Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order released back in November 2019 as the first single-player and story-driven Star Wars game in quite a long time, and the game was met largely with positive feedback from fans and critics. The story of escaped Jedi Cal Kestis and his quest to recover a repository of Force-sensitive children throughout the galaxy before it could be put to nefarious use by the Empire featured many elements of Star Wars prequel, sequel, and original trilogy lore. One character who joined Cal late into his journey has big implications for the story and will likely take on a more prominent role in the sequel.
Merrin is one of the Night Sisters, a coven of witches that live on Dathomir. Fans of the Clone Wars animated series were familiar with the Night Sisters and conversely the Night Brothers, the male denizens of Dathomir from which Darth Maul was plucked to be trained as a Sith. Their relationship was adversarial at first, with Merrin working to hamper Cal’s exploration of the planet. Later on in the story, Merrin actually joins the crew. Despite EA losing its exclusivity deal with Star Wars, a sequel to the game is reportedly in the works, as the company will still continue using the poperty, and Merrin is likely to feature much more heavily in the events of a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
Merrin’s joining of Cal’s crew means that she would likely still be a part of the group at the outset of a potential sequel. There are many things fans might want to see in Fallen Order 2, and Merrin can facilitate many new changes to the plot and theoretically even the gameplay. Her inclusion as a main character could have big implications if implemented correctly, while her relationship with the Night Sisters brings some interesting possibilities in the continuation of Cal Kestis’s story.
The Night Sisters are an interesting facet of the Star Wars universe. Their unique exploration of the Force manifests as seemingly black magic that has been used for combat, mind control, and metamorphosis as seen in the Clone Wars saga with Darth Maul and his “brother” Savage Opress. Their ties to dark side opens the doors to some “grey” morality explorations of in a style similar to Knights of the Old Republic, arguably the most well-known single-player Star Wars game.
Merrin’s attachment to the Night Sisters could be well implemented to test Cal’s dedication to the Jedi way, as is often a theme in the Star Wars universe. There could very well be moments where Merrin may suggest solutions to a problem that exist beyond what may be acceptable to a traditional Jedi like Cal Kestis. In turn, this could introduce both moral conflict in a potentially budding relationship and within the dynamic of the crew as a whole. This isn’t an unrealistic hypothesis for a series titled Fallen Order, and it seems that the franchise as a whole is simultaneously exploring both ends of the spectrum for the Jedi.
Diving into the possible dilemmas presented by the presence of a Night Sister could go far in helping with potential problems in character development for Cal Kestis. By the end of Fallen Order, Cal is a much more grounded and confident Jedi, which is a good thing for the overarching story of his grappling with survivors’ guilt and finding his own way. But in continuing that story, the juxtaposition of his ideals against Merrin’s could make for interesting plot points.
The Night Sisters’ near extinction by the Jedi in colors Merrin’s thoughts, and she only joins the crew after seeing the difference between the now Dark Jedi Taron Malicos and Cal Kestis. But presuming that some amount of time will have passed between the beginning of a sequel and the ending of Fallen Order, there would have been time for some of these feelings to fester. Exploring these relationships more deeply could help the sequel take a new direction in Fallen Order 2 and help further cement the story of Cal Kestis as an important part of the Star Wars canon.
Outside of the plot, Merrin’s inclusion in the core cast of Fallen Order could mean new gameplay options in the sequel. As the only other member of the Mantis with an active tie to the Force (Cere Junda admits to having severed her tie to the Force despite a show of power near the game’s finale), Merrin presents a unique opportunity for gameplay. The gameplay and blistering difficulty settings like Grandmaster would lend themselves well to the myriad of powers available to a Night Sister like Merrin. While Cal Kestis will most likely remain the bulk of the game’s focus, playing as Merrin could provide fun breaks in the standard gameplay, something many fans may enjoy.
The illusory capabilities of the magic utilized by the Night Sisters could translate well to a more stealth-focused approach to gameplay, taking notes from games like Last of Us 2. Her abilities to created illusions and affect the minds of enemies could provide a fun foil to the combat-centric gameplay of Fallen Order.
On the more speculative side, Merrin also opens the door to potential multiplayer like a co-op mode allowing players to adventure across the galaxy with a friend online. The almost Metroid-style exploration in Fallen Order encourages retreading planets already visited after obtaining more powers and abilities to uncover secret items, bosses, and the like. The inclusion of another playable character could add interesting possibilities for puzzle design and combat encounters, specifically if one character played so differently from another as Merrin would from Cal. This would be a break from what many fans considered a plus for Fallen Order, as its single-player focus helped deliver a more cohesive story than most multiplayer games could. But if well executed could be a great inclusion to the series. The possibilities for the sequel are as open as Fallen Order’s ending was and Merrin’s inclusion would likely be a boon.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is available for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One. The sequel is reportedly in development.
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