[7.5/10] Maybe I’m a sucker. There’s nothing particularly deep about the story of Asha’s return to her sister and father. The tale of a parent sacrificing themselves to save their children is an old chestnut, and the fact ahtt it basically happens off-screen, and involves two characters the audience doesn’t know, should neuter its impact.
And yet, Kneesa’s attachment to her long lost sister, the quest to go find her, and the reunion between father and child at the end of the episode tugged on my heartstrings with the force of an Ewok warrior. It’s simple storytelling, but it’s effective, and leads to one of, if not the highlight, of Ewoks’ first season.
Asha’s also just plain cool. Writer Paul Dini would go on to pen several episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, and it’s not hard to see the connection between two resourceful heroes standing in the shadows in high places before taking down the bad guys. There’s a major cool factor to Asha scaring off the Duloks as “The Red Ghost”, fending off hunters in the forest, and making the bad guy chief and his goons promise to never threaten the animals again. It adds the slightest bit of theatic ballast to the effort, and makes it all the more satisfying when Asha swings into action and beats up some Duloks.
The show doesn't make it arbitrary though. Asha was basically raised by wild animals, becoming wild herself, and so her willingness to protect them stems from that bond. Her “man of the apes”-like bond with the big cats in her cave walks the line between being cool and being sweet.
The mission to find her is strong as well. Kneesa’s determination to find her sister no matter what, and Wicket’s willingness to help despite treacherous terrain puts a personal touch on the quest. The wintry setting gives it some distinction relative to the usual Ewok adventure. And the presence of the “man of the woods” helping them out in a bind adds an adult-ish character to help them out of jams.
Overall, I could see why some folks would find this episode a bit saccharine. I’d be lying if I said it did a ton to earn the sentiment it ends with. But whatever the reason, the magic still worked on me, and that, combined with the toyetic but still rousing arrival of Asha herself, puts this one at the top of the list of worthwhile Ewoks episode.
Edit: It didn’t dawn on me until later that the woodsman Ewok was Chukha-Trok from the Caravan of Courage movie. Another nice, small connection between the Ewoks movies and T.V. shows.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2022-05-21T22:00:34Z— updated 2022-05-23T01:53:50Z
[7.5/10] Maybe I’m a sucker. There’s nothing particularly deep about the story of Asha’s return to her sister and father. The tale of a parent sacrificing themselves to save their children is an old chestnut, and the fact ahtt it basically happens off-screen, and involves two characters the audience doesn’t know, should neuter its impact.
And yet, Kneesa’s attachment to her long lost sister, the quest to go find her, and the reunion between father and child at the end of the episode tugged on my heartstrings with the force of an Ewok warrior. It’s simple storytelling, but it’s effective, and leads to one of, if not the highlight, of Ewoks’ first season.
Asha’s also just plain cool. Writer Paul Dini would go on to pen several episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, and it’s not hard to see the connection between two resourceful heroes standing in the shadows in high places before taking down the bad guys. There’s a major cool factor to Asha scaring off the Duloks as “The Red Ghost”, fending off hunters in the forest, and making the bad guy chief and his goons promise to never threaten the animals again. It adds the slightest bit of theatic ballast to the effort, and makes it all the more satisfying when Asha swings into action and beats up some Duloks.
The show doesn't make it arbitrary though. Asha was basically raised by wild animals, becoming wild herself, and so her willingness to protect them stems from that bond. Her “man of the apes”-like bond with the big cats in her cave walks the line between being cool and being sweet.
The mission to find her is strong as well. Kneesa’s determination to find her sister no matter what, and Wicket’s willingness to help despite treacherous terrain puts a personal touch on the quest. The wintry setting gives it some distinction relative to the usual Ewok adventure. And the presence of the “man of the woods” helping them out in a bind adds an adult-ish character to help them out of jams.
Overall, I could see why some folks would find this episode a bit saccharine. I’d be lying if I said it did a ton to earn the sentiment it ends with. But whatever the reason, the magic still worked on me, and that, combined with the toyetic but still rousing arrival of Asha herself, puts this one at the top of the list of worthwhile Ewoks episode.
Edit: It didn’t dawn on me until later that the woodsman Ewok was Chukha-Trok from the Caravan of Courage movie. Another nice, small connection between the Ewoks movies and T.V. shows.