Week 21 - The Trandoshan Arc

Padawan Lost is a pretty good episode overall, quite a few similarities with the season 5 finale overall. I like the cameos at the stsrt, we see the farmers from season 2 and some of the named wolf pack clones were from the Malevolence arc. The opening narration also had some similarities with the season 2 premiere on Felucia. I do kind of dislike they reused Felucia again though... I know it’s a major battlefield but I don’t get it’s significance to the war at all.

The moon of Trandosha is nice to see, the larger planet is obviously Kashyyyk. I really like how they explore the Trandoshan culture of the hunt and the scorekeeper. I also like all the trophies in the ship, the Trandoshan aspects are very SWTOR like.

Plo-Koon is once again used... I know Dave had a thing for him, but I don’t like seeing him so often, although maybe they use him cause he has a good relation with Ahsoka, similar to Anakin and Kenobi obviously. The Jedi on the island are kind of uninteresting tbh, and I don’t really care at all that the girl dies. Ahsoka is also incredibly foolish in this episode, but I guess that’s supposed to be the character development for the next one.

Anyways I think I’m going to give this episode a high 8/10, cool cameos and mostly cool locations, lots of little lore stuff beneath the surface that only EU fans would probably understand or make connections with, Dave obviously knew that though cause he’s a huge EU fan.

Wookiee Hunt is a better episode IMO. I know a lot of people think including Chewbacca was unnesacary but I kind of disagree, including him gives a way for them to get off the planet. Given Chewie is a pretty high valued Wookiee it means others would come looking for him. Plus after 177 years of being alive he probably has picked up some skills like building a transmitter. I do always find it humorous that Chewie is basically a runt when compared to other Wookiee’s, he’s usually smaller and not as buff. I’m sure we probably would have seen Chewie again if the Kashyyyk arc with Yoda was made.

Lots of little cool cameos again, there’s a crystal skull inside the ship and a very old school KOTOR Mandalorian helmet, lots of rare or uncommon species and the weapons the Trandoshans use are basically the same ones from Republic Commando, especially the shotgun.

Sugi being present is very weird to me though, I’m sure Wookiee’s have their own ships for space flight I think but maybe not. Actually now that I think about it, I remember watching the Bane vs Boba story reel awhile back and the little tiny hunter that’s with Sugi was in it but not Sugi herself, I bet she would have died in that arc. I think they were planning to clean house on hunters there. Probably would have killed Bane, Aurra and Sugi. Although now Aurra has a different fate.

Overall I’m going to give this a 9/10. And the arc scores a 17/20, 85% of points. This is by far the least impactful finale, Hostage Crisis and the Boba arc are not too impactful by themselves but they introduce major characters. This one doesn’t really introduce anything.

Hmm I guess that’s similar to Rebels too... S1 was Tarkin, S2 was Maul, and then guys like Vader, Rex and Thrawn were introduced in premieres.

Wookiee Hunt is another episode I like quite a lot. My main problem is that the Trandoshans feel a little less threatening in this one. I don’t know if it’s just because they don’t kill anyone here but it’s something I noticed. Still though, it’s pretty satisfying when they all die. Chewbacca is used pretty well here. He’s there just enough to make his appearance feel satisfying but he doesn’t takeover the story. TCW does a good job implementing movie characters. But this is Ahsoka’s episode. This episode feels like her at her best. And it also feels eanred since we’ve seen her fail and need to learn before, that she takes command of the situation here. I really like the end scene with her and Anakin. Now it feels kind of like a front bookend against the Season 5 finale. This is like the culmination of her growth and this episode does that nicely. Personally I feel like every season finale is better than the last and this one holds the trend. 8.5/10.

I don't really feel like going too in-depth talking about these episodes, but both were very good. The animation might just be the best of the entire series to this point, and I love the rawness with the combat. Trandoshans have always been a favorite of mine, and this arc displays them excellently, both as hunters and comrades. The younglings (as they are called in the episodes) aren't very interesting, but they serve their purpose. I think Chewbacca plays nicely into the story, and the final fight sequence is very entertaining. Ahsoka really develops as a character here, and I also love seeing how Anakin reacts in these kind of situations. He always wants to be in control of things, but here he is completely powerless. It's a nice change of pace for him.

Both episodes are very close in quality for me, so I can't really pick a favorite between the two. Also, as good as they are, they aren't quite up to the same level as some of the previous episodes we've seen. Therefore, I can only give these two 8.5/10 for my rating. A strong finish to a superb second half of the season.

God, it's been eons since I last watched these episodes, but as I remembered Padawan Lost is an a real bone cruncher. The Predator vibes here make this one feel that extra bit intense. The Trandoshans are pretty different to the Predator aliens though, what with their reptilian look and being made as vague caricatures of those loony big game hunters you get in real life, which at times makes them less frightening, but a worthy threat all the same. However I might have to agree with Newan here and say it's one of the weaker finales. It may serve as a character growth test for Ahsoka, the chase scenes are actually a real highlight and Khalifa's death is one effective way to apply some shock and escalation, but it lacks some of the fizz previous finales have given and will give.

Fortunately Wookie Hunt picks it up a notch and not just by throwing in everyone's favourite gorilla/dog/bear thing. True the Trandoshans threat level is sort of lowered here, but it does mean we get some terrific scenes like the botched hijack and assault on the base. A smaller detail I really love is how brilliant the lighting's been this arc. Considering the locale, it plays a big hand in setting the mood so excellently. I also found myself darkly intrigued by the trophy room's contents. The arc's pretty good and a great character development piece, but there's one detail that still gets me.

Considering the mention of more younglings than the three Ahsoka met, wouldn't it be concerning for the Order hearing about these weird disappearances? Are there more on other hunting islands? Do the Jedi make a big rescue mission, now that the truth is out? Actually, that's not a half bad sequel now that I think about it