By George & Josh Bate
It has been over four years since the Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series was released on Disney+ and, at last, Star Wars has finally followed up on the events of the show.
Taking place one year before the events of Andor Season 1 and 13 years after the events of The Mask of Fear (Reign of the Empire), Edge of the Abyss once again follows Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and Saw Gerrera as their conflicting philosophies lead them to search for decidedly different ways to loosen the Empire’s ironclad grip on the galaxy. When one of Gerrera’s partisans is captured by the Empire after a mission gone wrong, panic ensues about what to do with a prisoner whose knowledge of resistance efforts could spell an end to rebellion before it’s even truly begun. Meanwhile, Mon and Bail grapple with a horrifying discovery that the Empire has turned its sights toward indoctrinating the youth of the galaxy to further cement Imperial control in the galaxy.
Early in the novel, Bail Organa converses with his adoptive daughter Leia on Alderaan. A contrast to Mon Mothma’s dismay at seeing her daughter Leida espouse none of the values she lives her life by, Bail finds pride in the fact that Leia has an interest in “speaking for people who can’t speak for themselves.”
But Bail’s pride in Leia and the hope that she use her interest in politics for good is contrasted by concern that the events of Obi-Wan Kenobi will repeat themselves. “Politics would inevitably bring her closer to Palpatine’s circle, and that worried him,” author Rebecca Roanhorse writes. Bail is concerned that, if Leia becomes a prominent politician, this could put her in the crosshairs of Palpatine. Besides the fact that she is the secret daughter of Palpatine’s Sith apprentice, Leia being an outspoken critic of the Empire would invite trouble.
Bail manages to push his anxieties aside, however. “I think you do have a gift, Leia,” he says. “And I think you should use it. You will have my support if you decide politics is something you wish to pursue.”
Leia then replies, “You’re not worried? About…?” Roanhorse then writes, “Leia pressed her hand over his. They didn’t really talk that much about her kidnapping, but it was always there, a weight across his shoulders. He knew that it had been his fault, that his politics and his connection to the Jedi had made Leia a target before.”
“I’m all right, you know,” Leia says. “You and Mother can stop worrying about me.”
This brief exchange indicates that Bail is still troubled by Leia’s kidnapping by the Inquisitor Reva approximately three years prior. Bail blames himself for what happened as the Empire would not have targeted Leia had Bail not had a well-known relationship with Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Being kidnapped and placed in such danger would clearly have an immense impact on a 10-year-old girl, but there had yet to be a Star Wars story in the 4+ years since Obi-Wan Kenobi to actually address what happened to little Leia in the series. Hopefully, more of Leia’s story is told in the future, possibly in the form of a The Memoirs of General Leia Organa series.
Edge of the Abyss (Reign of the Empire) is available now, courtesy of Random House Worlds
