Review of the Jedi: Sacrifice

Join the Serial Wordsmith for a special four-day finale to his recaps and reviews of the last season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars

And as Yoda's journey comes to a close, so does on our own. This is the last new Clone Wars episode and so this is my last Review of the Jedi. I may bring the series back for Rebels and Episode VII, but for now this is the end. Before we get to the episode I just want to thank everyone who's read these reviews and I hope I didn't waste your time. Now then...

When we left Yoda he had embarked on a journey to learn how to preserve his consciousness after death. This brought him to a strange planet where five Force Priestesses initiated the diminutive Jedi Master through a series of trials. He overcame them but one trial still remained, on the Sith homeworld of Moraband. And before you pedantic nerds gang up on me, yeah I know it was originally called Korriban. But it's not like they changed anything else about the place so what's the big deal? Anyway, this episode begins with Yoda arriving on the planet and making his way into an ancient Sith tomb.

Here he encounters the spirits of dead Sith who try to lead him astray, which is important to the overall spiritual journey narrative this arc has been following.


All the trials in journeys of this kind are about commitment. How willing is the student to take this path and can they be taken off it? The idea is that only the truly committed are worthy to possess the secrets at the end of the spiritual journey. Having overcome the darkness within himself that would stop him before the journey began and rejecting the false paradise if he abandoned the path, Yoda now faces those who've failed on the path. It's why these Sith spirits hiss things like, "There is no life after death" and imply his quest is pointless. They exist to introduce doubt into the initiate's mind and dissuade him from the path. But Yoda, like any true spiritual seeker, withstands their taunts and continues on. So the Sith have to up their ante.

Visit Scenic Moraband!
Pick up a T-shirt at the Dark Council's gift shop!

Which is where they bring in Mark freakin' Hamill as Darth Bane. Fanservice of Luke Skywalker returning to Star Wars aside, Bane's spirit is the threshold guardian of the Trial of Fear. He's there as a representation of all that Yoda fears and doubts. He is the power of the Sith unchecked, he is the source of the darkness eating at the galaxy's heart, he is the possibility that the Sith have the only path to immortality. So to pass the trial and dispel the spirit, Yoda must hold fast. He must believe that even if the Sith win the war, The Jedi will endure and balance through the Force will return to the galaxy. He can't let Bane get to him. It's just like all the other Trials, Yoda cannot ignore and reject his feelings as Jedi dogma would have him. He must accept that they come from within him and through the Force, control and overcome them. Only then can he see Bane for what he is, a ghost.

But while Yoda has been on a journey, Dooku and Palpatine have felt his arrival on Moraband. To nip the green Jedi in the bud once and for all, they conduct a Sith ritual to affect Yoda's mind and break his will. They will be his last trial. And this is where the episode really stumbles. The situation starts off well. With the ritual, they cause Yoda to hallucinate a still-living Sifo-Dyas. Kept in bondage for years, he begs Yoda to free him and he will reveal the identity of the Sith Lord controlling the Republic. This part fits into the spiritual journey narrative. As a final test of his commitment, the initiate will be presented with something or someone he loves. Then he will have to choose between the loved one or the secret knowledge the path would give him. If they choose the loved one and throw away their progress on the path, they fail.

"The heart Dooku! You must strike his heart!"

Going off what I said yesterday about how Yoda takes responsibility for all the Jedi as his students, Palpatine is being rather shrewd here using Sifo-Dyas. A Jedi whose death Yoda feels responsible for, the Jedi whose survival might have prevented the entire Clone War, could be seen as one of Yoda's biggest failures. But here he is alive, there is chance for Yoda to undo his failure that has led to so much more death. And he has the information Yoda most wants, the information that could prevent so much more destruction in the future. All he has to do is forget his quest for life after death. It's almost the ultimate temptation. But Yoda sees through this for the bullshit it is and this is where things go wrong.

After he breaks through the Sifo-Dyas illusion, Palpatine creates a new illusion in Yoda's mind. This time he's leading a mission with Anakin on Coruscant to capture Dooku and Palpatine. It's an abrupt transition that gives the audience whiplash trying to figure out what just happened and just devolves into lightsaber action after that. The spiritual journey arc is completely derailed and while the sequence is well-shot, the whole thing feels anti-climatic because we know it's just an illusion in Yoda's mind. Some of the character conflict is still there, near the end Palpatine pulls a Green Goblin to try and make Yoda choose between letting an unconscious Anakin from falling or capturing him and stopping the Sith. But again, it feels anti-climatic because we've seen this cliche before and know how it plays out. Yoda saves Anakin and Palpatine gets away, except it's worse because this an illusion and it doesn't matter anyway.

You been THUNDERSTRUCK!

This would have worked much better if Yoda and Palpatine had an in-person confrontation on Moraband, or even if he'd fought Darth Bane's ghost instead. That way the writers could have maintained the stakes and delivered the requisite lightsaber action. The way it is just feels contrived. Heck, it would have been better if Yoda had fought Bane's ghost instead because then it would reinforce the Trial of Fear as well. Then the fight would have been just as spiritual as it was physical. Bane could've taunted Yoda more, mocking his adherence to outdated Jedi beliefs and trying to break his spirit by showing him visions of Darth Vader and the Empire. That for all wisdom, he was blind to the Sith's power and the future doomed to be ruled by Palpatine. Then when Yoda ultimately wins the fight, it won't be just because he's better with a lightsaber. It will be because he had the strength of will and faith to reject Bane's taunts. To not accept that Palpatine's empire is pre-destined and even if it is, the Sith will not extinguish the Jedi. And with that victory, the Force Priestesses will reveal the secrets to Yoda and show him that his faith was true with visions of Luke's eventual triumph over Palpatine. They do that last part in the episode but it doesn't feel as earned.

Plus, you've got Mark Hamill doing his trademark evil voice. Might as well use him.

Overall, while it didn't stick the landing this was a great arc. The spiritual journey stuff was aces and the use of Yoda was excellently handled. There was some cool imagery as well, from the Force Priestesses to the Sith ghosts, that really added to the overall mystical feel. It was only the Palpatine illusion stuff at the end that didn't work. I also like how the series ended on a hopeful note. It would have been easy to end on a downer, considering Revenge of the Sith is going to happen soon, but instead they opted to call back to the bright optimism of the Original Trilogy. It fits considering the Yoda we see after his journey is more like the weird prankster who would meet Luke Skywalker than the stern authority we met in Episode I. I've spent enough time outlining what a great character study of Yoda this was and it made for a good last hurrah for him considering we probably won't be seeing him in Rebels. This was definitely the most narratively consistent arc this season, carrying a complete story through three episodes and the Sifo-Dyas prologue episode. This show tends to do arcs with episodes that are complete stories that compliment and build off each other when put together, so breaking that mold was a nice change of pace.

Sacrifice feels like a good place to leave the Clone Wars. At this point in the timeline Democracy is failing, morality has gotten murkier and faith in the Jedi is dissolving fast. Knowing how bad things are going to get, going on this journey with Yoda feels right. Overcoming the denial, temptation and fear that the war has pushed to forefront of everyone's mind, reaffirming faith in his core principles and preparing for the long night to come. Yoda, oldest and wisest of the Jedi, rekindling the true light of the Force so he can keep it burning through the darkness for a new hope.