Full Series Discuss/Regrade the Episode: S03E07: The Assassin

Episode 3.7!! The Assassin​

Nightmare visions of a crazy witch!​

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"The future has many paths -- choose wisely."​

Tasked to protect SenatorPadmé Amidala during a political mission toAlderaan, Padawan Ahsoka Tano is plagued by recurring visions of recently-deceased bounty hunter, Aurra Sing. Unable to clear her mind, Ahsoka worries that the stress of conflict is finally getting to her until her visions indeed prove prophetic. Padmé narrowly avoids death when Aurra Sing attempts to assassinate her. Together, Padmé and Ahsoka trap the hunter, and Ahsoka discovers the true villain behind the plot to kill Padmé: the incarcerated gangster, Ziro the Hutt.​

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http://starwars.com/explore/the-clone-wars/ep306/#!/about​

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Now that you've rewatch the episode lets regrade it. Feel free to discuss as much as you like.​

 

Why can't I remember any of these episodes..?

Oh wait, I do remember this one. I didn't think it was terrible.. 6/10

 

I remember this one. It was awful.

 

I felt Assassin was a largely mediocre episode. It focused heavily on the theme of Force visions as a sort of retroactive foreshadowing of Anakin's own dream-visions in RotS. Hence why Padme seems familiar with them in general by the time of the movie. Still, it seemed Ahsoka, paranoia aside, could do no wrong in this episode, thwarting multiple attempts by Aurra Sing on the Senator's life. The episode was quite simple in general, and outside of the brief stints of action involving Aurra and Ahsoka, wasn't very memorable.

I liked the hint of Leia's theme playing during Padme's visit to Alderaan; this episode gave us a glimpse of the doomed planet's idyllic landscape. It did seem rather convenient how quickly Ahsoka was able to lapse into Force visions while meditating. Nice shot of Aurra Sing silently snapping a guard's neck; she really means business with the no-holds-barred brutality. The highlight of the episode was Ahsoka and Padme's final encounter with Aurra on the second assassination attempt. Still, why didn't Aurra use the Force (especially after she comes to and sees Padme's guards looming over her)? TCW gives no mention of or even reference to Sing's history as a former Jedi whatsoever...very disappointing. It would have been so cool to see Aurra whip out a lightsaber and engage Ahsoka in a duel. I mean, why use double blasters against a Jedi in the close quarters of Padme's apartment bedroom? I am sure Aurra could have stood her own in a duel with the young Padawan based on what we see of her in the EU. But oh well, missed opportunity there.

Another convenient Force vision from Ahsoka allows the Jedi to quickly implicate Ziro as the mastermind behind the assassination attempt. Yeah, the smug b****** wasn't so smug anymore at the end, was he? Meh, like many of the Ahsoka- and Padme-centric episodes in the first 3 seasons, this one was rather forgettable.

I gave this a 6/10, mostly for Aurra Sing awesomeness, but it really could have been better; we should have seen Aurra at her full BA potential.

 

It was a pretty good episode, but it was nothing great. Really small storyline, so not a lot could have happened, though a full on Ahsoka and Aurra fight would've been cool. The short fight at the end was pretty cool with Aurra blasting one million lasers per second, and then Ahsoka deflecting them all, and it was also cool to see someone other than a Jedi be the one to defeat the villain in the end, well done Padme! I give this episode a 7/10.

 

7/10 - this episode wasn't quite as strong as many others, but overall it wasn't bad either. I liked the idea of Ahsoka's visions and am only sorry they never had a chance to revisit them. The best scene in the episode, for me at least, had to be when Ahsoka and Padme where spending some quiet time together, playing a game and talking about Ahsoka's insecurities. Padme, in more of a big sister/mother-type role and the younger Ahsoka drawing strength from that as they talked made for a beautiful scene over all.

 

8/10
The two crappy episodes proceeding this one made it seem better. Great to see Alderaan for more than a moment. On my lunch break so can't think of more to say.

 

I heard that GL specifically told Filoni that he didn't want Sing being shown to be using the Force on screen in TCW, to prevent kids from getting her mixed up with Ventress (two different characters in the one show who are both tall, slender, unnaturally pale skinned female force wielders apparently being too much for young minds to process... at least, when you view reality through the glasses of GL.)

 

He didn't seem to have a problem with Ventress being made a bounty hunter just like Sing, though. Funny.

 

Solid 7/10 for me. Pacing was good in this, felt longer than 22 minutes. But it also feels like not a whole lot happened at the same time.

 

I can't wait until we get to some better episodes so I can have nice things to say...
I swear, after ARC Troopers, Season 3 had the worst slump of non story arc-connected episodes in the series. Assassin is fifth in that line.

I'll start with the good. The settings were rather nice, especially the panoramic painted background of the twilight mountains on Alderaan, that sadly didn't get as much screen time as it deserved. It was nice to see the actual people of Alderaan, the interior architecture of their buildings, as well as the general design aesthetic of everything else there. I'm a fan of the Senate Commando concept, so those were a nice plus to see again, as was Aurra Sing. Bonus points for the new look, finally giving her a different appearance than her movie outfit, even if it's as basic as a cosmetic pallet swap on her suit. And...that's about it.

Without so much as a hint of foreshadowing or explanation, Ahsoka now has powerful Force visions rivaling Anakin's. With Anakin, one of the first things Qui-Gon mentions is his ability to see things before they happen, laying the groundwork for what was to come to a climax in Revenge of the Sith, all the way back in The Phantom Menace. Here, Ahsoka has powers because the episode needs her to have powers, and with the exception of the events on Mortis―wherein everyone is granted some manner of vision―she never uses these abilities again, nor are they even referenced in any meaningful way. Powers that she also masters far better than Anakin. -1 We get an odd retread of the counseling scene from Revenge of the Sith, which also makes Yoda's interactions with Anakin strange, considering how much more approachable and considerate he is with Ahsoka. -1 There's also something really familiar about this plot of a bounty hunter trying to assassinate Padme and a Jedi protecting her...oh wait, it's because I've seen it before, and the last time it was called Attack of the Clones. I was half expecting rough romantic dialogue and an awkward kiss, but apparently that was the only part they didn't feel like ripping off. -1

Which brings me to a major issue with this episode: it felt like an Ahsoka Sue fanfiction. Ahsoka has a brand new power she's never used before but is able to, in short order, master it to a degree above her master, the Chosen One. She evokes an entirely different and more favorable response from the Grand Master of the Jedi Order than her master―once again, the Chosen One―for no apparent reason other than the plot demanded it. She's off on her own, able to worm her way into a diplomatic escort, and while we're treated to the false threat of "I don't understand my visions!", when placed face to face with the episode's antagonist, she has not a moment's trouble with her. And combined with the fact that the intended target is someone we are certain will escape unharmed, all semblance of danger is thrown out of the window. In essence, this is an episode that never needed to exist, and the series itself treats it mostly as if it never did. While the show is awful with in-series continuity as it is, nothing here is ever referenced again, even in the most passing of ways or vaguest of allusions. Altogether, another minus 3.

Minor gripes: Phil Lamarr is a good actor. He is not, however, the right choice for replacing Bail, and every time he speaks it irritates me with exactly how un-Bail-like he sounds. Also, why is Anakin being placed in charge of the "Third Legion," when his assigned unit is the 501st, and he's even being picked up by a Torrent Company detachment? Then we have the contrived ending where, somehow, a single mention of an abstract color is enough to correctly lead our heroes to the guilty party. Minus 1 for all.

This episode is easily some of the strongest fuel for those who view Ahsoka as a Mary Sue-esque character, as she engages in numerous archetypal traits of the trope. The plot is a boring and highly derivative rehash of Attack of the Clones, with no chance for anything of legitimate consequence to take place due to the characters involved, and I think I would have much preferred to see this episode's opposite number: Anakin sans Ahsoka, in command of a clone unit seeking to put an end to a civil war on Balith. Sadly, yet another poor episode totaling 3 out of 10 points on my review.

 

This episode was a pretty okay one. The plot itself was nothing too bad and was entertaining for what it was, the animation and partially the music were really quite good & there were a couple of nice scenes between Padme and Ahsoka. It was great to see Alderaan in TCW and a snippet of Leia's theme during the arrival to the planet was a nice touch as well. Aurra Sing as the villainess was a really good choice but it's a thumbs down that this was her final appearance on the show; she should have appeared more. Other than that, there wasn't much that stood out.

6/10

 

2/10 Those hallucination scenes.... eh.

 

This is IMO one of the most boring episodes in all of TCW. It the only one I had never rewatched until this thread came up. I didn't remember it. Its so slow. The visions thing got old. Padme's constant, "I still have faith in you." instead of "Holy hell, you nearly just cut my head off with your lightsaber." was annoying. Can we have some real dialogue like Plan of Dissent has? Then isn't it convenient how Ziro is found out? Reminds me why Ahsoka wasn't one of my favorite episodes. 4/10. Points for animation, Aura Sing, the droid in disguise, and clones getting a cameo in the arc.

 

Yeah, this episode was pretty dull. The passage of episodes between 'ARC Troopers' and 'Nightsisters' has to be the weakest one on the show.

 

Season 3 was TCW's "experimental season". Kinda like it was just starting college. By Season 4 it has come out more mature (except for the occasional droid episode),

 

I'm still shaking my head over the Sing-mandate from G.Walton.

 

Don't even remember this episode

 

I agree in that those two really utilized the SW universe with stand-alones staring non-main characters. But I still really like the later seasons as well.

 

Can we get the next regrading thread now, please?

 

No need to repeat what Mia Mesharad so eloquently stated, so I'll use the shortened version:

A storyline exclusively driven by a character suddenly having visions = lazy writing.

I'll give it a 2/10 - 1 point for Alderaan and another for Aurra Sing.