- "To make friends you have to be kind."
- ―Kai Brightstar to Rek Minu
"Making Friends" is the seventh and final episode of the third season of the animated series Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures. It was released on Disney+ on December 8, 2025. It is also the series finale.
Official description
Plot summary
Festival preparations
At Kublop Springs, the local residents including the Jedi younglings Kai Brightstar, Lys Solay and Nubs prepare for the Welcome Festival tonight for Jedi Masters Yoda, Zia Zaldor Zanna and the new Jedi younglings. Solay says that the festival marks the friendship between the planet Tenoo and the Jedi. Dotti ushers the astromech droids Beepers, Dozer and Gigi to assist with the preparations. Nash Durango and RJ-83 arrived with a cart. Durango says that this reminds her of the Welcome Festival that they had for Brightstar and his batch of younglings. Hap is pleased that Durango delivered the supplies he requested and asks the children to help with the preparations at Hap's Sap Tap.
Apexx's rebellion
Unknown to the residents, they are being watched by one of Rek Minuu's spider droids, who relays the footage back to Apexx and Rek. Apexx plans to ruin the festival in order to drive the Jedi away. However, Rek is disinterested in Apexx's plan to expel the Jedi since he has been preoccupied with his new wrist remote, which allows him to control his bug bots, which allows him to take over droids that come to his ship for upgrades. Rek uses the blue security droid K-13 as a test subject, ordering him to stand on one leg and hop. After detaching the bug bot from K-13, Rek invites K-13 for a new upgrade. Apexx is angered by Rek's refusal to deal with the Jedi, which he was created to eliminate. With Rek unwilling to destroy the Jedi, Apexx decides to take matters into his own hands. He seizes the wrist remote and activates the bug bots.
Later at Hap's Sap Tap, one of the bug bots hijacks RJ-83, causing his photoreceptors to turn red. The droid attempts to escape but is restrained by a shocked Durango. Durango attempts to remove the bug bot but is unable to. Brightstar, Solay and Nubs believe that Rek was behind the bug bot and leave to find him. They send Durango to Dotti's Droid Workshop to get help with RJ-83. The three younglings head to the forest where they believed Rek's ship is parked.
Inside Rek's workshop, Rek confronts Apexx, who has reappropriated his wrist remote. Apexx reveals his plans to drive the Jedi out by using bug bots to take over the local droids. When Rek protests, Apexx uses the bug bots to hijack K-13 and a spider droid. Apexx orders them to throw Rek into the brig. Rek attempts to reason with K-13 but the droid is unmoved. Meanwhile, the Jedi younglings infiltrate Rek's starship using a hatch and discover that Apexx has taken over Rek's droids and made Rek a prisoner. Brightstar proposes rescuing Rek so that he can tell them what is going on.
Rescue and capture
The three younglings overpower K-13 and disable the droid. When Rek expresses surprise at their presence, Brightstar tells him about the plight of RJ-83. Rek explains that built the bug bots because he wanted more friends. He explains that they take over droids so that they can bring them to his workshop. Rek hopes to entice these droids to stay with upgrades. Brightstar says that is no way to make friends.
Rek tells the Jedi younglings that Apexx plans to use the bug bots to disrupt the Welcome Festival tonight and drive the Jedi away. When Brightstar suggests talking to Apexx, he leads them up a passageway to his workshop. Apexx and his droids are preparing for the next stage of his plan when the four younglings slide down a pole. Apexx is angry that Rek is working with the Jedi.
Brightstar attempts to reason with Apexx but the droid says that Rek created him to fight the Jedi and is committed to expelling them from Tenoo. Rek attempts to wrestle the wrist remote from Apexx's arm but the battle droid hurls him aside. Apexx sends three more security droids to deal with the Jedi while Rek manages to unscrew the bug bot from Minmo, one of his spider droids. A security droid grabs Rek from behind while the Jedi younglings manage to disable the other two droids. Before they can help Rek, Apexx traps them under an energy net.
Apexx's crusade
With his enemies restrained, Apexx reveals his plan to use bug bots to take over all the droids in Kublop Springs and expel the Jedi. Apexx takes Rex's starship to Kublop Springs. While the starship hovers over the city, Apexx and several security droids descend in a shuttle. Under Apexx's orders, his droids release boxes containing hundreds of bug bots. Bug bots take over Beepers, Dozer and Gigi, who corner Durango and Dotti. Durango manages to disable a bug bot attempting to take over Dotti and the two flee. Durango drops her comlink while fleeing.
Brightstar and Solay attempt to contact Durango but she has left her comlink behind. Inside the brig, Rek regrets creating bug bots. He says that he wanted to bring more droids to his ship so they could be his friends. He explains that back home everyone thought he was strange because he spent most of his time with droids. Solay reassures Rek that it is alright to be different and that he can find friends with similar interests. Brightstar says that to make friends, one has to be kind. He observes that Rek loves to help droids. Rek is surprised that the Jedi are still kind to him despite how he has behaved towards them.
Just the, the spider droid that Rek freed opens a hatch and frees them from the brig. Rek thanks the spider droid for help. Brightstar calls Cyrus Vuundir for help in dealing with the threat of Apexx. While Vuundir is glad to see his Jedi friends, he initially does not trust Rek due to their past conflict. When Brightstar vouches for Rek, Cyrus warns Rek that if he betrays them, he will have to answer to him.
Fighting back
On the ground, the hijacked droids including JG-1 and PT-3 begin disrupting the structures set up for the Welcome Ceremony. Apexx announces himself to the residents and says that the Jedi must leave. Hap counters that the Jedi have always been welcome on Tenoo since the time of Kaliah Kublop. Apexx then orders his new droid army to rampage the town. Meanwhile, the Jedi younglings and Rek arrive in Vuundir's ship Iron Talon and rescue Durango and Dotti, who are being pursued by Dozer, Beepers and Gigi. Rek manages to unscrew the bug bots from the three astromech droids.
Dozer greets Rek and Nubs. After Dotti introduces herself, Rek helps Durango by showing her how to remove the bug bot from RJ-83. He explains that one has to remove the cog on the bug bot. Vuundir arrives and reminds them that they have got unfinished business with Apexx. Brightstar splits the group into two. He, Solay, Nubs, and the astromech droids will target Apexx in order to remove his wrist remote. He tasks Rek, Durango, RJ-83, Dotti and Vuundir with removing the bug bots. He says they need all the friends they can get. They are joined by Vuundir's associates Pord and EB-3
Apexx gloats as his droid army terrorizes the inhabitants of Kublop Springs. Brightstar issues a defiant message, telling the rogue battle droid that the Jedi will never leave. Apexx orders his troops to attack them. Rek and Vuundir join forces to climb aboard Apexx with a grappling cable and disable the bug bot. JG-1 returns to his normal programming. Vuundir reunites with his former creation and apologizes for treating her badly, offering friendship.
Taking in Apexx
Under Vuundir's guidance, JG-1 helps the Jedi and their allies disable several security droids. In response, Apexx sends several of Rek's hijacked spider droids to remove JG-1's power cells, causing the lumbering droid to fall. As Apexx's droids terrorize the townsfolk, he demands that the Jedi give up and leave. The Jedi younglings refuse to give up and ignite their training lightsabers. They are joined by their astromech droids.
Apexx splits his arms into two, creating four arms. Kai remarked to have some fun. Apexx attacks the Jedi and their droid allies with vibroblades. Kai draws his first lightsaber and engages Apexx with two blades. His Jedi friends and their droids join in but are no match for Apexx. Apexx traps the astromech droids under an electric net and attempts to trap Kai and his friends. However, Kai uses the Force to Force push the net away and Apexx is about to lunge at them by jumping. Together, he and his Jedi friends use the Force to trap Apexx in mid-air.
Rek attempts to reason with Apexx, explaining that he mistakenly created him because he thought the Jedi were getting in the way of him making friends. He says that the Jedi taught him that he can't steal and control in order to make friends. He tells Apexx that he doesn't need him to fight the Jedi but that he only wants to be his friend. Rek convinces Apexx to relinquish the wrist remote, which he crushes. This deactivates the bug bots, freeing the other droids. Apexx submits and drops his vibroblades.
Reconciliation and celebration
He apologizes to the townsfolk and asks Rek for forgiveness. Brightstar invites Apexx and Rek to the festival. When Solay points out that they have a lot to clean up, Apexx offers to help. By nightfall, they have repaired the damaged to Kublop Springs and restored the signs, lights and objects needed for the Welcome Festival.
Hap serves as master of ceremony and welcomes the new Jedi younglings to Tenoo. Yoda gives a speech blessing the new younglings while Master Zia and Padawan Vinik watch as the newcomers demonstrate their lightsaber skills. Yoda plants an Unidentified sparkle-fire seed plant, which rapidly sprouts seeds that create natural fireworks. During the festivities, Dotti speaks with Rek and invites him to work at her workshop. Rek accepts her offer and hugs her. Dotti also tells Apexx and the other droids that there is a place for them as well.
Brightstar speaks with Yoda alone and returns the training lightsaber that Yoda gifted him, explaining that he found his old one some time ago. Brightstar believes that another youngling could benefit from it. Brightstar tells Yoda that he has learnt that being a Jedi is not just about mastering the lightsaber but also looking after other and making friends. He says he wants to help the next youngling learn that. Yoda tells Brightstar that he has always seen potential on him and is proud that Brightstar has learnt that lesson.
Brightstar, Nubs, Solay and Durango are at the foot of Kaliah Kublop Statue to watch the fireworks and reminisce about their time as friends on Tenoo. Brightstar says that they will still be friends and Tenoo will be their home despite them having to grow up and become Padawans. When Durango asks if they will get braids like Vinik, Brightstar explains that as Padawans they will get to build their lightsabers and go on adventures with their masters.
Epilogue
Years pass, and the Jedi younglings grow into teenagers, gaining their Padawan braids and exploring the galaxy. Nubs becomes Padawan to Master Wes Vinik, and the pair fly their Jedi Vectors through an asteroid field, blasting asteroids. Padawan Lys Solay trains on an obstacle course, to the approval of her master, Celesta Kami. Kai Brightstar joins Bell Zettifar and Burryaga Agaburry in fighting several battle droids, the Padawan dual-wielding lightsabers.
Later, Nubs and Vinik rest under a tree overlooking Kublop Springs together. On Aludia, Solay and Kami return a baby mardorsh to its parent while Brightstar, Zettifar, Agaburry and Ember laugh over a campfire. Years after the incident with Apexx, the friends reunite on the grounds of the Tenoo Jedi Temple with the now grown Vuundir and Durango, as well as RJ-83. Durango and Vuundir give the Padawans time alone to greet one another. Lys, Kai and Nubs look at one another, smiling, before Nubs grabs the others into a hug. Laughing, Kai comments that Nubs still hugs too tightly, and Nubs and Lys share a soft chuckle.
Continuity
The episode features the "Welcome Festival", which first appeared in the show's pilot. It also depicts Kai returning Yoda's lightsaber which appeared in the second segment of the pilot, completing a narrative.
The epilogue features the on-screen debut of Burryaga Agaburry, a prominent character in the High Republic publishing initiative.
Credits
| Cast | Uncredited cast | Crew | Uncredited crew | Special thanks |
Cast
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Crew
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Appearances
| Characters | Organisms | Droid models | Events | Locations |
| Organizations and titles | Sentient species | Vehicles and vessels | Weapons and technology | Miscellanea |
Characters
Organisms
Droid models
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Events
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Locations
Organizations and titles
Sentient species
Vehicles and vessels
Weapons and technology
|
Miscellanea
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8
Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures — "Making Friends"
- ↑
Watch the Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures Season 3 Trailer with Your Younglings on StarWars.com (backup link)
- ↑ Young Jedi Adventures Season Three takes place after the Season Two episode "Yoda Rescue," which features the mission to Vrant Tarnum. Season Three is also set while Bell Zettifar is a Padawan and still with Ember, placing it prior to the destruction of Starlight Beacon. Star Wars: Timelines dates these events to 232 BBY and 230 BBY respectively, meaning Season Three, which includes "Making Friends", takes place between those years.
- ↑ The epilogue of "Making Friends" takes place some time after The High Republic – The Finale 1, which begins immediately after the Battle of Eriadu, which takes place eight months and a week into 228 BBY per the reasoning here. The issue then includes a jump of four months, placing it around 227 BBY. Additionally, the Disney+ audio description states that Kai Brightstar is a teenager, meaning he is nineteen at the oldest. Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy states that Kai is eight at the beginning of the series, as Young Jedi Adventures begins around 233 BBY, meaning he is nineteen around 222 BBY. Therefore the epilogue takes place between 227 BBY and around 222 BBY.
