Sabine's not so Mortal Wound

On a small scale, the biggest plot issue I had was Sabine surviving a lightsaber stab through the torso during the final moments of episode 1. Plenty of people have complained about this already, so rather than echo all those concerns, let me offer an alternative for what could’ve been done.

We know Baylan is not an evil person. Although he’s clearly jaded with the Jedi, he respects them a great deal, and, as he says at the end of episode 2, he thinks it’s a shame to kill one of the few remaining Jedi in the galaxy.

So, maybe the final scene of episode one is preempted by Baylan telling Shin not to kill or maim her. He orders Shin to make sure Sabine knows who truly has the power in the galaxy. Give Sabine the opportunity to join them or stand down. If Sabine refuses, then the next time they meet Shin would be instructed to kill her.

Then, at the end of the fight scene something like this: Shin is standing over Sabine with a lightsaber blade at Sabine’s throat, maybe even giving her a little heat scar. Instead of cutting Sabine’s head off, Shin smashes her face into the concrete, knocking her and conscious, maybe giving her a bad concussion. Sabine would still need bacta tank recovery time, but we would be spared the unnecessary annoyance of a mortal would being just a scratch.

Of course, if we find out that Shin was specifically instructed to miss all of Sabine’s vital organs but stab her through the torso nonetheless, well, that makes Shin QUITE the bad ass!