WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: The High Republic #4 by Cavan Scott, Ario Anindito, Mark Morales, Annalisa Leoni & VC's Ariana Maher, on sale now.
One of the biggest shocks in Star Wars: The High Republic has been the downfall of Sskeer, the Trandoshan Jedi Master, who bit by bit, has been succumbing to the Dark Side. He's been living with trauma since the Battle of Kur, where he lost colleagues and a major piece of himself, which made him easily susceptible to the Dark Side. However, he managed to hide it from the Jedi Order in an ill-advised move.
As he and his Padawan, Keeve, investigated the Drengir, plant-like monsters rising up on Sedri Minor, it led to Sskeer becoming possessed by the species, ready to take out his comrades. But in Star Wars: The High Republic #4, Sskeer proves why he's the bravest Jedi around as he ends up foiling the Drengir's plot with a very dangerous gamble on his part.
Keeve got backup in the form of the Marshall from the Starlight Beacon, Avar Kriss. Unfortunately, the Drengir overwhelmed them beneath the surface of the planet as they sought Sskeer out. Along with the other Jedi, Ceret, the plants have wrapped them up in their vines, planning to infect their mind. Using the lizard-like Jedi as an avatar, the hive mind reveals the plants were sealed away by Dark Side users centuries ago, but in the Into the Dark novel, a Jedi crew accidentally awakened them, leading to this dire moment.
But just as the roots start to enter the body of the Jedi, Keeve appeals to her master, begging him to fight the darkness. As she pleads, the Light version of him fights off the Dark one in his mindscape, and he admits the possession is something he had to let happen to understand the beings.
Even with their roots embedded in him, he snaps out of it, making it clear he infiltrated as a double agent to figure out their weakness. He helps cut his friends loose, attacking the monsters as they now try to rescue a kidnapped boy. It leaves the Jedi soldiers impressed by his valiant, confident attitude but worried that he took such a risk taken.
The Jedi know that he's still carrying the wounds and the weights of the past wars he's been through, but SSkeer's plan could have resulted in the loss of his essence and potentially the entire order. Thankfully, they're able to regroup, cut the plans up and save the kid from this "harvest," but it feels like Sskeer took it too far.
As they move on to the surface to apprehend Kal, someone who hid the Drengir for some nefarious purpose, Keeve notices the darkness is still there as Sskeer interrogates him. It leaves her wondering if the plants have been purged or if he really has let the Dark Side seep in.