A Long Time Ago, During the Clone Wars: "Voices," "Destiny" & "Sacrifice"

 Star Wars The Clone Wars

We have reached the end of season six with this post and soon we will be wrapping up the Clone Wars and the prequel era. It's been a journey but a good one. It won't be too long before we enter into some dark times. Let's get right into it.

"Voices," Season Six, Episode 11

"Madness can sometimes be the path to truth."

Narrator: "Jedi mystery! A lightsaber was found on the moon of Oba Diah belonging to Sifo-Dyas, the Jedi responsible for the creation of the clone army. The Jedi have learned that before the start of the war, Count Dooku murdered Sifo-Dyas and skillfully manipulated the Republic into the Galactic conflict, intending for the Jedi to fight with the Clones at their side. Now as the Jedi Council meets to discuss the purpose of this deception, Master Yoda meditates deep into the Force in search of answers..."

Yoda is disturbed when he hears the voice of his long dead friend, Master Qui-Gon Jinn when he is meditating. Qui-Gon tell hims that he has become one with the living Force which should be impossible. Yoda goes in search of answers while the rest of the Jedi Council are concerned that he may be being manipulated by the Sith. Qui-Gon guides Yoda to the planet Dagobah, where he experiences disturbing visions of the future.

You would not believe your eyes, if Qui-Gon was fireflies.

When I initially thought that this was going to be the final season of "The Clone Wars," these are the kinds of episodes that I was hoping for. I wanted episodes that heavily foreshadowed the fall that was to come. Things are about to get very bad for everyone, particularly the Jedi and I wanted to see that reflected in the show. These last three episodes of season six have that, but they aren't all doom and gloom. They definitely offer hope which is the core of what "Star Wars" is all about.

First off, its always a treat when we get Liam Neeson returning as Qui-Gon Jinn. The last time that we heard from Qui-Gon was when Obi-Wan, Anakin and Ahsoka were on Mortis, which Yoda references in this episode. I love that Neeson is willing to come back and do this voice work. I think the voice acting on "The Clone Wars" is stellar, but I couldn't imagine anyone but Neeson voicing Qui-Gon and he does great work in this episode, especially since we never see Qui-Gon, just hear him.

It's great that we are getting Yoda focused episodes. He really hasn't been front and center since the first episode of season one. Yoda is the heart and soul of the Jedi so it makes total sense how worried the other Council members are when he starts hearing these voices and the idea of the Sith manipulating Master Yoda is one of their greatest fears. 

I love how this episode and this entire arc focuses on Force ghosts for all intents and purposes. I think that I just figured, after watching the original trilogy, that all Jedi after death could manifest themselves as Force ghosts, but it turns out that they couldn't. I love watching these aspects of "Star Wars" lore manifest and be explained here.

Yoda visits Dagobah which is such a huge part of his history and Qui-Gon tells Yoda that he has brought Yoda here to complete the training that he wasn't able to complete. We see Yoda go into the same cavern that I believe Luke went into in "Empire" and there Yoda sees visions of things to come. He sees Jedi fighting Clones. He sees Mace Windu getting hit with Force lightning. It's kind of chilling knowing that Yoda had this knowledge but wasn't able to stop what was coming. Qui-Gon reminds Yoda that there is always hope and directs him to the Origin of All-Life in the galaxy where he will be led to the next part of his quest.

Grade: A-

"Destiny," Season Six, Episode 12

"Death is just the beginning."

Narrator: "Blinded by the dark side! The Jedi Council has begun to unravel the mystery of how the clone army was created and now fear the Sith Lord Count Dooku was behind it. Master Yoda searches for answers and during deep meditation he is able to contact the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn, who reveals to Yoda that he must manifest his consciousness after death if he is to preserve the Jedi Order. Now, we find Master Yoda deep in space, searching for a path to the ones who will teach him all he does not know of the Force..."

Per Qui-Gon's instruction, Yoda heads to a strange planet in the middle of a golden nebula. Once there, Yoda meets with five Priestesses who each symbolize an emotion. The Priestesses are willing to teach Yoda the secrets of immortality if he passes the tests that they put before him. Yoda is initially skeptical of these tests believing he's conquered all his fears as a Jedi Master, but he soon finds out that may not be the case...

Dooku is the worst.

This episode is full of really cool visuals. From the very beginning when we see this strange planet it's gorgeous. This golden nebula that is just kind of mind blowing. Then, when Yoda and R2 head to the planet itself we see these geysers of the same golden light and its seriously extremely gorgeous. It feels like the animators really put so much into the visuals in this episode. That's not to say that they don't usually because we all know they do, but in this episode there just feels like so much that we haven't really seen before and the animators feel like they are reveling in that.

When Yoda descends into the core of the planet and is greeted by the Serenity Priestess and we get a really good look it's like a really cool, twisted, "Star Wars" version of the Mushroom Kingdom from "Super Mario Bros." I love how beautiful the alien foliage is and how it moves and bends as Yoda and the Priestess move through it. I love when they head for the first challenge how dark and ominous it is. There is this real sense of foreboding that the animation conveys which isn't always easy to do and it really impressed me.

I loved the design of the Priestesses. They remind me a lot of the No-Face from "Spirited Away." It was cool how each mask portrayed the emotion that they were conveying. Jaime King who you may know from movies like "Sin City" and "The Spirit" or maybe you know as a member of Taylor Swift's squad or maybe both does a great job with the voices. It may not have been clear right away to all viewers that the Priestesses were each an emotion, but she does a good job of making that more obvious with her voice work.

I've talked a lot about the arrogance of the Jedi in these season six recaps and Yoda is not immune to that. He initially believes that having achieved the rank of Jedi Master he has no other fears to overcome and he is kind of a douche to the Priestess. He doesn't believe they have anything they could possibly teach him which when you think about it is so mind blowing. He's there to literally be instructed on how to potentially live forever but he's also telling these beings they don't have anything to teach him. That isn't the case though. Yoda initially fights with his Dark side self only able to defeat it when he accepts that it is part of him. The next trial has Yoda being confronted with lifelike visions of first his students like Ahsoka dead because of his failings. And then, Jedi that have been lost either by death or to the dark side (hi, Dooku) but he overcomes them as well. In the end, Yoda learns the Priestesses themselves only exist in the Living and Cosmic Force.

They aren't reinventing the wheel with this story. We've seen trials like this in similar shows. Hell, we've seen them in "Star Wars" but what makes it interesting is that it is Yoda doing them. You don't imagine Yoda does have anything to learn which makes his earlier arrogance kind of understandable. So it's cool to see that and see him in the position of student, which we don't see very often. The Priestesses let Yoda know that his final challenge likes on the Sith planet of Moraband.

Grade: A-

"Sacrifice," Season Six, Episode 13

"Facing all that you fear will free you from yourself."

Narrator: "Darkness on Dagobah! All attention is focused on Yoda, who claims to hear the voice of a long dead Jedi. Convinced that he is guided by Qui-Gon Jinn, he finds five Priestesses who will teach him how to manifest consciousness after death. After may trials, Yoda travels to Moraband, ancient home planet of the Sith. For now he must face the true evil that may be his undoing and one that seeks to control the galaxy..."

Yoda heads to Moraband. Once he is there he is menaced by the spirits of Sith warriors and the spirit of Darth Bane, the Sith that instituted the Rule of Two. Yoda finds a secret room under Bane's tomb. The Priestesses let Yoda know that his final trial is here and that they won't be able to help him. That he will be challenged by the Sith. At the same time, Darth Sidious and Count Dooku are working on a way to get in Yoda's head.

Darth Bane y'all.

When they rebooted the "Star Wars" continuity a lot of people were upset. I think most of them were dumb, honestly. It made no sense to make a "Star Wars" movie that depended on all this continuity that not even a third of the people going to the movie would know. I really thought the additions to continuity that mattered had already made their way into the media that was staying part of the new canon or would be soon. We got Thrawn in "Star Wars Rebels" and we had Darth Bane in "The Clone Wars."

I always geek out when I see Darth Bane in "The Clone Wars." Darth Bane is a certified bad ass. He is the Sith that established the Rule of Two and that is nothing to be scoffed at. If you're not familiar with the Rule of Two it states that there will only be two Sith at any given moment. There is a master and an apprentice. This limits the infighting that almost eradicated the Sith. Darth Bane looks so cool when he appears in front of Yoda. Another visually stunning moment for this arc. It is comedic in a way I don't expect as Yoda reveals to Bane that he is actually dead. I enjoy the moment when the spirit of Bane is jerked back to his tomb.

I really would have liked to spend a little bit more time on Moraband. It's a cool planet. It gives Dathomir vibes but more menacing. I love seeing the ruins around the planet. When Yoda heads into the catacombs, the Priestesses reveal to him that the chamber is a place where Sith used to torture and kill Jedi. They also reveal that its there that Yoda will be tempted by the Sith of his time.

The Sith of his time, Darth Sidious and Count Dooku, are doing a ritual to get to Yoda, using Dooku's connection to his old Jedi Master. Speaking of Darth Sidious, I was this many years old when I learned that Tim Curry replaced Ian Abercrombie as the voice of Palpatine/Sidious after Abercrombie's passing. I have no idea how I didn't realize it before now, but I feel really dumb. And now you can all mock me for not knowing something that seems so obvious now. The Sith try to trick Yoda by making an imprisoned and tortured Sifo-Dyas appear in front of him. He sees through this but is transported to Anakin and Rex who are leading a mission Yoda set up to find Dooku and Sidious on Coruscant.

We get some great action in this episode which is par for the course for the third episode of these three episode "Clone Wars" arcs. It's always nice to see Yoda show of his Jedi skills and he does that with his duel with Darth Sidious. At the same time, he shows off his impressive Force powers when he saves Anakin at the same time that he is fighting Sidious. We get some more foreshadowing in this sequence. Yoda sees Anakin decapitate Dooku despite his protests which is what Anakin does in "Revenge of the Sith." Yoda is able to pass this final trial and the Priestesses tell him that he will finish his training with Qui-Gon Jinn to retain himself after death. He sees a bit of the future and hears "There is another Skywalker." Hmm...

I do think it's a little odd that Yoda wasn't able to see through this last illusion right away, but that is an extremely minor gripe. This episode was initially meant to be the final episode of "The Clone Wars" and it would have been a good one. Things are definitely going to get really bad for the Jedi, but it ends with the hopeful message that there is a path for the Jedi that will result in long-term victory even if they lose the upcoming battle with the Sith.

Grade: A

Next up, we are doing things a little different. Instead of moving right on to the seventh and final season, we are going to do a bit of "Clone Wars" housekeeping. There were some unfinished season six scripts that were made available in other ways. First we will look at a four part episode that was storyboarded and is available on YouTube that deals with Anakin's feelings after Ahsoka leaves the Order. Then, we'll look at the book "Dark Disciple" which wraps up Asajj Ventress's "Clone Wars" story and features Jedi Quinlan Vos. And finally, we will look at the four part comic series, "Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir."

What did you all think? Would these three episodes have been a good wrap up to "The Clone Wars?" Were you happy to see a focus on Yoda? Were you desperate to learn the secrets behind Force ghosts? Let me know in the comments.