Battle Meditation Review: Star Wars: The Clone Wars Episode 4.22 "Revenge"

So this Darth Maul guys is pretty cool.  

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend."Savage and Maul, now reunited, pursue Obi-Wan Kenobi in search of revenge, and the Jedi Knight finds himself forced to unite with a surprising ally to defend against the deadly siblings.

I could spend a lot of time dissecting this episode, but realistically just go watch it.  This was so much better then last week's episode.  

To briefly recap:

Savage takes Maul back to Mother Talzin on Dathomir, who uses her magic to coax the crazy Maul out of the cargo bay to the Nightsister alter and works her magicks on Maul.  Talzin's work done she disappears and Maul and Savage stop at Raydonia to slaughter a bunch of innocent victims.  Personally I would have just placed a call to the Jedi Temple, but wholesale slaughter probably gets you past the operator quicker.

Obi-Wan decides to go face Maul alone, but conveniently Ventress decides to take a bounty on Savage Opress and ends up arriving just in time to save Obi-Wan's butt.  Obi-Wan of course wasn't expecting to face both Maul and Opress and gets his butt all kinds of kicked.  

A tag team match breaks out aboard the Zabrak's ship and Obi-Wan and Ventress cut and run, launching in the escape pod for parts unknown.  Maul and Opress are left aboard the freighter and use the auxiliary bridge to pilot the ship to their own unknown destination.  

I found it interesting that Talzin worked her magicks on Maul, but as soon as he regain consciousness she dissolved into green mist and high tailed it out of town.  Was she afraid of the power of a Sith Lord and potentially unpredictable character like Maul, or did she simply have nothing left to contribute at this point.  I really wonder about her motivations at this point.

It is cool to see Ventress hanging out with the Bounty Hunters at the Cantina, I dig her purple bounty hunter costume.  It reminded me of some bounty hunter in the wild west walking up to the bulletin board and tearing off a wanted poster before going after their targets.

I thought the initial battle between Obi-Wan and Maul and Opress was well done.  The animation conveyed the strength advantage that Opress had over Obi-Wan and just how formidable of an adversary he would be.  Poor Obi-Wan got knocked out pretty quick, but of course Maul commits the classic villain mistake of toying with his prey and well eventually Obi-Wan manages to escape.

The four way battle aboard the freighter was interesting, I love the banter between Obi-Wan and Asajj and as much as I am sure Obi-Wan would deny it, I think there is some real chemistry between the characters.  The battle between Maul and Obi-Wan felt a lot like the Vader-Luke duel aboard the second Death Star, as Obi-Wan slipped briefly into anger and went on the offensive, just like Luke did.  

It was interesting to see Obi-Wan come to the realization that he and Asajj were over matched and decide to flee.  Of course I am not sure how Obi-Wan knew that the ship's cockpit also was an escape pod, but lets just chalk that up to the Jedi being well read on ship designs.  

Where does this epsiode leave these four characters.  Obi-Wan and Asajj are together, but Obi-Wan is in a curious position.  Logically because of her actions as a Separatist and his role as a Jedi, Obi-Wan should be duty bound to return Asajj to Coruscant and to a Republic prison.  On the other hand she just saved his life, so does he do the right thing and drop her off somewhere?  It is not like she could completely change and become a Jedi at this point, there is no way the Order would accept her.  But perhaps Obi-Wan's long term goal is to redeem Asajj.

It is curious that Savage and Maul don't go after the fleeing escape pod.  With the final line of the episode Maul says that he is counting on the Jedi to come hunting for them.  What is Maul's first move after this? Does he seek out his former Master?  Does he find a place to lay low, access the galactic situation and begin training Savage?  

Maul is really a wild card in the series now but it does have me wondering if they are setting up Ahsoka's fate. I wonder much like Obi-Wan sacrificing himself to Vader in Episode IV, if Ahsoka will end up sacrificing herself fighting Maul to save Anakin.  

I also wonder if Maul has been significantly weakened in the Force given he has lost half of his body.  We seem him in his first attempt to use the Force to summon his lightsaber, struggle a bit.  Is this simply being rusty after spending ten years insane with the only likely Force use being instinctual?  Or much like Vader, is Maul destined to be a pale imitation of the Sith Lord he should have been?  It is interesting that we saw very little Force use overall from Maul, especially no Force Lightning.  

 

Rating: Revenge gets a 10.  Tremendous episode, great sound design and visually stunning. 

Direct Link to Watch Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Episode 4.22 "Revenge"

Next time on Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Season Five

No preview trailer for Season Five yet.  Last year we got a Season Four teaser trailer at WonderCon, but today (Sunday 3/18) is the final day of WonderCon 2012 and with no Star Wars: The Clone Wars programming scheduled for today it seems likely they are saving the trailer for a later convention, perhaps CVI or San Diego Comic-Con.  

We do have some very interesting possibilities with the new element of Darth Maul and Savage Opress introduced into the mix.  I for one am very curious to see how Palpatine reacts to the return of Maul.   

As always stay tuned to Lightsaber Rattling and I will provide you with the latest TCW news, commentary and speculation as we learn more about the future of the show. 

Darth Maul Lives: The Clone Wars introduces the Sith Rule of 1/2

Just how pissed off would someone be if they got cut in half then fell down a giant shaft?  I think we are about to find out.  USA Today and EW.com made the announcement that we have all been waiting for since the debut of Savage Opress and the end of the Nightsisters arc half way through The Clone Wars Season Three.  EW.com has an exclusive video clip, click on the link below to see a very cool Darth Maul montage.

Darth Maul Lives!  

From the USA Today article:

Filoni was as surprised as anyone during a Clone Wars story meeting when Star Warscreator George Lucas asked Filoni to figure out a way to bring Darth Maul back. He had introduced a similar warrior, the powerhouse Savage Opress, in the third season ofClone Wars because of the lack of a Maul-type antagonist. 

Opress plays a major role in the return of his "long-lost brother," Filoni says, and fans can expect Darth Maul to reignite his rivalry with Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi Knight who cut him in half.
Filoni expects a strong reaction from fans, but he promises he didn't bring back Darth Maul for a short-lived stunt.
"There's a lot of ground that has not been covered as far as Darth Maul is concerned, so there's a lot of room to grow with him," Filoni says. "It's all balanced with, 'Boy, we've gotta make this really good because this is a really big deal.'"

From the EW.com article:

“First of all, how does he survive getting cut in half?” says Filoni. “Plus, he fell! And also, don’t forget Obi-Wan Kenobi is still around, so I’m sure Maul wouldn’t be very happy with him.”Fans will note that there is precedent for this kind of resurrection. “The Dark Side of the Force is the path to many abilities some consider to be…unnatural,” Darth Sidious says in Revenge of the Sith. Sidious and his master found a way to use the Force to cheat death—that’s how he was able to keep Vader alive after that little swan dive into a lava field. Couldn’t Maul have picked up on some of that too? Says Filoni, “He’s suffered through a lot to keep himself alive and implemented the training of his master to do so.”

Once you get beyond the plausibility issues, what’s left is actually an amazing storytelling opportunity. The Clone Wars has featured other characters from the movies, but mostly original trilogy stalwarts like Chewbacca, Tarkin, and Ackbar. Those are all characters whose fates have already been decided. “Here, we’re moving forward with Maul,” Filoni says. “He’s more than ten years older than he was in The Phantom Menace. That’s immensely satisfying, because now nobody knows what’s going to happen to him. I know, but nobody else does.”

USA Today gets the money shot however, they get TCW promotional image of the Darth Maul character model.  You will notice that the cropping on the image is very interesting and noticeably cuts off above Maul's waste.  Is this to maintain the surprise of the him getting the comic book inspired cyborg legs?  Or does he get more human looking black leather encased Vader-legs?

The shirtless look with the the gauntlets and the neck covering (groget?) looks very similar to what we see from Sideshow Collectibles Cyborg Darth Maul with toned down cranial horns.

The other very interesting aspect of the image is that he is wielding a single bladed lightsaber.  Does this mean he reflected upon his previous fighting style and decided that to confront the Jedi and get revenge on Obi-Wan in particular he needed to adapt and use a different single bladed fighting technique?  Or does he have to hilts that he can attach together to use to fight as one single blade, as two single blades or one dual-blade lightsaber?

How did Maul survive? According to Dave Filoni; “He’s suffered through a lot to keep himself alive and implemented the training of his master to do so.” What does this mean?  Did he put himself into some kind of Sith stasis, similar to the Jedi hybernation trance?  Assuming the Obi-Wan's lightsaber completely cauterized the torso wound, Maul would have to have used the Force to halt his seeming fall to his death.

Before Dave's comments I might have speculated that Maul may have been resurected by the magic of the Nightsisters.  I wouldn't put much beyond the abilities of Mother Talzin.  Or perhaps he was a little smarter the Sidious thought and had a clone body prepared to transfer his essence into, like we see with Palpatine and the Dark Empire comic series.  Or perhaps he maintained his identity within the Force after dying and somehow navigated his way back from the netherworld of death back to life and was able to somehow craft a new body to contain his essence.  

Whatever route the story takes I am one jazzed up fanboy at the confirmation of this news.

SOURCE: USA Today  and EW.com

SandTroopers.com First Look at Savage Opress TCW Action Figure

I am not really toy collecting side of the Star Wars fan community, but I am a big fan of Savage Opress so I found this news from Sandtroopers.com to be really cool. 

One of their contributors CommanderPhoenix got some pictures of the new Savage Opress action figure part of Hasbro's Star Wars: The Clone Wars line. 

Head over to Sandtroopers.com for the complete photo gallery. 

Savage Opress Comic: Free Comic Day Story by Dark Horse Comics

If you can't get enough Savage Opress action, then on May 7, 2011 (Free Comic Book Day) run don't walk to your local comic book store for this free comic from Dark Horse Comic which will feature not only a Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Opress Unleashed comic, but in the same book an Avatar: The Last Airbender comic based on the Nickelodeon TV series. 

Interesting in the Preview of the Free Comic on the Free Comic Book Day website we see Opress visiting a Hutt, Noggox the Hutt.  It will be interesting to get this short comic book story and hopefully get some idea of what Opress is up to between the time we last saw him on TCW and the time we will next see him, presumably in S4. 

Source: FreeComicBookDay.com
Source: Jedi Temple Archives

The Clone Wars: Galactic Balance of Power after Savage Opress (SPOILERS)

Introduction:

We hardly have any time for the dust to settle after the Savage Opress/Nightsisters Trilogy before kicking off the "Chosen One" Prophecy focused Mortis Trilogy.  But before we talk about Mortis and what it means for the way we view the prophecy and the Force, we should take a step back and consider the secrets that were revealed by Mother Talzin in this weeks Clone Wars episode, "Witches of the Mist."

At the conclusion of Witches of the Mist, Savage Opress returns to Dathomir and seeks the protection and advise of the Nightsisters and Mother Talzin.  Talzin unloads a bombshell on Savage, that he has a remaining kin member, the presumed dead Sith Apprentice Darth Maul. Talzin gives Opress a magic talisman to help locate Darth Maul and tells Opress; "He lives in the Outer Rim in Exile, You will find him, he will teach you everything you need to learn to be even more powerful....You have an important destiny to fulfill Savage Opress, you and your brother."

How does the introduction of Mother Talzin and her own unclear ambitions, and the teaming up of Savage Opress and Darth Maul effect the political landscape of the Galaxy Far Far Away during the Clone Wars.  A brief summary of some real world International Relations concepts may come in handy in explaining where The Clone Wars could go from here.

Balance of power, in international relations, the posture and policy of a nation or group of nations protecting itself against another nation or group of nations by matching its power against the power of the other side. States can pursue a policy of balance of power in two ways: by increasing their own power, as when engaging in an armaments race or in the competitive acquisition of territory; or by adding to their own power that of other states, as when embarking upon a policy of alliances.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica.com

Bipolarity is a distribution of power in which two states have the majority of economic, military, and cultural influence internationally or regionally. Often, spheres of influence would develop. For example, in the Cold War, most Western and democratic states would fall under the influence of the USA, while most Communist states would fall under the influence of the USSR. After this, the two powers will normally maneuver for the support of the unclaimed areas.

The bipolar system can be said to extend to much larger systems, such as alliances or organizations, which would not be considered nation-states, but would still have power concentrated in two primary groups.

Multipolarity is a distribution of power in which more than two nation-states have nearly equal amounts of military, cultural, and economic influence....This system tends to have many shifting alliances until one of two things happens. Either a balance of power is struck, and neither side wants to attack the other, or one side will attack the other because it either fears the potential of the new alliance, or it feels that it can defeat the other side. One of the major implications of an international system with any number of poles, including a multipolar system, is that international decisions will often be made for strategic reasons to maintain a balance of power rather than out of ideological or historical reasons.

Nonpolarity is an international system with numerous centers of power but no center dominates any other centre. Centers of power can be nation-states, corporations, non-governmental organizations, terrorist groups, and such. Power is found in many hands and many places.^[7]

^{Source: Wikipedia: Polarity in International Relations}

The Bipolar Universe 

The Clone Wars era presents the galaxy with to major centers of galactic power, one centered on Coruscant under the Galactic Republic, and the other centered on the planet Raxus with the Separatist Senate under the banner of the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS) also known as the Separatists. 

As fans of the Prequel films we know that this bipolarity is artificial, created by Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious in order to further his ambitions to seize power, destroy the Jedi and build up a military machine that would enable him to transform the Republic into and Empire and rule it with an iron fist. 

While the relative position of the Republic and Confederacy shifts back and forth during the wars as the result of different battles, alliances, and secessions, there is a relative balance of power between the two states.  This balance of power allows for Palpatine to continue the war indefinitely until he is ready to move his plan into the final stage with Order 66. 

The galactic civil war serves a number of purposes for Palpatine, not only does it instill fear in beings across the galaxy and make them more amenable to the peace and security that his New Order will promise, but it also gives Palpatine a incredibly large military to use to enforce his New Order, and most importantly severely weakens the Jedi Order and its ability to interfere with his plans. 

The Clone Wars themselves are tremendously destructive on the Jedi Order, not only do you have the attrition of death among Jedi, but you have abbreviated training for Padawans, increased militarization of the order and increased propensity for dark side acts among the Jedi.  The Jedi not only loose some of their moral authority with the general public, they loose their internal moral compass as they try to save the Republic, making very questionable decisions and taking equally questionable actions to do so.

Force Users, The WMD of the GFFA?

In the real world, the presence of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) can provide nation-states or non-state actors with a disproportionate amount of importance in the international system.  WMDs provide a threat to that is hard for other states to counter.  In the Star Wars universe not only do you have traditional WMDs (usually bio or chemical weapons) but you also have groups and individual Force users that can pose a similar threat to governments and individuals as WMDs pose in the real world. 

The threat that these individuals and groups can pose can be seen in the Expanded Universe (EU) by the extent to which during the Empire that Emperor Palpatine seeks to eliminate, co-opt, or quarantine such individuals and groups.  These Force users uncontrolled provided not only a potential place for Jedi to grow/emerge, but also in their own right as powerful as they were served as a threat to the Empire. 

How Savage Opress & Darth Maul could unbalance the galaxy

"A failed apprentice makes for a foolish master." ~Count Dooku

Assuming Mother Talzin was not lying to Savage Opress and sending him off on a wild bantha chase, then we have a very interesting situation developing in The Clone Wars.

The apprenticing of Opress to Maul provides two very interesting opportunities.  First, a second branch of the Sith family tree.  This could lead to Opress and Maul staying in hiding and biding their time until later in the Clone Wars series or even later into the EU or Live Action Series, much like the One Sith did under the leadership of Darth Kryat. 

The second possibility is that Opress and Maul could emerge sooner rather then later and enter the fray of The Clone Wars on neither the Republic nor the Separatists side.  The potential to add a third faction to this galactic conflict, with the Nightsisters or others as allies provides for some very interesting directions for storytelling.  We could even see a storyline where Republic and Separtist forces team up to oppose Maul's faction. 

What would be the objectives of the Maul-Opress faction?  To further destabilize the galaxy further and usurp potential galactic power from Palpatine seems like the most obvious and grand objectives.  On a lesser level, there may be some personal sense of revenge from Maul against Obi-Wan Kenobi for maiming him, or for Maul against Palpatine for failing to come looking for him and assuming him dead following the duel on Naboo.  

Just how much of his master's plan was Maul aware of before his bisection? We don't know but its pretty clear Palpatine played his cards pretty close to the vest.  But a true Sith apprentice is full of ambition and will seek to overtake his master.  Maul's injury may have prevented or delayed this urge, but it may not prevent it forever.

A living Darth Maul also brings up the debate about midi-chlorians and to what degree the loss of body parts reduces a Force users abilities.   Perhaps one of the reasons Darth Maul has remained in hiding, is that after his injuries he knows that he will never be able to challenge Palpatine directly because of his disadvantage in the Force.  Maul could be waiting for the perfect apprentice that he can use as a proxy to attempt to take over the galaxy.  His brother, whose familial connections he may be able to use to retain a dominant position over Opress could provide the perfect tool for Maul's envisioned rise to power.  Perhaps Maul and Talzin already have an alliance of sorts, and Talzin's machinations where to create an apprentice suitable for Maul all along, her goal was never to aid Ventress in seeking revenge, to aide Dooku in his goals, or even her own personal ambitions, but to further an alliance with Maul.

Whatever the case maybe with the direction that the Maul-Opress storyline may take, its clear that it will have a destabilizing effect on the balance of power in the galaxy and could pose a threat to both the Republic and the Separatists as these to powerful Zabrak Sith team up. 

Battle Meditation on Star Wars: The Clone Wars: "Witches of the Mist" (Episode 3.14 Review)

Episode Title & Number: "Witches of the Mist" Season 3 Episode 14 (3.14)

Original Air Date: January 21, 2011

Review Blurb: Count Dooku proves to be very tough grader as a teacher.  Wrong answer = Sith Lighting for his new Sith Apprentice Savage Opress.  Obi-Wan and Anakin go all Scooby Squad and try to track down Savage after the slaughter on Devaron. When a fly swatting mission to kidnap the Toydarian King Katuunko goes wrong, the Sith hits the fans about Count Dooku's flag ship as Jedi, Sith, and Nightsisters converge.  Lightsaber battles galore in this thrilling conclusion to the Savage Opress/Nightsisters Trilogy.  Oh and it looks like at least the top half of Darth Maul is alive.

Jedi Fortune Cookie: "The path to evil may bring great power, but not loyalty."

Episode Dramatis Personae:

Savage Opress: Nightbrother/Sith Apprentice
Asajj Ventress:  Sith Assassin/Apprentice & Nightsister
Count Dooku/Lord Tyrannus:  Leader of CIS and Sith Lord
Mother Talzin:  Head of the Nightsisters' coven.
 Obi-Wan Kenobi:  Jedi Master
Anakin Skywalker: Jedi Knight
King Katuunko, Toydarian King

Episode Summary:

Count Dooku begins training Savage Opress in the ways of the Dark Side on Serenno after Opress' successful mission on Devaron.  Meanwhile on Coruscant, the Delta Squad Republic Commandos return the bodies of the dead Jedi (Halsey and Knox) to Coruscant and Obi-Wan and Anakin are summoned before the Jedi Council where they are showed a holo-recording of the assault on Devaron and  assigned the mission to track down this "monster."  Opress' training continues under the cruel guidance of Count "Sparky" Dooku, as Anakin and Obi-Wan travel to Dathomir and visit the Nightbrothers and Nightsisters in an attempt to track down information on Opress.  Opress is given another mission by Dooku, to abduct King Katuunko of Toydaria.  Opress easily overwhelms the King's guards and captures the King but as he is preparing to leave Obi-Wan and Anakin show up and an epic lightsaber duel takes place, ending in Opress' escape and return to Count Dooku about his flagship.  Unfortunatley for Opress, during his fight with the Jedi, King Katuunko died and Count Dooku does not abide failure.  Dooku unleashes a ruinous barrage of Sith Lighting into Opress.  When out of no where Ventress enters the chamber and commands Opress to kill Dooku.  A a three way battle royal breaks out between the Sith sending Dooku fleeing, only to be re-engaged later by Ventress before he can escape. Ventress looking defeated flees to parts unknown, not returning to Dathomir as far as we know.  Opress meanwhile is re-engaged by Obi-Wan and Anakin aboard the Separatist vessel, after a brief duel Opress is able to escape the Jedi and the battle droids that suddenly turn upon him.   Opress returns to Dathomir shaken by his lack of strength and inability to kill Dooku returns to Mother Talzin, when she blasts continuity apart with the revelation that Darth Maul is alive, living in exile in the Outer Rim, and that Savage should seek him out with a nifty magic talisman and continue his training in the Dark Side from his brother.   

Review:

I) Story/Writing

Man-Pile

Written by Katie Lucas and directed by Giancarlo Volpe, not only was this episode action packed, but it had very cool throwbacks to The Empire Strikes back in a twisted Sith way with the training scenes involving Dooku and Opress.  Those scenes hearken back to Luke's training with Yoda on Dagobah.

I absolutely love how Katie Lucas wrote Anakin and Obi-Wan in this episode, the banter between the two was hilarious.   My favorite line of the show was upon landing at the Nightsisters village, when Obi-Wan cautions Anakin to be careful and Anakin "you never know, I tend to be popular with the ladies."  Obi-Wan's response "too popular," had me laughing out loud at the screening in LA and still crack me up.  Just how much does Obi-Wan know about Anakin and Padme at this point?

Upon re-watching the episode the thing other then Darth Maul, that has me most intrigued is Mother Talzin.  Not only does she reveal the identity/name of Savage Opress to Obi-Wan and Anakin, but she also tells them his location.  Based on her magic its pretty clear she is a very powerful individual and didn't have to reveal anything to the Jedi.  Why did she do this?  I'll get back to that in a second.  Then you have the rather curious conversation with Ventress where she claims they will not be able to keep Opress secret for long.  Well duh of course you can't keep him secret if you are telling everyone about him.  Then she uses Ventress' burning desire for revenge against Dooku, to get her to move up the attack date against Dooku early, and against Ventress' better judgement she agrees.  It certainly appears she is setting up both Ventress and Opress to fail.  She is attempting to get everyone Dooku, Ventress, Opress, Obi-Wan, and Anakin into close proximity.  I don't think she particularly cares for Ventress' fate, I believe much like Dooku, she was just using Ventress for her own ends.  Perhaps Talzin foresaw something in the force, that Opress would survive a confrontation and return to her for guidance, and without knowing what was going to happen exactly, knew which key players had to be put together to get the result she foresaw.  Is Talzin in league with Maul?  Is she only working in her own interests?  Or is she part of some larger other interested group in the galaxy that we as of yet don't know?

This episode had very good pacing, better then Monster and it kept you glued to the show the entire time. 

Savage Opress' Force Unleashed

II) Acting:

Matt Lanter (Anakin) and James Arnold Taylor (Obi-Wan) return in this series, we have gotten far too little Obi-Wan so far in Season 3, but I think these guys really nailed it in this episode.  It feels like this is how Anakin and Obi-Wan should be interacting, these two who consider each other brothers, were actually acting like brothers complete with humor and some sibling rivalry.

Nika Futterman (Ventress) and Corey Burton (Dooku) once again did a very solid job, but Clancy Brown (Opress) was the star villian in this episode.  From unsure student, to confident kidnapper, to defeated and deflated, he had to portray a large range in this episode and I think he did so very well. 

III) Animation:

This episode saw the debut of the Republic Commando character models, while we have already gotten a glimpse of them at Celebration V, after getting to see them again in the episode it looks like the Clone Wars animators did a tremendous job bringing these video game/novel characters to life on the TV screen.  With the glowing visors and the bulky armor they look really cool.  The individualization of the color schemes on the armor also looked pretty sweet. 

In the same scene with the Republic Commandos we also have some really well done rain effects on Coruscant.  The best part is the stream of water pouring through the boarding ramp.

One of the special effects that was heavily used in this week's episode and looked really good was the Force Lightning.  Dooku was throwing sparks all over the place, and visually both the lighting and the aftermath with small smoke effects coming from Opress' clothing were very well done. 

IV)  New Characters/Planets Vehicles:

Meet Jedi Master Saesee Tin & the Republic Commandos

Magic Sith GPS Talisman

Savage Opress' Lightsaber

T-6 Jedi Shuttle also available in Lego Form

V) Continuity Clashes: "How I learned to stop worrying and love the ret-cons"

The minor continuity issue that this episode resolves is the origin of Darth Maul as hailing from Dathomir instead of Iridonia.  I thought that this was handled very well in the Jedi Council scene.  With Yoda and Mace playing the role of Leland Chee. 

The major continuity issue is the potential that Darth Maul is still alive in some form.  We aren't going to get answers to exactly what is going on with Darth Maul atleast for a while, but fans will be buzzing about this revelation.  This Sunday (1/23/11) look for an in-depth article as I expound on my thoughts about what a living Darth Maul and an apprenticed Savage Opress could mean for The Clone Wars and the balance of power in the galaxy. 

VI.  Rating this Episode

This episode gets a 10 out 10.  It is a transformative episode for the series, not only does it prove that just about anything is possible in terms of continuity when George Lucas is calling the shots, it also opens up tremendous storytelling opportunities by creating a possible third major faction that was yet unknown in the galactic conflict known as The Clone Wars. 

VII. Next on The Clone Wars

The next episode of TCW is episode 3.15 "Overlord."  This will be the first episode of the Mortis arc which will deal with the Prophecy of the Chosen One, and feature guest star Liam Neeson reprising his role as Qui-Gon Jinn.

Jedi Fortune Cookie: "Balance is found in the one who faces his guilt."
Synopsis: A mysterious force draws Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka to a distant planet, and its inhabitants -- a family of exceptionally powerful Force-wielders -- in an attempt to determine whether Anakin is truly the Chosen One.
Director: Steward Lee
Writer: Christian Taylor

Key Characters: Obi-Wan Kenobi; Anakin Skywalker; Ahsoka Tano; Son; Daughter; Father
Key Locales: Mortis

Source: StarWars.com Episode Guide Preview

VIDEO CLIPS:

Dave Filoni's Episode Commentary for Witches of the Mist

 

Clone Wars Preview: Episode 3.13 "Monster": Savage Opress Explodes into the Star Wars Galaxy

Savage Opress before the Nightsisters sink their claws into him..

Jedi Fortune Cookie:  "Evil is not born, it is taught."

I guess we know where Star Wars comes down on the nature or nurture debate.  As you will see in this episode, Savage Opress is a very interesting character and not at all what I was expecting going in.  We are all profoundly effected by our environments, when you have force-using witches around things get a little crazy. 

Katie Lucas on Starwars.com: 

"Savage is a lot like Frankenstein's creation," says Lucas. "He's a monster, but you get brief glimpses of a real heart beneath the surface. He's a complicated character -- I don't think he would have turned to the dark side without the manipulation of the witches. They use him."

Official Site Episode Guide Preview: 

Synopsis: When Count Dooku calls upon the Nightsisters seeking a replacement for Ventress, she and her kin seize the opportunity to exact revenge. Ventress visits the far side of Dathomir and the males of the planet seeking the most brutal and powerful warrior among them. Through their witchcraft, the Nightsisters transform Savage Opress into a monstrous killer designed to turn on his new master...

Key Characters: Asajj Ventress, Count Dooku, Mother Talzin, Savage Opress, Brother Viscus, Feral, Halsey, Knox
Key Locales: Dathomir, Serenno, Devaron

Preview Clips:







Preview Notes: 

I would advice parental discretion for this episode as there is more then the typical Clone Wars level of violence and its almost all person versus person, instead of the person versus droid variety.  There is one particularly graphic scene about half-way through the episode on Dathomir that parents may want to be aware of before letting the really young kids watch it.

DELTA, DELTA, DELTA, DELTA, DELTA!  Republic Commando Cameo!  Boss (RC-1138), Fixer (RC-1140), Sev (RC-1207), and Scorch (RC-1262).

It's hardly a surprise that the Grand Army of the Republic's Delta Squad would be appearing in Season 3 of The Clone Wars.  The preview clip featuring the Deltas was one of the highlights of the Clone Wars content at Celebration V this past summer.  What was surprising was that they are part of the epic Savage Opress story arc.  They don't play a huge role in the episode but its definitely cool to see them, and now that they have the character models, hopefully the Deltas and other Republic Commando squads appear in the future of the series. 

Sight seeing around the galaxy we get a heavy dose of Dathomir, Serenno, and small stop overs on Devaron and Coruscant. 

This episode features an awesome look not only into the Nightsisters but assuming I am guessing where it is edited, a great look at Sith apprentice training.  You will have warped flashbacks to The Empire Strikes Back.

Episode 3.13 of the Clone Wars, "Monster" debuts this Friday at 8:30pm on The Cartoon Network.  It will be available for download on iTunes on Saturday, and up on Starwars.com on Monday.

Battle Meditation on Star Wars: The Clone Wars: "Nightsisters" (Episode 3.12 Review)

Episode Title & Number: "Nightsisters" Season 3 Episode 12 (3.12)

Original Air Date: January 7, 2011

Review Blurb: Count Dooku learns the hard way that a wounded Sith Apprentice is a very dangerous creature. Nika Futterman stars as Asajj Ventress in the first part of the Savage Opress Trilogy. It was ret-con-tastic!

Jedi Fortune Cookie: "The swiftest path to destruction is through vengeance."

Episode Dramatis Personae:

Asajj Ventress:  Sith Assassin/Apprentice & Nightsister
Count Dooku/Lord Tyrannus:  Leader of CIS and Sith Lord
Darth Sidious/Chancellor Palpatine:  Sith Lord and Republic Chancellor
Mother Talzin:  Head of the Nightsisters' coven.
Nightsister Karis:  Nightsister Warrior
Nightsister Naa'leth:  Nightsister Warrior
Nightsister Talia:  Nightsister
Obi-Wan Kenobi:  Jedi Master
Anakin Skywalker: Jedi Knight

Episode Summary:

Asajj Ventress leads a Separatist battle group in a space battle against Republic forces, as the tide of battle shifts to the Republic, Ventress comms her master, the Sith Lord Count Dooku for aid.  Meanwhile Darth Sidious orders Count Dooku to kill Ventress because she is becoming too powerful in the Dark Side of the force.  Unbeknownst to Count Dooku Ventress survives the attack and returns to her home world of Dathomir to lick her wounds and plot her revenge.

Review:

I) Story/Writting

Written by Katie Lucas and directed by Giancarlo Volpe, "Nightsisters" was one of the most fun and visually interesting episodes of TCW to date.  There are a number of characters that make appearances in this episode but its really just a three way dance between Ventress, Talzin, and Dooku.  By keeping the story tight and focused on these three characters the pacing moves right along and it lets us get a great in depth look at both Ventress and Dooku, their personalities and their motivations.  It has a nice ebb and flow to it, as the story begins with the full out action of a space battle and lightsaber duel, then slows down as we get character development on Ventress and picks back up with the action scenes in the attack on Dooku, before quickly closing with the foreshadowing for the next episode.

II) Acting:

The stars of this episode are Nika Futterman (Asajj Ventress) and Corey Burton (Count Dooku).  For Count Dooku, the story, animation (sweet Sith Pajamas) and acting of Burton make a character who is both more menacing and more sympathetic then he typically is particularly in the movies.

Dooku even disoriented by a tranquilizer dart has more then enough skills to best Ventress and two of the Nightsisters' best warriors (Karis and Naa'leth).  A tremendous use of Sith lighting.  On the other hand, his interactions via holocomm with Darth Sidious show both the duplicitous side of Dooku and the naive side of Dooku, while he may be training Ventress as his own secret apprentice and denying it to his Master, he is still a prisoner to the idea of the Rule of Two and doesn't think about being replaced as unceremoniously as he will be in Episode III.  In the second scene between Sidious and Dooku, you can imagine Sidious ending the transmission and cracking up laughing about Dooku's loyalty, because in the end Dooku is nothing but a pawn for Sidious not a true apprentice.

Ventress really gets the chance to shine in this episode while holding her own against Obi-Wan and Anakin may be a bit of an exaggeration for her force powers, the sense of rage at being betrayed surely gave her additional access to the Dark Side.  Nika Futterman got to portray the full range of emotions for Ventress in this episode, from cornered and angry, wounded and unsure upon her return home, to happy in the flash backs, and even dejected and defeated.  This episode really humanizes what up until this point had only been a dueling dummy for Anakin and Obi-Wan, no we have more reasons to like and dislike Ventress.

III) Animation:

The animation in this episode was phenomenal, the facial details and character expressions have improved so dramatically over Season 1 and the Clone Wars movie, that its almost a different show now.  The space battles were impressive visually, but the coolest things visually was the water of life/Nightsister magic scenes and the invisible Nightsister effects. 

IV)New Characters/Planets Vehicles:

Don't mess with these sisters..

Count Dooku's Palace on Serenno

Dathomir from Space

Mother Talzin (Center)

Serenno from Space

Ventress' commandeered vessel the Tusken "Raider"

Ky Narec

V) Continuity Clashes: "How I learned to stop worrying and love the ret-cons"

There are two big glaring continuity issues that come up right away in this episode and that is the back-story of Asajj Ventress as shown in the Dark Horse Comics Star Wars properties, and the portrayal of the Nightsisters and the planet of Dathomir as shown most prominently in The Courtship of Princess Leia but subsequently used repeatedly throughout the EU.

The philosophy of Lucasfilm is that there is one unified continuity that exists for Star Wars across all platforms and storytelling mediums, that everything fits together.  When conflicts arise it becomes the job of people like Leland Chee to try to stitch the continuity back together.  It is also up to clever writers to ret-con (retroactive continuity) stories together.

One way that I look at continuity that helps me embrace Star Wars continuity warts and all, even if it changes what I thought I knew about my favorite characters or cultures (Mandalorians cough, cough)  is to look at it through the prism of history.  Star Wars is set "A Long Time Ago" so in effect what we are seeing is a historical account of what happened in the Galaxy Far Far Away, with any historical account there are going to be errors and differences concerning events.  Sometimes this is the result of the historians individual biases, sometimes its the result of meaning lost in translation, sometimes its even the result of the principles of the historical event purposefully distorting fact to make their side look better and the other side look worse for posterity.  Whatever the case may be, the best way to approach continuity is that any difference that we can't seem to shoehorn together are simply a case of an inaccurate account of the events.

All that being said, I am not an expert in the Star Wars comics, but from what I understand Katie Lucas did a pretty good job incorporating the fact that Asajj Ventress was found and raised by a Jedi Ky Narec and that her partial training and reaction to his death are what led her to the Dark Side.

The fact that her home world has been retconned from Rattatak to Dathomir is a big change, but given the intermingling of different colonists across different planets in the EU, this is hardly a new thing that we find a species or hybrid species in a planet far from their origins.

In someways Asajj Ventress is an EU creation, but at her core she was pretty fully realized in concept art for Episode II, as a possible female Sith Lord and apprentice for Darth Sidieous.  The fact that George Lucas feels an attraction and affinity to this character makes sense as it probably feels to him like one he left on the cutting room floor, more so then one he is simply taking from the EU.  So we really should give him a great deal of leeway in regards to this character.

From Starwars.com' Episode Guide:

For The Clone Wars series, writer Katie Lucas preserved much of this EU backstory for this authoritative depiction of Asajj and her history. In the flashbacks seen in the episode, young Asajj is handed over by her Dathomirian mother to a Siniteen criminal named is Hal'Sted. The flashbacks then move to Rattatak, where she is discovered by Ky Narec after Hal'Sted dies from an assault by Weequay raiders.

The changes that the Clone Wars makes Dathomir and the Nightsisters could be more long lasting.  Just how large is the coven of Nightsisters, are there multiple groups of Nightsisters on the planet?  In the novel the Nightsisters were more of outcasts from traditional more light or grey Dathomiri Witch Clans, do these other clans still exist in George Lucas and Katie Lucas' vision of Dathomir?  What about the Chun'unthor, the mobile Jedi Academy that crashed on Dathomir?  Hopefully we will get some clarification on this in the future, but its not going to happen in the next two episodes. 

VI.  Rating this Episode

This episode gets a 10 out of 10, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, in a story that doesn't feature the series main characters, but highlights the villains and sets the stage for another awesome two episodes.  Katie Lucas, Dave Filoni and the rest of the crew nailed this one. 

VII. Next on The Clone Wars

The next episode of TCW is episode 3.13 "Monster" part two of the three part Savage Opress story arc.

VIDEO CLIPS:

Dave Filoni's Episode Commentary

More Star Wars: The Clone Wars Videos

More Star Wars: The Clone Wars Videos

Happy Savage Opress Day! TCW Friday Preview

Darth Maul casts a giant shadow over how we view the Sith, his look is inspiration for many of the One Sith of the Legacy Era, but tonight his little brother steps out of the back the shadows and becomes the star of an epic new story arc for The Clone Wars. Kudos to Katie Lucas, Dave Filoni and the entire cast and crew of TCW.

The Clone Wars is about to go to lightspeed, tune in tonight at 8:30 to Cartoon network for some awesome Sith intrigue.

Some Clone Wars reading to tide you over:

CNN Interview with Clone Wars writer and George Lucas' Daughter, Katie Lucas

TV Guide Story with quotes from Dave Filoni regarding Savage Opress


SKY Movies interview with TCW CG Supervisor Joel Aron

Double-Bladed Lightsaber: To Savage or Maul Your Opponents

One of the most recognizable aspects of Star Wars is the lightsaber.  Whether its the image of the laser sword, or the familiar snap-hiss noise of its activation.  The lightsaber is synonymous with Star Wars.  While the original trilogy gave us Luke, Obi-Wan and Vader using what can best be described as standard lightsabers (note that Vader's hilt was over sized) .

The Expanded Universe and the Prequel Trilogy gave us more variety in lightsaber design and technology, from the movies most notably, Darth Maul's Dual-bladed lightsaber, Count Dooku's curved hilt, and Master Yoda's minaturized (arguably Shoto length) saber.

The Double-Bladed Lightsaber also referred t as the Saberstaff, is an uncommon weapon for Jedi and Sith alike which gives both new advantages and disadvantages to the wielder.  Most famous for its use was the Sith Lord Darth Maul, seen in Star Wars:  Episode I:  The Phantom Menace, as well as numerous comics and novels.  More recently the double-bladed lightsaber has made a remergence in The Clone Wars TV series through a variant used by Sith Apprentice Asajj Ventress and the soon to be seen Sith Warrior Savage Opress.  Savage Opress the brother of Darth Maul uses a lightsaber that may very well be his brother's old weapon or simply one modeled after it.  Ventress on the other hand has two curved handled lightsabers that have the unique ability to join together to form a double-bladed lightsaber when she so desires. 

 Star Wars is also expanding rapidly in a new time period, with the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic, and the series of tie-in comics and novels under the same title.  In the cinematic trailer entitled "Hope," we see a battle between Republic forces and Sith on Alderaan including a battle between a double-bladed lightsaber wielding Jedi and Darth Malgus.



Later in the Old Republic Era we have the story of Darth Bane the originator of the Rule of Two and his apprentice and successor Darth Zannah who wields another modified version of the double-bladed lightsaber, this one with slightly shorter blades for increased speed and maneuverability making her movements shorter and quicker. 

In Drew Karpyshyn's novel, Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, Bane receives training at the Sith Academy on Korriban, and learns from Sith Blade Master Kas'im, who wields a double-bladed lightsaber.  Kas'im describes both the benefits and detriments of the weapon.

In combat, your mind tries to keep track of each blade separately, effectively doubling the number of possibilities. But the two blades are connected: by knowing the location of one, you are automatically aware of the location of the other. In actual practice, the double-bladed lightsaber is more limited than the traditional lightsaber. It can do more damage, but it is less precise. It requires longer, sweeping movements that don't transition well into a quick stab or thrust. Because the weapon is difficult to master, however, few among the Jedi-or even the Sith-understand it. They don't know how to attack or defend effectively against it. That gives those of us who use it an advantage over most of our opponents.

With the introduction of Savage Opress into the Clone Wars we are going to see more double-bladed lightsaber action then ever before.  Just wait until you see the incredible duel between Savage, Obi-Wan, and Anakin.  Flashbacks to Maul, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn anyone?




For more on Double-Bladed Lightsaber, please see Wookieepedia.