TV Review: THE CLONE WARS LIGHTSABER LOST

Star Wars: The Clone Wars returned Friday night after a couple of weeks off with the new episode, "Lightsaber Lost," in which Ahsoka teams up with an elderly Jedi Master to find her stolen lightsaber. While most of season two has been a vast improvement in quality over the first season, "Lightsaber Lost" is an episode which just did not work in almost any way. I would venture that this episode is probably the worst one of the entire series.



Structurally, it is similar to the detective story subplot in Attack of the Clones, which is a good place to start. It even features a lot of the same kinds of Coruscant underground locations and an appearance by librarian Jocasta Nu. It introduces Jedi Tera Senube, and that's where a lot of the problems start. Up until now, the show has done a great job with its Jedi characters but Senube is uninspired all the way through. He has two characteristics: old and British and reminds me unpleasantly of the Jetfire character from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

The design elements of this episode go horribly astray in a show which has its own unique style and until now has featured some really outstanding design. In "Lightsaber Lost," there are lots of crowd scenes and the same character models are used over and over again. It seems some background characters are lifted straight from previous episodes with little or no changes. Its to the point where it seems like this episode is full of cameos. What's worse a character is introduced which clearly uses the Gha Nakt model from last season. This is a lousy idea for a couple of reasons, especially since Gha Nakt was a really unmistakable character and not just a regular Trandoshan. Mostly it just pulled me out of the story.



What few new designs are introduced are somewhat whimsical and silly, not unlike some of the podracers from Phantom Menace, as though the designers were randomly pulling elements out of hat and combining them together. Master Senube looks like a cross between a lipstick-wearing camel and an early 1990's skateboarder. One of the alien thieves has silly sideways eyes and mitten hands. This episode even introduces robotic Bobby police officers. Ugh.



What's worse is that the theft was unmotivated and unexplored. What were these two girls going to do with a lightsaber? And how was one of them able to use it so effectively? Should we feel sympathy for them? Are they victims? This might have been a nice opportunity to explore the lives of regular Coruscant residents. In an otherwise great season, I am writing off "Lightsaber Lost," especially since next week introduces the Mandalorians to the show.

Patrick Garone
Senior Reviewer