REVIEW: ‘Star Wars: The High Republic: The Battle of Jedha’

Star Wars: The High Republic: The Battle of Jedha features the first Star Wars audio drama of 2023 and the next chapter in the second phase of The High Republic multimedia project. Published by Random House Audio, The Battle of Jedha written by George Mann and features an entire cast of voice actors to bring the story to life. Taking place nearly 350 years before the events of the Skywalker Saga, phase 2 of The High Republic has introduced a new wave of characters, politics, and a relative time of peace in the galaxy. However, the events of The Battle of Jedha will surely have ramifications that will affect the galaxy during this time period and beyond.

Star Wars audiobooks have always been stellar productions with sound effects and music playing a huge part in the immersion of the story. The audio drama format dials that production up to 11 with various voice actors playing characters like on old school radio drama, rather than a normal audiobook. From the opening minutes of The Battle of Jedha, it is clear this is a different medium to experience Star Wars. If you aren’t familiar with audiobooks let alone audio dramas, you may have some trouble with how fast the story moves. If you are a person who likes physical media, then waiting for the script book to be released in February might be the best choice for you, as The Battle of Jedha sets itself up as an integral story for phase 2 of The High Republic.

Cavan Scott’s Tempest Runner featured the first audio drama for The High Republic. While a very enjoyable story, it certainly felt much more like a standalone story than required consumption. The Battle of Jedha by compassion feels much more important to the next wave of books coming in April. There are many characters and converging storylines in the short five-hour runtime that can be jarring if you are not caught up on Convergence and Path of Deceit. If you aren’t caught up, I still think you will be okay. The High Republic storytelling does a great job of dropping exposition to catch fans up on storylines and characters. The Battle of Jedha does this well enough by giving much of its information dump in the first couple of chapters as characters meet up and the conflict is set.

The Battle of Jedha picks up almost directly after Convergence, which saw Jedi Gella Natti mediate a dispute between warring planets Eiram and E’ronoh. Now the final steps to both planets’ peace are set to take place on Jedha, a small desert moon in the mid-rim. Jedha has made appearances throughout the Star Wars timeline most notably as the site of the first test of the Death Star during Rogue One. Before being nothing but a hole in space, Jedha was home to a variety of Force worshiping factions who all lived in relative harmony with each other. The Republic and the Jedi thought it would be the perfect spot to end Eiram and E’ronoh’s forever war. However, not all are willing to end the war so easily and some are even more upset about the involvement of the Jedi in the process.

As The Battle of Jedha begins, the tension is felt immediately. Each chapter begins with a countdown to the story’s namesake. From the opening chapter, it is clear that this isn’t going to end without many people being hurt. Despite the marriage between the two members of the warring planets, many, including members of the Jedi and Republic, are worried about further conflict being brought to the Holy City on Jedha. There are still many unanswered questions from the events of Convergence and Path of Deceit and Mann does a great job of delivering this exposition early on to ground the listener in the desires of all stakeholders present. As the first bomb goes off, the story becomes a mad dash to uncover who is behind the plot to keep the two planets at war as fans are introduced to a wide cast of characters and factions who all have their own means and motive.

Star Wars has always had the main Force users as the Jedi. While they have explored other types of Force users during the Skywalker Saga, it is always commonly known that the Jedi are at the top of the ladder when it comes to their connection to the Force. The High Republic era has made a concerted effort to show the Jedi of this period seeing the Force differently than the binary version of light and dark we see towards the end of the Order. The Battle of Jedha takes that a step further, putting a spotlight on other factions of the Force faithful.

The Convocation of the Force, a religious council of eight Force sects including the Jedi Order, has a prominent role in the audio drama. While the Jedi and Republic thought of Jedha as a place of peace given the harmony of Force religions, that might not be the case. The Path of the Open Hand disapproves of the Jedi’s use of the Force and is desperately trying to gain entry into the Convocation. The Brothers of the Ninth Door are a most secretive sect but clearly have ambitions above their current status. Their leaders attempt to use the upcoming conflict to their advantage, giving yet another piece of the puzzle to sift through to see who is behind the attacks on Jedha.

The audio drama format really lends to this ‘whodunit‘ type of Star Wars story. The different voice actors used makes it very easy to follow who is talking and who may not be as trustworthy or may just be simply misunderstood throughout the story. The Battle of Jedha sees many returning actors from other Star Wars content as well as new voices as well. Regardless of their tenure, the cast knocks it out of the park. Sean Kenin Elias-Reyes as P3-7A, a former temple droid that only speaks in Force proverbs, and Marc Thompson as Kradon, a villardani bar owner, are particular standouts. Coupled with putting voices to various characters that have made appearances in phase 2 and even an appearance from a member of the Graf family, The Battle of Jedha feels like every character has its purpose in the story.

The Nihil attacks during the events of The Rising Storm and Light of the Jedi felt like a black and white conflict where the Nihil were the bad guys and it was the duty of the Jedi and the Republic to stop them. The Battle of Jedha may not have the grand scale of those stories, but what it does have is something to say. While using the drama between Eiram and E’ronoh as a step piece, writer Mann really hits home the message of dealing with prejudices in the face of conflict. Some of the Force religions on Jedha fundamentally do not agree with the way the Jedi use the Force, making for interesting moments of philosophy that could very well foreshadow the fall of the Jedi centuries later. Further, representatives from both of the warring planets do not see the end of their generations-long war as being as easy as two aristocrats getting married, reminding us that the elite may not always think about the ramifications of their rushed decisions.

Ultimately, The Battle of Jedha serves as a great conversion of the storylines of the media that came before it. The production quality for Star Wars audiobooks and audio dramas is never in question. It’s the story that really drives The Battle of Jedha. Unlike its phase one audio drama counterpart Tempest Runner, The Battle of Jedha has a much more prominent story to tell and its outcomes will likely be felt in the upcoming novels coming in April.

While the fast-paced nature of the plot and the abundance of characters may be daunting for some fans, know that the script book is coming in February which is much sooner than previous Star Wars audio dramas. Phase 2 of The High Republic has not been as grandiose as the previous phase but The Battle of Jedha shows that Star Wars can be more than just big explosions in space and lightsabers when the characters take stage front and center.

Star Wars: The High Republic: The Battle of Jedha is available now on Audible with the script book releasing February 14, 2023.