Overlords

"Balance is found in the one who faces his guilt."

- Moral

"Overlords" is the fifteenth episode of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series' third season. It aired on January 28, 2011.

Official description
"A mysterious force draws Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka to a distant planet, and its inhabitants -- a family of exceptionally powerful Force-wielders -- in an attempt to determine whether Anakin is truly the Chosen One. The patriarch of this family, known only as the Father, has spent ages maintaining the balance between his Daughter, who is strong with the light side of the Force, and his Son, who aligns with the dark. The Father reveals his days are numbered, and he seeks Anakin to take his place as the fulcrum of this balance. A series of tests proves that Anakin is capable of controlling both offspring, as the Father does, but Skywalker refuses to take the Father's place."

Plot summary
From out of the blue, the Jedi receive a message transmission which includes a 2000 year overly long outdated Jedi distress code. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano are sent out to the Chrelythiumn system, where the call was picked up, to investigate. They are to rendezvous with a star cruiser commanded by Rex, but even though they are at the exact coordinates, they cannot perceive each other. Then communication and power is suddenly cut off, and an irresistible force pulls the Jedi's shuttle into a gigantic crystal-shaped structure.

The next thing the three know, they are awakening within the cockpit of their shuttle which has inexorably settled down in an unfamiliar world. As they survey the landscape, which somehow is removed from the natural laws they are familiar with and strangely radiant with the Force, Anakin is suddenly addressed by a disembodied female voice which neither Obi-Wan nor Ahsoka are able to hear. The speaker shortly reveals herself, though, calling herself "Daughter", asking Anakin repeatedly whether he is "the one", and offering to take them to her "Father". With little alternative, the Jedi take Daughter up on the offer.

As they walk along a cliff path, a rock suddenly collapses in top of them, cutting Anakin and Daughter off from Ahsoka and Obi-Wan. Proclaiming that this was the work of her brother, Daughter asks Anakin to wait, but Anakin instead opts to follow her, sending Obi-Wan and his Padawan back to the ship and try to contact help. The two arrive at the landing site just as night falls, only to discover the shuttle gone; they are immediately after met by Son, who asks Obi-Wan whether Anakin is really the Chosen One. With a storm coming, Son departs, and the Jedi are forced to seek shelter in order not to be struck down by lightning; but from his shelter, Anakin spots the light of a monastery located on the high peak of a mountain.

As soon as the storm has passed, Anakin hastens up to the monastery and enters a great hall in which he meets an old man meditating. The old man tells Anakin is to be tested to see whether he is fit to fulfill his destiny, and invites him to stay for the night. In the meantime, however, to his immense surprise Obi-Wan is met by the Force spirit of his late master, Qui-Gon Jinn, who tells him of the strange properties of the planet as a conduit for the Force and of its inhabitants' intentions with Anakin, and warns him that the planet may corrupt Anakin if he is unable to attain balance within his soul. At the same time, Anakin is visited in his quarters by an apparition of his mother Shmi, and in his pain Anakin tells her about his past failures and the guilt which has built up in him. The apparition tells him that Anakin is torn because he has defined his own guilt over the massacre of the Sand People and his secret marriage to Padmé, and when he confronts her, she briefly assumes a monstrous appearance before disappearing. Ahsoka also receives a vision of her as an adult in her early 30s, who warns her to remove herself from Anakin lest his tendency towards the Dark Side will eventually corrupt her as well.

Anakin angrily confronts his host, demanding answers and believing him to be a Sith Lord. The old man introduces himself and his children as Force Wielders, beings so strong in the ways of the Force that they could not dwell in the material world anymore; as a result, they retreated to this planet to contain their powers by attaining balance within and cutting off any influences from the outside world. He promises Anakin that he and his friends are free to leave this world once Anakin has undergone a test, for the old man to see whether he truly is the Chosen One and for Anakin to confront his own guilt.

The next morning, Anakin undergoes his trial in the face of an impossible choice: Son and Daughter have kidnapped Ahsoka and Obi-Wan as they went looking for him, and Anakin has to choose which one he will save. Anakin uses the planet's Force-amplifying properties to force Son and Daughter to release their captives at the same time and return to their human forms. The old man tells Anakin that while he has passed the test, he must still learn about the true nature within himself and asks Anakin to take his place as the balancing element between his children, or otherwise endanger the galaxy with his selfishness if he leaves. Anakin chooses to leave, however, although he is strangely hesitant to do so ... and the Imperial March plays as his ship leaves the planet.

Cast

 * Matt Lanter as Anakin Skywalker
 * James Arnold Taylor as Obi-Wan Kenobi
 * Ashley Eckstein as Ahsoka Tano
 * Lloyd Sherr as the Father
 * Adrienne Wilkinson as the Daughter
 * Sam Witwer as the Son
 * Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn
 * Pernilla August as Shmi
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Rex
 * Tom Kane as the Narrator