The Village Bride

"The Village Bride" (Japanese: 村の花嫁) is an animated short film and episode of the web television series Star Wars: Visions. Produced by Kinema Citrus, the short premiered on Disney+ on September 22, 2021.
==Plot summary==
===Travelers on a green world===
The episode opens with a wide landscape shot of a green, forested planet seen from space. In a forest, a helmeted explorer wields a navigational instrument. He is joined by a masked woman known as F, who says that she must be cautious wherever she goes. The helmeted male explorer Valco reassures her that the Galactic Empire's eyes won't reach her here. When she asks if he has finished exploring the planet, he says not yet and that it is too interesting. Valco removes his helmet, revealing a human man with grey hair.
===The bride and groom===
Valco tells F that he found something that he would like to show her, adding that her mask doesn't suit her. The two watch a young man named Asu carrying his bride Haru. She says that she would rather walk but that it is not too bad. He says that they can't have a bride with dirty feet since they are going to a sacred place. Haru wishes that her parents could be here to see this. Asu replies that he has no doubt that they are watching and believes that they are one with the planet now. Haru also mentions that his parents have passed. They passed a wrecked probe droid hanging on one of the tree branches.
Valco leads F into the forest. Meanwhile, Asu carries Haru while navigating a rocky stairwell. He carries Haru through a stream towards a cave. While standing on a wooden platform outside the cave, Haru says that they are the sky, the forest and the river. Asu chants the same mantra before summoning "Magina" (a local term for the Force), calling for her to rise. The two summon a blue bubble which envelops the surrounding area including the masked woman and the explorer.
Haru experiences a flashback of playing with her future groom and her sister Saku as children. The three children create a path in the waterfall pool for the fish by lifting rocks. Meanwhile, F says that those are the planet's memories. The earth begins shaking, consuming a large chunk of the forested landscape. Valco explains that the people of this world have a deep respect for nature and that their rituals allow them to live in harmony with their world. The masked woman asks if this is what he wanted to show her.
Valco replies only because an old friend of theirs had roots on this planet. F recalls her master. Later, Haru and Asu reach a summit as the sun sets. They marvel at the sunset with Haru remarking it has been there since time immemorable. Later, Valco leads the masked woman towards a village. F realizes that this world has been exploited. Valco explains that the Separatists stripped the natives of their resources during the Clone Wars. When F says this was all for war, the explorer replies that war is nothing but loss. This causes the masked woman to experience a flashback of losing her master during Order 66.
===The wedding feast===
Later at the village, droids serve Asu, Haru and their wedding guests food at a banquet. F and Valco join the wedding feast. The masked woman says this seems wrong but the explorer replies that celebrations are meant to be shared within a large group. He says that if you hold back, you will be cursed. One of the hosts invites the travelers to drink with them and serves them an alcoholic beverage. The masked woman reluctantly accepts the drink.
A villager can be heard grumbling. Another villager says that it sounds too cruel. Valco learns from the server that tomorrow they will take the bride away. From the host, he learns that the departure of the Separatists only made room for a different kind of horror. He explains that raiders reprogrammed leftover Separatist B1-series battle droids and formed an army of their own.
The host says that these raiders and their droids took all the resources that they had. He explains that the raiders wanted to take the village chief as collateral but his granddaughter Haru volunteered to take his place. He warns that they are coming to take her in the morning. He starts to grumble about the potency of the drink but a lady ushers him away. She tries to cheer up the travelers.
Valco responds that he understands that the grief of the village runs deep, talking about the girl facing the prospect of imprisonment to save her grandfather. The female host wishes that their Magina will be connected to each other for all eternity and that they will never be separated. Haru's sister Saku protests that this isn't right, saying that she should not have to carry this burden along since it is wrong. She says that some of them are ready to fight and several youths stand behind her.
Haru replies that they have already discussed this. Saku is determined to fight the raiders and defeat them. Haru urges her to stop. Saku is determined to free their families and the village. Haru says that fighting is useless but Saku responds that the land is on their fight. Haru tells Saku she has already made her decision and urges her sister to understand. Saku asks what kind of wedding is full of mourning before storming off with her friends.
Valco tells F that Saku reminds him of her. The masked woman replies that she knows what he is trying to do. Valco says that it is not as if he cares about her code and asks why he should pretend to.
===Night meditations===
Later that night, the masked woman F meditates in the Force and levitates a stone. Haru asks if she can feel the Magina as well, causing her to drop the stone. F replies that if she can also feel it, she can understand that she has a bad feeling about this. Haru asks if F thinks she is being reckless. The masked woman asks what she thinks would happen if the marauders are thwarted. She fears putting her village at risk by fighting back. If she goes, she reasons that she can protect them all. She hopes not to be alone before walking away with her groom.
F meditates in the Force, causing her to experience a flashback. In a private hut, the groom Asu fingers a knife. When Haru notices, he explains that they are in this together. Haru smiles.
===Confronting the raiders===
At dawn, F cuts her padawan braid and removes her mask. The raiders approach the village, causing the villagers to assemble. The raiders' starship lands, deploying several battle droids. The raiders consist of an Abyssin, a Twi'lek, and their leader, Lord Izuma. Izuma asks Haru if she is the village chief's replacement. Haru confirms that she is coming with him in his stead. Izuma says that he likes this planet and that she will serve as collateral to avoid any "unnecessary conflict."
Izuma reveals that his battle droids have captured Saku and her followers. He decides to make an example of Saku and prepares to execute her with his KYD-21 blaster pistol. He shoots at her, but the blaster bolt is held back through the Force. The villagers and raiders watch in shock. The formerly masked woman F surfaces and hurls the blaster bolt back at the lead raider, destroying his blaster. Izuma demands to know who she is.
F replies that you cannot change the river's flow by casting a stone. But by living in harmony with nature, you can change together. She adds that the people of this world know this lesson well. She adds that the breath of life becomes wind and will always respond. Removing her hood, she tells Magina to rise and says may the Force be with it.
Izuma orders his battle droids to open fire but Valco shoots at them from a high cliff. The explorer runs out of ammunition but throws his helmet which contains a bomb that destroys the raiders' starship, disabling the battle droids' control signal and causing them to deactivate. The Abyssin and Twi'lek raiders flee but the lead raider takes Haru hostage. He demands to know if the masked woman is a monster. F replies that she is a Jedi before igniting her yellow lightsaber. She charges at the lead raider, and cuts off his arm, saving Haru and the village.
===Farewell===
Later, the villagers bid farewell to F, who departs in her starfighter. Valco decides to stay behind and live with the villagers. The female Jedi takes her starfighter into hyperspace.
==Credits==
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==Notes and references==
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