Full Series Grade Episode 6.11: Voices

An excellent and thought-provoking episode that kicks off Yoda's personal journey of discovery. The revelations made in Voices go a long way to explaining one of the few remaining mysteries of Revenge of the Sith, namely, Qui-Gon's ability to retain his identity after death and his subsequent teaching of this to Yoda. This episode, and the ones after it, went a long way to building upon and perhaps even altering, our perspective of the films, particularly RotS and The Empire Strikes Back

It begins innocuously enough. Yoda is quietly meditating in his chambers when he suddenly hears a voice in his mind. A voice from someone thought to be long dead, the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn. Although Jinn is unable to manifest himself fully as a Force Ghost because his "training was not complete", he apparently still has the ability to manipulate reality, as he revealed in an impressive display as he caused several candles to blow out and levitated Yoda. The revelation that Qui-Gon could still exist after death was extremely troubling to Yoda, who like all the Jedi of his time, were of the belief that retaining one's identity after death was impossible, as all living things go on to become one with the Force. This is exemplified by the words of Ki-Adi-Mundi, who lays doubt throughout the episode that Yoda could truly be communing with the dead, and is instead of the belief that the Sith have found a way to attack Master Yoda directly. The blindness of the PT Jedi was on full display here, and though all realize the growing dark side, none have the answers to how they can combat it. Yoda himself desperately seeks to learn the truth. In fact, the episode's fortune cookie, "Madness can sometimes be the path to truth," summarizes Yoda's predicament quite succinctly. He wonders if he is going crazy, or if he indeed has heard the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn. If this is indeed madness, then he is simply one step closer to perhaps unraveling the truth of what is behind the Clone Wars, that is, the Grand Plan of the Sith. The Council was almost all present in this episode, as Oppo Rancisis made a notable appearance here for just the second episode of the series (the first being in The Disappeared, Part I); I liked the animation of his serpentine body, but too bad he, like most of the Council members, had no speaking role in this episode.

The Council proved ultimately unable to get to the bottom of the mysterious presence contacting Yoda. The time-lapsed scene where the entire Council is meditating alongside Yoda in the Council chambers was a definite highlight. Yoda's interactions with Anakin Skywalker in this episode were also quite notable as well. I enjoyed the continuity of having Mortis name-dropped, as Yoda tries to jog Anakin's memory of the time he and Obi-Wan saw Qui-Gon Jinn's spirit on Mortis. Like Obi-Wan and the other Jedi, Anakin dismisses it as an illusion, but seems to have his own doubts. Later, he rebuffs Ki-Adi-Mundi's definitive statement that no one can exist after death, saying that there were many things about the Force that the Jedi don't understand. Which is true. In a way, Anakin was ironically a kindred spirit to Yoda in this episode. Anakin never conformed to the Jedi ideal of that era, and Yoda, through much self-doubt, also begins to question whether the Jedi truly know everything that's going on, and that they must approach things differently. A need to think outside of the box, so to speak. After Dr. Rig Neema's checks of Yoda's health shows nothing out of the ordinary, she suggests a nifty "deprivation ritual" that could lead Yoda to discovering the source of this mysterious voice, by depriving him of all outside stimulation. Yoda insists on taking it despite the dangers, because "The danger is not to know the truth." How right you are, Master Yoda. How right you are... Yoda then has a vivid vision of the planet Dagobah, and Qui-Gon's voice implores the diminutive Jedi Master to go there to find the answers he seeks. The Jedi have difficulty believing Yoda could communicate with "old friends, long gone" and after Ki-Adi-Mundi brings up the mistaken notion that the Sith have begun to corrupt Yoda, Mace Windu assigns the Grand Master to bed-rest whilst being watched over by Temple guards.

It is here that we see some notable humor between Yoda and Anakin, and further shows that the two may be much more similar than we expect at first glance. Both Anakin and Yoda possess a certain personality, an open-mindedness to ideas beyond what is conventionally accepted by the rest of the Jedi Order, that in many ways make them kindred spirits. Only by going on his own individual path, away from the conformity of the Council, does Yoda begin to uncover the truth. Yoda convinces Anakin to assist in his escape, due to the "spontaneity" the latter possesses that other Jedi simply do not, further emphasizing this. Yoda successfully escapes, accompanied by R2-D2 on his tiny starfighter, an ironic precursor to the TIE fighters that would later dominate the galaxy during the time of the Empire. Once servicing the galaxy as craft for peacemakers and negotiators, these fighters would become a feared symbol of the might and ubiquity of the Galactic Empire following the fall of the Republic.

Now this is where the episode truly gets fascinating. Upon landing on Dagobah, Yoda communes with the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn in a beautiful scene with the much-beloved Yoda theme playing. All of these Dagobah scenes did much to return us to a place where the Force truly seemed mystical, and magical, like in the OT. It's interesting to see here that TESB is no longer the first time that R2 goes to Dagobah, putting that scene in an entirely different context; perhaps R2's discomfiture in the film was from recalling his experiences here with Master Yoda, all those years ago. As Qui-Gon follows "the light", seemingly a bunch of fireflies flying in unison, Qui-Gon imparts upon him the knowledge that the energy of the Living Force, coming from all beings that exist, powers the wellspring of the Cosmic Force (the Unifying Force in 'Legends'), which binds the galaxy together. Knowledge that Yoda would impart onto Luke in TESB. It was actually quite welcome to me that Qui-Gon mentioned the midi-chlorians, emphasizing that although the Force was an energy field, it had a biological component which allowed the Jedi to touch the Force, so to speak. As The Jedi Path describes it, comparing the midi-chlorians to a "bowl" from which the Jedi may drink the "soup" that is the Force. While these are lessons that I am sure Yoda is already well aware of, it gave viewers greater insight on the nature of the Force, allowing a better connection between how it is explained in TPM and how it was described in TESB. A harmonious fusion between our understanding of the Force in the OT and in the PT.

The greatest highlight of this episode was perhaps Yoda going into the Cave of Evil, the dark side cave, for the first time. He finds only what he takes with him, the desire to know the Sith Grand Plan and his fear that it would come to fruition. His fear of the Sith victory compels him to see a grim future. One where the Jedi cut down the clones that once served under them, speaking to the events of the previous episode when the Jedi discover the clones as part of the Sith plot; one where, true to form in RotS, three Jedi Council Masters are quickly dispatched by (a hooded) Darth Sidious; a vision of Mace Windu being electrocuted by Sidious' lightning prior to his defenestration; and even a vision of Shaak Ti getting stabbed in the back by a blue lightsaber, ostensibly belonging to Anakin. Yoda is overwhelmed by the visions of "such evil", realizing that the Sith Lord they've all been looking for, Sidious, may well emerge victorious and that his words, "Join me, it is the only way" were all that's left for the Jedi. It's interesting how close to the true events many of these visions were. Still, they are vague enough that Yoda has no reason to believe that they all will come true. Qui-Gon notes that the Sith plan "is happening now. It has always been happening", implying the Jedi's inability to stop it and avert the impending crisis. It is then that Yoda realizes how far the Jedi have been mislead and manipulated by the Sith. Qui-Gon's words remind me of the opening passage of the RotS novelization:

It is notable that this episode emphasized that it is the Cosmic Force that has a will, as it imparts unto Force-users the ability to glimpse the future, and that the Will of the Force was to subtly guide itself away from the overwhelming imbalance toward the dark side; basically, the "correction" that began with the birth of Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi's Chosen One. But how will it do that? Qui-Gon tells Yoda that there are opportunities, many of which one can barely see, that must be seized in order to guide the followers of the light to correcting this imbalance. Now Yoda realizes his journey towards guiding the followers of the light to this goal has only just begun.

This was a beautiful episode, and one that I very much enjoyed for its elaboration on the nature of the Force, while also showing us the importance of Yoda's journey to the greater context of the Clone Wars. I gave Voices a 9.5/10.

 

My thoughts exactly, seeing the entire Jedi Council meditate together throughout the night trying to discern what Yoda had been hearing was a really amazing moment that stands out across the saga. Having to use technology to attempt to commune showed how the Jedi had lost their way, and I loved having Neeson back. Ki-Adi Mundi's growing concern over the dark side from this season was a nice touch, explains why I think he sensed his men turn their blasters on him during Order 66 while all the other Jedi were caught off guard, save for Yoda.

9.8/10, rounded.