Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 3 episode 12 review: Nightsisters

This review contains spoilers.

3.12 Nightsisters

Before I review the latest installment of the Star Wars animated series, I should say that now is the perfect time to hop on. This episode sees the start of a new trilogy and also sees an end to the rather repetitive political and trade nonsense that has marred much of Season 3.

It’s also the perfect time, as Nightsisters is not only a classic Clone Wars episode, but it contains many set pieces that your average action flick would kill for. This is the most exciting thing on television at the moment.

The story starts with your typical two-on-one lightsaber showdown. Hot lady Sith Asajj Ventress is at it in the most aggressive fashion with Obi Wan and Anakin.These opening moments, set aboard a battling spaceship, are very reminiscent of the excellent opening to Revenge Of The Sith, hugely entertaining and stunning to the eye.

But rather than your usual battle, The Clone Wars has rather elegantly added another dimension.

Dooku, or Lord Tyrannus as he’s called here, is contacted by Darth Sidious, who has sensed that Asajj Ventress is growing too strong with the dark side of the Force and commands her death.The once hated villain now becomes a more complex and sympathetic character, as her ‘boss’ destroys the ship she is currently fighting the Jedi on. A fight, it should be noted, that Ventress had the upper hand in, using some extreme Force moves on Obi Wan and Anakin.

Thankfully, the bald assassin survives these attacks and returns to her home planet, Dathomir, and all within the opening five minutes of the episode. It’s storytelling at its most economic and incredibly pleasing.

Dathomir, factoid fans will note, made its first appearance in the Star Wars novel, The Courtship Of Princess Leia, back in 1994, and is home to the titular Nightsisters, ‘witches’ who have Sith-like powers, to put it simply. It is here that the backstory for Asajj Ventress (now celebrating over seven years in the Star Wars galaxy) is laid out for the viewer in a startling flashback akin to Anakin’s visions in Episode III.

It’s refreshing to see a character continually being built on and fleshed out and her story continues. Now she is hell bent on revenge on Dooku. And Mother Talzin, leader of the Nightsisters, is only too happy to help out.

What follows is an astonishingly well realised attack on Dooku, the likes of which the Star Wars universe has never seen. Who would have thought we would see the Count fighting in his jim jams?

Nightsisters is bookended by two glorious lightsaber battles, is filled with many memorable moments and begins an exciting new trilogy of stories for the series. The denouement will leave some viewers slightly agasp as to what’s to come next (or, rather, who), as Dooku is served up a new apprentice by the Witches of Dathomir.

Of course, the trailers for Season 3 have already revealed Ventress’ replacement, but that revelation is for next week….

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