So much of The Clone Wars has been focused on Ahsoka’s journey, but we join her story already in progress. The younglings we meet this week are not exactly at the start of their journey, but they represent a time we haven’t seen yet in Star Wars canon. These were some of my favorite episodes of the season, so let’s get right to it.
1. Kyber Crystals
Despite the lightsaber being such an integral part of Star Wars canon, we really know precious little about them. The term ‘kyber’ had never been uttered in a film until Rogue One, but the first episode of this arc, “The Gathering,” got there a few years earlier. Ilum, where the younglings are brought to harvest their crystals for their lightsabers, is not the only place where kyber is found, as we know Jedha also contained lots of kyber, but it appears that this is the place where Jedi get their from. Is this different kyber than found elsewhere? We don’t really know.
The process by which the various younglings find/harvest their crystals was pretty great to see, as it gave each Jedi a personal challenge: be patient, be compassionate, be persistent, etc. Again, we’ve seen so little of what younglings go through (except for that stupid ass scene of them training with lightsabers and blast helmets like Luke did in A New Hope), that I really dug seeing some of the ‘traditions’ of the Order.
2. Youngling Roll-Call
We spend time with six younglings in these episodes, and a few of them really stand out. Petro seems like the natural leader, but also the least selfless and most dangerous of the younglings. He’s the hotshot, and so he naturally stands out. As goes Gungi, a Wookie. There’s the obvious novelty in a Wookie Jedi, and I’m not opposed to some novelty, but it is also a nice reminder that Jedi aren’t just human or near-human species. Byph is a good reminder of that too, but she’s not a fuzzy mini-Chewbacca, so she doesn’t stand out quite as much.
3. Hondo Accord
We’ve been seeing a lot of Hondo lately, and here he is at his most pirate-y. Trying to steal kyber, kidnapping Ahsoka, generally running afoul of the law, this is classic pirate activity. Hondo is a fun character because of just how quickly his allegiances will shift, and how he seems to have no real moral compass that isn’t “what’s best for me?” He clearly isn’t evil, like Dooku, nor is he clearly good, like a Jedi. He’s just Hondo, and he shows a few times how brief and tenuous his support can be.
But that’s a lot of fun! We love scoundrels in Star Wars, even when they betray us (like DJ), but especially when they save the day (like Han Solo). I hope we see more of Hondo.
4. Lightsaber construction
We know that in between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Luke constructed his own lightsaber, but we have no idea what that entails. Similarly, we’ve seen Obi-Wan and Anakin use a few different lightsabers over the course of the series (at least I think we have? I feel like they’ve lost a few), but how the different hilts and colors came to be was always a mystery. The colors still sort of are, but the idea of a Jedi meditating to see their hilt shape/material was cool. (The dopest? Gungi’s wooden hilt, natch)
5. The tragedy of the younglings
Unless a few of these wash out/stay hidden, there is an inherent sadness to this arc, as we know that they will all be killed, and some, perhaps, by Anakin’s hand. It’s an incredibly shitty reality to comprehend, and it adds a level of gravitas to the entire arc. While the Ahsoka stuff is interesting here, it is the younglings that really captured my attention. As the show winds itself down, I doubt we’ll be spending much more time with them, and that’s a shame. I’d gladly take more of this and less Jar Jar or droids stuff.
(checks notes and sees next arc is a droid one)
Dammit.
