Full Series Grade Episode 6.13: Sacrifice

This was one of their best ever. Yoda vs Sidious, Darth Bane, and seeing Moraband/Korriban for the 1st time? Wow! 10/10

 

(Had to draft my own Top 10 favorite Star Wars: The Clone Wars episodes list elsewhere, figured I'd use the excerpt for "Sacrifice" in lieu of a unique review.)

6.13 – “Sacrifice”

Star Wars: The Clone Wars began its televised run in 2008 with “Ambush,” a story centered around Yoda. For many, then, it is only appropriate that the last episode follow the aged Jedi Grand Master on one final journey. Arguably a spiritual and thematic successor to season three’s Mortis trilogy, Yoda’s four episode arc is an epic, supernatural tale. “Sacrifice,” the explosive finale, depicts the conclusion of Yoda’s ethereal trials as orchestrated by the divine Force Priestesses. The inclusion of the Sith planet Korriban, here referred to as Moraband by editorial edict from George Lucas, is an inspired decision. The world is preserved almost perfectly from its incarnation in the Expanded Universe; an arid, sinister wasteland pockmarked by pseudo-ancient Egyptian ruin and haunted by illusory wraiths. Just as the inclusion of the Nightsister coven, Mortis Anchorites, and Fangrawl cult expanded the supernatural spectrum of The Clone Wars, so too does “Sacrifice.” In addition to the omniscient Priestesses, the episode treats us to the first on-screen instance of Sith sorcery: Darth Sidious, alert to Yoda’s efforts, reaches across time and space to psychically assault the Jedi Master from Coruscant. Entranced by the Sith Lord’s ritual, Yoda is projected into a fantastical scenario where he, in the company of Anakin Skywalker and a contingent of clones, have tracked Darth Tyranus to Sidious’s lair on Coruscant. In the ensuing clash, the shadow of Revenge of the Sith looms tall: a helpless Dooku is beheaded by an enraged Anakin and Yoda engages his archenemy in a spectacular—if futile—duel. When Sidious threatens Anakin’s life, Yoda is presented with a choice: let the Chosen One die and continue his fruitless campaign against the Sith Lord or sacrifice himself for the opportunity, however slim, to secure the ultimate victory. Yoda’s decision and the episode’s bittersweet denouement echo the transcendent arc of the central Star Wars saga: the revenge of the Sith is assured… as is the Jedi’s new hope.

Final Score: 8/10

(Can't give it a 10/10 due to occasionally clumsy dialogue and its thematic clash with ROTS: Yoda's "epiphany" about fighting the Sith is out of place.)

 

It was rushed and, due to the constraints of half hour television, overly-simplistic, but ultimately I really enjoyed it. I gave it a 9/10.

 

Before I begin this WoT review for the final episode of TCW, I will say that Sacrifice may well be my favorite episode in the entire series, and a fitting finale to a show that began with an episode around Master Yoda and ended with one focused on him. Many props to Tom Kane! But it certainly wasn't just the symmetry that I found appealing. This episode had so many of the elements about TCW that I've always enjoyed; thematic tie-ins to the films, a story heavily focused on the Force and the dichotomy between the followers of the light side and the dark side, and many very thought-provoking elements that ultimately exist at the very core of the franchise.

The episode wastes no time in introducing to us one of the most iconic planets in the Expanded Universe―Korriban, now renamed Moraband at George Lucas' whim. That was my only real gripe about the episode, that the planet was referred to by a different name, but the Episode Guide at least noted that it could have many names through the millennia; Pesegam, Korriban, and now Moraband. In light of this fact, I have gotten over the otherwise pointless name change. I loved how the episode kept the design of the Valley of the Dark Lords intact; it truly looked like the valley as seen in KOTOR, with the exception of the numerous pointy mountains present throughout the landscape. A truly desolate, barren landscape evocative of death and primitive barbarism. In that sense, the play on words of "Moraband" and "morbid" could work. As Yoda sets out to his destination, a massive tomb at the heart of the valley whose entrance bears a more than passing resemblance to the ancient Sith Academy, he chooses to stop and meditate for the night. Here he witnesses an illusion of a bizarre serpentine-like creature composed of thousands of worms, calling itself "Sith", and then a procession of Sith specters surround him, speaking of the Sith belief that there is no life after death. Firstly, I liked the design of the Sith spirits, very Miyazaki, whose masks were not unlike the one worn by Darth Revan. Though their pointy hats reminded me of the Death Eaters in the Harry Potter films. The Sith belief in the fact that nothing but oblivion awaits those who die serves to explain the Sith obsession with achieving eternal life. Their goal is always in pursuit of power, in utter contrast to the Jedi goal of following and being servants of the Force. The Sith do not seek guidance from the Force, but instead desire to control it, drawing upon the powers of the dark side and controlling it like one would a beast of burden. Thus, we get an expansion on the differences between the Jedi and Sith philosophies often mentioned in the EU: that the Sith are obsessed with achieving power in the material, 'profane' (as Darth Plagueis likes to call it) world above all else, while the Jedi seek to learn and gain knowledge from the Force while following its will and contributing to a spiritual peace and balance. It's debatable whether these spirits are actually real or merely illusions conjured by the Priestesses, though one can also interpret it as a little bit of both; these are merely shadows, echoes of old Sith who died long ago but whose spirits, but not identities (notice how all are faceless and look the same) are preserved by the planet's nexus of potent dark side energies.

Entering the tomb, Yoda encounters the spirit of none other than Darth Bane, the legendary founder of the Rule of Two―and voiced by none other than Mark Hamill himself! Very awesome cameo, and I am glad they got the man who portrayed Luke Skywalker into one episode of TCW prior to the show's cancellation. Bane's appearance is different from that of his old EU counterpart, but considering that he's now wearing full armor, it's possible that he still looks the same underneath. I enjoyed the fact that his fiery, ashen appearance could be interpreted to reflect the fact that when he died, his body was reduced to ashes. I didn't mind the new design; it invoked a sort of dark knight/samurai vibe that isn't unlike that of Darth Vader. It could then be inferred that Vader's armor was perhaps based in part on armor worn by ancient Sith like Bane. Taunting Yoda, Bane tries to get the diminutive Jedi Master to surrender to fear and hate, but Yoda remains unmoved, refusing to believe that the spirit was real and noting that Bane no longer existed. In doing so, the illusion dissipates, and he has passed the Priestesses' final direct trials. One sidenote on Bane's presence; I felt he was a nice contrast to Qui-Gon Jinn, whose consciousness persisted in the Living Force even after his death. Bane's consciousness no longer existed in this realm, but instead merely as an echo, a true shadow of his former self who could manifest only due to the potent dark side energies present on Moraband. So even if Sith spirits exist in some form, they are ultimately powerless to affect the physical plane like a Jedi Force ghost would be able to, and are doomed to haunt the location of their burial. According to the OS's encyclopedia entry, Bane was defeated by the Jedi long ago, and with his death, they believed the Sith to be extinct and his Rule of Two to be eliminated. They buried his body in the Valley of the Dark Lords, ostensibly as a warning to those who would dare oppose the Jedi Order. But in their hubris, they never realized that the Sith had survived and that Bane's apprentice was still at large, ready to carry forth their Master's legacy, culminating in Darth Sidious and Darth Tyranus in the modern day.

Yoda's final trial was not one the Priestesses had any control over. He had to go to a Sith sacrificial chamber (shades of TotJ?), a place of "absolute darkness", where the Sith of his time would find him (the Sith spirits had earlier warned Dooku and Sidious of Yoda's presence on Moraband). Here Yoda must face his final temptation, that he could find a way to quickly defeat the Sith and thereby ending the war, but a temptation it is, for it was engineered by Sidious himself as a means to "strike a deadly blow on the Jedi", Yoda in particular. It is unclear what Sidious' endgame was for Yoda; he says he wanted to "break his spirit", which I took to mean that he hoped to force Yoda into rejecting his Jedi ideals by taking the quick and expedient path, the path to the dark side, and in so doing bring Yoda to the brink of despair and anger. What better way to cripple the Jedi Order than to make its Grand Master fall to the dark side? Though had Yoda ever truly fell, according to Dooku in Dark Rendezvous, he'd be so powerful that not even Sidious would stand a chance against him. So had he succeeded, I'm sure Sidious might have regretted is decision!

Anyway, I really loved the scene where Sidious and Tyranus conduct an ancient Sith ritual in the LiMerge building at the heart of the Works, the Sith hideout on Coruscant. It showed us for the first time onscreen a glimpse of Sith sorcery at work. We know from many EU works like Book of Sith and Darth Plagueis that Palpatine was obsessed with collecting ancient Sith artifacts, holocrons, and other objects in order to increase his knowledge of the dark side; in doing so he became one of history's most powerful Sith Lords, whose skill in Sith alchemy and sorcery were unparalleled. Sidious' ritual was intended to cast a spell of dark illusion on Yoda, and it required a drop of Dooku's blood; for as a former apprentice of Master Yoda, he possessed a connection that Sidious could exploit, confirming the worst fear of Ki-Adi-Mundi in Voices. I especially enjoyed Sidious speaking in the ancient Sith language, referred to as the "Balc tongue" in the OS. In the chamber, Yoda then encounters an illusion of an imprisoned Sifo-Dyas, who tries to tempt him to join him in learning the identity of the Sith Lord. Yoda realizes it's an illusion by Darth Sidious, but soon finds himself in another, more vivid illusion cast by the Dark Lord.

The illusory battle at the heart of the Works was easily the most fascinating part of the episode. It's a nice reference to the events of Labyrinth of Evil, when the Jedi come very close to discovering the location of Darth Sidious. They found out that the Sith had met in the LiMerge Building in the past. Here in the vision Yoda joins Anakin Skywalker and a small contingent of 501st clones, including Captain Rex, in conducting a raid on the Sith hideout. Yoda is adamant that they "execute" the Sith in order to quickly end the war, and it is here that Yoda has his darkest moment; he was so focused on ending the war by any means necessary that he failed to realize that this was ultimately a dark test imposed on him by Sidious to test his resolve. The raid itself was brief but eventful. Upon encountering the Sith, the clones open fire, but Dooku calmly dispatches them with a concentrated burst of Force lightning. Then we have a duel between Anakin and Dooku that foreshadows the one in RotS, as this time Anakin gets the upper hand and kills the Count in the same manner he did in RotS; a swift scissor-like decapitation with two lightsabers.

Then we get a truly epic astral duel between Yoda and Darth Sidious, as shown in the GIFs here:

Spoiler: Sidious vs. Yoda

Shades of the Force lightning battle in RotS

While I was initially apprehensive about the idea of Yoda fighting Darth Sidious before RotS, even in a vision, the way it played out not only made sense, but strengthened their eventual encounter in the film. These are two beings who knew each other's fighting styles by the time of the movie, and it brings further meaning to Sidious' line, "I have waited a long time for this moment, my little green friend." Anakin's involvement was key here. By trying to interfere and rushing headlong into the duel, like in AotC before Dooku, he finds himself outclassed and outmatched by Sidious, showing that even though he is the Chosen One, he is still no match for Sidious one-on-one. Then comes the terrible choice for Yoda. Teetering on the edge of the walkway wrecked by Sidious, Anakin's unconscious form was about to fall off the catwalk. Yoda then faced the difficult decision of whether or not he should sacrifice Anakin for the chance of defeating Sidious once and for all. Naturally, we learn why the episode is called "Sacrifice". Much like in AotC, he chooses to save Anakin's life even though he'd give up the opportunity to engage Sidious and defeat the Sith. This emphasized the greatest difference between the Jedi and the Sith; selflessness and the willingness to put the lives of others above one's own, and in this case Yoda chooses to sacrifice the chance to destroy the Dark Lord of the Sith in order to save the Chosen One. Thus, Yoda's loyalty to the Jedi Code ultimately triumphed over his desire to destroy the Sith, once and for all. In doing so, he has passed the ultimate test of altruism, and proven himself worthy of learning to retain his consciousness after death. I elaborated on this in a previous post, comparing his selfless act here to that taken by Luke Skywalker in the second Death Star in RotJ. Choosing to throw down his weapon to save his father's life was like Yoda choosing to save Anakin rather than kill Sidious. An act of compassion rather than an act of violence. So while Yoda fails to discover his arch-nemesis's true identity, he succeeds in his own way. Sidious realizes this, and says they need more time to defeat the Jedi, s Yoda's spirit remained unbroken. I'll give Tim Curry this; this was easily his best overall performance as the future Emperor, and he did do a pretty good job as Darth Sidious overall. At the end, the Priestesses give Yoda a brief glimpse into the future: "There is another Skywalker." Yoda hears his own future self repeating this line on his deathbed, as well as the cries of an infant Luke and the breathing of Darth Vader. Such a powerful scene.

The episode's ending was extremely poignant, if very bittersweet knowing what was to come, the destruction that would befall the Jedi Order in the waning days of the Clone Wars. Yoda notes to Mace Windu ad Obi-Wan that there was nothing important to report, which was true in a way, as most of his adventures occurred in visions. Yoda emphasizes his newfound knowledge that in fighting the war, the Jedi have already lost; shades of his future self saying "Wars not make one great." But he does offer one bit of hope, that the Jedi have found one path no Sith could ever exploit, and in doing so, they can achieve victory, not in the Clone Wars, but "for all time." Very beautiful ending, and as I mentioned in this post, the episode ends with the focus on a three-leaved clover, a possible subtle hint at the idea of a "trilogy of trilogies" that Lucas originally intended. Could it be that "victory for all time" was not achieved in RotJ, but will be achieved in Episode IX?

Overall, this is one of my favorite, if not my favorite, episode of TCW ever. What a fitting finale to the show, even though it was never intended to be one. It brought a sense of closure to a few crucial loose ends in RotS, namely how Qui-Gon learned how to Force ghost, and more importantly, gave us a fascinating connection between the two existing trilogies by showing us the journey Yoda took to become the wise, world-weary hermit in the OT, who realizes that a Jedi must be selfless and compassionate above all else. That the true way to defeat the darkness, as stated at the end of the RotS novel, is love. For love is a candle to hold back the darkness. A perfect 10/10 for me.

 

Besides the fact that I don't care about canon and by extension the Korriban/Moraband thing, what Circular Logic said. 10/10.

 

I thought it was a good end to the arc and I loved the connection to a ANH. Yoda (obviously lol) is one of my favorite characters and I liked how it gave us some insight into how people like Obi-Wan could live on through the Force in a way.

 

FANTASTIC review, Circular Logic. Great read!