3.13 Monster That time has come and, oh boy, disappointment is not on the agenda. In fact, we’re blessed with a plethora of Maul-a-likes, or Nightbrothers as they’re also known, in the latest installment of The Clone Wars. Following on from last week’s cracking episode, Asajj Ventress, hellbent on exacting revenge on Count Dooku for dumping her quicker than garbage from a Star Destroyer (well, trying to kill her, at any rate), is on the trail for a Nightbrother, the males who live on the far side of her her planet, Dathomir. Never before in the onscreen Star Wars adventures (big and small) has there been such a sustained level of cruelty, evil and violence with abandon. The torture of the Nightbrothers by Ventress is not only shocking, but also deeply distressing, as she takes great delight in callously killing her brothers. The Sith’s actions are dripping with malevolence, particularly as she strangles her way through the opposition, with her boot crushing the throat of her enemy. There’s worse to come in the form of Savage Opress, the chosen Nightbrother, whose first kill is disgustingly graphic. I mean, we’re dealing with Sith here, right? These guys and gals are real bad motherfuckers and we truly see the Dark Side of the Force at work here with the transformation of Opress at the hands of the Nightsisters. He goes from a thinking, caring and engaging warrior, voiced with some style by big screen bad boy, Clancy Brown (Highlander, The Shawshank Redemption), to the desensitised titular monster fuelled by anger and rage. Full marks to the production team for such a daring and bold story, never scared to fully realise the horror of what’s on show. It may be unpleasant to watch and may leave a bad taste in the mouth, but The Clone Wars has delivered yet another unmissable and captivating slice of remarkable television. Read our review of episode 12, Nightsisters, here. Follow Den Of Geek on Twitter right here.
