“Without honor, victory is hollow.”

With this trio of episodes we’ve reached the end of the third season, and what a way to amp things up. This season has been filled with sharp writing, new and amazing characters, and some satisfying story and character arcs for our heroes.

Citadel Rescue was written by Matt Michnovetz and first aired on 11 March, 2011.

Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor) and Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) are still trapped on the prison planet known as The Citadel. With them are the remaining members of their clone troopers, and Captain Tarkin (Stephen Stanton).

Jedi Masters Plo Koon (also Taylor) and Saesee Teen (Dee Bradley Baker – who also voices the clones) plan a daring and desperate rescue mission to save their allies, and the information they carry.

The episode plays out almost as one big long chase sequence, that expands into orbit as the Republic launches an all-out assault to rescue the Jedi and their recovered cargo of people and information.

It also lays the groundwork for the working relationship between Tarkin and Skywalker, though Tarkin isn’t quite as ruthless in this episode as we know he is to become, and has been up to that point thanks to other canon pieces featured in novels and comics.

Still, it’s a great episode, that shows the series can create and portray action sequences that are almost on par with the live action seen in the film series.

“Without humility, courage is a dangerous game.”

Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano is captured on the planet Felucia, during a battle, by Trandoshans, who in a riff on The Most Dangerous Game, plan to hunt her in this episode written by Bonnie Mark. It first aired on 1 April, 2011.

It’s a great episode, and also isn’t afraid to get dark, as Ahsoka is dumped on a remote island, and subjected to hunting parties who are trying to seek her and some other Jedi younglings, who have been there for cycles, down and then mount their corpses on their hunting walls.

And let’s just take a moment to talk about the Trandoshan hunting halls. If you look at all the pelts, heads, furs, and skulls mounted in these halls, it’s really unnerving, and terrifyingly dark.

Ahsoka is determined to survive, fight back and escape, and since Anakin is unable to find her, she may be on her own…

There are some well-crafted action moments, and emotional ones, that once again the series is focused on telling not only Star Wars stories, but really good ones. And while this story framework has been visited countless times since its introduction, this is a worthy addition to it.

“A great student is what the teacher hopes to be.”

The Trandoshan hunting arc ends out the season with Ahsoka still in trouble, but assisted by a familiar face, (Chewbacca!!) in this episode that was also written by Bonnie Mark, and closed the season on 1 April, 2011. This episode, and the one prior aired back to back, making it an event night for The Clone Wars.

In a nod to the Predator film series, there are trophies on the Trandoshan ship, amongst them, a crystal skull from the fourth Indiana Jones movie.

Poor Chewie, so it seems long before he was captured by the Imps, he was subjected to a Trandoshan hunt. This poor Wookie.

Working together, Chewie, Ahsoka and the younglings take the fight to the Trandoshans, and are able to get the upper hand just as rescue arrives. But it’s important to note that they saved themselves before reinforcements showed up. This illustrates how Ahsoka has grown over the course of the three seasons, and that her training by Anakin has enabled her to survive.

Next week season four gets under way in a galaxy far, far away, as The Clone Wars rage on!

May the Force be with you…