[7.3/10] What’s this? An episode of Ewoks that feels like something actually out of Star Wars? I never thought I’d see the day!
This is about as good a series finale as one could expect or hope for out of the show. It is, for better or worse, true to the spirit of this second season. Wicket is a wannabe warrior. Kneesa is a voice of moral reason. Teebo is a bumbling magician. And Latara is a vainglorious mean girl. Everyone is true to the one-note characterizations that have flattened the show this year.
But there’s something about the four of them, replete with a new droid pal named Petey (presumably P-T), going up against some evil Imperial doctor, that’s fitting as a way to bring the series full circle on the way out. In truth, this feels slightly akin to an episode of Droids (our heroes even have to escape a villain stronghold!), but it’s a nice melding of Ewoks’ standalone forest adventure sensibilities with the broader Star Wars universe.
But I like a lot of the touches here that mark the combo. Dr. Raygar is a pretty standard Sith-adjacent baddie, but the fact that he’s after the sunstar, and nobody else in the Empire believes he’s found a magical artifact on a primitive world, provides a legitimate connection and a sense of place. It tracks with the Admirals on Vader’s destroyer doubting the power of the Force and writing off that whole thing as legend and mambo jumbo.
At the same time, I like how puzzled the little Ewoks are by the technology at play. I’m so used to the series’ use of magic as technology, that I forget how unfamiliar the little teddy bears would be with such things. Them not knowing what kind of creature Petey is, or not understanding that an apparently open door is blocked by a force field (not a ray shield, apparently), or only comprehending an escape pod as some sort of technological canoe is a nice touch. Seeing the main quartet as fish out of water makes for a nice change of place with shifts in gravity and the need to pilot futuristic vehicles.
The plot’s fairly simple. Bad guy shows up and steals Macguffin. Good guys sneak aboard his ship and get it back. There’s more nice touches in the offing, though. For one, Petey is a good addition to the group. Beyond his general altruism, the fact that he was stolen from his true master and is trying to get back gives him a sympathetic backstory from the jump. Likewise, the fact that he shares Kneesa’s philosophy of caring for others because you never know when they’ll help you back makes him feel like a kindred spirit.
Raygar isn’t especially distinctive as a baddie, but the fact that his comeuppance comes from trying to destroy the Ewoks with the sunstar, only to accidentally wing the Emperor’s ship and have to face Imperial “justice”, adds some poetic irony to his downfall, apart from the usual “I have the power, I should become ruler!” megalomania.
There’s not much in the way of cleverness as to how our heroes defeat him, but still. They’re sneaking aboard, saving their friend, and winning the day with their village’s artifact in tow is a fitting final triumph for the four main Ewoks who’ve taken center stage in season 2. The throughline of general compassion for others is as solid a moral to go out on as well.
On the whole, I still wouldn’t recommend Ewoks to anyone but the most die-hard Star Wars completionists. Outside of this episode, there’s very little connection to the broader universe of the franchise. Outside of a handful of elements, there’s not even that much of a connection to the Caravan of Courage movie, which the T.V. series departs from pretty quickly. And outside of some prime efforts from Paul Dini and a couple other future Batman: The Animated Series writers, most episodes are nothing to write home about on their own terms either. Season 2 in particular takes a major nosedive and starts becoming grating and useless for anyone over the age of five.
Still, there’s the occasional bit of charm here. While the Star Wars connections are slim to nil, Dini and company do a good job of building their own little ecosystem here, with an Ewok hierarchy, a number of recurring neighbors and antagonists, and even some backstory and lore that helps the Ewoks feel like part of the broader fabric of a particular time and a place. In truth, the show often felt like any other generic 1980s kids show, not dissimilar from The Smurfs or The Care Bears or other such kiddie fare.
But every once in a while, the particular charms of this franchise, and this creative team, would shine through. So dengar, Ewoks! And appreciate this trying but unique curio in the Star Wars collection.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2022-06-20T03:57:48Z
[7.3/10] What’s this? An episode of Ewoks that feels like something actually out of Star Wars? I never thought I’d see the day!
This is about as good a series finale as one could expect or hope for out of the show. It is, for better or worse, true to the spirit of this second season. Wicket is a wannabe warrior. Kneesa is a voice of moral reason. Teebo is a bumbling magician. And Latara is a vainglorious mean girl. Everyone is true to the one-note characterizations that have flattened the show this year.
But there’s something about the four of them, replete with a new droid pal named Petey (presumably P-T), going up against some evil Imperial doctor, that’s fitting as a way to bring the series full circle on the way out. In truth, this feels slightly akin to an episode of Droids (our heroes even have to escape a villain stronghold!), but it’s a nice melding of Ewoks’ standalone forest adventure sensibilities with the broader Star Wars universe.
But I like a lot of the touches here that mark the combo. Dr. Raygar is a pretty standard Sith-adjacent baddie, but the fact that he’s after the sunstar, and nobody else in the Empire believes he’s found a magical artifact on a primitive world, provides a legitimate connection and a sense of place. It tracks with the Admirals on Vader’s destroyer doubting the power of the Force and writing off that whole thing as legend and mambo jumbo.
At the same time, I like how puzzled the little Ewoks are by the technology at play. I’m so used to the series’ use of magic as technology, that I forget how unfamiliar the little teddy bears would be with such things. Them not knowing what kind of creature Petey is, or not understanding that an apparently open door is blocked by a force field (not a ray shield, apparently), or only comprehending an escape pod as some sort of technological canoe is a nice touch. Seeing the main quartet as fish out of water makes for a nice change of place with shifts in gravity and the need to pilot futuristic vehicles.
The plot’s fairly simple. Bad guy shows up and steals Macguffin. Good guys sneak aboard his ship and get it back. There’s more nice touches in the offing, though. For one, Petey is a good addition to the group. Beyond his general altruism, the fact that he was stolen from his true master and is trying to get back gives him a sympathetic backstory from the jump. Likewise, the fact that he shares Kneesa’s philosophy of caring for others because you never know when they’ll help you back makes him feel like a kindred spirit.
Raygar isn’t especially distinctive as a baddie, but the fact that his comeuppance comes from trying to destroy the Ewoks with the sunstar, only to accidentally wing the Emperor’s ship and have to face Imperial “justice”, adds some poetic irony to his downfall, apart from the usual “I have the power, I should become ruler!” megalomania.
There’s not much in the way of cleverness as to how our heroes defeat him, but still. They’re sneaking aboard, saving their friend, and winning the day with their village’s artifact in tow is a fitting final triumph for the four main Ewoks who’ve taken center stage in season 2. The throughline of general compassion for others is as solid a moral to go out on as well.
On the whole, I still wouldn’t recommend Ewoks to anyone but the most die-hard Star Wars completionists. Outside of this episode, there’s very little connection to the broader universe of the franchise. Outside of a handful of elements, there’s not even that much of a connection to the Caravan of Courage movie, which the T.V. series departs from pretty quickly. And outside of some prime efforts from Paul Dini and a couple other future Batman: The Animated Series writers, most episodes are nothing to write home about on their own terms either. Season 2 in particular takes a major nosedive and starts becoming grating and useless for anyone over the age of five.
Still, there’s the occasional bit of charm here. While the Star Wars connections are slim to nil, Dini and company do a good job of building their own little ecosystem here, with an Ewok hierarchy, a number of recurring neighbors and antagonists, and even some backstory and lore that helps the Ewoks feel like part of the broader fabric of a particular time and a place. In truth, the show often felt like any other generic 1980s kids show, not dissimilar from The Smurfs or The Care Bears or other such kiddie fare.
But every once in a while, the particular charms of this franchise, and this creative team, would shine through. So dengar, Ewoks! And appreciate this trying but unique curio in the Star Wars collection.