Rebels: "The Future of the Force" (Ep. 2.10)

"We're away from trouble now."

If there's one thing I can say it's that Ahsoka knows how to make an entrance. I wonder if that's a force skill?

During Ahsoka's investigation into whom the Sith Lord is -- that would be Vader, who she doesn't know is Anakin -- she uncovers the inquisitors' interest into... something. She doesn't know what it is; she just knows they're after something. Or somethings. She also knows that if the inquisitors want something, they probably shouldn't get to have it. At the least, the rebels ought to know what it is they're after.

She recruits Kanan and Ezra to help her find out what's going on.

There's a certain amount of tension that exists in this show that didn't exist in Clone Wars. We know what happens to Anakin and Obi-Wan and many of the other characters, but we don't know what happens to Ahsoka and she's not the star of this series. It's plausible that she could go at any time, though, at this point, there's a lot of audience investment in the character, so it makes for situations like The Phantom Menace. I mean, no one expected Qui-Gon to die.

For that matter, we don't have any confirmed future inclusion for any of the characters past Rogue One, so it can leave you guessing during an episode like this.

"You would question me, Seventh Sister?"

"Only when you're wrong."

Clone Wars -- "A Necessary Bond" (Ep. 5.8)

-- Choose your enemies wisely, as they may be your last hope,

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[Well, actually, considering that we're into season five, now, probably no one new is going to sign up, BUT! Hop over to The Armchair Squid for his take on the current episode.]

Ahsoka is still being rescued as the episode opens but, as she says a bit later in, there are complications. Grievous being one of those, as Ahsoka has to go back and rescue Hondo from Grievous so that she and the younglings can get a ship and finish their escape from... Hondo.

Remember way back in... season two? I think it was season two. Okay, fine! I'll go look! Well, no, it looks like it was the episode "Dooku Captured" back in season one. Anyway, remember that episode? The one where Dooku was captured by Hondo and Hondo attempted to ransom him off to the highest bidder? Well, Dooku really knows how to hold onto a grudge, and he's finally coming for Hondo in revenge for being held captive that one time, so Grievous has shown up and overrun Hondo's base and captured him.

While somewhat coincidental (what, as a writer, I would call contrived), it makes for a good episode, and I 'm willing to overlook the part where this whole plan of Hondo's, from a couple of episodes ago, to steal the kaiburr crystals happens to coincide with Grievous' attempt to take over the system Hondo is in, a fact that Hondo is either oblivious to or is intentionally ignoring.

Also, remember how I was recently talking about how you should never forget that Hondo is a pirate? Well, this episode is a reminder of why it's so easy to forget.

"Well, today is a new day, and, lucky for you, today I like children."

Clone Wars -- "Bound for Rescue" (Ep. 5.7)

-- When we rescue others, we rescue ourselves.

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[Well, actually, considering that we're into season five, now, probably no one new is going to sign up, BUT! Hop over to The Armchair Squid for his take on the current episode.]

Ahsoka got captured. My feeling is that this is a thing that has happened frequently, but, then, so have Obi-Wan and Anakin, I suppose. There really is a lot of getting captured and having to escape or be rescued! Mostly, that's not an issue.

Of course, Obi-Wan is going to mount a rescue operation, but he gets interrupted by being attacked by Grievous. It doesn't go well.

Which leaves the younglings on their own to figure out what to do about being left on a ship that has been damaged and with no supervision other than R2-D2. They do what all kids do -- or, at least, all kids in popular fiction -- they take matters into their own hands.
And join a circus.
Yeah, you'll just have to watch it to understand what that means.

Hondo's still around, because he's the one holding Ahsoka, expecting to make a profit of off her. From whom is a bit of a mystery since, when Ahsoka tells him he can't ransom her to the Separatists, he says he knows because, "Don't ask me why, but Dooku holds such a grudge against me since our little I-held-him-hostage affair." It's a great moment in an episode which is a bit anticlimactic after the previous one.


"If you don't let me go, you'll wish you had been born a protocol droid."
"Sometimes, I do anyway."

Clone Wars -- "The Gathering" (Ep. 5.5)

-- He who faces himself, finds himself.

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[Well, actually, considering that we're into season five, now, probably no one new is going to sign up, BUT! Hop over to The Armchair Squid for his take on the current episode.]

Okay, on a complete aside, why does it seem that "everything" has to have an episode (or some equivalency) called "The Gathering"?

There's a decided shift in season five away from Anakin and Obi-Wan to Ahsoka as we begin our second arc of the season focused on Ahsoka and her development apart from Anakin. Which is not to say that there won't be Anakin and Obi-Wan, just that Ahsoka is getting some extra attention as the series nears its ending. But, you know, more on that later.

This episode is both kind of cool/interesting and kind of annoying. On the one hand, it's about how younglings acquire their Kaiburr crystals so that they can construct their first lightsabers and move on to becoming padawans. On the other hand, it has a bit of that video game quality to it where you have to pass a series of challenges to achieve the goal. It's not as overt as it could have been, though, which is why it's only "kind of" annoying.

Really, the episode is centered around the younglings and their individual challenges they have to pass in order to obtain their crystals, but Ahsoka is the one in charge of them, though Yoda is there, too.

It's a decent enough episode even if it's not as meaty as the last arc.

Also, I have to say, the wookie youngling is probably my favorite. I do like the Ithorian, too, though.

Clone Wars -- "Padawan Lost" (Ep. 3.21)

-- Without humility, courage is a dangerous game.

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I don't tend to be a huge fan of short stories, but there are a few that have stayed with me since I was first assigned to read them in school: "The Most Dangerous Game" is one of those. Of course, "The Most Dangerous Game" has been highly influential as a piece of literature and has spawned many movies and movies based on the idea of hunting "the most dangerous game." Predator may be the one that has been the most successful, at least in a pop culture sense. "Padawan Lost" is the Star Wars entry into this theme and, I would say, owes a lot to Predator, too.

So who is the most dangerous game in the Star Wars universe? The Jedi, of course. And who are the people who use them in a Predator-like manner? The Trandoshans. But not actual, full Jedi, because they are too dangerous. They just go for the kids, instead, the younglings. They, of course, count those as Jedi kills.

In case you don't know, youngling is the lowest level in the Jedi Order, followed by Padawn. Ahsoka is a Padawan, but she's young for a Padawan due to her exceptional skill. It's no surprise, then, that Ahsoka is mistaken for a youngling by a Trandoshan hunting party and captured. Right in the middle of a battle.

Of course, Anakin has no idea what happened to her. She's just... gone.

And Ahsoka finds herself, well, not quite alone.