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This season ended up accidentally having a theme/throughline of children being taken on by the Jedi/Sith/Empire from their original parents. I liked the contrast of the Jedi being their canon-typical selves who give the Force-sensitive child a choice (as asymmetric/stacked as it might be due to Imperial persecution and the inability of any other faction to keep the kid safe) versus the Sith lying and the Empire just. massacring everyone who objected. This doesn't describe every short, but it does describe about half of them.
The Sith
The usage of color was absolutely gorgeous! I liked the protagonist, too, as someone who'd decided to leave her Sith past behind and do something different. This felt like it built on the same theme as The Duel in s1 did, and I liked both of them.
Screecher's Reach
I liked the building sense of unease as the kids went to the caves, and the gradual build-up of wrongness towards the ending. Not very pretty, imo, but haunting.
In the Stars
The main characters are sisters, one a responsible adult who's doing her best and the other a pwecious child who gets herself into trouble. The happy ending felt unearned. Easily my least favorite of the bunch.
I Am Your Mother
A heartwarming tale of a twi'lek teen going to pilot school who didn't tell her mom about the school's annual parent-child race because her mom and her mom's ship are embarrassing (and also she's much poorer than her classmates), only for her mom to fly over for unrelated purposes. I liked the mother-daughter bonding and the naturalistic take on a teenager's anxieties, as well as the mom's characterization.
Journey to the Dark Head
This one went for a more yin/yang take on the Force, with two important statues, one representing the Dark and one the Light, and an acolyte from a vision-interpreting temple petitioning the Jedi to help destroy the Dark Head because that might help with the war. Kind of underwhelming imo.
Spy Dancer
This started out as a story about an entertainment venue as a front for a spy operation (the titular spy dancer attaches trackers to unwitting stormtroopers in front row seats), motivated by the fact the Empire burned down the owner-dancer's village. Then it goes even harder from there. The dance animation is amazingly fluid, which extends to the fight scenes as well. Also it's fucked up in a beautiful way.
The Bandits of Golak
Older brother tries to escort his Force-sensitive kid sister away from the Empire. I liked the siblings' relationship and absolutely loved the old lady Jedi and how she got to kick ass.
The Pit
Prisoners dig a pit mining kyber crystals, are abandoned there when the vein runs out, one of them climbs up in hopes of a rescue attempt. A bit simplistic in morals, and it felt almost manipulative in places, but it pressed my buttons and I don't regret watching it.
Aau's Song
Stop motion animation, I think! Didn't really vibe with the art style, if it can be called that, but the actual singing felt as magical as it should.
If you only want to watch a subset, I'd rec Spy Dancer, The Sith, and Screecher's Reach, roughly in that order. If you want a fourth, watch I Am Your Mother.
The Sith
The usage of color was absolutely gorgeous! I liked the protagonist, too, as someone who'd decided to leave her Sith past behind and do something different. This felt like it built on the same theme as The Duel in s1 did, and I liked both of them.
Screecher's Reach
I liked the building sense of unease as the kids went to the caves, and the gradual build-up of wrongness towards the ending. Not very pretty, imo, but haunting.
In the Stars
The main characters are sisters, one a responsible adult who's doing her best and the other a pwecious child who gets herself into trouble. The happy ending felt unearned. Easily my least favorite of the bunch.
I Am Your Mother
A heartwarming tale of a twi'lek teen going to pilot school who didn't tell her mom about the school's annual parent-child race because her mom and her mom's ship are embarrassing (and also she's much poorer than her classmates), only for her mom to fly over for unrelated purposes. I liked the mother-daughter bonding and the naturalistic take on a teenager's anxieties, as well as the mom's characterization.
Journey to the Dark Head
This one went for a more yin/yang take on the Force, with two important statues, one representing the Dark and one the Light, and an acolyte from a vision-interpreting temple petitioning the Jedi to help destroy the Dark Head because that might help with the war. Kind of underwhelming imo.
Spy Dancer
This started out as a story about an entertainment venue as a front for a spy operation (the titular spy dancer attaches trackers to unwitting stormtroopers in front row seats), motivated by the fact the Empire burned down the owner-dancer's village. Then it goes even harder from there. The dance animation is amazingly fluid, which extends to the fight scenes as well. Also it's fucked up in a beautiful way.
The Bandits of Golak
Older brother tries to escort his Force-sensitive kid sister away from the Empire. I liked the siblings' relationship and absolutely loved the old lady Jedi and how she got to kick ass.
The Pit
Prisoners dig a pit mining kyber crystals, are abandoned there when the vein runs out, one of them climbs up in hopes of a rescue attempt. A bit simplistic in morals, and it felt almost manipulative in places, but it pressed my buttons and I don't regret watching it.
Aau's Song
Stop motion animation, I think! Didn't really vibe with the art style, if it can be called that, but the actual singing felt as magical as it should.
If you only want to watch a subset, I'd rec Spy Dancer, The Sith, and Screecher's Reach, roughly in that order. If you want a fourth, watch I Am Your Mother.