A guest blog by Mindless-Droid

Altar of mortis is the next episode in the Mortis trilogy. A little over half way through season three this trailer came out for the final three arcs. You can watch it here http://starwars.com/watch/the_clone_wars_season3_trailer.html good times those were not like now a September without The Clone Wars thanks a lot Disney but I digress. One of the great things about The Clone Wars was these trailers. Often misleading but always interesting these trailers made for great speculative discussion. Many of us often wondered if Dave and the crew would put these together and then watch the discussion boards eating popcorn and a sipping on a cold beverage as the fans would go crazy dissecting and theorizing about every aspect of them.

Anyway the trailer ends with Ahsoka with Sith eyes attacking Anakin I couldn’t wait to see what this was about. We learn that it is the son that has gained control over Ahsoka using her to further his plans to escape The Father and the planet. This leads to a faceoff between master and apprentice. Now this is something that has always intrigued me ever since they introduced Ahsoka as Analkins padawan. Knowing Anakin’s fate I always thought there would be a time when the two would confront one another but I thought it would be with the rolls reversed. Anakin having become Darth Vader and Ahsoka attempting to stop or bring him back to the light side. This battle seemed to be a foreshadowing of what was to come. In the end the son kills Ahsoka and the Daughter sacrifices herself to save her. It was a little freaky when Ahsoka was dead and her eyes were open and blank.

There is a lot going on in this episode. Was Ahsoka really dead? Was it a trial run to gauge fan reaction to her death? We see an example of the dark side leading to pain and suffering not only to the Father and the Daughter but the Son as well as his quest for power destroys the only thing he really cares about. We see Anakins struggle with attachment as he rushes head long into the sons trap in an effort to save Ahsoka. What does all this mean in relation to the chosen one and the balance of the Force? More questions to be pondered.

This episode to me is not only interesting in a dramatic way but it is here were the animation and overall production of the series seems to jump to another level. They had introduced new character models for Anakin Ahsoka and Obi-Wan. The performances that the crew would get out of these models was becoming increasingly better and better. The subtle eye movements and facial gestures the way the Daughters hair flowed as if with the force it just amazed me.

Here we also get to see Ahsoka really wield both her lightsabers for the first time. The choreography for the lightsaber battle was another step up and a glimpse of what was to come. Anakin spinning Ahsoka’s lightsaber out of her hand just as he does to Luke in The Empire Strikes Back. Ahsoka spinning her Shoto around in her hand to take a swipe at Obi-Wan and when she lights the second one there is a thunderclap in the background. Love those little details. Speaking of details Ahsoka’s and Anakin’s lightsabers look photo realistic when you see them holding them or skidding across the ground in Anakin’s case. The background elements became deeper and richer with detail. Plus the music especially during the confrontation between the Son and Daughter which we would hear again during the landing in Darkness on Umbara was just getting better and better.

The voice acting was another strong point in this episode. Ashley Eckstien did a great job in voicing Dark Ahsoka. I like to call it a controlled crazy. You also have James Arnold Taylors calm Obi-Wan contrasted with Matt Lantner’s reckless Anakin. This is also the episode were we really get to see what Sam Witwer can do. He did an amazing job bringing the Son to life and we all know where that would lead to as he ended up voicing a certain Sith named Darth Maul.

In conclusion I believe that this episode arc along with the Nightsister arc was a focal point for the series both dramatically and from a production stand point and it would only get better and better as the series went forward. Thanks to everyone for stopping by and reading my little amateur attempts at this blogging thing please feel free to leave a comment or start a discussion and MTFBWY.