CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
And better than Rebels (not that Rebels is bad.)
Hello I'm Going To Watch All of Star Wars
- Thread starter The Tomtrek
- Start date
And better than Rebels (not that Rebels is bad.)
The Tomtrek
Love Wookiee
Episode 321 - Padawan Lost
Like I said in the previous reviews, we're at a point in the series now that the level of quality for the entire show is up, and this includes the battle scenes. This episode starts in the middle of a battle, as many episodes have done previously, but while they were usually a bit samey now we get interesting action that look great! And it isn't even the actual plot of the episode!
It does help that Felucia is a very pretty planet.
This is yet another Ahsoka episode, but Ahsoka episodes are still great, so I'm happy! Captured by Trandoshans she joins forces with some fellow Younglings to avoid being kill in A MOST DANGEROUS GAME!!! We've seen Ahsoka be on her own before, but this is the first time we've ever really seen her take charge of people younger than her. This is mostly shown in her interactions with one of the other Younglings, Kalifa. Although she doesn't get much screen time, she actually gets a nice little arc in the episode, with Ahsoka showing her that she needs to take the fight to the slavers, while not going too far down the dark path. It's even quite sad when she dies!
(seriously I'm so happy we're in the period where the show looks constantly amazing)
The Trandoshans themselves are pretty cool, and we get a nice look into their crazy hunting culture. Their floating hunting lodge is littered with trophies, including a Wampa hide (sadly this is the only time we will ever see a Wampa in Clone Wars!). The fact that we see them shoot a lot of people down during their hunt makes them legitimately threatening - something that's important if we're supposed to believe these Younglings are in constant hiding.
All the while this is going on, Anakin is looking for Ahsoka. We've seen Anakin panic about losing her before, but what makes it different is that now he's being counciled by Plo Koon. Having him be with Plo Koon, arguably the person who is almost as close to Ahsoka as Anakin is, means that we can see an example of how a Jedi should react: no great attachment, but faith that Ahsoka will be able to return by herself. It's nice to see that Plo respects Ahsoka to know that she's perfectly capable of looking after herself.
Plus we get this shot.
Episode 322 - Wookiee Hunt
Wookiees are cool. I like Wookiees. So I like that we get a guest appearance from Chewbacca in this episode! It's actually impressive how well they do Chewie here, considering his performance is basically entirely physical, they managed to animate him in a way that really does feel like Peter Mayhew's movements. And it's good to see Chewbacca actually get to do stuff, namely getting everyone rescued by constructing a transmitter out of scraps and contacting the Wookiee. And it's cool that Ahsoka can speak Shyriiwook!
But yeah, this is Ahsoka's episode. While it's not really giving us anything new about Ahsoka, this episode is more confirming things that we already knew: that, thanks to Anakin's teachings, she is able not only to survive by herself but to lead others as well. I mean she literally says this to Anakin at the end of the episode (it's a nice moment!). So this is less "Ahsoka learns a lesson", but more "Ahsoka proves herself". It just goes to show how much she's changed since she was introduced back in the Clone Wars film!
I do appreciate how messed up they were able to make Ahsoka look in this episode, it really helps sell the idea that she's been living in this jungle for days.
So yeah! Ahsoka = great. Wookiees = great (TARFFUL IS THERE TOO AND HE'S COOL). This episode = Great!
Without humility, courage is a dangerous game.
Turmoil in the Outer Rim! Located near a major hyperspace lane, the planet Felucia is caught in an unending battle between Republic and Separatist forces. Clone tank divisions make a valiant push deep into Separatist-controlled territory, led by Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano.
General Grievous, learning of the impending Jedi attack, has dispatched reinforcements to one of his droid outposts, hoping to secure his grip on the system....
Turmoil in the Outer Rim! Located near a major hyperspace lane, the planet Felucia is caught in an unending battle between Republic and Separatist forces. Clone tank divisions make a valiant push deep into Separatist-controlled territory, led by Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano.
General Grievous, learning of the impending Jedi attack, has dispatched reinforcements to one of his droid outposts, hoping to secure his grip on the system....
Like I said in the previous reviews, we're at a point in the series now that the level of quality for the entire show is up, and this includes the battle scenes. This episode starts in the middle of a battle, as many episodes have done previously, but while they were usually a bit samey now we get interesting action that look great! And it isn't even the actual plot of the episode!
It does help that Felucia is a very pretty planet.
This is yet another Ahsoka episode, but Ahsoka episodes are still great, so I'm happy! Captured by Trandoshans she joins forces with some fellow Younglings to avoid being kill in A MOST DANGEROUS GAME!!! We've seen Ahsoka be on her own before, but this is the first time we've ever really seen her take charge of people younger than her. This is mostly shown in her interactions with one of the other Younglings, Kalifa. Although she doesn't get much screen time, she actually gets a nice little arc in the episode, with Ahsoka showing her that she needs to take the fight to the slavers, while not going too far down the dark path. It's even quite sad when she dies!
(seriously I'm so happy we're in the period where the show looks constantly amazing)
The Trandoshans themselves are pretty cool, and we get a nice look into their crazy hunting culture. Their floating hunting lodge is littered with trophies, including a Wampa hide (sadly this is the only time we will ever see a Wampa in Clone Wars!). The fact that we see them shoot a lot of people down during their hunt makes them legitimately threatening - something that's important if we're supposed to believe these Younglings are in constant hiding.
All the while this is going on, Anakin is looking for Ahsoka. We've seen Anakin panic about losing her before, but what makes it different is that now he's being counciled by Plo Koon. Having him be with Plo Koon, arguably the person who is almost as close to Ahsoka as Anakin is, means that we can see an example of how a Jedi should react: no great attachment, but faith that Ahsoka will be able to return by herself. It's nice to see that Plo respects Ahsoka to know that she's perfectly capable of looking after herself.
Plus we get this shot.
Episode 322 - Wookiee Hunt
A great student is what the teacher hopes to be.
Jedi abducted! Ahsoka Tano is missing in action. Captured and released into a hostile jungle, she fights to stay alive with the help of a small band of Jedi younglings. As Anakin Skywalker scours the galaxy, desperate to find his lost apprentice, Trandoshan sport hunters track their youngling prey.
With the death of their leader Kalifa, and separated from her friends, we find Ahsoka on the run as the hunters close in around her...
Jedi abducted! Ahsoka Tano is missing in action. Captured and released into a hostile jungle, she fights to stay alive with the help of a small band of Jedi younglings. As Anakin Skywalker scours the galaxy, desperate to find his lost apprentice, Trandoshan sport hunters track their youngling prey.
With the death of their leader Kalifa, and separated from her friends, we find Ahsoka on the run as the hunters close in around her...
Wookiees are cool. I like Wookiees. So I like that we get a guest appearance from Chewbacca in this episode! It's actually impressive how well they do Chewie here, considering his performance is basically entirely physical, they managed to animate him in a way that really does feel like Peter Mayhew's movements. And it's good to see Chewbacca actually get to do stuff, namely getting everyone rescued by constructing a transmitter out of scraps and contacting the Wookiee. And it's cool that Ahsoka can speak Shyriiwook!
But yeah, this is Ahsoka's episode. While it's not really giving us anything new about Ahsoka, this episode is more confirming things that we already knew: that, thanks to Anakin's teachings, she is able not only to survive by herself but to lead others as well. I mean she literally says this to Anakin at the end of the episode (it's a nice moment!). So this is less "Ahsoka learns a lesson", but more "Ahsoka proves herself". It just goes to show how much she's changed since she was introduced back in the Clone Wars film!
I do appreciate how messed up they were able to make Ahsoka look in this episode, it really helps sell the idea that she's been living in this jungle for days.
So yeah! Ahsoka = great. Wookiees = great (TARFFUL IS THERE TOO AND HE'S COOL). This episode = Great!
The Tomtrek
Love Wookiee
Episode 401 - Water War
For a series that has to be about a war, there's a worry that you would soon run into battle scene fatigue. So, this show always tries to find new ways to keep battle scenes interesting, and in this case the answer is "set it underwater".
So far the only thing we've really seen of the Mon Calamari and the Quarren is in Chapter 5 of the Tarakovsky series, and this episode is very much building on what that chapter laid down, both in the fact that it deals with a war between the Mon Calamari and the Quarren and that it features a gratuitous use of Kit Fisto's chest.
The main problem with this episode is that the story focuses around the Mon Calamari prince, and he's not really that interesting a character! He's apparently living in his father's shadow, but since we never saw his father or him before, it doesn't really work.
But the rest of the episode is filled with good characters: Ackbar is there, and is portrayed as a good strategic leader AND doesn't say "It's a trap" which is a GOOD THING. Anakin and Ahsoka are their usual awesome selves. Padmé is just sort of there. Kit Fisto is still cool and brought his smile with him.
But the best new character is the Separatist General Riff Tamson, who is basically a shark man. But making him a Shark Man is actually a really good move, in that it means that his main weapon is his mouth. We actually see him going through groups of Mon Calamari, attacking them WITH HIS TEETH and leaving their corpses to float away, and it makes him a real threat. He also attacks Ahsoka and the Prince just be headbutting the side of the glass tube they are in, because that's just what he does.
This episode is pretty good. The battle scenes are fun to watch, it's very pretty in some places (especially when Tamson's weapons the "Hydroid Medusaes", gigantic jellyfish cyborgs, attack) and there's a great villain throughout all of it. The only places it really falters is that the prince is kind of boring and really, why is Padmé even there?
Episode 402 - Gungan Attack
One of the things this show does that I really love is that it takes certain elements of the films that were very much unloved in the Star Wars fandom and brings them back to give them another chance. I am mostly talking about the Gungans here, and they play a very prominent role here, and it actually makes sense to use them!
As the closest ally who have an underwater army they are sent in to help the Mon Calamari, and even Jar-Jar's there to lead them (AHMED BEST IS BACK AS JAR-JAR THANK GOD). Considering how despised both the Gungans and Jar-Jar were (and still are), the fact that they're even here is actually quite a big risk - one I'm not sure the Lucasfilm of today would take.
Unfortunately, until the Gungans arrive there's not a lot going on in this episode. I mean I just watched it and I can actually barely remember what happened. The prince is still trying to win the trust of his people, Anakin destroys a transmitter and, uh, that's it? The biggest thing that happens is that Riff Tamson fistfights Kit Fisto underwater and wins.
This episode lacks the energy of the first, and as such doesn't work quite as well. Once the Gungans attack things pick up, but overall there's not actually much to say about this episode. Like I wish I could write more but there's nothing to say. Ummmm, I guess I like how Tamson uses the squid droids to churn up the water to disrupt the Gungans - that's a neat use of the underwater setting. Padmé is still doing literally nothing. This shot is pretty great?
NEXT.
Episode 403 - Prisoners
This episode is already more interesting than the previous one in the first five minutes, simply because Riff Tamson puts Anakin and Kit Fisto into a prison made out of electric eels, which is amazing.
The main arc of the episode is the Prince and Ahsoka trying to get the Quarrens to join with them to overthrow Tamson. It's a smart move pairing the Prince with Ahsoka, because as they're about the same age (or at least it seems like it) it means that Ahsoka can give him advice, but he's still able to take charge when he needs to. The Prince is better in this episode simply because he actually knows what he wants to do, and does it. It still does not make him an interesting character, though!
Riff Tamson brings in some of his shark-man pals to rule the planet, which I only mention as an excuse to use this screenshot which is basically fantastic.
The sub-plot of this episode involves Riff Tamson biting into Padmé's helmet and cause it to leak, so Anakin, Fit Fisto and Jar-Jar have to save her while still being prisoners. This is the most Padmé has done so far. Eventually it's solved by Jar-Jar spitting on her helmet. It's fine, I guess.
I do think this story sort of ran out of steam after the first episode. Riff Tamson is the best thing about all three episodes, and his Jaw-like death is both cool and really, really graphic for a children's show!
These episodes? They're fine, I guess. The prince's story could have been more compelling had he been a more interesting character, or had we known more about the Mon Calamari before this episode, but it really is the weak core of all three episodes. Rifff Tamson is the best thing about them. Why was Padmé even there?
When destiny calls, the chosen have no choice.
Water wars! Tensions run high on the ocean world of Mon Calamari, where two separate peoples, the aggressive squid-like Quarren and their peaceful neighbor, the Mon Calamari, struggle to maintain a fragile co-existence. Adding to the strife, the king of the Mon Calamari has been found mysteriously murdered, leaving his young son, Prince Lee-Char, to guide his people alone. But the Quarren race will not accept the new ruler as their king.
Senator Amidala and her Jedi bodyguard have arrived to help resolve the matter and to avoid plunging the planet into civil war....
Water wars! Tensions run high on the ocean world of Mon Calamari, where two separate peoples, the aggressive squid-like Quarren and their peaceful neighbor, the Mon Calamari, struggle to maintain a fragile co-existence. Adding to the strife, the king of the Mon Calamari has been found mysteriously murdered, leaving his young son, Prince Lee-Char, to guide his people alone. But the Quarren race will not accept the new ruler as their king.
Senator Amidala and her Jedi bodyguard have arrived to help resolve the matter and to avoid plunging the planet into civil war....
For a series that has to be about a war, there's a worry that you would soon run into battle scene fatigue. So, this show always tries to find new ways to keep battle scenes interesting, and in this case the answer is "set it underwater".
So far the only thing we've really seen of the Mon Calamari and the Quarren is in Chapter 5 of the Tarakovsky series, and this episode is very much building on what that chapter laid down, both in the fact that it deals with a war between the Mon Calamari and the Quarren and that it features a gratuitous use of Kit Fisto's chest.
The main problem with this episode is that the story focuses around the Mon Calamari prince, and he's not really that interesting a character! He's apparently living in his father's shadow, but since we never saw his father or him before, it doesn't really work.
But the rest of the episode is filled with good characters: Ackbar is there, and is portrayed as a good strategic leader AND doesn't say "It's a trap" which is a GOOD THING. Anakin and Ahsoka are their usual awesome selves. Padmé is just sort of there. Kit Fisto is still cool and brought his smile with him.
But the best new character is the Separatist General Riff Tamson, who is basically a shark man. But making him a Shark Man is actually a really good move, in that it means that his main weapon is his mouth. We actually see him going through groups of Mon Calamari, attacking them WITH HIS TEETH and leaving their corpses to float away, and it makes him a real threat. He also attacks Ahsoka and the Prince just be headbutting the side of the glass tube they are in, because that's just what he does.
This episode is pretty good. The battle scenes are fun to watch, it's very pretty in some places (especially when Tamson's weapons the "Hydroid Medusaes", gigantic jellyfish cyborgs, attack) and there's a great villain throughout all of it. The only places it really falters is that the prince is kind of boring and really, why is Padmé even there?
Episode 402 - Gungan Attack
Only through fire is a strong sword forged.
A government toppled by civil war! Refusing to accept Prince Lee-Char as the next ruler of Mon Cala, the Quarren people join the Separatist Alliance and launch an all-out attack on the Mon Calamari.
Caught unprepared, the young Prince and his Jedi protectors are quickly overwhelmed and forced to retreat in the caves far below the capital city, leaving Count Dooku and his allies to plan their next move....
A government toppled by civil war! Refusing to accept Prince Lee-Char as the next ruler of Mon Cala, the Quarren people join the Separatist Alliance and launch an all-out attack on the Mon Calamari.
Caught unprepared, the young Prince and his Jedi protectors are quickly overwhelmed and forced to retreat in the caves far below the capital city, leaving Count Dooku and his allies to plan their next move....
One of the things this show does that I really love is that it takes certain elements of the films that were very much unloved in the Star Wars fandom and brings them back to give them another chance. I am mostly talking about the Gungans here, and they play a very prominent role here, and it actually makes sense to use them!
As the closest ally who have an underwater army they are sent in to help the Mon Calamari, and even Jar-Jar's there to lead them (AHMED BEST IS BACK AS JAR-JAR THANK GOD). Considering how despised both the Gungans and Jar-Jar were (and still are), the fact that they're even here is actually quite a big risk - one I'm not sure the Lucasfilm of today would take.
Unfortunately, until the Gungans arrive there's not a lot going on in this episode. I mean I just watched it and I can actually barely remember what happened. The prince is still trying to win the trust of his people, Anakin destroys a transmitter and, uh, that's it? The biggest thing that happens is that Riff Tamson fistfights Kit Fisto underwater and wins.
This episode lacks the energy of the first, and as such doesn't work quite as well. Once the Gungans attack things pick up, but overall there's not actually much to say about this episode. Like I wish I could write more but there's nothing to say. Ummmm, I guess I like how Tamson uses the squid droids to churn up the water to disrupt the Gungans - that's a neat use of the underwater setting. Padmé is still doing literally nothing. This shot is pretty great?
NEXT.
Episode 403 - Prisoners
Crowns are inherited, kingdoms are earned.
A last gasp of hope! After the assassination of his father and the fall of his kingdom beneath a planetary civil war, Mon Cala Prince Lee-Char has gone into hiding with Padawan Ahsoka Tano as his only protector. With his armies captured and friends imprisoned, the situation seems hopeless for the Prince.
Count Dooku commands his sinister agent, Riff Tamson, to use any means necessary to bring Prince Lee-Char out of hiding, for he knows that hope does remain as long as the Prince is alive....
A last gasp of hope! After the assassination of his father and the fall of his kingdom beneath a planetary civil war, Mon Cala Prince Lee-Char has gone into hiding with Padawan Ahsoka Tano as his only protector. With his armies captured and friends imprisoned, the situation seems hopeless for the Prince.
Count Dooku commands his sinister agent, Riff Tamson, to use any means necessary to bring Prince Lee-Char out of hiding, for he knows that hope does remain as long as the Prince is alive....
This episode is already more interesting than the previous one in the first five minutes, simply because Riff Tamson puts Anakin and Kit Fisto into a prison made out of electric eels, which is amazing.
The main arc of the episode is the Prince and Ahsoka trying to get the Quarrens to join with them to overthrow Tamson. It's a smart move pairing the Prince with Ahsoka, because as they're about the same age (or at least it seems like it) it means that Ahsoka can give him advice, but he's still able to take charge when he needs to. The Prince is better in this episode simply because he actually knows what he wants to do, and does it. It still does not make him an interesting character, though!
Riff Tamson brings in some of his shark-man pals to rule the planet, which I only mention as an excuse to use this screenshot which is basically fantastic.
The sub-plot of this episode involves Riff Tamson biting into Padmé's helmet and cause it to leak, so Anakin, Fit Fisto and Jar-Jar have to save her while still being prisoners. This is the most Padmé has done so far. Eventually it's solved by Jar-Jar spitting on her helmet. It's fine, I guess.
I do think this story sort of ran out of steam after the first episode. Riff Tamson is the best thing about all three episodes, and his Jaw-like death is both cool and really, really graphic for a children's show!
These episodes? They're fine, I guess. The prince's story could have been more compelling had he been a more interesting character, or had we known more about the Mon Calamari before this episode, but it really is the weak core of all three episodes. Rifff Tamson is the best thing about them. Why was Padmé even there?
CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
Jar-Jar spitting on Padmé's face is someone's sexual fantasy.
I like how Riff Tamson sounds a bit like Biff Tannen even though the characters are nothing alike?
I like how Riff Tamson sounds a bit like Biff Tannen even though the characters are nothing alike?
The Tomtrek
Love Wookiee
He doesn't even call anyone a butthead!
The Tomtrek
Love Wookiee
Episode 404 - Shadow Warrior
This episode... this episode... I don't know what this episode is, and I don't think the episode itself knows either.
There's SO MUCH STUFF that happens in this episode that it very much feels like a collection of random ideas people had thrown together into an episode. Here's a brief breakdown of what happens in the space of this one 25 minute episode.
This episode isn't bad. I like that we get to see places and characters we haven't really seen since The Phantom Menace, both the Grievous/Gungan and the Dooku/Anakin fights are really good. It's sad to see Tarpals die! When Grievous comes out and sees that he has to fight FUCKING GUNGANS he gives out this great "You've got to be kidding!". The scene where Jar-Jar bumbles around in front of Grievous to stall him and Grievous just gets so mad about it is great! I even like the cool shackles they put Grievous in!
Look how annoyed he looks!
There's a lot of small, good, interesting parts in this episode... but there's way too much stuff, and it's way too unfocused, and as such that doesn't make it that enjoyable of an episode to watch.
Who a person truly is cannot be seen with the eye.
As war continues to fracture the galaxy, planets become pawns in a dangerous chess game. One planet in peril is Naboo, where suffering and civil unrest threaten once-friendly relations between the people on the surface and the underwater-dwelling Gungans.
Rumors that the Gungans plan toaid the Separatists in an attack on Theed force Senator Padmé Amidala home,accompanied by Jedi General Anakin Skywalker....
As war continues to fracture the galaxy, planets become pawns in a dangerous chess game. One planet in peril is Naboo, where suffering and civil unrest threaten once-friendly relations between the people on the surface and the underwater-dwelling Gungans.
Rumors that the Gungans plan toaid the Separatists in an attack on Theed force Senator Padmé Amidala home,accompanied by Jedi General Anakin Skywalker....
This episode... this episode... I don't know what this episode is, and I don't think the episode itself knows either.
There's SO MUCH STUFF that happens in this episode that it very much feels like a collection of random ideas people had thrown together into an episode. Here's a brief breakdown of what happens in the space of this one 25 minute episode.
- Padmé and Anakin visit Otoh Gunga and realise that the Gungan Boss Lyonie is under some sort of influence that is making him call for war against the Naboo.
- Padmé and Anakin confront some sort of Gungan Witchdoctor(?) who is Gríma Wormtongue-ing the whole thing and Boss Lyonie gets seriously hurt in the process.
- Jar-Jar pretends to be Boss Lyonie in order to convince the Gungans not to go to war.
- Jar-Jar then tries to stall General Grievous into not attacking.
- Grievous fights the Gungans, killing General Tarpals but getting captured.
- Anakin chases the witchdoctor to Dooku's secret lair.
- Anakin fights Dooku and gets captured.
- Dooku arranges to swap Anakin for Grievous
- They swap prisoners and the episode ends.
This episode isn't bad. I like that we get to see places and characters we haven't really seen since The Phantom Menace, both the Grievous/Gungan and the Dooku/Anakin fights are really good. It's sad to see Tarpals die! When Grievous comes out and sees that he has to fight FUCKING GUNGANS he gives out this great "You've got to be kidding!". The scene where Jar-Jar bumbles around in front of Grievous to stall him and Grievous just gets so mad about it is great! I even like the cool shackles they put Grievous in!
Look how annoyed he looks!
There's a lot of small, good, interesting parts in this episode... but there's way too much stuff, and it's way too unfocused, and as such that doesn't make it that enjoyable of an episode to watch.
CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
I remember being angry because I thought that episode meant Boss Nass was dead, then I remembered he was in Episode 3.
But any episode where Captain Tarpals fights General Grievous is good by me.
But any episode where Captain Tarpals fights General Grievous is good by me.
The Tomtrek
Love Wookiee
Episode 405 - Mercy Mission
I, uh, okay... Remember last season we had that episode that focused on 3PO and R2 and it was kind of weird but it actually kind of worked? Well, it's another one of those! But it's weird in a whole new bunch of ways!
OK so we get to see the Aleen. They're pretty cute. Remember Ratts Tyrel from the podrace? Well it's a planet of Ratts Tyrells.
They're a nice comedy alien species on what is pretty much a lighter and weirder episode than we normally get on Clone Wars. If anything this episode feels like an 80's kids film rather than an episode of a series about an intergalactic war. 3PO and R2 go underground and meet some crazy creatures and solve a riddle to help out some people. There's not much more to say about it other than that... it's a bit lightweight but I'm honestly kind of fine with that? It's just a light little adventure with our two droid friends. And that's fine!
Oh, wait, yeah - this episode gets really fucking pretty.
They meet these crazy tree people and, yeah, they look amazing!
The entire underground sequence works pretty much because it's a showcase for some excellent design and animation. At this point in the show Lucas was throwing a lot of money at it so that it could look as good as possible, and it means that episodes like this (which would be pretty average otherwise) can get by on looking really, really good.
AND I like seeing 3PO and R2 together. They're a really important duo in the universe and I feel like we maybe didn't get a lot of time with them together during The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. And I like that this show can take a break and do a lighter-but-crazier episode once in a while. That looks amazing.
Episode 406 - Nomad Droids
Can I just say that I really like how this episode starts: The cruiser that 3PO and R2 are on is attacked by General Grievous, and we see them try to escape it while a battle rages around them, including a fight between Adi Gallia and Grievous that's played entirely in the background.
R2 then steals a Y-Wing (pushing another droid out of the way to get it - did that droid die because of R2's actions? Probably) and flies the ship through the space battle, only to crash on a nearby planet. Not only is this whole sequence a nice nod to the opening of Star Wars, but the whole thing is really nicely done, and is another way this show likes to tweak the basic Clone War action sequences to make them a bit more interesting.
After this opening, the episode essentially goes into three different mini-stories, and very much downhill.
The three stories are basically:
Yeah... this one's not so great. A common comment when this episode aired was that it reminded people of an episode from the old Nelvana Droids cartoon, and yeah, that's pretty much true. It is a series of adventures with two droid friends, but like an 80's cartoon the actual show isn't that great, full of some interesting ideas but ultimately very rushed and flimsy. I think this episode might have fared slightly better had it not come right after Mercy Mission, which is a much better droid episode, but as it is it just seems a bit useless.
I really do like that opening sequence, though.
Understanding is honoring the truth beneath the surface.
Global crisis! The Mid Rim planet of Aleen is devastated by catastrophic earthquakes. As the people struggle, the future of the survivors rests on their ability to rekindle their way of life from the rubble of the past.
A Jedi transport, on a mission to block Separatist annexation of the Qiilura system, is waylaid to provide desperately needed humanitarian relief to the people on the surface of Aleen....
Global crisis! The Mid Rim planet of Aleen is devastated by catastrophic earthquakes. As the people struggle, the future of the survivors rests on their ability to rekindle their way of life from the rubble of the past.
A Jedi transport, on a mission to block Separatist annexation of the Qiilura system, is waylaid to provide desperately needed humanitarian relief to the people on the surface of Aleen....
I, uh, okay... Remember last season we had that episode that focused on 3PO and R2 and it was kind of weird but it actually kind of worked? Well, it's another one of those! But it's weird in a whole new bunch of ways!
OK so we get to see the Aleen. They're pretty cute. Remember Ratts Tyrel from the podrace? Well it's a planet of Ratts Tyrells.
They're a nice comedy alien species on what is pretty much a lighter and weirder episode than we normally get on Clone Wars. If anything this episode feels like an 80's kids film rather than an episode of a series about an intergalactic war. 3PO and R2 go underground and meet some crazy creatures and solve a riddle to help out some people. There's not much more to say about it other than that... it's a bit lightweight but I'm honestly kind of fine with that? It's just a light little adventure with our two droid friends. And that's fine!
Oh, wait, yeah - this episode gets really fucking pretty.
They meet these crazy tree people and, yeah, they look amazing!
The entire underground sequence works pretty much because it's a showcase for some excellent design and animation. At this point in the show Lucas was throwing a lot of money at it so that it could look as good as possible, and it means that episodes like this (which would be pretty average otherwise) can get by on looking really, really good.
AND I like seeing 3PO and R2 together. They're a really important duo in the universe and I feel like we maybe didn't get a lot of time with them together during The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. And I like that this show can take a break and do a lighter-but-crazier episode once in a while. That looks amazing.
Episode 406 - Nomad Droids
Who's the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?
Homeward bound! On a peaceful mission on the planet Aleen, R2-D2 and C-3PO were caught up in an adventure beyond their comprehension.
After finally resolving the crisis and being taken to Jedi Master Adi Gallia's cruiser, they now head home to the safety of the Republic, hoping to avoid a Separatist attack....
Homeward bound! On a peaceful mission on the planet Aleen, R2-D2 and C-3PO were caught up in an adventure beyond their comprehension.
After finally resolving the crisis and being taken to Jedi Master Adi Gallia's cruiser, they now head home to the safety of the Republic, hoping to avoid a Separatist attack....
Can I just say that I really like how this episode starts: The cruiser that 3PO and R2 are on is attacked by General Grievous, and we see them try to escape it while a battle rages around them, including a fight between Adi Gallia and Grievous that's played entirely in the background.
R2 then steals a Y-Wing (pushing another droid out of the way to get it - did that droid die because of R2's actions? Probably) and flies the ship through the space battle, only to crash on a nearby planet. Not only is this whole sequence a nice nod to the opening of Star Wars, but the whole thing is really nicely done, and is another way this show likes to tweak the basic Clone War action sequences to make them a bit more interesting.
After this opening, the episode essentially goes into three different mini-stories, and very much downhill.
The three stories are basically:
- The droids get captured by a race of tiny aliens, who tie them to the ground and stand all over then Gulliver-style. After being let free (for no real reason?) CPO accidentally pushes R2 onto the aliens leader, killing him and freeing the aliens because apparently their leader was a horrible dictator. CPO then teaches them about democracy and they leave. This story is a bit... nothing? It's... eeehhhhhh?? It's a bit dumb? And it's about 5 minutes long so it all feels really rushed??
- The droids get captured again, this time by some normal-sized aliens, and get taken to their leader who is a giant hologram. R2 discovers that this hologram is in fact a series of pit-droids Wizard of Ozzing it up. The aliens attack the pit droids and everything explodes(???). The idea of a group of pit-droids controlling a group of aliens with a giant hologram is an idea that's dumb in a way I really like, but again apart from that this story is also rushed and kind of bland!
- The droids run out of power and get captured again again, this time by some pirates who force them to enter a droid fighting pit. Before they can fight, however, the ship is attacked by Grievous and R2 and 3PO get blown out into space, enter the General's ship and help rescue Adi Gallia. This is the best part simply because something actually happens?
Yeah... this one's not so great. A common comment when this episode aired was that it reminded people of an episode from the old Nelvana Droids cartoon, and yeah, that's pretty much true. It is a series of adventures with two droid friends, but like an 80's cartoon the actual show isn't that great, full of some interesting ideas but ultimately very rushed and flimsy. I think this episode might have fared slightly better had it not come right after Mercy Mission, which is a much better droid episode, but as it is it just seems a bit useless.
I really do like that opening sequence, though.
The Tomtrek
Love Wookiee
Episode 407 - Darkness on Umbara
Okay, getting back to the actual Clone Wars... This is an episode of two halves. The first half is designed to show us one thing: Anakin and the 501st working as an efficient effective unit. As such, the first half of this episode is pretty much just battle scenes - but good ones! It also lets us get acquainted with the Clone characters for these episodes (which is important otherwise we'd never know which is which!): Rex is there, obviously, and Fives makes another welcome appearance. Two new clones are Hardcase (okay he was actually in an episode back in Season 2 but he didn't really do anything) and Dogma (he's a bit by-the-books!).
One of the things that's interesting about these battles specifically is that they're not fighting droids. Instead they're fighting the native Umbaran militia - essentially the people they're fighting are people defending their home planet from what they see as aggressive invaders. Which is kind of messed up when you think about it.
Half way through Anakin leaves, and we see the new Jedi General: Pong Krell. Which is a great name.
Krell is Captain Jellico from "Chain of Command": He doesn't have the rapport with the troops like Anakin did, he's by-the-book, and he works the Clones harder than they are used to in the name of 'getting things done'. But to take it further, Krell obviously doesn't see the Clones as people, rather as tools. This is not a viewpoint that's unique to Krell, we've certainly seen other Jedi refer to Clones with less familiar terms (especially in the early episodes), but Krell is more extreme than that. He refers to them by their number, not their name, and he has no problems sending them into places where they will probably die, as long as it achieves his objective. But the episode is very ambiguous as to his true motives - does he actually dislike the Clones, or is he just working on a larger scale, and sees the loss of troops as necessary to achieve a larger victory?
As I've said before, Clone Wars is now as show that looks consistently great, and one of the areas most improved this season is the lighting. And what better way to show off your new lighting than to have an episode set on a planet that's in constant night? Colours now pop off the screen, and everything has a wonderful neon or bioluminescence to it, making it seem like a sort of biological Tron planet. It looks great.
FUN FACT I DIDN'T NOTICE WHEN WATCHING THE EPISODE AND ONLY SAW ON THE STARWARS.COM EPISODE GUIDE: You actually (REALLY FUCKING BRIEFLY) see Ahsoka flying with Barriss in the opening montage! At least someone remembered they were friends! Also : Barriss looks cool as hell flying her own starfighter.
Episode 408 - The General
Episodes that focus on the Clones are great. One of the amazing things this show did is turn an army of CGI Temuera Morrisons into a group of characters that you actually care about, and can carry a story on their own. And this episode is no exception, we get to see the Clones do something we very rarely see them do: question orders. It's actually really interesting thing for them to do, when you consider they are soldiers created specifically to obey Jedi. But the Clones are now obviously more than that, and are able to doubt the poor leadership of General Krell.
Once again, the episode leaves it open just how bad Krell is. He makes very rash and costly decisions, but he could just be a bad general. Or a good general that doesn't care about moral. Either way, the fact is that he does complete his mission objectives, so he can't be that bad, right? Right?
Fighting the Umbarans is a really great idea for this episode, as it means not only do we get some crazy new weaponry like centipede tanks, but it means the Clones are able to come up against a force they don't know if they can actually beat - at this point droids really aren't that much of a threat.
The hlighlight of this episode is the mission that Fives and Hardcase infiltrate an Umbaran hander to steal two of their fighters. It's a really nice bit of fun in the middle of a series of darker episodes. Fives and Hardcase make a really nice team, and I really like how they are obviously terrible at flying the fighters, because why would they be able to?
One nice bit of detail I noticed in this episode: All of the Clone Troopers moved to their Revenge of the Sith-style armour a few episodes ago, but Rex has kept his old-style helmet and modified it with some of the new style helmet. The attention to detail this show now has is amazing, as we can even see the join in his helmet where he's sawed off the old style rebreather and glued the new one right on to it. It's a really neat way to keep his armour unique.
And I know I keep going on about how good this show looks, but seriously DAMN:
So good.
The first step toward loyalty is trust.
War in the Expansion Region! As the Separatists tighten their grip over vital but isolated supply routes, the Republic launches a lightning strike into a remote Ghost Nebula to control the strategic system of Umbara.
Republic forces smash through the Separatist blockade in an effort to claim the shadowy world...
War in the Expansion Region! As the Separatists tighten their grip over vital but isolated supply routes, the Republic launches a lightning strike into a remote Ghost Nebula to control the strategic system of Umbara.
Republic forces smash through the Separatist blockade in an effort to claim the shadowy world...
Okay, getting back to the actual Clone Wars... This is an episode of two halves. The first half is designed to show us one thing: Anakin and the 501st working as an efficient effective unit. As such, the first half of this episode is pretty much just battle scenes - but good ones! It also lets us get acquainted with the Clone characters for these episodes (which is important otherwise we'd never know which is which!): Rex is there, obviously, and Fives makes another welcome appearance. Two new clones are Hardcase (okay he was actually in an episode back in Season 2 but he didn't really do anything) and Dogma (he's a bit by-the-books!).
One of the things that's interesting about these battles specifically is that they're not fighting droids. Instead they're fighting the native Umbaran militia - essentially the people they're fighting are people defending their home planet from what they see as aggressive invaders. Which is kind of messed up when you think about it.
Half way through Anakin leaves, and we see the new Jedi General: Pong Krell. Which is a great name.
Krell is Captain Jellico from "Chain of Command": He doesn't have the rapport with the troops like Anakin did, he's by-the-book, and he works the Clones harder than they are used to in the name of 'getting things done'. But to take it further, Krell obviously doesn't see the Clones as people, rather as tools. This is not a viewpoint that's unique to Krell, we've certainly seen other Jedi refer to Clones with less familiar terms (especially in the early episodes), but Krell is more extreme than that. He refers to them by their number, not their name, and he has no problems sending them into places where they will probably die, as long as it achieves his objective. But the episode is very ambiguous as to his true motives - does he actually dislike the Clones, or is he just working on a larger scale, and sees the loss of troops as necessary to achieve a larger victory?
As I've said before, Clone Wars is now as show that looks consistently great, and one of the areas most improved this season is the lighting. And what better way to show off your new lighting than to have an episode set on a planet that's in constant night? Colours now pop off the screen, and everything has a wonderful neon or bioluminescence to it, making it seem like a sort of biological Tron planet. It looks great.
FUN FACT I DIDN'T NOTICE WHEN WATCHING THE EPISODE AND ONLY SAW ON THE STARWARS.COM EPISODE GUIDE: You actually (REALLY FUCKING BRIEFLY) see Ahsoka flying with Barriss in the opening montage! At least someone remembered they were friends! Also : Barriss looks cool as hell flying her own starfighter.
Episode 408 - The General
The path of ignorance is guided by fear.
Turning the tide! As Separatist control over vital but isolated supply routes expands, Republic forces invade a key planet, the darkened world of Umbara. In the midst of helping Obi-Wan Kenobi's battalion conquering the Umbaran capital, Anakin Skywalker is called away to Coruscant.
His battalion is temporarily placed under the command of Jedi General Pong Krell, a shrewd and temperamental leader. Krell's reckless strategy forced Captain Rex to retreat with his platoons in a disastrous defeat.
Turning the tide! As Separatist control over vital but isolated supply routes expands, Republic forces invade a key planet, the darkened world of Umbara. In the midst of helping Obi-Wan Kenobi's battalion conquering the Umbaran capital, Anakin Skywalker is called away to Coruscant.
His battalion is temporarily placed under the command of Jedi General Pong Krell, a shrewd and temperamental leader. Krell's reckless strategy forced Captain Rex to retreat with his platoons in a disastrous defeat.
Episodes that focus on the Clones are great. One of the amazing things this show did is turn an army of CGI Temuera Morrisons into a group of characters that you actually care about, and can carry a story on their own. And this episode is no exception, we get to see the Clones do something we very rarely see them do: question orders. It's actually really interesting thing for them to do, when you consider they are soldiers created specifically to obey Jedi. But the Clones are now obviously more than that, and are able to doubt the poor leadership of General Krell.
Once again, the episode leaves it open just how bad Krell is. He makes very rash and costly decisions, but he could just be a bad general. Or a good general that doesn't care about moral. Either way, the fact is that he does complete his mission objectives, so he can't be that bad, right? Right?
Fighting the Umbarans is a really great idea for this episode, as it means not only do we get some crazy new weaponry like centipede tanks, but it means the Clones are able to come up against a force they don't know if they can actually beat - at this point droids really aren't that much of a threat.
The hlighlight of this episode is the mission that Fives and Hardcase infiltrate an Umbaran hander to steal two of their fighters. It's a really nice bit of fun in the middle of a series of darker episodes. Fives and Hardcase make a really nice team, and I really like how they are obviously terrible at flying the fighters, because why would they be able to?
One nice bit of detail I noticed in this episode: All of the Clone Troopers moved to their Revenge of the Sith-style armour a few episodes ago, but Rex has kept his old-style helmet and modified it with some of the new style helmet. The attention to detail this show now has is amazing, as we can even see the join in his helmet where he's sawed off the old style rebreather and glued the new one right on to it. It's a really neat way to keep his armour unique.
And I know I keep going on about how good this show looks, but seriously DAMN:
So good.
The Tomtrek
Love Wookiee
Apparently there's a 10 image limit per post which is hot bullshit so I've had to split this review in two so I can include all the screenshots I want.
Episode 409 - Plan of Dissent
Captain Rex is an interesting character, but it's actually quite rare he gets any actual character development, which is one of the reasons I like this episode so much.
The main thrust of the episode is that General Krell wants to do another one of his "send all the Clones into the line of fire and see how many survive" plans, and Fives has a much better plan of using the captured Umbaran fights to fly up and destroy one of the droid supply ships.
Rex's problem is then: who is he loyal to? As a Clone, he should be loyal to Krell, as he's a Jedi and his General. But he also has a loyalty to his Clone brothers, and Krell's leadership skills are highly suspect. So the fact that he sides with Fives and not only lets him go, but covers for him in front of Krell, really shows how indipendant Rex can be - undoubtedly a side-effect of hang out with Anakin so much. He even intimidates Dogma into not telling Krell himself.
Another of the reasons why I like this episode so much is that the mission to destroy the supply ship is so fun to watch. The Umbaran fighters fly into the upper atmosphere and into what is probably the most impressive ship-to-ship battle this show has done so far.
Three clones - Fives, Hardcase and Jesse - fly in, and Hardcase sacrificed himself to complete the mission. Man, Fives, everyone around you keeps dying, huh? Actually speaking of Fives, this is a great Fives episode too. As he's an ARC Trooper it's expected that he would be a little more independent and free-thinking than a normal clone, but this episode just highlights how good he now is, a far cry from the clone who kept failing back in Clone Cadets.
And man, Krell is such an asshole. But I kind of love just how much an asshole he is. Even though Fives and Jesse completed a difficult mission, not only does he arrest them for disobeying orders, but he gloats to Rex's face how they're going to be found guilty and be executed. I don't think he likes Clones very much...
In short: It's good. And again, pretty.
Episode 410 - Carnage of Krell
Yeah, so, Krell really hates clones.
Krell orders his troops to be on the lookout for Umbarans dressed as Clones, and sure enough they are attacked by soldiers in Clone armour. Only Rex realises in the middle of the battle that they are fighting Clones. In a great scene, probably the best Rex scene we've seen yet, he runs into the middle of the firefight pleading to all the clones to take off their helmets and show who they are, horrified at the fact that he was tricked into killing his own brothers. And worse yet, we find out that the leader of the other group of clones who was mortally wounded was Waxer. Waxer! Remember way back in Season 1 when those two clones befriended the little Twi'lek girl on Ryloth? Yeah! Waxer! And he dies! And it's actually really kinda sad! He even has a picture of Numa on his helmet!
Yeah so, this episode's pretty great. The Clones hunt down Krell and Krell goes CRAZY. A four-armed Jedi fighting with two double-sided lightsabers is something that sounds kind of stupid on paper but ends up being visually stunning when done right.
My one complaint with this episode is that when Krell is revealed to be full evil, he loses a lot of his complexity and instead turns into a "MWUA-HA-HA"ing crazy villain. He's still great to watch hunt down clones, but it's a bit of a reduction of his character. What I do like is his motivation being the whole thing, namely that he's foreseen the end of the Jedi and a rise of a dark power, and he wants in. He figured his best way to do that would be to kill a whole load of Clones and let Umbara fall to the Seperatists, and considering that we as the audience know he's right about the Jedi, it's not a terrible plan? I mean it is in the sense that it gets a lot of people killed, of course.
Rex has a terrible decision to make when he realises that he can't let Krell get taken by the Separatists and decides to kill him. This is a huge decision for a Clone to make, as it is basically going against all of their programming (well, okay, not that one bit). In the end Rex hesitates, but it's Dogma, so broken by the fact that the General had put his faith in turns out to be evil, that finally ends Krell.
This is a really important arc for Rex and the clones. It establishes that they are their own people, not pre-programmed droids, but individuals with their own say in what they do. And the tragedy about this realisation is that while he is right, we know that in the end all it takes is a single word for the Clones to activate their programming and do things they would never have done before. Maybe they're not so unlike droids in the end? At least, most of them.
Episode 409 - Plan of Dissent
The wise man leads, the strong man follows.
Invasion in peril! Republic forces struggle to take Umbara, a hostile planet completely enshrouded in darkness. Jedi General Pong Krell and Captain Rex lead a battalion against a constant attack by a brutal enemy. Krell's aggressive and reckless strategies backfire, killing many clones.
Despite the Jedi General's dangerous tactics, Captain Rex's squad successfully captures a critical airbase. This further fuels the mistrust of Krell's leadership, dividing his men....
Invasion in peril! Republic forces struggle to take Umbara, a hostile planet completely enshrouded in darkness. Jedi General Pong Krell and Captain Rex lead a battalion against a constant attack by a brutal enemy. Krell's aggressive and reckless strategies backfire, killing many clones.
Despite the Jedi General's dangerous tactics, Captain Rex's squad successfully captures a critical airbase. This further fuels the mistrust of Krell's leadership, dividing his men....
Captain Rex is an interesting character, but it's actually quite rare he gets any actual character development, which is one of the reasons I like this episode so much.
The main thrust of the episode is that General Krell wants to do another one of his "send all the Clones into the line of fire and see how many survive" plans, and Fives has a much better plan of using the captured Umbaran fights to fly up and destroy one of the droid supply ships.
Rex's problem is then: who is he loyal to? As a Clone, he should be loyal to Krell, as he's a Jedi and his General. But he also has a loyalty to his Clone brothers, and Krell's leadership skills are highly suspect. So the fact that he sides with Fives and not only lets him go, but covers for him in front of Krell, really shows how indipendant Rex can be - undoubtedly a side-effect of hang out with Anakin so much. He even intimidates Dogma into not telling Krell himself.
Another of the reasons why I like this episode so much is that the mission to destroy the supply ship is so fun to watch. The Umbaran fighters fly into the upper atmosphere and into what is probably the most impressive ship-to-ship battle this show has done so far.
Three clones - Fives, Hardcase and Jesse - fly in, and Hardcase sacrificed himself to complete the mission. Man, Fives, everyone around you keeps dying, huh? Actually speaking of Fives, this is a great Fives episode too. As he's an ARC Trooper it's expected that he would be a little more independent and free-thinking than a normal clone, but this episode just highlights how good he now is, a far cry from the clone who kept failing back in Clone Cadets.
And man, Krell is such an asshole. But I kind of love just how much an asshole he is. Even though Fives and Jesse completed a difficult mission, not only does he arrest them for disobeying orders, but he gloats to Rex's face how they're going to be found guilty and be executed. I don't think he likes Clones very much...
In short: It's good. And again, pretty.
Episode 410 - Carnage of Krell
Our actions define our legacy.
While fighting to control the darkened world of Umbara, Anakin Skywalker's battalion is temporarily placed under the command of Jedi General Pong Krell. As Krell's disastrous strategies result in increasing casualties, his men begin to turn against him. Captain Rex struggles to balance loyalty between his commander and his fellow men.
Under his watch, Fives and Jesse disobey Krell's orders, resulting in their court-martial....
While fighting to control the darkened world of Umbara, Anakin Skywalker's battalion is temporarily placed under the command of Jedi General Pong Krell. As Krell's disastrous strategies result in increasing casualties, his men begin to turn against him. Captain Rex struggles to balance loyalty between his commander and his fellow men.
Under his watch, Fives and Jesse disobey Krell's orders, resulting in their court-martial....
Yeah, so, Krell really hates clones.
Krell orders his troops to be on the lookout for Umbarans dressed as Clones, and sure enough they are attacked by soldiers in Clone armour. Only Rex realises in the middle of the battle that they are fighting Clones. In a great scene, probably the best Rex scene we've seen yet, he runs into the middle of the firefight pleading to all the clones to take off their helmets and show who they are, horrified at the fact that he was tricked into killing his own brothers. And worse yet, we find out that the leader of the other group of clones who was mortally wounded was Waxer. Waxer! Remember way back in Season 1 when those two clones befriended the little Twi'lek girl on Ryloth? Yeah! Waxer! And he dies! And it's actually really kinda sad! He even has a picture of Numa on his helmet!
Yeah so, this episode's pretty great. The Clones hunt down Krell and Krell goes CRAZY. A four-armed Jedi fighting with two double-sided lightsabers is something that sounds kind of stupid on paper but ends up being visually stunning when done right.
My one complaint with this episode is that when Krell is revealed to be full evil, he loses a lot of his complexity and instead turns into a "MWUA-HA-HA"ing crazy villain. He's still great to watch hunt down clones, but it's a bit of a reduction of his character. What I do like is his motivation being the whole thing, namely that he's foreseen the end of the Jedi and a rise of a dark power, and he wants in. He figured his best way to do that would be to kill a whole load of Clones and let Umbara fall to the Seperatists, and considering that we as the audience know he's right about the Jedi, it's not a terrible plan? I mean it is in the sense that it gets a lot of people killed, of course.
Rex has a terrible decision to make when he realises that he can't let Krell get taken by the Separatists and decides to kill him. This is a huge decision for a Clone to make, as it is basically going against all of their programming (well, okay, not that one bit). In the end Rex hesitates, but it's Dogma, so broken by the fact that the General had put his faith in turns out to be evil, that finally ends Krell.
This is a really important arc for Rex and the clones. It establishes that they are their own people, not pre-programmed droids, but individuals with their own say in what they do. And the tragedy about this realisation is that while he is right, we know that in the end all it takes is a single word for the Clones to activate their programming and do things they would never have done before. Maybe they're not so unlike droids in the end? At least, most of them.
CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
Krell might be EVEN BETTER than Dexter Jettster!
The Tomtrek
Love Wookiee
Episode 411 - Kidnapped
Oh boy, another pacifist colony who won't fight back against the Separatists... OK, these guys aren't so bad, although we don't really see a lot of them. They just seem a bit weak as Dooku and the droids walk all over them.
What we do get to see is Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, who have been a bit absent from this season so far (it's been 7 episodes since we saw Ahsoka)! But now they're back and Ahsoka's wearing goggles again, so all is good.
This is a fun episode. Obi-Wan spends his time distracting the Separatist leader - a cat like dude named "Darts D'Nar" - by challenging him to a fight. Meanwhile Anakin and Ahsoka have to find a series of bombs hidden amongst the town.
Anakin and Ahsoka get some nice team up moments, but the real focus is that Anakin can't control his anger at the fact that Darts is a slaver, and Ahsoka has to make sure he doesn't go too far. It's a nice moment when Obi-Wan has to talk to Ahsoka about keeping an eye on Anakin, showing that maybe even his padawan is starting to see that Anakin doesn't always do the right thing.
Obi-Wan is great, both during his knock-down fight, and right after Anakin has defused the bomb and he instantly takes control because he was always in control because he's Obi-Wan-damn Kenobi.
The episode ends with a fight with a big tentacle monster that feels a bit tacked on, and Anakin confronting Darts and almost killing him until Ahsoka pulls him back.
The plot is a bit light, but all of the action is well done and it's fun to watch. I'm kind of okay with this episode being mostly just set-up for the rest of the arc.
Episode 412 - Slaves of the Republic
At least they do have Ahsoka comment on how stupid it is that she's the slave, which is very in character for her to do, and they do show that she's terrible terrible at acting submissive because, yeah, she's Ahsoka Tano. And thankfully they gave her a much better outfit than she had in the comics:
Compare to this:
(don't forget that this is supposed to be Season 1 Ahsoka. Yeah...)
Another problem is the Zygerrian Queen Scintel, who's whole thing is that she totally has the hots for Anakin, even when it's revealed that he's a Jedi. It's a shame that she doesn't really have a lot more character other than "totally wants to bone Anakin", and I probably wouldn't even normally mention it but it's the fact that this is in the same episode as the Ahsoka slave stuff and she's the only other female character in this episode that it's a bit of a shame she's not a more three-dimensional character.
BUT it does mean we get to see Anakin be a sleazy flirt with her, and of course Ahsoka just has no time for any of this.
But there is some good stuff in this episode. Obi-Wan gets captured and Anakin has to rescue him, cuing R2 to throw out the lightsabers hidden inside him (there's like four of them in there, how much space does he have??) in a nice call-forward to a plan his son will later do.
And although Ahsoka then gets captured and put in a cage, we're shown that she still has total control over the situation.
It's a shame this bad stuff is there because I think this is an OK episode otherwise. But the fact that it ends with the Queen basically saying "Stay with me (SO I CAN BONE YOU) or your friends will die!" is just a bit... weird.
Episode 413 - Escape from Kadavo
Even though she was a bit of a shallow character, the Queen was definitely the main antagonist of the previous episode, so it's a bit strange when Dooku comes in and pretty much kills her straight away.
This episode feels... unfocused. Once the Queen has died and Anakin had rescued Ahsoka, they go off to rescue Obi-Wan, Rex and the Togrutan slaves from a Temple of Doom style labour prison.
The problem with this episode is that as an end to this arc, it doesn't work very well. The anger issues that Anakin has towards slavers that was such as big part of "Kidnapped" doesn't get resolved, or even really mentioned. Because these episodes keep switching their antagonists we now get a new one in this episode (the head of the prison) and he's just as two-dimensional as the Queen (although he doesn't want to have sex with Obi-Wan, I don't think?). Really the best bad guy we got was Darts D'Nar and he never appears again!
There's also a lot of mention that Ahsoka is more investing in freeing the slaves because they're "her people", and while they're obviously Togruta like her, we've never really had any indication as to what Ahsoka's connection to her species actually is, making her sudden interest come a bit out of nowhere. This is something that I think it would have been interesting to explore, so it's a kind of a shame they didn't do anything with it.
While this arc has a lot of nice character moments, and some actually excellent action, it all feels like wasted opportunity. They could have gone way more into things like Anakin's anger towards the slavers, how the Jedi actually deal with the fact that there are slavers around, and Ahsoka's connection to her people. But we get none of that, and it's a real shame.
Where we are going always reflects where we came from.
A planet of peace! The artisan colony of the planet Kiros created a society without weapons. Instead of war, they pursue art and beauty.
But in the Clone Wars, even peace-loving worlds are seemingly forced to change sides....
A planet of peace! The artisan colony of the planet Kiros created a society without weapons. Instead of war, they pursue art and beauty.
But in the Clone Wars, even peace-loving worlds are seemingly forced to change sides....
Oh boy, another pacifist colony who won't fight back against the Separatists... OK, these guys aren't so bad, although we don't really see a lot of them. They just seem a bit weak as Dooku and the droids walk all over them.
What we do get to see is Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, who have been a bit absent from this season so far (it's been 7 episodes since we saw Ahsoka)! But now they're back and Ahsoka's wearing goggles again, so all is good.
This is a fun episode. Obi-Wan spends his time distracting the Separatist leader - a cat like dude named "Darts D'Nar" - by challenging him to a fight. Meanwhile Anakin and Ahsoka have to find a series of bombs hidden amongst the town.
Anakin and Ahsoka get some nice team up moments, but the real focus is that Anakin can't control his anger at the fact that Darts is a slaver, and Ahsoka has to make sure he doesn't go too far. It's a nice moment when Obi-Wan has to talk to Ahsoka about keeping an eye on Anakin, showing that maybe even his padawan is starting to see that Anakin doesn't always do the right thing.
Obi-Wan is great, both during his knock-down fight, and right after Anakin has defused the bomb and he instantly takes control because he was always in control because he's Obi-Wan-damn Kenobi.
The episode ends with a fight with a big tentacle monster that feels a bit tacked on, and Anakin confronting Darts and almost killing him until Ahsoka pulls him back.
The plot is a bit light, but all of the action is well done and it's fun to watch. I'm kind of okay with this episode being mostly just set-up for the rest of the arc.
Episode 412 - Slaves of the Republic
Those who enslave others inevitably become slaves themselves.
Kidnapped! During a Separatist invasion of the planet Kiros, thousands of peaceful colonists are abducted by Zygerrian slavers.
Determined to find the missing colonists, the Jedi travel to Zygerria, home to the galaxy's most notorious slave empire....
Hmmm. In this episode, Anakin, Obi-Wan and Rex post as slavers in order to infiltrate Zygerria and Ahsoka poses as a slave. Ahsoka pretty much gets assigned the slave role because she's the girl and it feels, I dunno, kind of regressive? For a show that does so well with it's female characters generally, going "Well Ahsoka's a girl so we've got to dress her up in a slave outfit!" really stands out. These episodes are actually based on a comic that was published during the airing of Season 1, so really we've got the writer of that comic to blame for this (that writer, incidentally, is Henry Gilroy, who has written other good episodes for the show and is created as a co-writer on this one!). I'm not out and out saying this is a terrible thing that we should be angry at the show for, but it does feel like a bit of a misstep. Kidnapped! During a Separatist invasion of the planet Kiros, thousands of peaceful colonists are abducted by Zygerrian slavers.
Determined to find the missing colonists, the Jedi travel to Zygerria, home to the galaxy's most notorious slave empire....
At least they do have Ahsoka comment on how stupid it is that she's the slave, which is very in character for her to do, and they do show that she's terrible terrible at acting submissive because, yeah, she's Ahsoka Tano. And thankfully they gave her a much better outfit than she had in the comics:
Compare to this:
(don't forget that this is supposed to be Season 1 Ahsoka. Yeah...)
Another problem is the Zygerrian Queen Scintel, who's whole thing is that she totally has the hots for Anakin, even when it's revealed that he's a Jedi. It's a shame that she doesn't really have a lot more character other than "totally wants to bone Anakin", and I probably wouldn't even normally mention it but it's the fact that this is in the same episode as the Ahsoka slave stuff and she's the only other female character in this episode that it's a bit of a shame she's not a more three-dimensional character.
BUT it does mean we get to see Anakin be a sleazy flirt with her, and of course Ahsoka just has no time for any of this.
But there is some good stuff in this episode. Obi-Wan gets captured and Anakin has to rescue him, cuing R2 to throw out the lightsabers hidden inside him (there's like four of them in there, how much space does he have??) in a nice call-forward to a plan his son will later do.
And although Ahsoka then gets captured and put in a cage, we're shown that she still has total control over the situation.
It's a shame this bad stuff is there because I think this is an OK episode otherwise. But the fact that it ends with the Queen basically saying "Stay with me (SO I CAN BONE YOU) or your friends will die!" is just a bit... weird.
Episode 413 - Escape from Kadavo
Great hope can come from small sacrifices.
A people enslaved! To locate the abducted colonists of a peace-loving world, the Jedi infiltrated the slaver planet of Zygerria, only to be captured by its ambitious queen, who plots to rebuild her empire of oppression.
Now, even Obi-Wan Kenobi must come to terms with a life in chains....
A people enslaved! To locate the abducted colonists of a peace-loving world, the Jedi infiltrated the slaver planet of Zygerria, only to be captured by its ambitious queen, who plots to rebuild her empire of oppression.
Now, even Obi-Wan Kenobi must come to terms with a life in chains....
Even though she was a bit of a shallow character, the Queen was definitely the main antagonist of the previous episode, so it's a bit strange when Dooku comes in and pretty much kills her straight away.
This episode feels... unfocused. Once the Queen has died and Anakin had rescued Ahsoka, they go off to rescue Obi-Wan, Rex and the Togrutan slaves from a Temple of Doom style labour prison.
The problem with this episode is that as an end to this arc, it doesn't work very well. The anger issues that Anakin has towards slavers that was such as big part of "Kidnapped" doesn't get resolved, or even really mentioned. Because these episodes keep switching their antagonists we now get a new one in this episode (the head of the prison) and he's just as two-dimensional as the Queen (although he doesn't want to have sex with Obi-Wan, I don't think?). Really the best bad guy we got was Darts D'Nar and he never appears again!
There's also a lot of mention that Ahsoka is more investing in freeing the slaves because they're "her people", and while they're obviously Togruta like her, we've never really had any indication as to what Ahsoka's connection to her species actually is, making her sudden interest come a bit out of nowhere. This is something that I think it would have been interesting to explore, so it's a kind of a shame they didn't do anything with it.
While this arc has a lot of nice character moments, and some actually excellent action, it all feels like wasted opportunity. They could have gone way more into things like Anakin's anger towards the slavers, how the Jedi actually deal with the fact that there are slavers around, and Ahsoka's connection to her people. But we get none of that, and it's a real shame.
The Tomtrek
Love Wookiee
Episode 413 - A Friend in Need
Okay I'm going to start this off by mentioning what is by far the most important part of this episode, just to get it out of the way:
Ahsoka looks cute AF in her parka.
OK? Good.
Anyway, this episode sees the return of Death Watch (which is good!) and Lux Bonteri (eeehhhhh). Lux is mad because Dooku killed his mother (off screen last season) and runs off to Death Watch so help them kill Dooku. If there's one overriding theme of this episode, it is "Lux Bonteri is really dumb".
This episode pretty much exists solely so we can A) see what Death Watch are up to now, and B) see Ahsoka fight some Mandalorians. And that's cool! I'm fine with that!
My main problem with this episode, really, is that Lux is so fucking dumb. Ahsoka tells him Death Watch are no good but he doesn't believe her, and it takes until they burn down a village in front of him for him to start to think that maybe they're not quite on the -up-an-up. This episode, more than "Heroes on Both Sides" seems to be trying to push some sort of strange sexual tension between Ahsoka and Lux and to be honest I never got it, because he's so dumb that I don't see what anyone would see in that guy.
BUT the action in this episode is great. Ahsoka is cool and Death Watch are cool, so logically seeing them fight would be cool. It is! Dave Filoni actually directed this episode himself, and he does a great job at it. The highlight is easily that one part where Ahsoka kills four dudes at the same time because she's Ahsoka Fucking Tano.
I also want to shout out to Bo-Katan, who makes her debut in this episode. While she doesn't actually do a lot right now, I really like that Dave Filoni specifically added her because he saw the total lack of any female characters in Madalorian armour, and wanted to correct that (both for the good of the show and so that female cosplayers have a Mandalorian to go as!). Good work.
So overall? Well, this is an Ahsoka episode and they're usually pretty great, and this one is no exception. It's well directed, has some great action, Ahoksa in that parka. Only downside is Lux (MORE LIKE SUX HAHAHAHAHA) Bonterri.
Friendship shows us who we really are.
Divided by war! In an effort to end the galactic conflict, the first ever sanctioned meeting between the Republic and the Separatists will be held and Mandalore is chosen as neutral ground for these precarious meetings.
Tensions run high as many hold hope for these important negotiations....
Divided by war! In an effort to end the galactic conflict, the first ever sanctioned meeting between the Republic and the Separatists will be held and Mandalore is chosen as neutral ground for these precarious meetings.
Tensions run high as many hold hope for these important negotiations....
Okay I'm going to start this off by mentioning what is by far the most important part of this episode, just to get it out of the way:
Ahsoka looks cute AF in her parka.
OK? Good.
Anyway, this episode sees the return of Death Watch (which is good!) and Lux Bonteri (eeehhhhh). Lux is mad because Dooku killed his mother (off screen last season) and runs off to Death Watch so help them kill Dooku. If there's one overriding theme of this episode, it is "Lux Bonteri is really dumb".
This episode pretty much exists solely so we can A) see what Death Watch are up to now, and B) see Ahsoka fight some Mandalorians. And that's cool! I'm fine with that!
My main problem with this episode, really, is that Lux is so fucking dumb. Ahsoka tells him Death Watch are no good but he doesn't believe her, and it takes until they burn down a village in front of him for him to start to think that maybe they're not quite on the -up-an-up. This episode, more than "Heroes on Both Sides" seems to be trying to push some sort of strange sexual tension between Ahsoka and Lux and to be honest I never got it, because he's so dumb that I don't see what anyone would see in that guy.
BUT the action in this episode is great. Ahsoka is cool and Death Watch are cool, so logically seeing them fight would be cool. It is! Dave Filoni actually directed this episode himself, and he does a great job at it. The highlight is easily that one part where Ahsoka kills four dudes at the same time because she's Ahsoka Fucking Tano.
I also want to shout out to Bo-Katan, who makes her debut in this episode. While she doesn't actually do a lot right now, I really like that Dave Filoni specifically added her because he saw the total lack of any female characters in Madalorian armour, and wanted to correct that (both for the good of the show and so that female cosplayers have a Mandalorian to go as!). Good work.
So overall? Well, this is an Ahsoka episode and they're usually pretty great, and this one is no exception. It's well directed, has some great action, Ahoksa in that parka. Only downside is Lux (MORE LIKE SUX HAHAHAHAHA) Bonterri.
CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
You'd think the fact that they have "DEATH" in their name would be a clue that they're evil.
The Tomtrek
Love Wookiee
Episode 415 - Deception
This is one of those episodes where a lot happens in 25 minutes, but unlike previous ones it actually doesn't feel rushed and we get a good mix of plot, character and action.
I'd forgotten how much this episode sells the (fake) death of Obi-Wan, to the point where we even see his funeral (which might be the first time we actually see what a proper Jedi funeral in the temple looks like?). It's a really nice touch that Satine's there, although she must be really mad when she finds out he's not actually dead!
One of the things Dave Filoni mentions on the behind-the-scenes video for these episodes is that he had to take into account that some of the kids watching this show would not have actually seen the Original Trilogy, and so would have no idea that Obi-Wan is alive and well decades later, meaning that for all they know he did actually die here. Of course they reveal that he's alive soon enough, and transform him into Rako Hardeen.
I really like how they play up the body horror of the transformation, both in the facial reconfiguration (which is totally an homage to the face changing in Innerspace) and the fact that Obi-Wan has to swallow this big spider droid thing in order to change his voice.
While all of this is happening, Anakin is super mad that Obi-Wan is dead, and basically almost goes full dark side in capturing Hardeen (who is Obi-Wan at this point) and taking him in. It's interesting that he doesn't go full dark side - apparently the death of Obi-Wan wasn't quite enough to do it.
Once in the prison, we get intoduced to Moralo Eval (Moralvo Eval always talks about Moralo Eval in the third person) and he's a nice, creepy character who sounds evil but doesn't go over the top with it. And Cad Bane's back! And we even get a brief cameo from Boba Fett and Bossk, who have been here since the end of Season 2, I guess!
The prison break is really well done, with Obi-Wan trying not to kill any Clones and Cad Bane giving him shit about about it. Cad Bane's great, FYI.
This is a really good start to this plot arc, and it does a lot but is paced really, really well. Having Obi-Wan go undercover and pretend to be someone else is a nice way to develop his character, as it lets us see him do and say things we'd never really see, and puts him into a situation we've never seen before.
Some other cool things in this episode:
When Rako Hardeen walks into the cantina one of the women at the bar (played by Ashley Eckstein) says "I'd like to check his midichlorian count!" which is an amazing line and was ad-libbed by Ashley which is another reason why she's a jewel we all should treasure.
We've had pin-up posters in bars for sexy handmaidens, Twi'Leks and even Hutts, but now we have a poster for a... sexy Felucian?!
Someone drew that. Someone in the art department drew that.
Episode 416 - Friends and Enemies
For an episode that basically consists of Obi-Wan and Bane double crossing each other all the time, this episode is pretty fun! Landing on Nal Hutta, Bane, Moralo Eval and Obi-Wan get some new clothes. Obi-Wan gets a helmet that's based off the original design for Boba Fett's helmet and Cad Bane gets a new that that's... not as good as the old one.
The character interactions between Bane, Obi-Wan and Moralo Eval are really good. Bane betrays Obi-Wan to the Hutts, Obi-Wan betrays Bane to the Hutts as well, they all escape and manage to get a new ship together. All while Moralo Eval just lets them fight it out, because Moralo Eval has better things to worry about.
While this is happening, Palpatine is taking the opportunity to manipulate Anakin further down the dark path, by playing on his anger about Obi-Wan's death. It's a nice bit of foreshadowing of what he will also do later down the line in Revenge of the Sith, and shows how Palpatine's manipulation of Anakin is something that was subtlety done over years, not something that just happened at the end of the Clone Wars.
Seeking out Obi-Wan's killer with Ahsoka, Anakin goes full Darth Vader and chokes a guy to get information from him (although doesn't kill him). What's interesting is that, unlike a few episodes ago, Ahsoka doesn't seem to have any problem with him doing this. This might be a bit of inconsistent characterisation, but it makes sense that Ahsoka is just as mad as Anakin, and so would let him get away with a lot more.
The episode climaxes with a great confrontation between Anakin, Bane and Obi-Wan, with Anakin nearly killing Obi-Wan before Bane distracts him. Moralo Eval stays out of the whole thing because Moralo Eval really does have better things to do.
There's a great moment where Bane almost kills Anakin, but Ahsoka leaps to his defence just in the nick of time.
While the actual plot for the main arc doesn't really move forward in this episode, it's full of some great character interactions and action, making it a fun episode that doesn't feel like it's wasting your time.
There's even a cameo by a rather drunk Sy Snootles.
All warfare is based on deception.
A terrorist threat! Moralo Eval, mastermind of a Separatist plot to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine, has been captured by Republic forces. But even with the criminal behind bars, rumors swirl in the underworld of Coruscant that Moralo's plot has already been set in motion.
With precious time running out, the Jedi Council hatches their own plot to keep the Chancellor safe.
A terrorist threat! Moralo Eval, mastermind of a Separatist plot to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine, has been captured by Republic forces. But even with the criminal behind bars, rumors swirl in the underworld of Coruscant that Moralo's plot has already been set in motion.
With precious time running out, the Jedi Council hatches their own plot to keep the Chancellor safe.
This is one of those episodes where a lot happens in 25 minutes, but unlike previous ones it actually doesn't feel rushed and we get a good mix of plot, character and action.
I'd forgotten how much this episode sells the (fake) death of Obi-Wan, to the point where we even see his funeral (which might be the first time we actually see what a proper Jedi funeral in the temple looks like?). It's a really nice touch that Satine's there, although she must be really mad when she finds out he's not actually dead!
One of the things Dave Filoni mentions on the behind-the-scenes video for these episodes is that he had to take into account that some of the kids watching this show would not have actually seen the Original Trilogy, and so would have no idea that Obi-Wan is alive and well decades later, meaning that for all they know he did actually die here. Of course they reveal that he's alive soon enough, and transform him into Rako Hardeen.
I really like how they play up the body horror of the transformation, both in the facial reconfiguration (which is totally an homage to the face changing in Innerspace) and the fact that Obi-Wan has to swallow this big spider droid thing in order to change his voice.
While all of this is happening, Anakin is super mad that Obi-Wan is dead, and basically almost goes full dark side in capturing Hardeen (who is Obi-Wan at this point) and taking him in. It's interesting that he doesn't go full dark side - apparently the death of Obi-Wan wasn't quite enough to do it.
Once in the prison, we get intoduced to Moralo Eval (Moralvo Eval always talks about Moralo Eval in the third person) and he's a nice, creepy character who sounds evil but doesn't go over the top with it. And Cad Bane's back! And we even get a brief cameo from Boba Fett and Bossk, who have been here since the end of Season 2, I guess!
The prison break is really well done, with Obi-Wan trying not to kill any Clones and Cad Bane giving him shit about about it. Cad Bane's great, FYI.
This is a really good start to this plot arc, and it does a lot but is paced really, really well. Having Obi-Wan go undercover and pretend to be someone else is a nice way to develop his character, as it lets us see him do and say things we'd never really see, and puts him into a situation we've never seen before.
Some other cool things in this episode:
When Rako Hardeen walks into the cantina one of the women at the bar (played by Ashley Eckstein) says "I'd like to check his midichlorian count!" which is an amazing line and was ad-libbed by Ashley which is another reason why she's a jewel we all should treasure.
We've had pin-up posters in bars for sexy handmaidens, Twi'Leks and even Hutts, but now we have a poster for a... sexy Felucian?!
Someone drew that. Someone in the art department drew that.
Episode 416 - Friends and Enemies
Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.
Fugitives on the run! Disguised as the Jedi killer Rako Hardeen, Obi-Wan Kenobi works undercover to solve a Separatist plot against Chancellor Palpatine. Obi-Wan meets the plot's mastermind, Moralo Eval, breaking him out of jail to gain his trust. But now Kenobi faces another obstacle: bounty hunter Cad Bane.
Can Obi-Wan Kenobi overcome Bane's suspicions? Or will the ruthless criminal see through his disguise and expose the Jedi? Only time will tell....
Fugitives on the run! Disguised as the Jedi killer Rako Hardeen, Obi-Wan Kenobi works undercover to solve a Separatist plot against Chancellor Palpatine. Obi-Wan meets the plot's mastermind, Moralo Eval, breaking him out of jail to gain his trust. But now Kenobi faces another obstacle: bounty hunter Cad Bane.
Can Obi-Wan Kenobi overcome Bane's suspicions? Or will the ruthless criminal see through his disguise and expose the Jedi? Only time will tell....
For an episode that basically consists of Obi-Wan and Bane double crossing each other all the time, this episode is pretty fun! Landing on Nal Hutta, Bane, Moralo Eval and Obi-Wan get some new clothes. Obi-Wan gets a helmet that's based off the original design for Boba Fett's helmet and Cad Bane gets a new that that's... not as good as the old one.
The character interactions between Bane, Obi-Wan and Moralo Eval are really good. Bane betrays Obi-Wan to the Hutts, Obi-Wan betrays Bane to the Hutts as well, they all escape and manage to get a new ship together. All while Moralo Eval just lets them fight it out, because Moralo Eval has better things to worry about.
While this is happening, Palpatine is taking the opportunity to manipulate Anakin further down the dark path, by playing on his anger about Obi-Wan's death. It's a nice bit of foreshadowing of what he will also do later down the line in Revenge of the Sith, and shows how Palpatine's manipulation of Anakin is something that was subtlety done over years, not something that just happened at the end of the Clone Wars.
Seeking out Obi-Wan's killer with Ahsoka, Anakin goes full Darth Vader and chokes a guy to get information from him (although doesn't kill him). What's interesting is that, unlike a few episodes ago, Ahsoka doesn't seem to have any problem with him doing this. This might be a bit of inconsistent characterisation, but it makes sense that Ahsoka is just as mad as Anakin, and so would let him get away with a lot more.
The episode climaxes with a great confrontation between Anakin, Bane and Obi-Wan, with Anakin nearly killing Obi-Wan before Bane distracts him. Moralo Eval stays out of the whole thing because Moralo Eval really does have better things to do.
There's a great moment where Bane almost kills Anakin, but Ahsoka leaps to his defence just in the nick of time.
While the actual plot for the main arc doesn't really move forward in this episode, it's full of some great character interactions and action, making it a fun episode that doesn't feel like it's wasting your time.
There's even a cameo by a rather drunk Sy Snootles.
The Tomtrek
Love Wookiee
Episode 417 - The Box
I love it when Clones Wars does episodes like this, that are a bit different from the normal ones in style but still fit within the story they're trying to tell. The Box sees Obi-Wan, Bane and a group of other bounty hunters (including Embo!) overcome a series of trials, to see who is worthy of being part of the plan to kidnap Palpatine.
What I like about this episode is that it has a look that's unlike any other episode - the interior of the box is filled with bright lighting, that gives the whole thing a strange sterile atmosphere, sort of like a Star Wars version of Portal (although the bright lighting isn't always that flattering to the character models).
The different trials are interesting, although they do have the problem (which Count Dooku recognises) that Rako Hardeen can pass pretty much every test and basically carries the others along. Even the test where he isn't the key, he still figures it out anyway. What this does is piss Moralo Eval off as Dooku realises that Moralo Eval may not be the best person to lead the mission. Moralo Eval tries to kill Obi-Wan but in a surprising twist, he is rescued by Cad Bane.
In the end, this episode is here to introduce us to some new bounty hunters, kill a bunch of them off, and set up who will be taking part in the plan to kidnap Palpatine. At the same time, we see distrust build between Moralo Eval and Obi-Wan, while Cad Bane seems to trust him more. Our final group consists of: Obi-Wan, Cad Bane, Moralo Eval, Embo, that awesome mushroom dude and that gymnast lady who totally slept with Chancellor Valorum.
I like this episode. Again, it's pretty simple plot-wise, but it's very well made.
Episode 418 - Crisis on Naboo
After three episodes of build up, we finally get to the the actual kidnapping plan: Using holoprojectors to pretend to be Senate Guards, and use that to get close to the Chancellor. The thing about the kidnap attempt is that, as cool as it is, it gets shut down pretty easily. Bane and Moralo Eval get captured by the Jedi as soon as they run away, Obi-Wan manages to save the Chancellor, and it's a bit of a let-down after having three episodes of set up.
Which of course is the point. Here we see Palpatine's actual plan for the whole thing - set up an easily stoppable kidnap attempt so that the Jedi think the threat is over so that Dooku can "capture" him after the Jedi (except Anakin) have gone. Meanwhile Palpatine plays up Anakin's mistrust of the Jedi for lying to him about Obi-Wan's death, and even his mistrust at Obi-Wan for it being his idea, and sets him against Dooku to see if he's worthy of being his apprentice.
While Anakin fails to defeat Dooku here, this is of course what Palpatine would try again at the start of Revenge of the Sith, only that time it works.
It does feel a bit weird having the plot of the last three episodes get sidelined for what is a totally different plot (one that was built up in the b-plots of the first two episodes, though), but I really like how - like most everything in the Clone Wars - this was just another wheels-within-wheels plot to get Palpatine exactly what he wants.
Other good things in this episode:
Anakin assigns Ahsoka to be Padmé's personal guard which means we get more of Padmé and Ahsoka being gal pals and that's always the best thing someone can put in an episode.
SIO BIBBLE
The strong survive, the noble overcome.
Obi-Wan Kenobi in disguise! Working undercover as assassin Rako Hardeen, Obi-Wan leads a secret mission to uncover the Separatist plot against Chancellor Palpatine. Using cunning and courage, he gains the trust of bounty hunter Cad Bane and criminal mastermind Moralo Eval, earning him entrance into the stronghold of Separatist leader, Count Dooku.
Now, it is here on the beautiful planet of Serenno that a barbaric contest will determine the fate of Obi-Wan Kenobi and possibly the Republic itself....
Obi-Wan Kenobi in disguise! Working undercover as assassin Rako Hardeen, Obi-Wan leads a secret mission to uncover the Separatist plot against Chancellor Palpatine. Using cunning and courage, he gains the trust of bounty hunter Cad Bane and criminal mastermind Moralo Eval, earning him entrance into the stronghold of Separatist leader, Count Dooku.
Now, it is here on the beautiful planet of Serenno that a barbaric contest will determine the fate of Obi-Wan Kenobi and possibly the Republic itself....
I love it when Clones Wars does episodes like this, that are a bit different from the normal ones in style but still fit within the story they're trying to tell. The Box sees Obi-Wan, Bane and a group of other bounty hunters (including Embo!) overcome a series of trials, to see who is worthy of being part of the plan to kidnap Palpatine.
What I like about this episode is that it has a look that's unlike any other episode - the interior of the box is filled with bright lighting, that gives the whole thing a strange sterile atmosphere, sort of like a Star Wars version of Portal (although the bright lighting isn't always that flattering to the character models).
The different trials are interesting, although they do have the problem (which Count Dooku recognises) that Rako Hardeen can pass pretty much every test and basically carries the others along. Even the test where he isn't the key, he still figures it out anyway. What this does is piss Moralo Eval off as Dooku realises that Moralo Eval may not be the best person to lead the mission. Moralo Eval tries to kill Obi-Wan but in a surprising twist, he is rescued by Cad Bane.
In the end, this episode is here to introduce us to some new bounty hunters, kill a bunch of them off, and set up who will be taking part in the plan to kidnap Palpatine. At the same time, we see distrust build between Moralo Eval and Obi-Wan, while Cad Bane seems to trust him more. Our final group consists of: Obi-Wan, Cad Bane, Moralo Eval, Embo, that awesome mushroom dude and that gymnast lady who totally slept with Chancellor Valorum.
I like this episode. Again, it's pretty simple plot-wise, but it's very well made.
Episode 418 - Crisis on Naboo
Trust is the greatest of gifts, but it must be earned.
Supreme Chancellor in peril! After surviving the ordeals of the Box, Obi-Wan Kenobi -- working undercover as assassin Rako Hardeen -- is invited to join Count Dooku's plot against Chancellor Palpatine.
Working with a team of bounty hunters, Obi-Wan travels to the planet of Naboo, where the Chancellor will preside over the Festival of Light. Now, as the Jedi Council and Count Dooku finalize their respective plans, a deadly confrontation seems inevitable....
Supreme Chancellor in peril! After surviving the ordeals of the Box, Obi-Wan Kenobi -- working undercover as assassin Rako Hardeen -- is invited to join Count Dooku's plot against Chancellor Palpatine.
Working with a team of bounty hunters, Obi-Wan travels to the planet of Naboo, where the Chancellor will preside over the Festival of Light. Now, as the Jedi Council and Count Dooku finalize their respective plans, a deadly confrontation seems inevitable....
After three episodes of build up, we finally get to the the actual kidnapping plan: Using holoprojectors to pretend to be Senate Guards, and use that to get close to the Chancellor. The thing about the kidnap attempt is that, as cool as it is, it gets shut down pretty easily. Bane and Moralo Eval get captured by the Jedi as soon as they run away, Obi-Wan manages to save the Chancellor, and it's a bit of a let-down after having three episodes of set up.
Which of course is the point. Here we see Palpatine's actual plan for the whole thing - set up an easily stoppable kidnap attempt so that the Jedi think the threat is over so that Dooku can "capture" him after the Jedi (except Anakin) have gone. Meanwhile Palpatine plays up Anakin's mistrust of the Jedi for lying to him about Obi-Wan's death, and even his mistrust at Obi-Wan for it being his idea, and sets him against Dooku to see if he's worthy of being his apprentice.
While Anakin fails to defeat Dooku here, this is of course what Palpatine would try again at the start of Revenge of the Sith, only that time it works.
It does feel a bit weird having the plot of the last three episodes get sidelined for what is a totally different plot (one that was built up in the b-plots of the first two episodes, though), but I really like how - like most everything in the Clone Wars - this was just another wheels-within-wheels plot to get Palpatine exactly what he wants.
Other good things in this episode:
Anakin assigns Ahsoka to be Padmé's personal guard which means we get more of Padmé and Ahsoka being gal pals and that's always the best thing someone can put in an episode.
SIO BIBBLE
CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
Sio Bibble's beard is on fleek.
I LOVE MORALO EVAL. Here is a 30 minute video of his voice actor reading bedtime stories in character as Moralo Eval.
ACTUALLY Stephen Stanton uploaded all the audio seperately in a playlist which is better because it doesn't have the two guys laughing over it. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFFDB7817AF496B10
I LOVE MORALO EVAL. Here is a 30 minute video of his voice actor reading bedtime stories in character as Moralo Eval.
ACTUALLY Stephen Stanton uploaded all the audio seperately in a playlist which is better because it doesn't have the two guys laughing over it. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFFDB7817AF496B10
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The Tomtrek
Love Wookiee
Episode 419 - Massacre
BUT while the Nightsisters are celebrating (they actually have a little party and it's great) the Separatist armies arrive, led by Grievous.
This is one of those "the whole episode is a battle scene" episodes. And it's great. And it's crazy. And it's great.
But really this episode is crazy. The Nightsister episodes last season dabbled with the idea that what the Nightsisters use was more akin to actual magic than it was force powers, but this episode goes hog wild with the idea, complete with a wise old Nightsister who uses her magicks to resurrect an army of the dead. In this episode, an army of magical zombie warriors fights an army of robots and it's great.
In a nice bit of continuity, the Separatists even bring out the Defoliator tank from waaaayyy back in Season 1 (George Takai made it, remember?).
Asajj and Grievous duel, and it looks about as intense as a duel between two people with a total of six lightsabers should be!
This is actually a great episode for General Grievous. Not only does he win the duel with Ventress by fighting dirty (because of course he would), he gets to totally wreck shit up, cutting down Nightsisters and Undead Nightsisters in large numbers. He even finally kills Old Daka to stop the army of the dead, and would have killed Mother Talzin had she not turned into a puff of smoke.
All while the battle is going on, Mother Talzin is using a voodoo doll against Count Dooku, threatening to kill him if he doesn't retreat. I like how she can whip out a voodoo doll and by this point it seems totally reasonable that it would work against him.
This is another solid episode from Katie Lucas, who obviously has a lot of affection for Asajj as a character. A dark first chapter of this arc, it ends with Asajj alone - her only family now all totally killed (or vanishing into puffs of smoke). Poor Asajj. But that's what I like about this episode, you really are rooting for her at this point. Her episodes last season were very much about her transition from antagonist to protagonist, but now you're actually invested in Asajj as someone who really has lost it all.
Episode 420 - Bounty
And the Asajj train continues, but now she's arriving on Tatooine, and she has a new outfit (it's not as good as her Nightsister outfit but it's still pretty great)!
I like that since they went to the trouble of creating the Mos Eisley Cantina for "Sphere of Influence", it's easy for them to just have her walk into it here. And it's here that she meets Bossk (apparently having escaped jail) and Latts Razzi (who is great) played by Claire Grant (who is great). Throwing Asajj straight in with the bounty hunters, especially one of the cooler ones like Bossk, is a pretty great move.
The other members of this bounty hunter group are Boba Fett (still not in his Mandolorian armour, thankfully), a droid named Highslinger, and Dengar (played by Simon Pegg, in what is still his best Star Wars role). I love Dengar. I love that Pegg plays him as a cockney asshole, and I love that the rest of the group kind of hate him.
Their mission is to protect a SECRET CARGO on an underground hover train (awesome) as it's assaulted by "marauders" attacking on giant centipedes (AWESOME). The assault on the train is great, with the moving setting giving it a really dynamic feel, and allowing each of the bounty hunters to be removed from the action in a way that doesn't have to kill them.
The real twist comes when it's revealed that the cargo is in fact a kidnapped girl, and the marauders are her brother and people trying to rescue her. What's great about this twist is how Asajj reacts to it; namely that she doesn't really care, and just wants to get the job done. Although she's now our protagonist and no longer fully evil, Asajj Ventress is still pretty damn ruthless. It's only when she starts to empathise with the girl, who was taken away from her family in the same way she was, that she changes her plan and instead ties off Boba and hands him off (but not before collecting the payment), while then selling the girl back to her people.
A lesser writer would have had Asajj do a full turn to good; have her realise the job was wrong and hand over the girl back to her people. But here, she still insists on a payment, and still says she's doing it all for the money. It's a nice way to have her do the morally right thing but still leave the character in somewhat of a gray place. I think it would have seemed too forced to have a character like this suddenly turn all-the-way good. But she isn't evil any more, so she still pays the rest of the gang their fair share, and leaves them with the realisation that she is perhaps too good to be a bounty hunter.
This episode is what Clone Wars does best, it's the second part of an arc that both continues on the character's journey but feels like a totally new and fresh episode, and it's an episode that's entirely about a cast of interesting characters both from the films and new. And this episode doesn't even have any of the regular characters in it!
Katie Lucas does it again!
One must let go of the past to hold onto the future.
Sinister forces on the move! Asajj Ventress has suffered a humiliating betrayal at the hands of her own assassin, Savage Opress.
Having gone into hiding, she now has no choice but to seek sanctuary with the Nightsisters of Dathomir....
She's back! This is our annual "let's see what Asajj Ventress" is doing check of the season, and as it turns out she's not doing so great. Returning to Dathomir after having been in hiding since Savage went AWOL, she is welcomed with open arms by Mother Talzin and the Nightsisters, and gets baptised back into being a full Nightsister.Sinister forces on the move! Asajj Ventress has suffered a humiliating betrayal at the hands of her own assassin, Savage Opress.
Having gone into hiding, she now has no choice but to seek sanctuary with the Nightsisters of Dathomir....
BUT while the Nightsisters are celebrating (they actually have a little party and it's great) the Separatist armies arrive, led by Grievous.
This is one of those "the whole episode is a battle scene" episodes. And it's great. And it's crazy. And it's great.
But really this episode is crazy. The Nightsister episodes last season dabbled with the idea that what the Nightsisters use was more akin to actual magic than it was force powers, but this episode goes hog wild with the idea, complete with a wise old Nightsister who uses her magicks to resurrect an army of the dead. In this episode, an army of magical zombie warriors fights an army of robots and it's great.
In a nice bit of continuity, the Separatists even bring out the Defoliator tank from waaaayyy back in Season 1 (George Takai made it, remember?).
Asajj and Grievous duel, and it looks about as intense as a duel between two people with a total of six lightsabers should be!
This is actually a great episode for General Grievous. Not only does he win the duel with Ventress by fighting dirty (because of course he would), he gets to totally wreck shit up, cutting down Nightsisters and Undead Nightsisters in large numbers. He even finally kills Old Daka to stop the army of the dead, and would have killed Mother Talzin had she not turned into a puff of smoke.
All while the battle is going on, Mother Talzin is using a voodoo doll against Count Dooku, threatening to kill him if he doesn't retreat. I like how she can whip out a voodoo doll and by this point it seems totally reasonable that it would work against him.
This is another solid episode from Katie Lucas, who obviously has a lot of affection for Asajj as a character. A dark first chapter of this arc, it ends with Asajj alone - her only family now all totally killed (or vanishing into puffs of smoke). Poor Asajj. But that's what I like about this episode, you really are rooting for her at this point. Her episodes last season were very much about her transition from antagonist to protagonist, but now you're actually invested in Asajj as someone who really has lost it all.
Episode 420 - Bounty
Who we are never changes, who we think we are does.
Abandoned! After an assassination attempt by his forsaken apprentice, Asajj Ventress, Count Dooku launches a brutal counterattack against the Nightsisters, massacring the entire clan.
Forced into exile, Ventress wanders far into the Outer Rim, among the castaways and vagabonds of the galaxy, seeking her new life that was foretold by Mother Talzin....
Abandoned! After an assassination attempt by his forsaken apprentice, Asajj Ventress, Count Dooku launches a brutal counterattack against the Nightsisters, massacring the entire clan.
Forced into exile, Ventress wanders far into the Outer Rim, among the castaways and vagabonds of the galaxy, seeking her new life that was foretold by Mother Talzin....
And the Asajj train continues, but now she's arriving on Tatooine, and she has a new outfit (it's not as good as her Nightsister outfit but it's still pretty great)!
I like that since they went to the trouble of creating the Mos Eisley Cantina for "Sphere of Influence", it's easy for them to just have her walk into it here. And it's here that she meets Bossk (apparently having escaped jail) and Latts Razzi (who is great) played by Claire Grant (who is great). Throwing Asajj straight in with the bounty hunters, especially one of the cooler ones like Bossk, is a pretty great move.
The other members of this bounty hunter group are Boba Fett (still not in his Mandolorian armour, thankfully), a droid named Highslinger, and Dengar (played by Simon Pegg, in what is still his best Star Wars role). I love Dengar. I love that Pegg plays him as a cockney asshole, and I love that the rest of the group kind of hate him.
Their mission is to protect a SECRET CARGO on an underground hover train (awesome) as it's assaulted by "marauders" attacking on giant centipedes (AWESOME). The assault on the train is great, with the moving setting giving it a really dynamic feel, and allowing each of the bounty hunters to be removed from the action in a way that doesn't have to kill them.
The real twist comes when it's revealed that the cargo is in fact a kidnapped girl, and the marauders are her brother and people trying to rescue her. What's great about this twist is how Asajj reacts to it; namely that she doesn't really care, and just wants to get the job done. Although she's now our protagonist and no longer fully evil, Asajj Ventress is still pretty damn ruthless. It's only when she starts to empathise with the girl, who was taken away from her family in the same way she was, that she changes her plan and instead ties off Boba and hands him off (but not before collecting the payment), while then selling the girl back to her people.
A lesser writer would have had Asajj do a full turn to good; have her realise the job was wrong and hand over the girl back to her people. But here, she still insists on a payment, and still says she's doing it all for the money. It's a nice way to have her do the morally right thing but still leave the character in somewhat of a gray place. I think it would have seemed too forced to have a character like this suddenly turn all-the-way good. But she isn't evil any more, so she still pays the rest of the gang their fair share, and leaves them with the realisation that she is perhaps too good to be a bounty hunter.
This episode is what Clone Wars does best, it's the second part of an arc that both continues on the character's journey but feels like a totally new and fresh episode, and it's an episode that's entirely about a cast of interesting characters both from the films and new. And this episode doesn't even have any of the regular characters in it!
Katie Lucas does it again!
The Tomtrek
Love Wookiee
Episode 421 - Brothers
THE SHOW LOGO IS RED. WHAT'S GOING ON??
This episode picks on on Savage Opress' continuing search for his brother, and it beings with various characters getting a feeling that something big is going to happen. Dooku feels it, Asajj (who is hanging out with Latts Razzi because they're TOTALLY BEST FRIENDS NOW) feels it, and Anakin feels it (Anakin's entire arc for this episode is "Anakin goes into a diner to get something to eat, senses something bad is happening". I love that).
We see Savage, who is still being led by Mother Talzin (who is no longer a puff of smoke), continue his search on the junk world of "Lotho Minor". It's a hellish world filled with giant fire-breathing junk robots and lethal scavengers. There he finds an asshole snake, named Morley. I really like Morley, because he's such an obvious asshole but Savage just totally doesn't see it.
And then of course, he finally finds his brother - Darth Maul. Bring Darth Maul back into the Star Wars universe was a very risky thing to do. It had already been done in a "what if..." comic, which this episode (and future Maul episodes) would draw a lot of inspiration from. But now he's back for real, and it was important to make it worthwhile. The thing with Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace was that he wasn't really much of a character. He was an Angry Sith Devil Man and... that's it. He got like two lines in the entire film! How do you bring back a character like that and still make him interesting to watch in a weekly TV show?
You make him insane and you give him crazy robot spider legs.
By making him actually crazy, you're essentially resetting his character (which isn't hard to do as, yeah, he didn't really have one to begin with) and means that the character we have now is one fueled entirely by events we already know: That Obi-Wan cut him in half and that he wasn't very happy about it.
While we only get crazy Maul in this episode, Sam Witwer does do good crazy, and while it is a bit over the top I think it's done in a way that works with the episode, which was already over the top what with the giant robots and talking asshole snakes.
The episode ends with Yoda and Obi-Wan realising that Maul is back, and that shit is about to get real.
Episode 422 - Revenge
Hey, so, just to let you know, I love this episode.
These past four episodes don't form a story arc in the way episodes of this show have done so previously. Instead, we get two episodes focusing on Asajj and what she's doing, an episode about Savage finding Maul, and this episode where all the plot lines come together. And boy do they!
After going to Dathomir and getting healed and some nice new robot legs from Mother Talzin, Maul is now sane (mostly) and hungry for revenge. Again, this isn't really a return to any sort of character Maul had back in The Phantom Menace, but instead it's something totally new. But somehow, through Katie Lucas' writing and Sam Witwer's performance, it does still come across as the same character we saw way back then, only now he actually talks.
I'm still kind of amazed this episode gets away with Maul killing an entire village, which specifically includes children. The scene of the children running up to the ship while he looks at then and ignites his lightsaber is like a better-done version of a similar scene in Revenge of the Sith. But Maul means business, and lures Obi-Wan out to get his revenge.
All the Maul stuff is great. It's still impressive to me that they did something that could have been really dumb in bring back Darth Maul, but not only did it well but actually evolved and developed his character into a totally ruthless killer who is only out for his own ends. Seriously, it's great.
But the best part about this episode, the thing that makes it really work, is the fact that it brings Asajj back into the story both so she can resolve her issues with Savage but also so she can flirt outrageously with Obi-Wan.
The Obi-Wan/Asajj dynamic never gets any better than it does in this episode, especially now they have to fight together against the bothers Maul. The final fight of Maul vs. Obi-Wan and Savage vs. Asajj is great not only because of the brutality of it (we see Obi-Wan lose control in a way we've never really seen before when Maul taunts him about killing Qui-God) but because of the way that Asajj and Obi-Wan have to work together and both secretly love it.
Obi-Wan: "We're outmatched!"
Asajj: "You want to run?"
Obi-Wan: "I learned from watching you!"
Asajj: "Funny!"
It's good that Katie Lucas can write Star Wars so well. Not only do these episodes totally change and evolve Asajj Ventress as a character, but they manage the feat of reintroducing Darth Maul and tying all of their story lines together in a neat way. This is great Star Wars and an excellent way to end the season.
A fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished.
A darkness awakes! Count Dooku's bitter betrayal of his former apprentice Asajj Ventress resulted in the creation of a new menace in the galaxy: Savage Opress. Caught in a deadly game of revenge between Ventress and Dooku, Savage barely escaped the carnage.
Beaten and alone, he returned to Mother Talzin, his creator, who gave him a new quest: to pursue his long-lost brother....
A darkness awakes! Count Dooku's bitter betrayal of his former apprentice Asajj Ventress resulted in the creation of a new menace in the galaxy: Savage Opress. Caught in a deadly game of revenge between Ventress and Dooku, Savage barely escaped the carnage.
Beaten and alone, he returned to Mother Talzin, his creator, who gave him a new quest: to pursue his long-lost brother....
THE SHOW LOGO IS RED. WHAT'S GOING ON??
This episode picks on on Savage Opress' continuing search for his brother, and it beings with various characters getting a feeling that something big is going to happen. Dooku feels it, Asajj (who is hanging out with Latts Razzi because they're TOTALLY BEST FRIENDS NOW) feels it, and Anakin feels it (Anakin's entire arc for this episode is "Anakin goes into a diner to get something to eat, senses something bad is happening". I love that).
We see Savage, who is still being led by Mother Talzin (who is no longer a puff of smoke), continue his search on the junk world of "Lotho Minor". It's a hellish world filled with giant fire-breathing junk robots and lethal scavengers. There he finds an asshole snake, named Morley. I really like Morley, because he's such an obvious asshole but Savage just totally doesn't see it.
And then of course, he finally finds his brother - Darth Maul. Bring Darth Maul back into the Star Wars universe was a very risky thing to do. It had already been done in a "what if..." comic, which this episode (and future Maul episodes) would draw a lot of inspiration from. But now he's back for real, and it was important to make it worthwhile. The thing with Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace was that he wasn't really much of a character. He was an Angry Sith Devil Man and... that's it. He got like two lines in the entire film! How do you bring back a character like that and still make him interesting to watch in a weekly TV show?
You make him insane and you give him crazy robot spider legs.
By making him actually crazy, you're essentially resetting his character (which isn't hard to do as, yeah, he didn't really have one to begin with) and means that the character we have now is one fueled entirely by events we already know: That Obi-Wan cut him in half and that he wasn't very happy about it.
While we only get crazy Maul in this episode, Sam Witwer does do good crazy, and while it is a bit over the top I think it's done in a way that works with the episode, which was already over the top what with the giant robots and talking asshole snakes.
The episode ends with Yoda and Obi-Wan realising that Maul is back, and that shit is about to get real.
Episode 422 - Revenge
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Brothers reunited! Darth Maul, the sinister Sith thought to have been destroyed so many years ago by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, was found alive by his brother, Savage Opress, and taken back to Mother Talzin on Dathomir.
Though Darth Maul's memory has yet to be fully restored, his need for vengeance has awakened, more powerful than ever....
Brothers reunited! Darth Maul, the sinister Sith thought to have been destroyed so many years ago by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, was found alive by his brother, Savage Opress, and taken back to Mother Talzin on Dathomir.
Though Darth Maul's memory has yet to be fully restored, his need for vengeance has awakened, more powerful than ever....
Hey, so, just to let you know, I love this episode.
These past four episodes don't form a story arc in the way episodes of this show have done so previously. Instead, we get two episodes focusing on Asajj and what she's doing, an episode about Savage finding Maul, and this episode where all the plot lines come together. And boy do they!
After going to Dathomir and getting healed and some nice new robot legs from Mother Talzin, Maul is now sane (mostly) and hungry for revenge. Again, this isn't really a return to any sort of character Maul had back in The Phantom Menace, but instead it's something totally new. But somehow, through Katie Lucas' writing and Sam Witwer's performance, it does still come across as the same character we saw way back then, only now he actually talks.
I'm still kind of amazed this episode gets away with Maul killing an entire village, which specifically includes children. The scene of the children running up to the ship while he looks at then and ignites his lightsaber is like a better-done version of a similar scene in Revenge of the Sith. But Maul means business, and lures Obi-Wan out to get his revenge.
All the Maul stuff is great. It's still impressive to me that they did something that could have been really dumb in bring back Darth Maul, but not only did it well but actually evolved and developed his character into a totally ruthless killer who is only out for his own ends. Seriously, it's great.
But the best part about this episode, the thing that makes it really work, is the fact that it brings Asajj back into the story both so she can resolve her issues with Savage but also so she can flirt outrageously with Obi-Wan.
The Obi-Wan/Asajj dynamic never gets any better than it does in this episode, especially now they have to fight together against the bothers Maul. The final fight of Maul vs. Obi-Wan and Savage vs. Asajj is great not only because of the brutality of it (we see Obi-Wan lose control in a way we've never really seen before when Maul taunts him about killing Qui-God) but because of the way that Asajj and Obi-Wan have to work together and both secretly love it.
Obi-Wan: "We're outmatched!"
Asajj: "You want to run?"
Obi-Wan: "I learned from watching you!"
Asajj: "Funny!"
It's good that Katie Lucas can write Star Wars so well. Not only do these episodes totally change and evolve Asajj Ventress as a character, but they manage the feat of reintroducing Darth Maul and tying all of their story lines together in a neat way. This is great Star Wars and an excellent way to end the season.
CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
I ship Obi-Wan and Ventress so hard.