The Clone Wars Countdown, Essential Arcs // #12 – Lost and Hunted

Here goes nothing. Well, actually, this is a pretty large undertaking, but if anything in Star Wars deserves it, it’s The Clone Wars. Quite possibly the most brilliant example of ‘long-game’ story telling that Lucasfilm has ever embarked upon, The Clone Wars was epic in scale and detail, and added so much to the lore and overall story of Star Wars, as well as a ton of character development. Bad news is it seems that Netflix isn’t going to renew it’s license for the series and March 7th is d-day so to speak….(BOO!!!!!)… So I’m here to help. I’m going to count down my most essential story arcs in the series and give breakdowns of how awesome they are, why they’re awesome, and make you want to watch them. Got it? Good! Let’s do this.

#12 // Lost and Hunted

Season 3, episode 21 — Padawan Lost
Season 3, episode 22 — Wookie Hunt

Why it’s essential watching (without giving it all away….):

Ahsoka’s coming of age – In this short two-episode story arc, we see glimpses of the Padawan Ahsoka will become. She’s a gifted Jedi learner but more importantly a great leader, and it shows through in these episodes. Anakin’s imprint on Ahsoka is also evident, and her training is paying off as she works to save not only herself, but the other captives from the Trandoshan hunters.
Anakin’s sense of loss – One of the greatest things The Clone Wars series did was reinforce Anakin’s fall to the dark side, namely in the form of his sense of attachment and loss. In the arc I’ve named Lost and Hunted, Anakin simply can’t come to grips with the fact he can’t find his Padawan, Ahsoka, and he seems on the verge of coming unhinged, going so far as snapping at Rex and making him continue to look for Ahsoka over and over. He is calmed down a bit when Jedi Master Plo Koon (who actually found Ahsoka and brought her to the Jedi Temple when she was a youngling, so there’s a connection there as well) tells him to trust in his training and in his Padawan to find her way back to him.
Design – wow, this is a BEAUTIFUL arc. At this point in TCW we really see the art begin to shine, and it’s one of the big reasons I love this series in general (and the Prequels). Felucia is staggeringly gorgeous, with a ton of color and detail, just like in Revenge of the Sith. The Trandoshan moon is also very well designed, with the shots of Ahsoka and the other Jedi youngling prisoners approach to their hideout really standing out.
Trandoshan’s – awesome, awesome villains in this arc. Disgustingly creepy, as they should be.
Chewbacca – yes, Chewie is in this arc and he teams up with Ahsoka and the captive younglings to take on the Trandoshan slavers and hunters. He is very true to character and shines in the second episode, Wookie Hunt
Tarfful cameo – we get a cameo appearance from General Tarfful as he hears Chewie’s call and comes to the rescue. There’s also a cool cameo from Sugi and her good-hearted bounty hunter brigade!
Rad canon connections – Jas Emari’s (Aftermath trilogy) aunt happens to be the aforementioned Sugi, and we get our first-ever appearance of the Convor (which is playing a more and more important role in the larger Star Wars canon, don’t sleep!), plus CHEWBACCA!