The best episode of every 2023 Star Wars television series

Star Wars: Visions

Season 2, Episode 2: “Screecher’s Reach”

“Screecher’s Reach” begins like a traditional Star Wars story, with the protagonist Daal and her friends longing for better lives and going on an adventure together. After escaping the oppressive workhouse, their journey to the mountain known as Screecher’s Reach is filled with joy, humor, camaraderie, and hope.

The episode’s tone changes when Daal and her friends enter the dark cave at Screecher’s Reach. The ghost that Daal confronts in there is genuinely terrifying and causes the episode to veer into a full-on horror story. When Daal strikes down the ghost with a red lightsaber, it is not a heroic moment. Instead, it feels like a dark point of no return.

Even after the ghost is vanquished and Daal reunites with her friends, the episode remains a horror story as the amulet around Daal’s neck glows red, and an ominous voice speaks from it. An individual known as the Sith Mother lands her ship, and it is revealed that Daal’s plan all along was to prove herself to the Sith Mother by confronting and striking down the ghost. In return, Daal can leave with the Sith Mother and begin a new life away from the workhouse.

Many moments in the episode, from Daal clutching and speaking to the amulet in difficult moments to Baython encouraging Daal to seize an opportunity to start a new life if that ever happens, take on a new meaning once the viewer knows how the episode ends, which makes “Screecher’s Reach” well worth a rewatch.

What begins as a relatively lighthearted adventure among friends becomes a Sith origin story, with Daal choosing to join the Sith Mother instead of staying with her friends. It is one of the most sobering, surprising, and compelling stories in Star Wars, let alone in Visions Season 2.