing noteworthy in the three issues is the introduction of this villain. I don’t like feeling like I wasted my time waiting for the goods to be delivered. With one issue to go, hopefully Scott can stick the landing. I’ve read enough Cavan Scott stories to know he’s more than capable.
RATING: 7/10
The High Republic Adventures: Saber for Hire #3 is available now wherever comics are sold. Thank you to Dark Horse Comics for the copy used in this review.
Nate uses his love for Star Wars and movies in general as a way to cope with the pain of being a Minnesota sports fan. When he's not at the theater, you can usually find Nate reading a comic, listening to an audiobook, or playing a Mario video game for the 1,000th time.
