Clone Wars Debriefing: "Altar Of Mortis"

[lazypadawan]

There were times while watching last night's episode when I thought to myself, "How are they ever going to top this arc?" Is it really possible to make it more mind-blowing? Where do you go from here?

There are fans who would much rather focus on the "real world" battles with clones and stuff, but for someone like me who has been intensely interested in the mythical, mystical, and philosophical aspects of Star Wars and an Anakin fangirl to boot, well, it's almost as good as finding Hayden gift-wrapped on my doorstep.

The Dagobah Cave On Steroids Adventure Continues when Son continues to entice Anakin to join him in a dream. Anakin awakens and Son suddenly shows up on the ship--remember, Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan are trying to fly out of Mortis--then Son grabs Ahsoka and takes off. Shortly after an amazingly animated chase scene Anakin and Obi-Wan crash in the ship.

Let's pause for a moment. Son knows Anakin's big weak spot is his attachments and while he would have just as easily gone off to rescue Obi-Wan, Ahsoka is a little different because she is young and she is Anakin's responsibility. Naturally, Anakin is drawn out to rescue Ahsoka. But while disguising himself as a House Elf, Son bites Ahsoka and gives her Dark Side Rabies. I know I knocked the magic ritual used in the Savage Opress episode but here it worked for me. Biting is a rape motif and the idea here is that Son is corrupting Ahsoka against her will with a means to an end...to draw out Anakin and trap him.

Ashley Eckstein does a great job as Evil!Ahsoka. She's creepy and disturbing, giggling while telling Anakin he'll be forced to kill her. She sort of reminds me of Harley Quinn from the Batman animated series.

Meanwhile, Son is also plotting to rub out Father. Daughter figures she has to stop him, so she breaks a forbidden rule and leads Obi-Wan to a magic dagger hidden in a cavern, explaining that it's one of the few things that can stop a Force-wielder. It's interesting to note that the representative of light is the one who leads Obi-Wan, the lifelong Jedi, to this item. He doesn't do a heck of a lot with it but it is kind of like the Lady of the Lake and Excalibur.

Evil!Ahsoka attacks Anakin and the two duel while Anakin desperately tries to talk some sense into her. Anakin shows a lot more compassion toward Ahsoka than Obi-Wan does toward Anakin in ROTS. Ahem. Eventually Obi-Wan is drawn into this battle while Daughter and Son fight. The fight scenes are all fantastic. My favorite animated shot was Ahsoka getting pushed back by the Force and her lightsabers drag into the ground. Awesome!

Obi-Wan tries to hand off the magic dagger to Anakin, but Evil!Ahsoka intercepts it and gives it to Son. Son "kills" Ahsoka and then tries to kill Dear Old Dad, but Daughter, ever the self-sacrificial nature of the light, throws herself in front of Son's blade. Son freaks out and leaves. The mortally-wounded Daughter offers, in yet another sacrificial act, to give what's little of her life force to Ahsoka. Demigod!Anakin acts as a Force conduit. So we see Anakin using powers to save someone's life, naturally reinforcing the idea that power can "cheat" death. He probably doesn't think too much about the fact it's really a sacrificial act.

I'll also note that it's interesting how the light is represented by a female, the anima in Jungian terms, saves another female. The elimination of the female in ROTS represents an imbalance just as the dark side overwhelms the light. And as soon as Daughter croaks, things start to go to heck on Mortis. Father fears Son is going to try and escape. Remember he'd brought Son and Daughter to Mortis in order to prevent them from tearing everything apart. But now that Ahsoka has some of Daughter's light, does that make her the light of the galaxy?

I think I'm starting to get what Lucas's point is re balance. Too much dark means there's evil. The light, as represented by Daughter, is "good" but she is also passive and aloof. Too much light then could mean apathy, even weakness.

Sam Witwer as Son has been doing an amazing job. He manages to bring elements of every bad guy we've seen so far in Star Wars into his part as Son.

This arc has exemplified the benefits of bringing aboard ILM staffer Joel Aron this season. Several shots look just as good as anything in the actual films.

There has been some grumbling about the fantastical elements or the references to other movies. The episode guide on starwars.com flat out says the visual references to LOTR were intentional. I guess we're so used to seeing Star Wars influence other people we forget that influences can run both ways.

Next week: Anakin is shown spoilers from ROTS and fails to heed them.

Comments

[designersdilemma.wordpress.com (from livejournal.com)]

I can see the LOTR influence with the actual Altar scene, but what this really reminded me of was "Lost", especially "The Incident", "Across the Sea" and other related episodes. I half expected Son to say, in Un-Locke fashion, "I found my loophole". The idea of a Light Being (Jacob/Daughter) and a parent figure ("Mother"/Father) living alone in a secret place (The Island/Mortis) to contain a dark force (Smokey/Son) was all very uncanny. Hell, with that luminescant-crystal outcrop where Obi-Wan saw Qui-Gon, they've even got their very own Magic Glowy Cave. Lucas is known to be a big fan of "Lost", so perhaps that's where the idea for this came from, somewhat?

I still think that eps like these are proof that Lucas should just move on already and channel this tremendous creative energy into something new, but whatever. It is what it is.

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

Come to think of it, you're right about the "Lost" references. It must really pain the "Lost" crew because they are fanatically anti-prequel ;).

I'm enjoying this arc greatly; I've long accepted that Star Wars is a living organic thing, growing in directions that aren't always expected.

[knight-ander.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure that these episodes weren't inspired by episodes of Lost, but inspired by similar mythical-motifs. George, or any mythology specialist, may have recognized certain mythical elements that were used by the Lost writers and creators, and thought, "Oh, yeah, I know what's going on there." Lost may have triggered this story idea, but I'm confident that it didn't inspire it; George didn't steal the idea from Lost, it was already out there.

[designersdilemma.wordpress.com (from livejournal.com)]

I'm not saying he "stole" it. "Star Wars" has always been a big mytho-cinematic pastische, after all, so inspiration and references are fair game (just as they were for Kurosawa, Godard, Lang, etc. and just as they are today for Tarantino, et all). Likely "Lost" was merely the spring-board, if that much, for this arc-- we haven't seen Son do anything like turn into a pillar of black smoke or play backgammon with Daughter, or anything of that nature. I just think it's interesting how Lucas is doing the same "two sides-- one light, the other dark" aspect in a more externally literalized way here.

At the same time-- I myself was pretty disappointed by the way the "Lost" team handled much of the last season, especially the finale. So they all lived happily ever after in purgatory-land, eh? Setting that six-season limit may have given them a seventh-inning rally (mathematically odd as that sounds), but in the long run I think it kept them from exploring the mythology as much as it demanded. So really, they can go on and bash the Prequels as much as they want, because they're just as fair game in my book for criticism.

As for SW being an organic thing-- that's true, and I like how Lucas has allowed it to change with time. Still, I can't help but wonder if he originally came up with this story as something independent, a new spin on mythology, and then decided, "hey wait, why don't I just put this into 'The Clone Wars'?". I mean, the last time he tried to establish a new franchise with "Willow" it didn't take off with the same flying colors (sadly). I recall there was a report a while back that suggested he was dreaming up a CG musical about fairies with the director of the last Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, and this arc has been reminding me of that a lot lately.

[darth-pipes.livejournal.com]

I thought the episode was excellent. It wasn't quite up to the level of Overlords but Overlords really set the bar high.

Sam Witwer has really been bringing it as The Son and has created a memorable character. He was the best thing on Smallville two years ago as Davis Bloome, the human half of Doomsday. He really invests in his characters and seems to care about what he's doing. He's definitely not one of mail in his performance.

Dark Ahsoka was good. Her being corrupted by the dark side by the Son works for me more than what the Nightsisters did to Savage. Good work by Ashley Eckstein and I liked the duel, not to mention the one between the Son and Daughter.

The Son needing Anakin's ship reminded me of Star Trek V and Kirk asking "What does God need with a starship?"

LOL about Anakin showing more compassion to Ahsoka than Obi-Wan. I think the difference was knowing that Ahsoka had not turned to the dark side against her will. It might be different if she made that decision herself but Anakin's not one to give up on people unlike some Jedi who will go nameless...

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

Hee hee...I think Son isn't quite an immortal but someone who was brought into this reality beyond the physical world because he was too dangerous "out there."

[tpf1138.livejournal.com]

Quote: Anakin shows a lot more compassion toward Ahsoka than Obi-Wan does toward Anakin in ROTS. Ahem.

Anakin had just killed a large number of Obi-Wan's friends, and temple full of children. Not to mention helping an evil manipulative ass-hat seize control of the galaxy. I say screw compassion. That he attempted to reason with him at all deserves commendation. But that's beside the point...

Oh, nice reading of the reanimation of Ahsoka as coming through sacrifice, and how Anakin likely only saw the Lazarus act and missed the sacrifice altogether.

Anyway...

I've been mulling over this light/dark balance thing for the past week.

Balance refers to an equilibrium between light and dark...?


I think my initial reaction to this was informed by the wrong-headed suppositions found all over the internet, that assert that Anakin creates balance by becoming Darth Vader. He was light, and becomes dark. Hence... balance.

Balance as I see it is about harmony within the system. The Force is life. All life is dependant on each other. A symbiont circle if you will. The Sith cause imbalance by disrupting the natural flow. Death, destruction, greed etc. etc. cause disharmony.

Ending the Sith, ends the imbalance.

I thought these episode's were contradicting this... at first. On reflection, I realise they're not. It essentially augments it, and actually helps to make more sense of it.


We need the darkness.

It drives us to take chances. It makes us ambitious. Jealous. Angry. Even selfish.

A little jealousy can make us strive toward improvement.

Anger can drive us to fight against an injustice.

Selfishness is present in anyone who lies to gain an advantage.

This of course, can be dangerous. For all the obvious reasons.

The light side balances these drives, though. It keeps anger from becoming poisonous. Lets reason and rationality be what really fights that injustice. Jealousy, greed, selfishness are checked by compassion, generosity, nobility, altruism.

That is the balance.

The question was posed as to what an imbalance toward the light might look like.

I think stagnation is the answer.

Without the darkness there's no drive. There's peace. There's community. Serenity even. But there's no will to achieve. No momentum. It's a dead end. Dormant. Fallow. Inert.

Loving these episode's. Great stuff.

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

What always bugged me about Obi-Wan in ROTS is that he never does what anyone else would do if the person you loved suddenly becomes an evil, murderous sociopath...ask, "Why are you doing all of this?" Sure, he tries to reason with Anakin, after using a pregnant girl as bait and then setting him off into a murderous rage by appearing like Mighty Mouse in the middle of a tense confrontation. Not exactly the best way to go about it.

[quidawn.livejournal.com]

Oh, argh, I *know*, right? And it's like in *no* way, shape or form could one reasonably call how Obi-Wan chose to (*very* poorly and dishonestly!) "handle" that situation the least bit like he was trying to "reason" with Anakin just then....I mean, yeesh, stowing away aboard a pregnant woman's ship, without her knowledge or consent, then using her to getclose enough to Anakin so's when the time is right Obi-Wan can just step out on the ramp, hands on hips (the Mighty Mouse comparison, incidentally, *perfectly* apt and now I'm reminded of it every time I watch that scene....well, in amidst all my seethings and ragings at Obi-Wan and generally wanting to hurl very large blunt objects at his thick head right about then, aye, quite true-!) - and instead of speaking up and being *honest* about what happened....and so, gee, about the fact that Padme really couldn't have known he stowed away and he'd done that totally without her permission!....
And so instead of course - yeah, he just let her get blamed for it, and so let Anakin - piqued, inflamed, emotionally-volatile and hence rather prone to reacting first and thinking later given the very beyond-the-pale circumstances - rush to impulsive judgement based just on what he saw and how incriminating it very much looked....'twas Obi-Wan, then, who behaved in totally disreputable and dishonourable fashion (and we just know the ancient, true, honourable code-upholding samurai warriors would have a thing or three to say about *that*-!) - and who in no way seemed to harbour any real desire to "reason" things through with Anakin....especially when, in point of fact, just *everything* Obi-Wan was coming up with really *couldn't* help, and served only to further provoke and inflame....fuel to the fire in just *every* sense, then, it's always seemed to me. It is, then, truly like he never *once* stops to ask, and instead he's the one goading and spurring right from the outset....
....I mean, really, just who was it who first ignited his lightsaber there, and so started the confrontation....? I'm just saying....! (actually, yeah, I could still be saying a whole helluva lot more, but for the sake of blood pressure probably shouldn't.... :) Breathe, yes, breathe, I know....)

[tpf1138.livejournal.com]

I won't argue that Obi-Wan didn't made mistakes.

Maybe he was too aggressive, too consumed by his duty, and too rigid to see past the Jedi philosophy that teaches that 'once you start down the dark path, there is no turning back.' But he was hurt and confused himself, and quite frankly, I find it difficult to criticise him. After seeing what Anakin had done, after listening to the power mad Sith screed he was spouting, Kenobi had little choice.

And he hardly used Padmé as bait. He knew that she knew where Anakin was. He knew she was going after him. Obi-Wan stowed away onboard a ship he knew was bound for Anakin. That he gave Padmé time to talk to her husband is to his credit, in my opinion. He wasn't using her, he was allowing her the opportunity to reason with Anakin. It wasn't working, so Obi-Wan stepped in...

As for speaking up... Come on! Anakin was ranting like a lunatic, hours after slaughtering children. What use would explanations have been on Obi-Wan's part. Anakin wasn't listening. Reason and rationality wasn't in play with this kid anymore.

Obi-Wan's the real hero of the Republic trilogy for me. There is no one at the front end of the saga that doesn't make mistakes, who isn't flawed. Obi-Wan though, remains loyal, courageous, and honourable to the end. He is the one who is betrayed. No amount of understanding, or compassion we have for his betrayer is going to change that. Despite his mistakes, he never did anything to justify Anakin's behaviour, and if he was a friend of yours lamenting his failures in some bar somewhere, that's exactly what you'd tell him. And you'd be right.

The Mighty Mouse bit was funny though...

[quidawn.livejournal.com]

Erm, no, it's not that Obi-Wan "stepped in" when Padme talking with Anakin "wasn't working" - rather, it's that Obi-Wan flat-out *interrupted* a moment which wasn't, in point of fact, about him and so which darn well should have had *nothing* to do with him to begin with....he had *no* part in it whatsoever, no right to be there, it's *Obi-Wan* who interfered and basically shot everything to hell in an instant....because Padme on her own absolutely *would* have had every chance in the world of getting through to Anakin - her *husband*, whom she *loved*, let's remember! - and helping him and so basically reaching him where no one else could....and, obviously, where no one else *tried*, because in truth Obi-Wan really *didn't*. He stood there and deliberately let the situation get way out of hand, allowed rash and emotion-inflamed presumptions to happen and he didn't do a kriffin' thing to *stop* them....not *once* did Obi-Wan behave in above-board or truthful manner through that entire confrontation!

And considering the fact that Obi-Wan stowed away on board Padme's ship *without* her knowledge or anything like consent, behaving in simply the most reprehensible and plainly dishonourable fashion in so doing and then only further aggravating that later on when he lets things just get totally out of control and allows erroneous assumptions to be made and not *once* does he honourably step up and say "Erm, no, this is actually what happened, she didn't know I was there - I stowed away on board secretly, without her say-so!" - because, gee, I wonder if maybe Obi-Wan knew as admitting such a thing would only turn the full brunt of Anakin's justifiable and very formidable ire even *more* directly on him....look, Obi-Wan's a coward here pure and simple, I'll say that. Actually, I can say rather a heckuva lot more about him, and in terms not nearly so diplomatic, too. I'm sure I have, many a time, at that. ;)

Still, though, the fact remains that - it really *wasn't* Obi-Wan who was ever trying to talk Anakin down, or encourage him to see reason, or basically and truly get through to him - call 'im back to himself! - somehow or another....nooooooooo, that really would be *Padme*, his wife, his soulmate, the mother of his children....she who loved and supported him and would risk anything and everything to save him, to try to help him when no others would....when, clearly, no others really *could*. It's *Padme* who darn well should've had every opportunity in the world to see that through, and make the full - and *uninterrupted*! - effort....but Obi-Wan in an instant ruined that, he destroyed seemingly every chance there might've been....and then did nor said anything truthful to alleviate the situation....and *then*, went even further still as to - think to *lecture* someone who clearly wasn't at all in the state of mind or inflamed passions to really take that, right about then?....

Obi-Wan only exacerbated beyond breaking point a situation which never asked for him, never wanted his presence, and quite frankly would've gone a helluva lot differently, and rather better and more encouragingly *without* him. 'Twas Padme who had a chance, and so she who gave Anakin that chance right along with her, and yet Obi-Wan robbed her - robbed them *both* - of that. Just one more plainly eggregious move I will never, never forgive him for.... (and, you see, this is the kind of thing which winds me up to the point where I start bodily hurling what Obi-Wan action figures I have clear off the desk....and have even been known to drop the occasional phone book on them too, which believe me has proved mightily cathartic more than once.... ;) LOL!)

[metaraymek.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I honestly think the situation with Padme would have had the same result -if done slightly differently-, even if Obi-Wan hadn't interfered.

[ladyaeryn.livejournal.com]

What always bugged me about Obi-Wan in ROTS is that he never does what anyone else would do if the person you loved suddenly becomes an evil, murderous sociopath...ask, "Why are you doing all of this?"

Word. SO much word.

[darth-pipes.livejournal.com]

Mighty Mouse. Heheh. Would have killed to have her Obi-Wan proclaim "Here I come to save the dayyyyy!" We now how well he did with that!

[designersdilemma.wordpress.com (from livejournal.com)]

I now have a mental image of Obi-Wan standing around looking painfully awkward, standing next to a record-player while he watches Anakin choke Padme, impatiently waiting for his turn to lip-synch.

[frostbit-sky.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed the episode. But I cannot make myself feel like this is part of canon. Especially next week's episode. He' shown his future and doesn't take it as a warning to not follow that path in RotS? Just does not make sense.

[quidawn.livejournal.com]

Well, I haven't seen the episode yet, meself (that comes later today - thanks sincerely be for file-sharing!....we'll resort to whatever we must for our CW, after all :) ) - but I will say that whilst anakin is actually in the midst of the events of ROTS directly, and so as they're affecting him most personally, right then and there - he really isn't in a position to just....stand back, take a deep breath, and collect his thoughts enough so's he might able to....what, like ever think back on anything which might have happened and so whatever he might've been vision-shown or made privy to before (though if it's coming from the likes of Son, Father or even Daughter, well, me having seen "Overlords" at least thus far, all's I can say is that I quite understand Anakin not being so much inclined to trust in the likes of *them*....given what they put him through, so-called "test" or no, there are some things it's just impossible to ignore-!)....

....well ,yeah, he's just really not in a frame of mind or state of heart right then, as the events of ROTS are actually happening, *to* him, and so he's very much existing in the moment directly because, of course, that's all he ever *can* do!....he's not at all privy to what we may know from our objective outsider's point of view, is the thing, what we're all of us full well aware of he very much isn't - all's he has to go on is just what's happening and so what he has to deal with, what's frazzling and distressing him and basically wearing him down, soul-harrowed and stricken, in the very moment that it does!....and so by the time it actually happens and then he's past it, well, rather too late then for any kind of hindsight or anything of the sort - because he's swept up in the course of events as they transpire, and once started they can't be stopped, alas.... *thoughtful look*

'Course, I'm already feelin' as....well, I just don't know as it's really all that fair to be unduly judging Anakin, here in the CW timeframe, for things he says and does and so how he's inclined to react in the here-and-now of CW....but looking at it through the prism of what happens later, I mean, like to judge him or say he somehow said or did or reacted the "wrong way" and so if he'd only done this, or that, then it would've supposedly somehow averted something else or another....well, see, the thing is that ROTS hasn't actually *happened* yet, and so what's the point of trying to view Anakin's actions and reactions and so him as a person in CW - like through the literal lens of *Vader*, come ROTS-time, that just doesn't seem at all fair to *him*....because, after all, he doesn't actually fall to the dark side before he does. He's not Vader until he becomes Vader - until then, he's still in every way *Anakin*....

....and so, yeah, realistically one can't be judging what happens here in CW, with Anakin, through the point of view of how it all falls so tragically apart in ROTS-time....because in the purest sense, that is *then*....but this, CW, is *now*. And *then* just hasn't happened yet! :)

[frostbit-sky.livejournal.com]

I get what you are saying, but I just cannot see how these events fit into canon. I just cannot.

Unless they all get amnesia when they leave that place, the warnings they gave should have set off a lightbulb in Anakin's mind.
Not to mention everything Son says sounds exactly like Palpatine.

I am enjoying these episodes, but from a licensed fanfic POV. There is no way this is canon.

[ladyaeryn.livejournal.com]

These episodes came directly from GL himself - which you could argue makes them just as canon as TESB, or ROTJ. *shrug*

As far as next week's episode, I don't see any point in judging it until we've seen it.

Beautiful icon, btw!

[frostbit-sky.livejournal.com]

GL constantly contradicts himself so I have made my own canon.

Thanks. sith_romantic made it.

[ladyaeryn.livejournal.com]

I don't think he's done any worse contradicting himself than the EU novels themselves have done (he's not near as bad IMO), but obviously YMMV. As far as GL himself contradicting the EU with TCW, IMO that doesn't count as contradicting his own continuity: unlike TCW, GL never had such a heavy hand in the books. He doesn't care about them. If other people do care, that's fine, but I've always thought it was a mistake to try to shoehorn the EU into a hard, fast, singular continuity with the films.

As far as Anakin seeing that vision of the future in the next episode, it occurs to me - even if he is shown a play-by-play of RotS on Mortis, I doubt he'd believe it. Anakin doesn't seem to much believe in things he can't hold in his hands - the Chosen One prophecy is a "myth" to him; Iego's angry god was "a load of" superstition. The Shmi vision he experienced - which he immediately labeled as "black arts" - turned out to be a fabrication by the Son, who has proven himself more than willing to manipulate Anakin into joining him. I don't have any trouble believing Anakin would dismiss such a troubling "vision" of his future shown to him by the Son as yet another fabrication.

[frostbit-sky.livejournal.com]

I don't mean the EU, I mean within the 6 films alone. There are little inconsistencies that bug me. Like Leia remembering her mother when she died 2 seconds after she was born, yet Luke doesn't remember.

YMMV?

You are totally entitled to your opinion, but I can't accept that even though Anakin thought it was fabricated hocus pocus at the time, that once ROTS events started that he didn't think back and question that maybe that hokey pokey was true after all, and to stop going down that path.
It has not escaped me that everything that comes out of the Son's mouth sounds like Palpatine. Ya think he'd catch on to that?

[ladyaeryn.livejournal.com]

I'm not saying there aren't some inconsistencies in the films, I just think the novels are much worse about it. (As far as remembering Padmé goes - Luke repeatedly parrots her last words, which to me says that he does remember her, if subconsciously.)

YMMV = Your mileage may vary.

Let's assume Anakin does remember a vision from Mortis during RotS and does pay it heed: why would he treat it any differently than his vision about Padmé? He believed the vision about Padmé could be stopped, so he would probably believe the Mortis vision could be stopped too.

Or, for all we know everyone could get their memories of Mortis wiped. Which would render everything else moot. ;)

[frostbit-sky.livejournal.com]

See it makes sense for Luke to subconsciously remember! He was in Obi-Wan's arms when she said it!
Ok, I didn't think Padmé should have died in ROTS, but whatever. If she had to die then what I would have done was have Leia born first. She sees her mother and Padmé touches her forehead. So she sees and senses her mother's despair.
Then Luke is born, Obi holds him, and Padmé says her last words, which Luke carries with him to ROTJ.

You have no idea how hard I am praying their memories are wiped LOL

YMMV = Your mileage may vary. That is a new one I have not heard ;)

[metaraymek.livejournal.com]

I have to say, while I may despise Starkiller and everything 'The Farce Unleashed' related... but damned if Sam Witwer didn't hit this role -or should I say both roles- out of the park and then some. He was genuinely creepy at times and just WOW. Made the episode, IMO.

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

He's doing a great job.

[krpalmer.livejournal.com]

This is another episode I went to unusual lengths to watch, but first of all because I was a little concerned hearing what would happen with Ahsoka... still, while I did make the connection to Savage Oppress myself, what happened seemed quite preferable to being quickly talked into "turning dark" and just as quickly talked out of it. As well, the afflicted Ahsoka seemed quite creepy to me, although for me it was almost more a matter of some of her poses than the voice acting. I do sort of want to say there were some interesting expressions in the animation this episode.

In some ways, I certainly appreciate the "debriefings" for these episodes; they do sort of feel a little hard for me to get an instant grasp on, and it's of course much better to see a positive opinion of them after the first experience. One thought I've been having is that it might be tricky in general for people to interpret stories on multiple levels...

[ladyaeryn.livejournal.com]

I think your observations re: female Jungian symbolism and too much light = apathy are spot-on with what we've seen in the films. One could make a case for the PT Jedi Order suffering from an excess of apathy. (While Anakin, incidentally, suffers from the opposite.)

Harley Quinn Ahsoka - yes, exactly!

The whole "life force transference" bit gave me strong vibes of a bit from Filoni's other work, Avatar: The Last Airbender. One female character, dying at birth, was given life because part of the spirit of the Moon was transferred into her. There's a point when the physical embodiment of the Moon spirit is killed, throwing the world into imbalance. (The Sun and Moon spirits are embodied by two fish, who essentially swim around in a big Yin/Yang symbol.) The girl has to give back the life force that the Moon spirit gave her to restore the Moon Spirit to life and restore balance, which of course ends her own life (and turns the girl into a Moon goddess herself).

Long story short, I wonder if that doesn't bode too well for Ahsoka...

[designersdilemma.wordpress.com (from livejournal.com)]

Maybe I've been getting deeper into "Evangelion" lately, but am I the only one who thinks that Ashoka's more than a bit like a way more well adjusted Asuka? Obviously the names are similar, but they're both overachievers in their given field (being a Jedi/piloting an Eva). Given that Asuka and the rest of the Eva pilots are eventually hunted down by a shadowy government conspiracy similar to how the Jedi are targeted in Order 66, I wonder if any of this is more than just mere association.

[krpalmer.livejournal.com]

Having watched a lot of anime myself, I admit the mere initial juxtaposition sort of tickles my fancy, but I don't quite seem able to think of Ahsoka as an "overachiever" the way I can see that as a defining trait for Asuka. Maybe it has something to do with "dysfunction" and "family issues" being a common theme in Evangelion for me, and I can't apply either of those to Ahsoka.

Now, mind you, I'm at least wondering about some hypothetical "dysfunctional female student for Anakin," and how, if she hadn't just been summed up by fandom as "an attempt to one-up her teacher," everybody would be watching for signs of her inevitable coming to pieces... although balanced against that is the amusing thought that, beyond Anakin, Ahsoka does have a sort of "family tie" in her connection to Plo Koon, Dave Filoni's favourite "well, he looks neat" background character...

(I do have the three season sets for Avatar: The Last Airbender now, and I'm looking forward to seeing them for myself one of these days, but right now I suppose I have the feeling I should finish rewatching Batman: The Animated Series first...)

[designersdilemma.wordpress.com (from livejournal.com)]

I would reccomend watching "Avatar: The Last Airbender", first. "Batman", is good, but "A:TLA" has the benefit of actually having a story spread out over its three seasons, rather than just endless standalone episodes, which makes for a nicely different viewing experience.

Anyway, my brief reading of Ashoka is a superficial one, at best. She's easily much more well adjusted than Asuka ever was (perhaps there's more hints of that in Asajj?). Perhaps I'm just distracted by the name similarity and the fact that both ROTS and "End of Evangelion" close with the protagonist choking a close female character. I do think, however, that if TCW ever covers the events of Order 66 it'll feel a lot like EOE, except without all the Evas in apotheosis mode.