“Sometimes, accepting help is harder than offering it.”

“Legacy of Terror” is an exercise in creating a mood. As the episode unfolds, events become increasingly ominous and spooky – until the final horrific confrontation. Execution is key to stories such as this, and if there’s one thing that the Clone Wars series has proven of late it’s that it can craft stories with exceptional care. Such is the case here. The pacing helps build the increasing suspense and tension. The characters react plausibly – even providing some illuminating aspects of personality – and action kicks in at just the right moments. The result is yet another classic Clone Wars episode.

Following the successful invasion of Geonosis, the Jedi are left to clean up the few remaining loose ends … such as capturing the Geonosian leader, Poggle the Lesser. To that end, Luminara Unduli heads off on a speeder bike across the barren wastes of the planet to hunt down and capture Poggle. As she tracks her quarry, a sandstorm builds, providing the episode’s first moments of tension. Particularly effective is a conversation between battle droids who had been walking with Poggle’s escort convoy. In the midst of the storm, one of them falls and is left behind. It’s plaintive, “Don’t leave me,” carries a surprising amount of emotion for a battle droid.

But that’s only the beginning.

Luminara tracks Poggle to a bombed out temple, complete with “gargoyle” statues of some very strange and creepy-looking Geonosians. During a report to Anakin and Obi-Wan, she is attacked and her fate is left uncertain until the storm passes. Once Anakin and Obi-Wan arrive to investigate her disappearance within the catacombs underneath the temple, the real suspense begins.

Put simply, Luminara has been captured by zombies – or, at the very least, dead Geonosians who have been possessed by the Geonosian Queen and, therefore, are incapable of being killed a second time. As Obi-Wan, Anakin and their clone troopers traverse and explore the catacombs, they are repeatedly attacked by these loathsome creatures. And this, really, is where the execution of the premise becomes so important. Offhand, the notion isn’t especially compelling or interesting. But the manner with which the episode carries out the sudden attacks or disappearances of clones, is quite effective.

But that’s nothing compared to the surreal, alien setting awaiting our heroes in the “throne room” – the place where the Queen Geonosian lays her eggs … and uses worms to exert her mind control over her minions. She’s captured Luminara Unduli in the hopes of controlling the Jedi Master.

When Obi-Wan and Anakin arrive, we get a fascinating contrast between their personalities. Anakin, predictably, wants to charge in to the rescue while Obi-Wan wants to observe matters a bit longer, saying, “must you always rush into things?” This prompts Anakin’s exasperated comment, “You don’t actually want to talk to it, do you?” From here, as they approach the Queen, the two spar verbally, and playfully, about their respective approaches. The scene does quite a bit to establish the natural tensions between the two friends – tensions which, we know, will ultimately grow into rivalry and hatred (additionally, Obi-Wan’s almost clinical interest in The Worms is an amusing quirk).

As for the Queen herself, her mannerisms, voice, and design are all incredibly creepy, adding to the tension and suspense of the episode as a whole. And the final solution – to bring the entire chamber down onto the Queen – seems like an especially brutal tactic, even for the Jedi. Granted, it may have been the only means by which they could survive … but at the risk of killing the Geonosian Queen and, potentially, ending the entire Geonosian race?

Overall Grade: B

“Legacy of Terror” is an effective episode in almost every respect. The story itself doesn’t hold a lot of inherent value, beyond being a very good suspense tale. But for what it sets out to do, the episode is a success, creating palpable suspense, tension and some nicely nuanced character moments.

Topics: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, TV Reviews
Filed under: Clone Wars

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