This episode is excellent. Especially in terms of concept and story, and it is the best out of the anthology in terms of remaining true to Star War's themes. Second only to Episode 4 (The Village Bride) in all other areas.
PROS:
As I said, it stays the closest to Star Wars to the point of feeling canonical, while staying faraway from being labelled as a copy of any canonical story (That I am aware of, at least).
The concepts brought a smile to my face.
The "asteroid fishing" (if you will) near the beginning is a really cool idea that adds a little more spice to the world building.
The idea of light sabers changing color based on the force user's strength and designation is something I always thought would be a good idea from the first time I saw the Clone Wars, and this episode proves that notion right.
The story is intriguing (if somewhat flawed, more on that later) and is arguably, if not objectively better than the last six main stream Star Wars films.
There is a near-perfect amount of foreshadowing (more on foreshadowing and set-ups later) for several points. One example being when Kara deflects training bot shots (Similar to those of a Marksman-H combat remote) before deflecting actual baster fire a few minutes later.
The characters, particularly the "Light Saber Smith," Kara, and the Margrave are well handled. Homen is also an interesting character, I wish we had a bit more time with him.
The way his lightsaber changes from red to purple to show that he is a gray force user (like Mace Windu) was a nice touch that spike my curiosity about him.
I loved how the Margrave is designed to look like a badass Sith but is actually a badass Jedi, and the way he went full Omni-Man on the Sith towards the end (just not as gory of course) was glorious.
The animation is so GOOD! My favorite scene was when Kara is being pursued by the Jedi hunter on speeders.
The way the trees speeding by adds to the feel of momentum in the scene (something that most chase scenes forget to do), and the way the 2D characters blend with the 3D background is gorgeous.
The music, while nothing stellar, is adequate and fits the moments of its use.
CONS:
On foreshadowing.
While there was some foreshadowing, and elements of the story that came together at the end, for example, when the Margrave reveals he knew Sith were being sent and hid among them in the droid to try and tell who were Jedi and who were Sith.
Another being when he gives the group a light saber and only Ethan activates it to show he is a Jedi, but the others do not until the end to show they are Sith.
Those examples were very well done, and tied together excellently.
HOWEVER, the twist with the group of "Jedi" turning out to be Sith could have done with a little foreshadowing.
Everything makes sense at the end, yes, but it seems to come out of no where. This can be good in a way, as it takes the audience by surprise, but it can also feel a little out-of-the-blue.
This is a small flaw for an anthological story (especially one that did so well with set-ups and pay-offs in other areas), but hey, the better something is, the smaller the flaws.
The dialogue in this episode is average, with few moments of emotion coming through it.
The fact that Kara, a child with little training in the force, can hold her own against three adult Sith is a little jarring and comical.
I can understand why she did better than Ethan, as he had no master and she evidently had help from her father, but holding up 1v3? That's a bit much.
*****
All in all, really enjoyed this episode.
A solid 8/10 personally and objectively.
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