A Long Time Ago, During the Clone Wars: "Overlords," "Altar of Mortis" & "Ghosts of Mortis"

 Star Wars The Clone Wars

I know I've said it before, but it bears repeating. Season three of "The Clone Wars" is really where the show becomes required viewing for all "Star Wars" fans and it's mainly because of episodes like the ones we are covering in this post. It's adding real meat to the mythos and I'm here for it.

"Overlords," Season Three, Episode 15

"Balance is found in the one who faces guilt."

Narrator: "Mysterious message! A transmission has been intercepted far beyond the Outer Rim, deep in the Chrelythiumn system. Why the call has been made, and from where, cannot be established. But buried in the message is a Jedi distress code that has not been used in over 2,000 years. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Ahsoka, are sent to investigate. Fearing a Separatist trap, they are to meet with a heavily armed Jedi cruiser..."

Once the Jedi reach the coordinates they don't find a cruiser, but a strange planet that transports them to the surface. On the planet Mortis, the Jedi are confronted by three extremely powerful beings in the Force: The Father, the Son and the Daughter. They are determined to figure out if Anakin is indeed the Chosen One. While the Father and the Daughter seem to be on an altruistic path, the Son is determined to steer Anakin on a path to the Dark Side.

Something in your eye?

This is what I'm here for. We are looking at full on Force lore. From the moment the Jedi arrive at Mortis, you know you are in for something special. The design of Mortis is really, really cool. The weather is crazy and Obi-Wan points out that the seasons seem to change as they traverse different portions of the planet. The Daughter is almost crushed by a rockslide but is saved by Anakin, but is separated from his former Master and his Padawan. When they reach their shuttle, they are confronted by the Son, who demands to know if Anakin is the Chosen One. He's able to shut off the Jedi's lightabers and turns into some giant bird thing and it's pretty freaking cool.

There is a lot of legacy in this episode. The Son is voiced by Sam Witwer who has lots of history with "Star Wars." Witwer voiced and was the character model for Starkiller in the "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed" video games. He voiced Emperor Palpatine in "Star Wars: Rebels" (though his voice was redubbed by Ian McDiarmid) and he voices Darth Maul when he makes his triumphant return later in "The Clone Wars." We get the return of Shmi Skywalker, who appears to Anakin in the temple, but this isn't the saintly former slave mother that he knows. The biggest surprise though is the Force ghost of Qui-Gon Jinn, still voiced by Liam Neeson. It is great to see Qui-Gon again and impressive that Neeson returned to voice him. He is just what Obi-Wan needs in this moment and his wisdom is not lost on his former Padawan. The semi-anguish and admiration in Kenobi's voice is heartbreaking.

The final showdown with The Father trying to force Anakin to choose between saving Ahsoka and Obi-Wan is pretty dope. Anakin uses the Force in ways no one has ever seen him do it before and this proves to the Father that he is indeed the Chosen One. The Father wants Anakin to stay on Mortis, but he refuses, because of course he does. This sets up an interesting question. Would a lot of things be avoided if Anakin had chosen to stay on Mortis? This whole set of episodes is basically a big what if and "Overlords" sets things up well.

Grade: A

"Altar of Mortis," Season Three, Episode 16

"He who surrenders life, surrenders hope."

Narrator: "Mystery on Mortis! Sent to discover the origin of a mysterious distress call, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, are stranded on a distant planet. There, they discover three beings more powerful with the Force than any Jedi have seen before. The Father keeps a fragile balance between his Daughter, who allies with the light side, and the Son, who drifts ever closer to the dark. With his strength failing, the Father asks Anakin to stay and take his place, preserving the balance between light and dark. After passing a perilous test, Skywalker refuses. Now we find our heroes about to depart for their journey home, or so they think..."

As they are departing Mortis, the Son appears in their transport and spirits away with Ahsoka. Anakin goes after him and ends up crashing their shuttle. Obi-Wan believes they should confer with the Son, but bullheaded Anakin goes after Ahsoka. Obi-Wan meets with the Daughter who refuses to go against her brother but does lead him to an altar with a dagger. The Son has infused Ahsoka with the Dark Side and sets her against her Master. Can Anakin save his Padawan or will someone lose their life in this altercation?

Ahsoka's fine.

Anakin is his usual self in this episode. They are on this crazy Force world. The Son is doing shit no one has ever seen before and he decides to charge right in. No plan. No sense. The Son is doing shit that he has never seen before and he continues to act like a jackass. I mean, think about the dream that Anakin has before the Son shows up and kidnaps Ahsoka. There is a point where the Son clearly sounds like Palpatine, but Anakin doesn't see it at all. It's crazy how Anakin can be so clueless, but it's not a shocker.

This episode is full of action and the action is really great. The main action set piece of the episode is Anakin vs Ahsoka. I think we all knew that a showdown like this was coming at some point. From the moment Ahsoka joined and became a fan favorite, it seemed like if she somehow survived Order 66 she'd somehow go toe to toe with her former Master. This was like an amuse bouche to that showdown. It's kind of chilling seeing Ahsoka fully gone over to the Dark Side. You kind of think that somehow she will come out of it with the help of Obi-Wan and Anakin but that doesn't happen.

The Daughter kind of gets the shaft in all of this. She refuses to fight her brother but does give Obi-Wan the dagger that will supposedly stop him. She doesn't hesitate to throw herself in front of him and sacrifice herself. It's sort of a cop out. It feels like between the three of them, that the Daughter is kind of an afterthought. I think that Anakin using the last of her Force power to revive Ahsoka is supposed to make it seem like some noble sacrifice, but it's still kind of lame.

Grade: B+

"Ghosts of Mortis," Season Three, Episode 17

"He who seeks to control fate shall never find peace."

Narrator: "Stranded! Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, are caught in the middle of a treacherous battle between good and evil. The scales now tip toward the dark side. Our three warriors must guard against attack as they plan their escape. A great weight has been placed on Anakin's shoulders, for it is now that he must face who he really is..."

Ahsoka begins to repair the shuttle to try to stop the Son from using it leave Mortis. The Son has fully given himself up to the Dark Side and when Anakin goes to confront him, he shows Anakin what his future holds. The Son promises Anakin that he can help him avert this disaster. Can the Father, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan use the Dagger to stop the Son and get Anakin back?

Mufasa... er Qui-Gon!

I'm going to start this out with the biggest problem I have with this episode. And it's the deus ex machina that happens with the Father and Anakin. The Father wipes the memories of Anakin's future from him. And I know he can't remember these things. It doesn't make sense for that to happen. It would change the entire course of what happens but I just wish there was a better way for him to forget this. Maybe he just forgets once he is no longer possessed of the Dark Side. Maybe he forgets when they leave Mortis. I guess neither of those things are any better than the Father wiping his memory, but I just hate stuff like this. Maybe the best thing to do is to just not have had that stuff shown to him in the first place. Maybe find a different way for Anakin to get on the side of the Son. That being said, the sequence where the Son shows Anakin his future is pretty freaking cool. The image of the Vader mask against the red sky and Anakin in front of it is really striking and maybe one of my favorites from "The Clone Wars."

We get a nice moment between Anakin and the Force Ghost of Qui-Gon Jinn. It's a very Mufasa appearing to Simba moment. It's really cool to see Anakin get a similar moment with his old Master that Obi-Wan got in "Overlords." This three parter is very much about paths not taken. Watching this interaction and particularly how Anakin reacts, you can't help but wonder, would things have been any different had Qui-Gon Jinn lived. That's not to say that Obi-Wan was a bad master but they were two people reeling from loss and thrown together. It had to impact things on some level and maybe Qui-Gon could have been that stabilizing force that got them both through and changed the future.

The episode ends on a tragic note with the Father confronting the Son. The Father forgives the Son and stabs himself with the Dagger causing the Son to finally feel remorse for what he's done. The Son is shortly after run through with Anakin's lightsaber and balance is finally restored to Mortis. The Father gives Anakin the news he is indeed the Chosen One and will bring balance to the Force again but he could also doom the galaxy. Cryptic much?

Seriously. I can't stress enough how crucial I think these three episodes are to just the "Star Wars" mythology in general. If for whatever reason you're reading this and haven't seen them, what are you waiting for? Do it now.

Grade: B+

The Jedi attempt to save a Master with crucial hyperdrive coordinates and encounter a familiar face in our next block of three episodes.

What do you all think of these episodes? Do you love them too? Were there things that I missed that you feel needs mentioning? Let me know in the comments.