The LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation special has a lot to live up to. Previously both LEGO Stars Wars Terrifying Tales and the LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special aired on Disney Plus focusing on the newer Star Wars characters while incorporating ones from the very beginning of the franchise.
While the LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation special is able to tell multiple stories with plenty of humor, it does however feel like something is missing. The special begins with Finn, Rey, Poe, Rose, Chewbacca, R2-D2, C-3PO, and BB-8 boarding The Halcyon.
Many of you already know this to be the same starcruiser as the Star Wars-themed hotel called Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser. Once aboard the special becomes Finn’s story as he tries and fails to spend time with his friends who wander off to do their own things.
Whether that be Rey relaxing alone or Rose trying to escape Poe because he’s overscheduling everything. Each time this happens he gets visibly more upset, especially considering Lando’s hologram video constantly reminds guests to enjoy their time together.
What happens in the LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation special?
When Finn is separated from his friends a Force ghost arrives hoping to help him. It’s important to note that the special pretty much confirms that Finn is force sensitive.
The Force ghosts: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Leia Organa each tell their own vacation tale and provide helpful advice. The trouble is that each story isn’t really that interesting.
Obi-Wan Kenobi winds up helping rebel Valeria while he’s in hiding on Tatooine to watch Luke. He winds up successfully aiding her which includes crashing Jabba the Hutt’s party but nothing truly substantial happens.
Except for the Boba Fett cameo which includes a version of The Book of Boba Fett theme music. Anakin Skywalker speaks of how he, as Darth Vader, tried to cheer up The Emperor by taking him on a vacation…to a beach.
I guess Darth Vader cares more about The Emperor than of his hatred for sand. The Emperor of course hates it and as they leave a competition is announced in which the two cheat into winning.
But when they do, trophies are also handed out to everyone else for participating. I couldn’t help but feel like there was some missed opportunity in this story.
Lastly, Leia talks about how she, Han and Kylo Ren took a road trip on their way to Luke Skywalker’s so that Kylo could begin his Jedi training. This was probably the most interesting story as we never saw these moments in the films.
It was actually nice to see the three of them together as an actual family before the inevitability of Kylo turning to the dark side and the events that follow. Even though a majority of the story is just Kylo needing to stand up for himself and take charge, it reminds us for a brief time that Han and Leia were happily married.
The lessons remind Finn about how it’s the journey and not the destination that matters. In the end Finn and his friends wind up agreeing to spend the vacation together.
Overall, it was enjoyable to watch, and the humor is always spot on, but it somehow fell short compared to the other specials we’ve seen prior. All the same, we look forward to watching the next LEGO Star Wars special!
Did you watch LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation? What did you think?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!