“Morality separates heroes from villains.”

Chris Collins continues the Darth Maul (Sam Witwer) and Savage Opress (Clancy Brown) arc that sees the pair settling in with their criminal army on the planet of Mandalore, and their resident criminal faction, Death Watch.

Maul uses Duchess Satine (Anna Graves) to draw out Obi-Wan Kenobi (James Arnold Taylor) and although the Jedi cannot be officially involved, Kenobi cannot resist the Duchess’ need for help.

This episode originally debuted on 2 February, 2013. And it showed that the series was playing for keeps when Obi-Wan arrives on Mandalore, and after an escape attempt, Maul kills Satine in front of Kenobi.

It’s a powerful and intense moment, handled incredibly well.

Reeling from the death of someone he truly loved, Kenobi finds an unexpected ally in former Death Watch lieutenant, Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff), who is revealed to be Satine’s sister.

Maul’s plans and movements have caught more than just the Jedi’s attention, Palpatine aka Darth Sidious (Ian Abercrombie who had recorded most of his dialogue before his death, and an uncredited Tim Curry) arrive on Mandalore, which allows Maul to deliver an iconic line lift from A New Hope.

And with Sidious’ arrival, the battle gets personal for Maul as well, as he, Savage and Palpatine face off in a lightsaber battle that is a high point of the series (and has a brutal outcome), and as the war rages on Mandalore this episode reaches new heights.

We also get to see Anakin’s ship the Twilight, which has been out of action since season two, and gets pretty totalled in this one… it’s probably a write-off at this point.

“Sometimes even the smallest doubt can shake the greatest belief.”

Charles Murray starts a new arc this week that will take us to the end of the fifth season. First debuting on 9 February, 2013, Sabotage features Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) and Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) as they are assigned to investigate a bombing that occurred at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.

Since they were one of only a few Jedi who were off-world at the time, their innocence is certain. And the pair are determined to follow the clues to wherever they lead.

A fun little side note, all of the titles in this arc are nods to Hitchcock films.

The episode opens with a great opening sequence featuring not only a fantastic battle, but also demonstrates the relationship that has developed between Master and Padawan, and why what is going to happen over the next few episodes becomes so intense and poignant… but I’m getting ahead of myself.

This incident, which people suspect may have been orchestrated by a rogue Jedi, begins to turn popular opinion against them, and it sets up more throughlines for the series.

It’s a great setup for what is to come, as it promises to send beloved characters in new and hitherto unsuspected directions.

“Courage begins by trusting oneself .”

Murray pens the last episode up for review this week, The Jedi Who Knew Too Much. It debuted on 16 February, 2013 and puts Ahsoka in some serious trouble.

When the bombing suspect is found murdered in her cell, evidence seems to suggest that the young Padawan is responsible for it. Despite knowing that she’s been framed, Ahsoka finds herself on the run from Republic forces, and ends with a bit of a nod to an iconic scene from the film version of The Fugitive.

The episode sees some familiar characters returning to the series, including Tarkin (Stephen Stanton) who is now an admiral and Bariss Offee (Meredith Salenger) who made an appearance in the previous episode, if you could catch her, but now becomes more involved in the storyline.

What will happen to Ahsoka, and how will this affect her training? and her desire to become a Jedi? Season Five of The Clone Wars concludes next week. Until then, may the Force be with you.