
Dead Sea Squirrels
Some 2,000-year-old squirrels offer some great lessons about both the Bible and life in this clever new Minno series.
When I was a kid, I always wanted to be a Jedi Knight. Unfortunately, I wasn’t born a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
But Lys, Nubs and Kai Brightstar were.
These Jedi younglings are training to become Knights (and hopefully Masters someday). And they’re stationed at a Jedi outpost temple on the planet Tenoo.
Here, they’ve made some friends. One of them is Nash Durango, a girl their own age who already owns her own ship, the Crimson Firehawk. But they’ve also managed to make some enemies, namely Taborr, a thief who’s crossed sabers with them more than once.
But as these younglings learn the ways of the Force and how to manage a lightsaber, they also learn about the importance of teamwork, how to help those in need and that everyone—even—Taborr, deserves a second chance.
Like any show from the Star Wars universe, viewers can expect to hear about the Force, the mystical balance of good and evil that George Lucas (Star Wars’ creator) based on Eastern mythologies and cultures.
We’ll also get a bit of lightsaber and blaster action. However, as younglings, Lys, Nubs and Kai are only issued training lightsabers. These weapons will bruise and burn without killing.
Parents should also note that LGBT characters and storylines make their way into this TV-Y show. One character has two moms who occasionally show up on screen.
The good guys save the day. And older Jedi teach these younglings some valuable life lessons in kindness and forgiveness. But parents may want to discuss those issues mentioned above before sharing this Star Wars series with their own younglings.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at [email protected], or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
Master Zia (the Jedi Master training Lys, Nubs and Kai) gets a new padawan, Wes Vinik. And Wes learns the importance of asking for help and being part of a team. Then, Kai helps a new youngling, Bren, conquer homesickness.
Wes is a bit braggy when the kids meet him. But he’s quickly humbled when a pirate bests him in battle. The pirates attempt to steal several ships—and they nearly succeed—but Wes and the younglings learn to work together. They stop the pirates and retrieve the stolen ships.
Missing his friends after his transfer to Tenoo, Bren tries to return to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Unfortunately, he boards the wrong ship and befriends a pirate named Clave. Clave tries to convince Bren to become a pirate, emphasizing that pirates don’t have to follow rules and can take whatever they want. But Kai shows up just in time to remind Bren that stealing is wrong. And the younger Jedi help Kai stop Clave from stealing a ship before returning to Tenoo with him.
The younglings engage in a few battles with pirates, using lightsabers and the Force to defend themselves. (The pirates use electrified weapons and net launchers.) A few insults are hurled.
Kai, Lys and Nubs are unsuccessful in changing the pirates’ ways (they all choose to continue their lives of thieving), but they never give up and have a strong sense of doing the right thing. A few of the young Jedi apologize when they make mistakes.
Kai is excited when Loden Greatstorm, one of the best Jedi teachers ever, visits the Tenoo Temple with his padawan, Bell Zettifar. But in his eagerness to impress Bell, Kai inadvertently loses Bell’s pet charhound.
Then Lys accompanies the younglings’ friends Aree and CAM on a mission to discover and catalog unknown galactic creatures. They rescue a lost baby creature and try to help it find its way home.
Kai learns that he needs to slow down and think before acting. Lys learns that doing the right thing isn’t always easy. The younglings manage to keep all creatures safe, even the ones that seem aggressive at first. They also work hard to keep their friends safe.
Light sabers are used to spar and to ward off foes, but no injuries are inflicted.
Immediately after landing on Tenoo, the Jedi younglings Lys, Nubs and Kai face off against a thief named Taborr. Later, Taborr tries to steal a ceremonial item that they were sent to retrieve for Master Yoda.
There’s a bit of blaster fire (set to stun, not kill). Jedi younglings fight against thieves using their lightsabers and the Force to knock them around. (Taborr wields a type of double-edged Force pike.) Nubs falls from a platform (though he’s unharmed).
Thieves rob a cafe. Later, these same delinquents trash Nash’s ship and steal a packet of valuable seeds from the younglings.
Kai uses the Force to save Nubs from falling off a ship.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
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