TCW - "Shadow of Malevolence"

This was a great episode.

It felt more like the original trilogy than any scene in ANY of the prequels. I'll admit that the episode didn't really hook me until the space mantas. At Plo's mention of the "Nebray Mantas," I expected a swarm of ten-foot mantas to come flying through the nebula, knocking into the starfighters. What I didn't expect was a swarm of ten-HUNDRED-foot mantas that completely dwarfed the tiny fighters of Shadow Squadron. It was highly reminiscent of the moment in ESB where the space slug nearly swallows the Millennium Falcon. Definitely an "oh wow!" moment. Furthermore, it felt like a truly original moment, rather than simply a repeat of what was already in the films.

Shadow Squadron was great. I loved the early versions of the Y-Wing starfighters, and the lines of dialogue that echoed the Battle of Yavin in A New Hope.
"Deflectors on, double front!"
"Watch out for those towers!"
"Shadow Twelve standing by."


Some may complain at the constant repeats of dialogue and plotlines, but honestly, that's what Star Wars is. History in the Star Wars galaxy is cyclical. How many times have we heard "I've got a bad feeling about this," or seen a someone fire a torpedo into a space station's main reactor?
That's one of the things that makes the saga great: its sense of nostalgia.

On a note of originality, I really enjoyed seeing realistic consequences for Anakin's actions, and his guilt over the deaths of half his squadron.

That "disk-explosion" had to be one of the coolest explosions I've ever seen in the Star Wars saga. It was highly satisfying, and representative of the entire episode:
Great.