This is quite a dark and grim episode as we see a peaceful race suffering in slavery and our heroes struggle to find and rescue them.
Scenes of cruelty are hard hitting for a family animated show and the subject is powerful, especially a death scene for one female slave who commits suicide rather than face further torture. I think that is a really good thing as it raises important subjects and tells a moving story that makes young viewers think about suffering of slaves.
In order to heighten the drama our Jedi heroes are made to suffer a defeat which is done convincingly enough with their opponents needing to work hard to get the better of Anakin in particular. And while I did feel our Jedi heroes could certainly have exploited ways to escape or deal with enemies more effectively at certain points their predicament was believable because they needed to find the enslaved people and rescue them not just save themselves. They risk death and endure torture to try to achieve their intended rescue mission. A couple of bad choices in their actions just land them in deeper trouble.
So misgivings I initially had about Jedi being captive without escaping were plausible when I thought it through and this was a very powerful story and very dark, hard hitting episode with meaningful themes.
My rating: 8.5/10.
Scenes of cruelty are hard hitting for a family animated show and the subject is powerful, especially a death scene for one female slave who commits suicide rather than face further torture. I think that is a really good thing as it raises important subjects and tells a moving story that makes young viewers think about suffering of slaves.
In order to heighten the drama our Jedi heroes are made to suffer a defeat which is done convincingly enough with their opponents needing to work hard to get the better of Anakin in particular. And while I did feel our Jedi heroes could certainly have exploited ways to escape or deal with enemies more effectively at certain points their predicament was believable because they needed to find the enslaved people and rescue them not just save themselves. They risk death and endure torture to try to achieve their intended rescue mission. A couple of bad choices in their actions just land them in deeper trouble.
So misgivings I initially had about Jedi being captive without escaping were plausible when I thought it through and this was a very powerful story and very dark, hard hitting episode with meaningful themes.
My rating: 8.5/10.
