Season 3 Episode 21 "Padawan Lost"
The two part season finale of Star Wars: The Clone Wars kicked off last weekend with “Padawan Lost.” Kidnapping, rude Trandoshans, and stunning settings make this a can't-miss episode.
Anakin, Ahsoka, and Plo Koon have been sent with a small force of troopers to Felucia. Their mission is to help end the long-lasting battle and take ground from the Separatists. The three Jedi split up into separate groups to attack from all sides. Ahsoka has a difficult entry point, but she's not worried. Anakin, of all people, tells Ahsoka, “Don't get cocky.” Everyone gets in position, but Ahsoka swears she senses something among the underwater-like plants of Felucia. The teams move in and just as Ahsoka turns to join her team at the top of a ridge she is hit with an electric net. A Trandoshan drags her away.
The fight rages on, and the Jedi secure the outpost. Anakin soon realizes that Ahsoka is missing. She wakes on a Trandoshan ship, a prisoner. A fellow captive tells her they will be released and hunted down for sport. The lizards are excited about having a Jedi to hunt. The ship leaves Felucia and heads to the Trandoshan moon, Wasskah. The prisoners are dumped off the ship and immediately attacked in order to shake out the best of the group. Many of the prisoners die immediately. Ahsoka runs away from the ship, and she is found by a group of three other Jedi younglings – Kalifa, O-Mer, and Jinx. They were attacked on a training mission and brought to the moon to be hunted. They've been stuck on the planet so long that they don't think anyone is even looking for them anymore. The Trandoshans don't hunt at night, so Ahsoka stays with the other younglings and rests.
Meanwhile, it's time for the Jedi to return to Coruscant. Anakin does not want to leave Ahsoka behind. He's had Rex search the area several times already. Plo Koon reminds him that the mission is complete, and that they have done all they can to find her. For a moment, it appears like Anakin will disobey and stay behind but he reluctantly boards the ship.
In the morning, the hunt starts again so the group keeps on the move. The group has only been staying on the defensive. They run and hide during the day. While they are hiding in the brush, the Trandoshans are celebrating the beginning of the hunt on their ship (it's their base). The ship's walls are lined with trophies like Wampa skins and Wookiee heads. The Trandoshans hunt aboard hovercraft and before long, they kill some of the prisoners that arrived with Ahsoka.
Ahsoka points out that they will never be able to escape if they just keep hiding, even if it's dangerous to act. She says her master would never forgive her for running in a situation like this. So she does a crazy thing and seeks out a Trandoshan. She manages to give him a good fight, but she would have died if Kalifa did not join in. If the younglings work as a team, they are a threat. Ahsoka's energy and spirit has renewed feelings of hope in the group. It's time to go on the offensive. They make a plan to find the Trandoshan's base.
Back on the base, the lizards are dancing around a fire, butting heads, and appearing generally angry and wound up. The son of the leader, Garnac, has vowed to make his first Jedi kill. He is in the process of trying to check that off his list when the Jedi younglings notice that the ship is the base. They've been looking on the ground. Unfortunately, they're too busy dodging fire to do anything about it. They split up into groups; Ahsoka is with Califa and O'Mer with Jinx. Califa slips and injures her arm. The bloodthirsty son, Dar, goes after her. She fights him off on her own, but this time she needs Ahsoka's help. Ahsoka unintentionally kills the Trandoshan. As she helps Califa get farther into the brush, Califa is shot by the father of Dar. As if he wasn't violent enough, now he wants vengeance. Califa dies, and Ahsoka vows to protect the other younglings.
The episode ends on Coruscant. Anakin is clearly dealing with some attachment issues; it's his primary weakness. He is worried about Ahsoka and obsessive about finding her. Plo Koon tries to calm him by pointing out that if Ahsoka has been trained well, she can find her way back. Of course he says this after telling Anakin that Ahsoka's greatest strength – being fearless – is also her greatness weakness. It's a bit of a mixed message, but it seems like it was meant to be reassuring.
Trivia & Notes
This is the first time Felucia has appeared on screen since the Order 66 montage in Revenge of the Sith. It was also the setting for two levels in the video game The Force Unleashed.
Gwendoline Yeo voices the character Kalifa. She has also voiced characters in other episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars such as “Holocron Heist” and “Blue Shadow Virus.”
Season 3 Episode 22: "Wookiee Hunt"
The season finale of season three of Star Wars: The Clone Wars “Wookiee Hunt” picks up right where the last episode left off. Anakin is still searching for his missing Padawan. Ahsoka is in danger.
Ahsoka is on the run. She is separated from the other younglings, and she needs to stay alive and find them. She tears through the lush brush of Wasskah and eludes the pursuing Trandoshans. For now. As night comes, she heads back to a familiar hiding spot to find the younglings. When they learn of Kalifa's death, they lose heart. Ahsoka points out that it's true that they might not survive, but that they should go down fighting. They plan to attack the next time the Trandoshans drop new prisoners. They do this every few days. They head to the drop point and get into position. They try to board the first ship that shows up. O'Mer and Jinx fight one of the lizards on the outside of the ship, while Ahsoka tries to take out the pilot. They succeed in taking the ship, but unfortunately, they crash land it. So much for that escape route. A familiar noise comes from the rubble of the ship; one of the prisoners survived. The tall and furry creature emerges into the light. It's a Wookiee.
In daylight, the Trandoshans find the crashed ship. It turns out the only prisoner on board was the Wookiee. The lizards are a bit worried about the organized younglings having a Wookiee on their side. Ahsoka can understand the walking carpet, and she learns that his name is Chewbacca. He says he can build a transmitter from the wreckage of the ship to contact his nearby home. She tells this to the younglings, and everyone agrees to trying. They sneak to the crash site at night. Unfortunately, the Trandoshans have sent out a patrol. A Trandoshan sniper, Smug, spots them, but O'Mer and Jinx stop him. Chewbacca almost kills the Trandoshan, but they decide to take him as a live prisoner instead.
Back in the hiding spot, Chewbacca tries to get the transmitter working. O'Mer and Jinx don't have faith in that plan; they formulate a different one. They want to use having a prisoner to their advantage. They want to use the prisoner to trick the enemy into bringing a speeder to them. Then they will take the speeder to the base and take the Trandoshans by surprise. Jinx and O'Mer decide they are taking the prisoner in the morning with or without Ahsoka. She decides to join them and asks Chewbacca to come too. All of them will need to participate for the plan to work.
Morning comes. Jinx uses the Force to get the lizard to listen. Well, after Chewbacca helps by punching him first. Smug calls a speeder to pick him up. When the speeder arrives, Ahsoka takes out the driver and O-Mer takes control. The others board, and they take the speeder to the Trandoshan ship. Meanwhile, the transmitter in the cave sends out a signal to Kashyyyk. They are outnumbered but having a Wookiee and the Force on your side makes a big difference. They make an impressive effort, but they are re-captured by the Trandoshans. Just as they are almost made into trophies, Wookiee reinforcements arrive. They are intimidating and the Trandoshans aren't much of a match. While they clean up, Ahsoka goes to the trophy room to deal with Garnac. It's a brash move. She's outmatched. She gets the upper hand, and she intends to take him prisoner but accidentally kills him instead. That's two accidental kills in two episodes.
The Wookiees return with the younglings to Coruscant. Anakin apologizes profusely to Ahsoka for letting her be kidnapped. Ahsoka tells him that she knows he did all he could to find her. She says that without his training, she wouldn't have survived. It was because of him that she was able to get out and lead the others. She thanks him for all he has taught her. They walk with each other into the temple as Yoda looks on, somewhat ominously.
Trivia & Notes
In case you wondered, Peter Mayhew did return to voice Chewbacca. He even got a special thank you for being “the heart and soul of Chewbacca” in the credits.
The yellow birds (or as Editor Lucas Siegel calls them, Owl-Monkeys) that keep showing up are called convorees. Lucas desperately wants a plushy of one of them.
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