8.3/10. A fine finale to this series. We get one more badass lightsaber fight, and even if it's pretty quickly that It's All Just A Dream, that doesn't take away from the visual splendor of it or the thematic significance. Yoda is willing to die in this fight in order to save someone else, and that, whether you consider it ironic or just appropriate, is what allows him to have some kind of existence beyond his death.
There's a really interesting subtext to the episode, that is frankly a little adult for this show but still powerful and mostly subtle. Namely, the episode posits the Sith as not believing in life after death, and having that motivate their quest for power. There's a certain nihilism espoused on Moraband (and come on with the Sith names, George) that is pretty notable in how frank it is. Throw in the monologue from Darth Bane (Mark Hamill!) and you have the evil philosophy in this show being undergirded by some sort of very dark take on humanism, which is interesting even if it doesn't necessarily fit with my sensibilities.
And the show posits the Jedi, Yoda in particular, as having more of a Buddhist philosophy in response, of making peace with the cycle of life and death. The first analogue that actually came to my head was the conflict between Harry Potter and Voldemort in The Deathly Hallows where J.K. Rowling juxtaposes the latter as fighting constantly against his own demise and the former accepting it, and using that as the means to distinguish them. The idea of Yoda's acceptance of his own life as finite and his willingness to sacrifice himself to save others demonstrates the kind of morality, the kind of peace that assures the Priestesses he's ready for their training.
It's pretty heady stuff beneath the exciting battle and imagery we witness here. At its best, that's what the show gave us -- the sort of peak thrills that Star Wars is known for, but also the character work and themes to give it depth and intrigue beyond the shallowly enjoyable space-battles and sword fights. I still have the unfinished story reels and Rebels to look forward to from this creative team, but the finale, and the show, have both been worthwhile watches for the depth they added to the Star Wars universe, and in particular, for how they expanded and deepened the world of the prequels, finding the beauty and, frankly, the quality, that was missing in Lucas's late cinematic efforts, and showing the best that this part of the timeline and setting could be.
In hindsight, I thought this was a good way to end The Clone Wars. The series started and ended with a story centered on Yoda. But I just started the new season 7, and I'm curious how the newer ending will be!
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2016-08-29T01:29:07Z
8.3/10. A fine finale to this series. We get one more badass lightsaber fight, and even if it's pretty quickly that It's All Just A Dream, that doesn't take away from the visual splendor of it or the thematic significance. Yoda is willing to die in this fight in order to save someone else, and that, whether you consider it ironic or just appropriate, is what allows him to have some kind of existence beyond his death.
There's a really interesting subtext to the episode, that is frankly a little adult for this show but still powerful and mostly subtle. Namely, the episode posits the Sith as not believing in life after death, and having that motivate their quest for power. There's a certain nihilism espoused on Moraband (and come on with the Sith names, George) that is pretty notable in how frank it is. Throw in the monologue from Darth Bane (Mark Hamill!) and you have the evil philosophy in this show being undergirded by some sort of very dark take on humanism, which is interesting even if it doesn't necessarily fit with my sensibilities.
And the show posits the Jedi, Yoda in particular, as having more of a Buddhist philosophy in response, of making peace with the cycle of life and death. The first analogue that actually came to my head was the conflict between Harry Potter and Voldemort in The Deathly Hallows where J.K. Rowling juxtaposes the latter as fighting constantly against his own demise and the former accepting it, and using that as the means to distinguish them. The idea of Yoda's acceptance of his own life as finite and his willingness to sacrifice himself to save others demonstrates the kind of morality, the kind of peace that assures the Priestesses he's ready for their training.
It's pretty heady stuff beneath the exciting battle and imagery we witness here. At its best, that's what the show gave us -- the sort of peak thrills that Star Wars is known for, but also the character work and themes to give it depth and intrigue beyond the shallowly enjoyable space-battles and sword fights. I still have the unfinished story reels and Rebels to look forward to from this creative team, but the finale, and the show, have both been worthwhile watches for the depth they added to the Star Wars universe, and in particular, for how they expanded and deepened the world of the prequels, finding the beauty and, frankly, the quality, that was missing in Lucas's late cinematic efforts, and showing the best that this part of the timeline and setting could be.