Star Wars the Clone Wars "Monster" TV Review



Awesome

Want to watch this episode?  Head over to Starwars.com or follow this link http://starwars.com/video/view/001208.html.  Episodes are put on the website the Monday after they air on TV, and are taken down two weeks later.

"Monster" is the second episode in the Nightsisters trilogy, and is also the first time that we get to see the Clone Wars' latest villain, Savage Opress.  Let me start off by saying that I was really looking forward to this episode.  The Clone Wars has had some pretty cool villains (I'll talk more about them tomorrow), but Savage looked like he was going to be one of the best.  Thankfully, this episode delivers.

     "Monster" picks up where the last episode left off.  Ventress, in seeking revenge against Dooku, goes to the far side of Dathomir to select an assassin who will pose as Dooku's new apprentice whilst secretly plotting to kill him.  This results in a gladiatorial contest in which Asajj picks the candidates off one by one until the victor has emerged.  Of course, Savage Opress is among those forced to enter the arena.

     I really liked how this episode introduced Savage, mostly because it was so unexpected.  Instead of seeing him as the fully formed killer that we see in the trailers, he is shown to be an honorable warrior whose only concern is protecting his brother, Feral.  It isn't until he is selected and brainwashed by the Nightsister's magic that he does anything truly evil, and that adds a powerfully tragic tone to his character.  It makes the audience wonder if any part of his original personality is stil intact, and if there's any hope in saving him.  That's what makes Savage a great villain.  Whereas Dooku and Ventress more or less chose to join the Dark Side, Savage has been forced into submission, a true Frankenstein story.  This is where it is evident that a one-dimensional villain isn't much of a villain at all; Darth Vader wouldn't have been so iconic if he wasn't Luke's father.

     While Savage gets most of the limelight, it's still Ventress's story of revenge.  In sharp contrast with "Nightsisters" here she is shown to be dangerous and manipulative, with no remorse for enslaving Savage.  While I would have liked to see more of her vulnerable side, it's still good to see how far she's willing to go to defeat Dooku.  And while we know from Revenge of the Sith that she won't succeed, it's still interesting to ask what she would do after she did so, she's been serving Dooku for most of her life.  Probably something worth exploring in the next episode.

     On a side note, the atmosphere of the contests was done perfectly.  I loved how the red sun in the sky and the sound of Asajj's scythe combined to create the creepy atmosphere.  It's also the first time that we get to see some classic predator/prey perspective shifts in the Star Wars canon.

Conclusion:  As an origin story, "Monster" hits all of the right notes.  We get to see what Savage was like before his transformation right from the get-go, unlike having to wait until last week's episode for an in depth view at series regular Asajj Ventress.  While Ventress's story was told well, I think that Savage's was done better because from now on everything that he does will echo of what he did before he was turned into a monster.

Rating:  10/10 "Spectacular"

Favorite Moment:  There were a lot of great scenes throughout this episode, but my favorite would be when Savage offers to sacrifice himself for Feral, resulting in some intense hand-to-hand combat between him and Ventress.