Well, shit. That was something. The Clone Wars does their most ambitious arc yet, even if at the end it all might have been…well, not what it appeared to be. Keep reading.
1. Qui-Gon!
Much like Darth Maul, I knew at some point Qui-Gon was going to show up in Force Ghost form, and I knew a little about his presence being limited to areas of extreme Force sensitivity. But his presence still took me by total surprise. This week I’ve been fighting a flu-ish bug, and I was sort of dozing off in the first few minutes of this episode. But once I heard those dulcet tones of Liam Neeson, I was wide awake and sitting on the edge of my seat.
2. Father, Son, Daughter
The ‘family’ of Force users we encounter on Mortis, known only by their familial designations, were an interesting take on how the Force works. Obviously, I could’ve never anticipated “the balance of the Force is held by a trio of beings in a remote corner of the galaxy,” but I really enjoyed the concept of the Force being totally different than I ever dreamed. Whether or not this was real – and we’ll get to that in a bit – it presented the Force that we know as only the tip of the iceberg.
Now, obviously, that’s not a new concept. Yoda lifting the X-wing out of the swamp is the first time that we begin to even conceive of what the Force can do,, but this seemed bigger still. To see all that the family could do was amazing, and led to lots of questions. If there are areas that are have deeper Force saturation, does that mean that using the Force there is a different experience than using it elsewhere? It is akin to zero gravity, in terms of what your body can do? Lots of questions sparked in my head from seeing these episodes, and that’s a really good thing.
3. The most fantastical Star Wars has been
That said, I could see people who are strictly fans of the Star Wars films seeing this as a bridge too far. I mean, this is very, very different from what we’ve seen before. These mystical creatures, that may or may not be living totems of the light and the dark, who can turn into flying creatures or die at the other’s hand, which somehow control the balance of the Force in the galaxy, are quite different than the Jedi and Sith.
I could absolutely see this being a breaking point for folks who want their Star Wars more grounded. I’ve always been a fan of the more mystical, Force-focused side of the universe, so this is right up my alley.
4. Reliable People
What I found most interesting about how all the Jedi react to this is how everyone confirms who we think they are, but also how Anakin is just so Anakin. He takes the bait easily, he gets in over his head, and he leans towards the Dark. I also found it interesting that the son recognized bits of the Dark Side in Ahsoka, and that Ahsoka’s future self had so much to say about where she was heading. Again, I know bits and pieces of Ahsoka’s future from just being aware of Star Wars culture, but I’m fascinated to see where/how the character changes and grows. Obi-Wan’s vision of Qui-Gon is the list illuminating, but the most fun because of all we know about their relationship.
5. The ending
So, the more I think about this ending, the more I like it, because I don’t really want the Force dictated by a family of hermits. I like the concepts that scenario brought forward, and I don’t mind those totems being how their minds perceived the Force, but I like it way less if there is an actual planet.
This is the episode I would most like to discuss, so any Star Wars fans that want to weigh in, that’s why the comments exist!
