[6.8/10] This one’s fairly dumb as a premise, but has a sound beginning, middle, and end, and even a nice mini-arc for Wicket through it all, so it’s hard to slate this one too much, especially by the diminished standards of this season.
The story shape of this one is solid. Wicket desperately wants to be a warrior. He has a run of bad luck that convinces him he’s not cut out for his lifelong dream. But someone he cares about falling into danger spurs his inner warrior and makes him realize he does have what it takes. It’s not much, or very complicated, but given how much Wicket’s wanted this throughout the show, his temporary retirement and springing back into action has some extra oomph.
That said, the “bad luck sprite” is a pretty dumb concept, and the fact that our heroes get duped by him....repeatedly, makes them seem pretty dopey. Likewise, Wicket himself seems a little dopey since he won’t believe his friends’ story, but you can chalk it up to him being a sad sack after falling short of his dream.
Otherwise, the frame story of Wicket telling this story to Melani to teach her never to give up on her dreams sets the tone nicely. And oddly enough, this episode feels vaguely of a piece with the Caravan of Courage film, with the Ewoks venturing to a distant cavern and being attacked by a large spider.
Overall, this still only hits the reduced heights of season 2, but isn’t bad by that standard.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2022-06-17T20:28:49Z
[6.8/10] This one’s fairly dumb as a premise, but has a sound beginning, middle, and end, and even a nice mini-arc for Wicket through it all, so it’s hard to slate this one too much, especially by the diminished standards of this season.
The story shape of this one is solid. Wicket desperately wants to be a warrior. He has a run of bad luck that convinces him he’s not cut out for his lifelong dream. But someone he cares about falling into danger spurs his inner warrior and makes him realize he does have what it takes. It’s not much, or very complicated, but given how much Wicket’s wanted this throughout the show, his temporary retirement and springing back into action has some extra oomph.
That said, the “bad luck sprite” is a pretty dumb concept, and the fact that our heroes get duped by him....repeatedly, makes them seem pretty dopey. Likewise, Wicket himself seems a little dopey since he won’t believe his friends’ story, but you can chalk it up to him being a sad sack after falling short of his dream.
Otherwise, the frame story of Wicket telling this story to Melani to teach her never to give up on her dreams sets the tone nicely. And oddly enough, this episode feels vaguely of a piece with the Caravan of Courage film, with the Ewoks venturing to a distant cavern and being attacked by a large spider.
Overall, this still only hits the reduced heights of season 2, but isn’t bad by that standard.