In the Star Wars universe, does the Rule of Two make it difficult to come up with original stories? So that you can consider this question with the proper nerd cred, the "Rule of Two" denotes that there can only be one Sith Master and their apprentice. In the Clone Wars cartoon series, Count Dooku was Sidious' apprentice. But there was a need for another "Sith-type" so that they could harass the heroes in plots outside the six Lucasfilm movies. This "Sith-type" needed to be able to withstand the powers of the Jedi, not be easily vanquished (unlike droids), and able to be killed off if necessary (and not affect the movies). Oh yeah, and they can't be full-fledged "Sith" because the Rule of Two constrains that.
The series couldn't use Count Dooku too much, because we all see him die in Revenge of the Sith. So it became necessary for writers to create an apprentice who would go around and do all of his dirty work while he spent time keeping the droid armies and the trade federation in line. So that's when they created Asajj Ventress who became his acolyte and assassin. But the writers skirted the whole "Rule of Two" by saying Dooku would only impart Dark Side training to her, but not actual Sith Teachings. Essentially, what got created are two different things (not to mention an "out" for future writers which can seem a bit cheesy).
So is the "Rule of Two" a smart idea? In the end, Star Wars is a franchise that exists to make money. To restrict the existence of other Sith yet allow as many Jedi to exist as possible seems counterproductive to me. Villains drive the Star Wars storyline; without them there is no story. One could argue that the Rule of Two governs and endorses self interest while tightly controlling overreaching ambition. The Order of the Jedi supports this premise because it decayed from the inside as each started to formulate conflicting ideologies. Think of Qui-Gon Jinn for example.
However, it can also be argued that Ventress and anyone like her that uses the force to do evil yet does not bear the title of "Sith" becomes a massive narrative "cop-out." It's easy to say that when Ventress was created/introduced, the Rule of Two got ignored because now you can have two Sith and an infinite number of things that are "almost Sith" but fundamentally, the viewer is never going to be able to tell you what the difference is. They all wield red lightsabers, look menacing, and dress in black.
Star Wars Rebels just released a glimpse of their very first villain and the picture is included below. Yeah, the new villain dresses in black. Yeah, the new villain has a pair of red lightsabers and looks really badass. According to the New York Comic-Con panel where the character was introduced, the Inquisitor's job is to track down the remaining Jedi Knights left alive after Order 66. However, the Inquisitor is not a Sith. He's an "almost Sith" just like Ventress. Is that just another "cop-out?"
I guess in the end, I won't care and still watch the series on Disney. In fact I'm excited by it. I do hope that Ahsoka Tano comes back. She won't be a "Jedi" technically so I guess that makes her exist outside the whole "all Jedi are dead" thing too.
It just makes me ask, what's in a name anyway? In a universe of "almost Jedi" and "almost Sith" was there ever really a crisis of not finding a teacher or preserving the mystical history of the Force? I know, important questions all, right? ;P Have a great Tuesday.
Above is a picture of my Clone Wars maquette (a little statue) of Master Yoda. I bought it at a comic book store many years ago and sometimes display it in a curio cabinet in my house along with other things I've collected. I have a couple of nice things that I like to put in the cabinet. My friend James once remarked, "Why do you have that dumb statue of Yoda in there next to the other nice stuff? It makes me think of that phrase 'one of these things is not like the other...'"
Anyway, my maquette is well constructed, looks nice, is very nerdy, and I like it! I bet Sheldon Cooper owns one. Yoda doesn't need any explanation as anyone that follows Star Wars knows exactly who he is, so I'm just going to say this: one of the things I like about Yoda in The Clone Wars is that he really doesn't fight. He's simply a teacher and takes that role very seriously. I just wish someone had told him how to brush his teeth because Yoda's teeth are atrocious. Also, has anyone ever seen a female version of Yoda's race? I'm kind of wondering what they look like.
Below, please find some pics I posted describing a scene where Yoda is doing what Yoda does best.
In this scene Yoda explains to the younglings that they were not trapped by the cave, but by their minds. He turns to each and points out what they have learned.
Byph found courage.
Ganodi found hope.
Gungi found patience.
Zalt found trust.
Katooni found confidence.
Petro found selflessness.
And even when Yoda faces a Sith apprentice in Asajj Ventress, he continues to teach. If you have the time, please watch this short clip. It's almost laughable how quickly Yoda deals with Ventress (who is a handful for just about anyone else). Yoda was a badass.
Tomorrow is my post on the Zillo Beast-the ultimate Godzilla tribute done by the Clone Wars!
Asajj Ventress is pictured above wielding one red lightsaber, but more often than not, she is found with two in hand (see picture below). Remember in one of the Star Wars movies when Yoda said that, "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny?" Well that little line fed to Luke doesn't appear to be true at all.
Correction, maybe it was true for Darth Sidious, Darth Maul, Darth Vader, and Darth Tyrannus, but it never was for Ventress. She always did what she wanted to do. To be fair though, she never got the "Darth" title either, which may have something to do with her ability to just walk the line as far as good and bad goes. I have no idea if that's because she's just got a really strong mind, or if it's because she's a woman. Maybe Yoda just didn't get it right because he was a dude. Something to think on, eh? If I recall details from the Star Wars extended universe, there are other women who used the Dark Side who also ended up coming back from it too. Was Mara Jade one? I hope someone can weigh-in on the comments below with regard to my theory of "women being particularly resistant to the dark side."
For awhile, Asajj Ventress worked for the Separatist army and their endless droids.
Anyway, Asajj got recognized as a child when she was given away for training among the Jedi. Her master taught her some and her strength in the force grew. Unfortunately for her though, that all ended when her master got killed.
Ventress' story is replete with tragedy. Recognized for being a Force prodigy, Ventress wound up at some point training with Count Dooku who took her rudimentary training and turned it into a formidable weapon that he and his Separatist army could rely upon.
Fearless in battle, Asajj Ventress wasn't afraid to take on Obi-Wan and other Jedi. She even fought him alongside Anakin, and it made for some of the greatest lightsaber combats. Despite the fact that Ventress always lost, she always got away too. That's a sign of a good villain. Ventress always had a reliable escape plan at the ready if things ever went sour.
At some point in season 3 of The Clone Wars, Ventress got so powerful that she created a "disturbance in the force." Darth Sidious contacted Darth Tyrannus (Count Dooku) and ordered him to kill Ventress, because she'd gotten too powerful. Dooku whined some because he really liked her, but acquiesced and tried to have her killed by blowing up the starship she was on. Of course, Ventress escaped and went home to the Nightsisters (her family) to plot her revenge on Dooku.
That "revenge" didn't go well. It ended up destroying the Nightsisters clan leaving her alone in the universe. At that point, Ventress wasn't "sith" anymore or necessarily a "nightsister." She was a free agent doing whatever she wanted to do.
Surprisingly, Ventress came to the rescue of Obi-Wan, helping him to fight Savage Opress and Darth Maul when he got cornered and overwhelmed. And in the series finale, she proved instrumental by allying with Ahsoka Tano and Anakin to oust Barriss Offee as the Jedi responsible for framing Ahsoka in the bombing of the Jedi temple.
The actress who played Barriss Offee in the second movie. The
quote is from the 2003 Clone Wars shorts from Cartoon Network.
Barriss Offee was the student of Master Luminara Undulee
In the clip below is a great scene of Barriss Offee and Ahsoka Tano fighting in the streets of Coruscant. Now, Barriss at this point is disguised as Asajj Ventress. Barriss is extremely powerful and overwhelmed Asajj and took her lightsabers to complete the disguise. Asajj never had the kind of telekinesis that Barriss wields and neither did anyone else. I think Barriss (as I've said before) was probably the most powerful telekinetic to have ever lived in the Star Wars universe. If you watch carefully, you'll see what I'm talking about. She doesn't even have to visualize objects to hurl them around (she can be behind corners). My original post on Barriss can be found HERE. And yeah, Ahsoka (even though she's basically a Jedi Knight at this point) doesn't stand a chance. I'm a little miffed with The Clone Wars being canceled because I want to know what happened with Barriss, Asajj, and Ahsoka. These are three very interesting women whose storylines are basically just "cut off" with no resolution in the series finale. It's enough to make me say "arrrggghhh!" Enjoy the clip.
And below is a second (extremely short clip) showing a deleted scene from the original Clone Wars episode because it was too "controversial." Watch it and see the personality of Ventress in full force (another reason I really liked her).
Undead Dathomirian Nightsisters. Kinda cool eh? Click to Embiggen.
I think that most people tend to think of Star Wars as lying firmly in the genre of science fiction space opera. However, I tend to think of it as a fantasy more than science-fiction. The Jedis are just wizards with swords, and then there's the whole Nightsister clan that gave birth to Asajj Ventress (Sith apprentice to Count Dooku depending on where you find her in the storyline) on the planet Dathomir.
Mother Talzin is a bonafide true sorceress in the complete sense of the word.
The episode "Massacre" is number 19 in season four. After failing to kill Dooku or control Savage Opress, Asajj Ventress is advised by Mother Talzin to reject the ways of the Sith and rejoin the Nightsisters. However, an angered and fearful Count Dooku is determined to see the end of Ventress and Mother Talzin. Via Dooku's command, General Grievous launches a droid assault, only to find an army of undead Dathomirian Nightsisters' awakened by Daka, the eldest of the Sister's clan. Talzin creates a voodoo doll to finish off Dooku, whilst Ventress and Grievous square-off in saber combat. Ventress downs Grievous, however she is helpless to watch as the last of her sisters on Dathomir are massacred. The episode closes with the green misty spirit of Mother Talzin bidding farewell and good luck to Ventress, whom is now left to grieve for her clan.
This is Daka, Eldest of the Nightsister clan. Unlike other grandmothers
who bake bread, Daka is a super powerful necromancer who calls forth
undead from their graves to defend their homeworld. I guess she also makes
a mean stew.
My take: I love the special effects in this episode and the Nightsisters made for some very interesting characters. It kind of added a third element to Star Wars. On the one side we have the Jedi. On the other we have the Sith. And then there's this murky gray area of practicing witches that can cast actual magic. Mother Talzin demonstrated tremendous power. She had illusions, could create objects out of nothing, turn her people invisible or into undead warriors, and the list goes on and on.
Now that you know magic is very much alive and well in the Star Wars universe, how does this sit with you? In other words...are you a Star Wars purist who doesn't want magic to infuse an otherwise "sci-fi" storyline? Or do you welcome the magic and hope that they use it in the Star Wars movies made by Disney? I sure do. I'm actually getting kind of jaded with the whole "I'm a Jedi; you're a Sith! We must battle!" I would like to see combats that have more than just glittering lightsabers and electrical fingers frying people. My love affair with telekinesis is kind of over too. Been there, done that. Let's have a Dumbledore vs. Voldemort recap in the Star Wars universe! Below is a very exciting clip that shows the end of the poor Nightsisters and the death of Daka. Oh well...she was really old.
Three villains from the Clone Wars television series. From left to right:
Darth Maul (yes he lived), Savage Opress, and Pre Vizsla (leader of Death
Watch). They are all motivated by revenge. Pre Vizsla wanted revenge on
those factions on Mandalore who had turned the populace away from
their historical warrior-like way of life. In the U.S., he'd be a member of the N.R.A.
A little background first so you aren't sitting there scratching your head in confusion.
Savage Opress was a Dathomirian Zabrak Nightbrother who became a Sith Lord alongside his brother, Darth Maul, during the Clone Wars television series. He came about in the third season because Darth Sidious (Emperor Palpatine) demanded that Count Dooku kill his most prized apprentice, Asajj Ventress. Asajj had become too powerful and as a result, created a "disturbance" in the force. In a nutshell, Darth Sidious did not want his own apprentice (Count Dooku) to rise up and overthrow him (which is entirely possible if he trained an apprentice with as much power as Dooku wielded). It's also great foreshadowing to the fact that Sidious is overthrown by his own apprentice (Darth Vader) in "Return of the Jedi." I love that scene because it's a testament of how powerful Darth Vader really was. He single-handedly did it all himself and relied on no help at all. Just kind of a "You know what old man? I'm really tired of your crap, and I've decided this is your retirement party." And it was done. Something Yoda, Mace Windu, and probably countless others could never accomplish.
It must be difficult being a powerful Sith Lord. Not only do you have to worry about the Jedi, but you must always look to your own for possible backstabbing. It kind of makes the whole "this is a team effort" motif problematic, because your team could turn on you at any time.
Anyway, the reason for my post today is (up until I got introduced to Savage Opress) I kind of thought the Star Wars universe was this big space opera that could inspire all kinds of fan fiction, and that it's so huge that you could literally tell any story. I suppose that at least part of that is true. However, I also think that if you wanted to stay with Lucas' vision for whatever reason (since Star Wars is his baby), I believe you'd want to stick with the whole "revenge" theme in any plot or story you wrote. Revenge literally infuses practically every story line and drives all the evil you see present in Star Wars from the movies to the television series and probably even the comic books and novels. Here's my "rudimentary" evidence:
1) Lucas called the third prequel "Revenge of the Sith." That's pretty straight-forward. Obviously the Sith are very butt hurt at being oppressed by the Jedi and really really want their revenge. And it matters so much that the very word makes it into a title.
2) In the television series, Savage Opress is birthed out of revenge when Asajj Ventress survives and wants revenge against her former master that tried to kill her. So the Nightsister witches make Savage Opress out of black magic and then plan on using him as an assassin that they can control once he learns enough from being Count Dooku's apprentice.
3) The whole "dark side" seems to be motivated out of revenge. In other words, the Sith often seem to channel hate for some wrong that they feel they've been dealt and want revenge against the people who wronged them.
4) Darth Maul is cleverly re-written as someone who survives being cut in half and naturally, he wants revenge on the person that cut him in half, i.e., Obi-Wan Kenobi. So he gets his revenge by killing Duchess Satine right in front of him about mid-way through Season 5, because Obi-Wan loves Duchess Satine. Nice revenge plot there.
5) Anakin starts to slip to the dark side when he kills a whole clan of Tuskan Raiders after they kill his mother. If that isn't revenge, I don't know what is.
6) Bounty Hunter Boba Fett is totally motivated out of revenge after witnessing the Jedi cut down his father Jango Fett in the second movie. They even show the boy touching his head to his father's helmet.
So there you have it. Savage Opress gave me six insights as to why Star Wars is really a story about revenge. So I predict episode VII will probably kick off three more movies centered around revenge. Someone will be extremely butt hurt over something and then they will spend three movies trying to deal with that "wronged" person. I actually hope it's not formulaic like that, but let's be honest...a lot of Star Wars is formulaic. A lot of publishing for that matter. We are creatures of habit and we love our formulas!
The very last scene of the Clone Wars. It ended with Ahsoka Tano leaving
the Jedi Order. Anakin begged for her to return. But she refused. And
that is how one of the greatest Jedi stories ended.
"Snips," Anakin whispered from the wreckage of the A-Wing.
Ahsoka clenched her teeth as she heard the familiar nickname.
Internally, she counted the seconds while she mustered enough courage to reply. With a sigh, she stood with palms flat on the fuselage and lifted herself up slowly...painfully.
A small smile crept across her lips; hood masked her face. “Always in time to save your life Sky Guy,” she answered him. She felt a particular joy that only Anakin could summon. Always her Master, Anakin believed in her no matter what, and she'd come to rely upon his resolve in frightening times.
Waiting for his reply, Ahsoka became satisfied in the silence that hung between them both.
It wasn't the silence that you associate with awkwardness. It was the silence of mutual friends basking in each others presence.
This gif is from an episode where Ahsoka fights Death Watch. It's a really
cool episode. R2 hands her the lightsabers, she cuts herself free, and jumps
coming down and killing like four Death Watch in Mandalorian armor at the
same time. She just cuts their heads off (yes beheadings in a cartoon for kids).
From Wikipedia --
George Lucas stated that the character of Ahsoka was developed for the series as a means of illustrating how Anakin Skywalker develops from the brash, undisciplined Padawan in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones to the more reserved Jedi Knight in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. However, Master Yoda worries about Skywalker's personal relationships. By giving Skywalker his own Padawan, it would place the character into a paternal role where he would be forced to become more cautious and responsible. It would also give Skywalker new insight into his relationship with his own mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and explain how their relationship matured. Lucas stated that, having raised two daughters, he "knew something about the subject," and decided to make Skywalker's apprentice a young female.
My take -- Ahsoka Tano is my favorite character in the series. She just really grew on me season after season. The Star Wars movies had a vacuum of female Jedis. Previously, I'd been intrigued by Luminara Undulee and her Padawan Barriss Offee, but these characters never got any screen time in the movies (you see them once in the Battle of Geonosis). Ahsoka, however, is a star in The Clone Wars. She's powerful, incredibly skilled, and a person that (unlike Anakin) could never go to the dark side. Her moral compass is without question as straight as the one possessed by dead Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn.
The Clone Wars ended with Ahsoka leaving the Jedi council forever because when it came down to it, the Jedi council, did not trust her (even Mace Windu and Yoda thought she might be guilty). The only one that did believe her was Anakin, and he proved this by bringing the traitor Barriss Offee to justice (Barriss had framed Ahsoka for a terrorist bombing of the Jedi Temple) even though it meant allying with a known dark side apprentice named Asajj Ventress to do so.
Disciple of the Dark Side, Asajj Ventress held the key to Ahsoka's innocence.
Maybe it's as early as this event that Anakin began to question and to hate the Jedi Order for alienating him from Ahsoka.
I hope to someday know of the fate of Ahsoka Tano. Did she survive when all the Jedi were eradicated throughout the galaxy? She had all of the skills to be a full blown Jedi Knight, but she didn't have the title. Perhaps Anakin as Darth Vader never looked for her. All I know is that when Yoda died in Return of the Jedi, he said to Luke, "When gone am I, the last of the Jedi will you be." I suppose technically that means Ahsoka could still be alive.
In the end, Padawan Ahsoka Tano exemplifies the best of the Jedi even if she doesn't have the title.
Below is a video that shows many highlights from Season 3. It will give you a feel of who Ahsoka Tano was and how the most powerful of the Jedi (Anakin) also had the most interesting padawan. They don't show it in this clip, but when Ahsoka has embraced the dark side and fights Anakin (foreshadowing anyone?) he pushes her with telekinesis and she stops herself by thrusting two lightsabers into the ground and leaving a trail of molten lava behind. I thought that was really cool.
And below is a clip that shows Ahsoka Tano battling General Grievous. For those of you who don't know, General Grievous killed Jedi during the Clone Wars and was trained by Count Dooku himself in lightsaber combat. He's a droid that even some Jedi Masters had trouble dealing with (like Kit Fisto). Ahsoka fights
him because he wants to kill younglings (those Jedi babies who are still too weak with the force to defend themselves against a truly skilled opponent). Ahsoka (because she's Anakin's padawan) is no mere student. She's very much like Obi-Wan, able to take on much more powerful foes (remember Obi-Wan fought Darth Maul while he was still a padawan of Qui-Gon Jinn).
It was a difficult choice to pick clips to show you guys. When I get to "V" in this whole A to Z challenge I'm going to talk about Asajj Ventress and show you the clip where Ahsoka fights Asajj (but it's really Barriss Offee in disguise). Barriss goes to the dark side by the end of the series and she's INCREDIBLY powerful. Her telekinetic powers are way better than Vader and in the clip I intend to show you in a week or so, you'll see that.
If you are a Star Wars fan and have never heard of the Clone Wars, I urge you to take the time to watch these videos. They are AWESOME.
A collage of many scenes involving Duchess Satine and Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan Kenobi said to Duchess Satine before she died, "Had you said the word, I would have left the Jedi Order." After he said that, it was hard not to burst into tears. Oy...what a heart wrenching scene.
After Satine's death, he was asked, "Did you love Satine?"
Obi-Wan replied, "As a Jedi, I'm not to form emotional attachments. But, yes. I did."
In a way, I'm glad that they canceled The Clone Wars cartoon series. The death of Duchess Satine really put a cap on it. She was Obi-Wan's greatest and probably only love in his life, and arguably one of the most influential figures in the canon (mostly because I think Obi-Wan Kenobi was the greatest hero of the Old Republic).
In the clip below, I've embedded the only scene in which I can recall where Obi-Wan Kenobi fights with a red lightsaber. He does joke to Asajj Ventress that "It's not my color." Setup: Darth Maul and his apprentice Savage Oppress are about to kill Obi-Wan when Asajj Ventress (a Sith who is a recurring character and not entirely bad) comes to the rescue. I really got to where I liked Ventress. Sure, she hated the Jedi but she had her reasons. She always fought with two lightsabers and because Obi-Wan doesn't have one (and they're about to be attacked) he borrows one of hers. It's an awesome fight scene.
And yeah for those of you who don't know, Darth Maul didn't die in episode 1: The Phantom Menace. He just got cut in half, abandoned by Palpatine, and pieced together with artificial legs.
