Star Wars: The High Republic: Trail of Shadows (Finale)

Welcome to Trail of Shadows. This is the fifth and final part in the series. Part five picks up right where part four ended. Emmerich emerges from his hallucinatory stupor to find Sian watching over him. They share a brief, tender moment. It's revealed that Sian and Bisa captured Uttersond. Uttersond claims to be perfectly amoral and in this game for purely selfish reasons, but Bisa tells Sian and Emmerich about his family on Chad. When Bisa threatens to kill him as an act of revenge, Uttersond discloses that he has a piece of parchment containing all the information he has on the secret weapon. Q2 translates the writing on the parchment. Unsurprisingly, it contains the words Shri Kare Kare. Uttersond reveals that the parchment was retrieved from one who was once a Jedi. It speaks of creatures that some call the Shri Kare. Uttersond says that their presence causes madness and hallucinations in Force-sensitive people. The Eye of the Nihil possesses the only means to control these creatures. Outside the ship, the group watches the space station's starlight beacon break apart even further. Uttersond says that a second wave of Nihil, with more of the creatures, is about to arrive and they need to get out of there, but Emmerich refuses to abandon the survivors. Sian agrees to accompany him onto the station. They crash their ship into the domed glass roof, bypassing the beacon's sealed doors. They emerge to find Jedi Master Buck leading his padawan court and a group of younglings away from the heat of the battle. When Buck asks Emmerich to ferry the younglings to safety, Emmerich says that he cannot leave until he finds out everything he can about the creatures. He argues that many more lives depend on that information. Buck agrees to lead him to the creature, as long as he leaves as soon as he gets what he needs. As they approach the location where the creature was last seen, Emmerich starts to feel its effects again. He hears the eerie melody, and as he gets closer, he starts to hallucinate. He reminds himself that it's only an illusion, and the only way around fear is through it. Suddenly, a clawed hand emerges from the darkness. Sian points her blaster at it, but Emmerich begs her not to shoot unless it attacks. His force sensitivity makes him vulnerable to the creature, and he can't see it for what it is, so he asks Sian to describe it to him. Emmerich tries to reach out to the creature using the force, but it attacks. Instead of the clawed beast that Sian sees, the creature appears to Emmerich in the form of Master Stellan, begging for his help. Emmerich overcomes his fear and strikes down the illusion. We see that Emmerich has cut off one of the creature's hands. As he picks it up, Artisan lobs a detonator at the creature. This appears to blow it up, but we can't really be sure. As Nihil reinforcements arrive, Sian and Emmerich flee, as Buck and Cort provide cover. Sian shows Emmerich the one clawed finger she was able to salvage from the creature. Master Buck tells Emmerich to escape with Cort and the younglings. He hands him his cloak, which is soaked in the creature's blood, so that Emmerich can get a sample. After promoting Cort to Jedi Knight, Buck sacrifices himself to facilitate their escape. On board their ship, Emmerich hands Q a vial of the creature's blood to Process. He contemplates everything that has happened so far. They lost Starlight Beacon, and the many Jedi and Republic soldiers on it. Artisan, their only link with the Nihil, has disappeared, and is probably dead. But even in defeat, Emmerich understands, the knowledge they will gain will show them the path back to the light. We close on an image of the Padawans mourning the loss of their master, while Sian puts her arm around Emmerich's shoulder. And that's how Trail of Shadows ends. Thanks for sticking with us all the way through this series. If you haven't already, watch Part 4 here. You can also access the whole series on 2D Summaries. Thanks for watching.