Season 3, Episode 14 - Witches of the Mist

The third part of the superb Nightsisters trilogy of episodes doesn't reach the emotional heights of the middle episode, Monster, but it's a more-than-satisfying finale. It also announces a more ambitious outlook for the Clone Wars as it's own series.

The rousing introduction of Savage Opress for viewers, is an alarming act in the Clone Wars universe. Obi-Wan and Anakin are sent locate this new warrior and stop him. Of course, they're not aware that they're merely side players in a power struggle between Asajj Ventress and her former master Count Dooku. Like much of the Nightsisters trilogy, we're privy to an expressed philosophy of the Sith and their lionization of power. This is all about what it means to be Sith.

In a scene reminiscent of General Grievous introduction is the original Clone Wars microseries, we see Savage humbled by Dooku. These lessons are not only a way to expose Savage's comparative crudity; but lay a path for the final act of the episode. We see Dooku at his most powerful and in his element, expressing his power, explaining his beliefs, and abusing a servant.

Of course, Opress is designed as a Sith weapon, and a deadly one. This episode sees the death of a character first introduced in the premiere of the series, King Katuunko. I have to admit, I was surprised by the suddenness and ferocity of this character's death, especially because he was always shown to be particularly noble and particularly willing to stand up to the Separatists. A worthy reminder that standing up to the villains is brave because it can, in fact, cost you your life.

Inevitably, this episode leads to and out-and-out lightsaber battle between Dooku and his estranged apprentices, as well as the Jedi. The battle itself is cinematic and played well into the various styles of the combatants. It felt a little bit arbitrary (a lightsaber duel to close things out, as usual) but it was excellent action for action fans. The results of the battle were a tad more inviting: Ventress still on her own, and Opress severing his ties with Dooku.

The final moment seemed more designed to get water cooler chatter than to make much sense. Intriguing? Sure. Logical? Maul was chopped in half. What could possibly be more dead than that?

Rating (out of five): **** 3/4

Season 3, Episode 13 - Monster

Monster, the second part of the "Nightsisters Trilogy", is notable for many reasons. One is that it is the introduction of Star Wars latest villain, the much-anticipated Savage Opress. Second, it's main characters, apart from Count Dooku, are entirely of the Clone Wars continuity. Asajj Ventress, the Nightsisters, The Dathomirian Zabraks, Mother Talzin, Savage himself: none of these characters appear in the films. Still, though, they are richly drawn here, brought to a level of character development and emotion that rivals their more established counterparts. Third, it's one of the darkest tales the Clone Wars has yet attempted, and that daring will undoubtedly pay dividends. Finally, it actually deepens Darth Maul and therefore, The Phantom Menace.

The story picks up where Nightsisters leaves off, as Dooku, attacked by shadowy figures with red and blue lightsabers, believes he has been targeted by the Jedi. He asks Mother Talzin to create a new assassin for him to replace Asajj Ventress, who he believes to be dead. Talzin sends Asajj to a nearby village of males, Zabraks all, much like Darth Maul. Yellow, instead of red, (because of their homeworld? Racial difference?) these Zabraks are forced to fight for their lives, to prove themselves worthy of becoming a servant to the Nightsisters.

The ensuing episode is superb. Savage, voiced by veteran actor Clancy Brown, is a far better character than I'd anticipated, a spirited and even heroic warrior. What fuels him to "win" the competition is a fierce desire to protect his kin, Feral. It's this very heroism that causes his downfall, as he is forced into servitude and essentially has his identity wiped away by the magic of the Nightsisters.

The entire enterprise does more to establish the villainy of the Dark Side than many. Here, we literally see what were good characters destroyed and turned into destroyers. Death is dealt to the innocent. And all the while, there's something surprisingly sad about Savage. Is the good individual buried inside this new Sith Assassin? Or has it been entirely eviscerated? Savage is a "Monster," all the moreso for having been once generous and good.

Of course, it also begs the question, is this the process that created Darth Maul? And, if so, doesn't it mean that his former self could possibly have been just as sympathetic?

The action is excellently choreographed, and the mood is chilly and frightening. The final action sequence, designed to highlight just how dangerous Savage Opress is, is quick and effective. The final moment, though, and Dooku's declaration, brings us back to the very nature of the Sith and their cycle of power struggles for their own sake.

Sensational all around, and one of the best episodes of the series. All the better for resting the weight of the drama on as yet unseen characters.

Rating (out of five): *****

Season 3, Episode 12 - Nightsisters

The Clone Wars returns from it's holiday hiatus with the Katie Lucas penned Nightsisters. After a full half-season largely consisting of episodes about interest rates, Nightsister is a welcome return to some of the more exciting elements of the Star Wars universe, namely, the machinations of the Sith and the character of Asajj Ventress.

Ventress takes center stage here. Her original introduction, as a part of the original Clone Wars miniseries of awesome animated shorts in 2003, has been nearly written out of the mythology. Now, in flashbacks, we are privy to a more complex and rich history for her than ever before. In many ways, Asajj has been useful because she can handle the lightsaber dueling, keeping Dooku where he should be: largely behind the scenes. She also has developed a fun flirtation with Obi-Wan. Other than that, though, we've rarely seen her as more than a hired sword, a sort of extra-powerful bounty hunter. With Nightsisters, she's given some long-awaited depth. (I'm aware that much of this mirrors existing EU backstory, but we all know until it hits the screen all bets are off.)

We also confront the inevitable: Asajj is that she is a third Sith in a universe where Sith come in pairs. She is Dooku's apprentice, even as he serves Palpatine. Nightsisters finally pulls the trigger on this loaded fact.

We also meet the Nightsisters themselves. Designs that mirror the "Sith Witches" that have floated around the EU, we see now that they are matriarchal mystics from Dathomir. Spectral and frightening, I loved the introduction of a powerful new force and their bizarre rituals. Truly fun.

In many ways, Asajj is the Sith Ahsoka. We know she won't see Episode III, and we know she's a Clone Wars era character only. I'm heartened to see they're taking new steps with her, and look forward to see how the depict her fate in this series. I hope they'll take the same approach with Ashoka soon.

Clearly, this is set up for the coming of the much hyped Savage Opress, and in that, the episode has a bit of a "only the first act" sense of being incomplete storytelling. Still, a great return to form for the series, and I look forward to the next part of the tale.

Rating (out of five): **** 1/2

And....we're back. With big news!

First...Star Wars: The Complete Saga will finally hit Blu-Ray in September 2011. Great news there. I wish I could just hibernate until then. Like all fans, I'm waiting to see just what will be on these discs. All three prequels had extensive DVD releases with deleted scenes and documentaries. Plus, there was an extensive documentary produced about the making of the entire saga with the first DVD release of the original trilogy. Will we see these materials simply reproduced and repackaged with some additional extras? Or will we see newly produced extras for this edition and deleted scenes from the original trilogy too?

It does seem like they're signaling heavily that we'll get some new stuff here and that's exciting.

Also...will there be changes? At this point, I'd be surprised if they were unaltered.

Also... tonight The Clone Wars returns with Nightsisters. The previews of the rest of the season look extremely dark and thrilling. Looking forward to it, as I've felt Season 3 has been a bit lackluster so far.

Season 3, Episode 11 - Pursuit of Peace

Well, yet another episode that features plot lines about interest rates. Pursuit of Peace follows the proceedings of Season two's murder mystery episode Senate Murders. All in all, this episode does everything it can with a plot that, like last week's episode, relies heavily on buzzwords from today's political climate.

I won't retread what it is I like about the complexities of the Clone War (read my review of Heroes on Both Sides for that). That being said, there's very little that can be done to make conversations with cheating bankers get the blood boiling. It's clear that the chase scene and a few scenes were thugs threaten Senators were included to make the overall plot some energy.

It's because of these sequences that the episode has a sort of identity problem. By reducing the difficult decisions of Senators to "I don't want to get beat up"...they back away from the reasons that someone might escalate a conflict. On the other hand, it's hard to argue that what this episode needed was more conversations that take place in offices. The final few moments, though, are given a nice bit of stagecraft as screens show Padme essentially addressing the entire planet.

So...all in all I thought the episode itself was well put together and animated. It was a bit clunky, but not ineptly assembled. Maybe my problem with it was, essentially, one of context.

The episode as a stand-alone is fine. Season 3, though, has been filled with episodes that seem focused on the backroom deals and political ethics surrounding the war. Look at Supply Lines , Sphere of Influence, Corruption, The Academy, Assassin, and Heroes on Both Sides. Including Pursuit of Peace, that's 7 of the aired 11 episodes that feature political lessons, or that star Senators giving speeches or making difficult votes. I think I've hit my saturation point.

Rating (out of five): ***

Irvin Kershner has died

Sad news for Star Wars fans...Irvin Kershner, director of The Empire Strikes Back, has passed away at 87. It goes without saying that The Empire Strikes Back was the best of the six films and the best Star Wars story ever committed to any medium. It goes beyond that though: it was massively influential through the culture. It's echoes are felt everywhere, with memorable lines and characters and images that have become a part of the cultural landscape.

It wasn't automatically going to work out that way. We all know that sequels do not always surpass their predecessors, let alone entirely deepen and expand on them. This was a truly great piece of popular art, and Kershner was at the helm.

Thank you for what you did for all of us. May The Force Be With You, Always.

Season 3, Episode 10 - Heroes on Both Sides

I find myself conflicted as I write this review of Heroes On Both Sides, a landmark episode of the Clone Wars series, that highlights the inherent Catch-22 of the prequel-era storytelling. The episode moves the scattered chronology of the series forward significantly, aging Ahsoka and moving Anakin's attitude and wardrobe closer to that of his ultimate fate in Revenge of the Sith. It also fully embraces the muddled political story that Lucas is telling in the prequel-era.

In many ways, the prequel-era politics are a large dramatic setback for the stories. Our heroes are never clearly fighting for anything except the idea of the status quo and "Democracy" even as we see that the very ideals they fight for are subverted by leadership. The Separatists interests in leaving the Republic are entirely confusing: are they leaving because they believe in the idea that the Republic is corrupt? If so, why do they have their own Parliament? What policies have driven the Separatists away? And if they are so against, for example, corporate influence, why are the stand-ins for the Separatists always members of the Corporate Alliance or the Banking Clan?

Making things worse is that, essentially, the war itself and the issues involved are entirely an invention of the Sith. Both leaders are in cahoots, escalating an invented conflict in order to push the galaxy towards Imperialism. Why? Because the Sith are bad, basically, and they want to rule the galaxy. Power, in a sense, for its own sake.

In short, it's hard to keep track of why our heroes are at war, and with whom. It makes for stories that are harder to tell, and have a bigger barrier for mainstream consumption.

What's both wonderful and terrible about what I've written above is that it is, in fact, no more or less complicated than real war, especially the wars of today. Like it or not, the prequel-era stories are a mirror to their time.

The wars of the United States do not have popular support. They were started on evidence that is discredited, and the countries we invaded were states not directly related to the loose affiliation of terrorists that attacked us. These wars have abstract goals, have complicated players, have costs and benefits that are hard to pin down. We've done unethical, even criminal, things (torture, for example). We're not at war with the Nazis in the US; we're at war with ourselves and our values. It's unsatisfying and unresolved, and perhaps that's one of the things that the prequel-era stories get exactly right. Whether or not you're on the left or the right in the US, it's impossible to feel as if our reason for fighting is clear cut and fixed.

My attitude towards this episode, in that context, is also unresolved. In a lot of ways, it's tough to sit through and be entertained by a plot driven by deregulation of the banks (which shoehorns an unrelated contemporary hot button issue in an uncomfortable way) and a lot of chat in sitting rooms. Some of Ahsoka's lines are inelegantly shoved into scenes for the utility of speaking for the younger members of the audience ("I don't understand!" "All I know is the Separatists are bad!" "Politics sure aren't black and white!"). I can't say I don't see the reasoning, but I did wince a few times.

Also, the moment where a young man "checks out" our newly early teen Ahsoka struck me as, shall we say, in poor taste.

All that being said, though, I can't help but admire the goals of and existence of this episode's major themes. The Republic has killed good people. That the Separatists may simply have different political ideas. That sometimes what drives people to fight is fear, not reason. That there are those that profit from war financially. The message is anti-establishment, deeply subversive. This is a story about questioning the reasons for fighting, questioning unthinking loyalty, and about not judging the "enemy." Considering the demographic of this audience likely skews below 15, I have tremendous respect for the audacity of presenting those messages in this way. Even as we know the outcome, to watch politicians manipulated away from peace, even as its offered to them, is painfully resonant.

Imperfect and clumsy as moments in this episode may be, Heroes On Both Sides reflects reality back to us, and asks us what we see. Our political landscape is foggy, dramatically slippery. The stakes, though, remain life and death, freedom or tyranny. The story of finding, or losing, ones moral compass in a confusing world may not always be as fun as the story of dogfighting with the bad guys. That doesn't make it a story that shouldn't be told.

Ratings (out of five): ****