User Reviews

This episode could definitely be classified as filler but I think it is a great showcase for Ahsoka who is shown to be stubbornly willful and reckless in moments and patient and considerate in others. It is what makes her such a compelling character- she threads the line between Anakin and Obi Wan's perspectives. The episode forces her to constantly be calculating how much to believe in her own ability and how much to have the humility to admit she can't accomplish something. There is no clear answer given in the episode.

The hunt has better stakes than other episodes because the Jedi are without their lightsabers. They have the Force and perhaps do not utilize it as much as you would expect (I get they have to concentrate in order to use it, but there still are a lot of moments in the show where you are wondering why they aren't at least trying in life or death moments), but they largely have to use their wits to survive the Trandoshans. The stakes are also raised by the death of the one of the other padawans, Kalifa, which hits surprisingly hard. We don't get to know the Kalifa that well, but there is a sense of hopelessness in her as she dies that allows the episode to end on a surprisingly (and satisfyingly) downbeat note.

The episode's choreography feels a little sluggish and the fights lack brutality, but I will take this episode over many of the other "filler" missions. Most of the show it feels like the Jedi won't actually lose. The show is often unwilling to really make situations feel perilous. Yes, we know that characters like Obi-Wan and Anakin are technically safe but good storytelling can make you second guess that. This episode gets closer to having stakes than most of them do so I am surprised this one gets a lower rating than some others that I think are quite a bit inferior (like the last three in the prison break arc).