Welcome to the sixth of our nine days of covering Star Wars: Visions! Some notes up front: we’re not going to be talking much about the studios that created these short films, both because of my general ignorance of the various producers involved, and also because I want to attempt to take these stories at as close to face value as possible. This episode takes a totally different approach, tonally, than any we’ve seen thus far, and is a hell of a lot of fun. Go find your kyber crystal embedded in your chest and let’s do this!
1. The only word is ‘cute’
I wish I had a better word to describe the look of this episode than ‘cute,’ but that’s what I’ve got. The look of T0-B1 is classic Astro Boy and Professor Mitaka is essentially Santa Claus with his long white hair and rosy, bulbous nose. Even the name, T0-B1, is a cute Star Wars pun! This episode, though it features a fair amount of darkness, never shies away from the clever designs and smiling faces of the various droids. Even when things are their most glum, the visuals of the show keep everything feeling relatively lighthearted.
2. A droid Jedi?
I love the impossibly nerd, metaphysical questions that pop up from asking if a droid can be a Jedi. Well, the Force binds all living creatures. Is a droid a living creature? Luke can lift up C3-PO, but is that using the Force that surrounds him, or is it using some sort of living Force within him? Can a droid be anything more than its programming? Can a droid be programmed to be virtuous and brave?
I would legitimately like to debate this with some other Star Wars fans one of these days.
3. Familiar visuals, totally unique music
The music of “T0-B1” is more like what you’d encounter in a Jacques Cousteau special than what you’d expect in Star Wars, but it fits like a glove here, especially during the more scientifically minded scenes. The planet Mitaka and T0-B1 are on resembles Tatooine quite a bit, though we never get confirmation of that, but between the setting and the Star Destroyer, there’s an awful lots of familiar visual language in this episode. Even the new characters, like the unnamed Sith/Inquisitor/evil force user has a look that is not found anywhere else, but is clearly identifiable as the ‘dark side.’
Visions has been at its best when it is mixing new ideas and old imagery, or vice versa. “T0-B1” does it about as well as any of the shorts thus far.
