Clone Wars -- "A Distant Echo" (Ep. 7.02)

-- The search for truth begins with belief.

As we discovered last episode, Rex believes that Echo is still alive. He believes that the Separatists have been using him to predict the clone's battle tactics. No one really believes him. But the clones of the Bad Batch don't really care one way or the other as long as they're going to get to take out some clankers. Yes, all of this means a rescue mission.

Well, okay, it's only a rescue mission to Rex. Everyone else is just following the signal from last episode back to its origin point so that they can figure out how it is the Separatists are so accurately predicting their moves.

There are some interesting new droids introduced in this episode, but I don't know what they're called. Kind of weird and cool looking.

And... looking back at what I wrote about this episode when it was released in its incomplete form, they made several key changes to this episode. Here's what I wrote last time:

Padme is sexy nose art on the Bad Batch's spacecraft, and Anakin is not pleased. Ah, the amusing things this show throws in and just another reason I'm still sad it ended.

Rex believes Echo is still alive and mounts a covert operation to rescue him, so covert even the Jedi Council doesn't know about it... because, well, they said "no" to the idea of the mission in the first place. And, of course, if there's something going on that the Council has said no to, it's a safe bet to assume that Anakin's involved, which he is. It's also a safe bet to assume that Obi-Wan knows about it but is standing the side. I just realized I don't know what I think about that.

Basically, Obi-Wan, by repeatedly allowing Anakin to disobey the Jedi Council without consequences, has completely undermined the authority of the Council, at least in regards to Anakin. Maybe it's no wonder things turned out the way they did?

But I digress...

Though there's not much left to say about the episode other than that it looks as if it was introducing a creepy new type of battle droid. It's too bad those didn't make it into a final version.

Oh, and Rex gets into it with one of the members of the Bad Batch.

Good stuff.

"Hope nobody's scared of heights."

"Well, I'm not scared of nuthin'. I just... When I'm up real high, I got a problem with gravity."

They took out the part with Padme as nose art. That makes me kind of sad. It was an amusing gag that revealed a bit more of the wider universe and reinforced some more of Anakin's lack of control over his emotions.

They also took out the explicit "no" from the Jedi council. At least, I think they did. I'm assuming, based on what I wrote, there was an explicit "no" attached to this, but I don't really remember. This time around, though, any "no" was only implied. Obi-Wan never actually tells Anakin the answer because Anakin sort of bulldozes over what Obi-Wan is trying to say and takes off with Rex to go on the mission.

But we do find out this time around that Obi-Wan knows that Anakin has been talking to Padme on the sly.

Mostly, I feel like they took out some of the nuance this episode originally held, which is really too bad, and it makes me wonder what other kinds of things like this never made it into other final episodes. I like nuance.
Maybe that's just me.

Clone Wars -- "Crisis at the Heart" (Ep. 6.7)

-- Deceit is the weapon of greed.

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[Well, actually, considering that we're into season six, now, probably no one new is going to sign up, BUT! Hop over to The Armchair Squid for his take on the current episode.]

When you make a deal with the devil... Well, you know how that goes.

Maybe we should change that from "devil" to "Sith." Or "Trump." Seriously. Ask the GOP how that's going.

I don't really know what I want to say about this episode. The closing chant of "Long live the banks!" is disturbing on many levels, but it's not substantial enough to talk about.

Overall, this arc is about Palpatine continuing to cement his power for his ever approaching takeover as Emperor. It's difficult for me to watch these things, sometimes, because I want to say, "Are you all blind? Can't you see what's going on?" Which makes me want to say, "People would never be that stupid," but, then, we have Trumtatine as president, so, obviously, that's not true. People are that stupid, and Palpatine plays them like a drum.

Even the Jedi go along. Which reminds me of the electoral college, because the electoral college was put in place specifically to keep someone like Trump from ever getting into office, and, yet, here we are. And the Jedi, who should have been the people to stand up and say "No! This is wrong," fail to do that at every turn. And it makes sense at each little step for them to go along because there was nothing at each little step to prompt them to protest.

Which is exactly what the GOP have done to us over the past few decades, slowly eroding our democracy to a point where Trump is in office and they can't figure out how to stand up to him because they're not willing to risk their own power.

And then there's Anakin and his insane jealousy, but that story is completely undermined by the fact that he's right about Clovis, so, in the end, he's not held accountable for his horrible actions. Not by the Jedi and not by Padme.

But that, also, is how things are.

It's not a very enjoyable arc, but it's probably a very good one.

"Your actions have brought war right where there cannot be war."

Clone Wars -- "The Rise of Clovis" (Ep. 6.6)

-- Jealousy is the path to chaos.

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[Well, actually, considering that we're into season six, now, probably no one new is going to sign up, BUT! Hop over to The Armchair Squid for his take on the current episode.]

What I said last episode post notwithstanding, this episode is good. Tense. In part, it's good because Padme is back in an environment that makes sense for her to be in; mostly, it's good because we get to see into the dynamic between Anakin and Padme, which is something there hasn't been much of throughout the series.

Remember when Revenge of the Sith came out and Anakin and Obi-Wan had that big duel mostly because Anakin thought Obi-Wan had something going on with Padme? Some people got upset about that because they thought there was no way Anakin would just turn on Obi-Wan like that. They don't know people very well, is all I can say. And it's not like Lucas didn't set Anakin up to have rage problems, and people with rage issues tend to also have jealous-rage issues.

We really get to see Anakin go off into a jealous rage in this episode.

Oh, and spoiler alert:
Padme breaks up with him.

Really, though, what we're getting to see so far in season six, both in the previous arc and this arc, is the culmination of Palpatine's plans. Come on, everyone knows whats going to happen, but these are well done enough that you're really hoping things will go the other way.


"It's not that we're not allowed to have these feelings. It's... natural."

Clone Wars -- "An Old Friend" (Ep. 6.5)

-- To love is to trust. To trust is to believe.

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[Well, actually, considering that we're into season six, now, probably no one new is going to sign up, BUT! Hop over to The Armchair Squid for his take on the current episode.]

Padme has proven to be a very difficult character for the writers of the Clone Wars series. Obviously, she's a character they felt obliged to include, but she doesn't have a place in the action of most of the series, so most of her appearances, like this one, have shoehorned her into stories where she didn't belong. That doesn't mean that some of those stories haven't been good, anyway, but my reaction always tends to be, "What? Why is Padme doing this? She's a senator!" But in this arc she's acting in the position of some kind of bank investigator. I mean, doesn't the Republic have people for this?

It would have been much more interesting if there had been some kind of ongoing political story line that involved her and her role as a senator. That would have made sense.

None of that is to see that this is not going to be a good and/or interesting arc, but I'm still having issues with Padme in a heist plot where she's the one breaking into the bank vault. Sort of.

All of that and the return of Clovis, Padme's ex who betrayed her and with whom Anakin has... issues. As we know, Anakin doesn't handle jealousy well. As my wife said, "Man, he's a real dick." Seriously, Anakin is the jealous boyfriend/husband no one wants to have.

Also, those banking clan dudes are just freaky looking.

Clone Wars -- "Mercy Mission" (Ep. 4.5)

-- Understanding is honoring the truth beneath the surface.

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I'm going to start by saying that this is not a bad episode; however, it does feel like a throwaway episode. Nothing significant happens in it, and it's not connected to anything else. And there are some things in it that don't make a lot of sense from an overall plot standpoint. Well, one thing: C-3PO and R2-D2 being off on a Republic cruiser with a bunch of clone troopers.

Commander Wolffe and his men are headed to some battle area when they are sidetracked by this mercy mission to aid the Aleena. C-3PO is needed as a translator, which is fine for this episode, but it doesn't explain why the droids are on the ship to begin with. C-3PO tends to stick to Padme's side as her personal protocol droid, and R2 is generally with Anakin, so it's strange that the droids would end up on this ship with Wolffe and his troops. And there's no explanation provided.

Beyond that, it's pretty standard 3PO/R2 hi-jinks. Everyone wants 3PO to shut up, and R2 goes off on his own and does things. There are also fairies and tree people, so I guess it's not quite standard. Oh, and the Aleena have a very ewok vibe with a lot of the same kind of chanting sounds, though they don't quite bring themselves to worshiping the golden droid.

It's a fine episode, I suppose, and it might have been a nice one off as a break between heavier stories, but as the fifth episode of this season in which nothing significant is happening, it just feels like more nothing. I've gotta say, though, the uniforms of Wolffe's group are pretty cool for clone trooper gear.


"Welcome to our disaster. Glad you could come."

Clone Wars -- "Pursuit of Peace" (Ep. 3.11)

-- Truth can strike down the spectre of fear.

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Sticking with the political story line, we get to see the results of the banking deregulation from the previous episode. The Republic needs more clones, but can they afford it now that the interest rates have more than doubled. The banking clan goads Padme by telling her the Separatists seem to have no problem with the new steepened rate. But the interest alone on a loan of this nature could bankrupt the Republic.

To make matters worse, as the Republic invests more and more into the war, social services are failing due to lack of funds: education, health care, emergency services; you name it, it's suffering. Not to mention infrastructure maintenance.

And if you can't see the parallels being drawn here to what's been happening in the US due to the Cheney war... Hmm... Does Cheney remind anyone else of Palpatine? I'm sure Palpatine was responsible for shooting (force lightning-ing) at least one friend. Or acquaintance. Whatever you want to call it.

Anyway...

There's a vote going to the Senate to approve the new troops and the new loan, the one the Republic can't afford, and Padme and Organa are doing everything they can to stop it from going through, even in the face of violence from Dooku, who wants to drive the approval of the bill.

So... lots of politics... lots of action... What's not to like?
Unless, of course, The Phantom Menace was too deep for you.
No Jar Jar, though.

Clone Wars -- "Evil Plans" (Ep. 3.8)

-- A failure in planning is a plan for failure.

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This episode: Padme throws a party!
Which I don't know how I feel about. I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but it seems so sexist to have Padme be throwing a party. A party that just has to be perfect. And she's fretting over it. It seems so cliche.

That's not really what the episode is about, though. It's just an excuse for the droids, R2 and 3PO, to get sent on an errand... so that they can be captured by Cad Bane. Yea! Cad Bane is back! But not really enough in this episode since the action centers around the droids.

The problem here is that Bane is, basically, waiting for the droids so he can capture them, but he had no idea they'd be sent on an errand unaccompanied, so the logic here doesn't work for me.

Nor do I find it believable that R2 just takes off for a droid spa treatment.

[And this is where I got interrupted while writing this and lost my train of thought.]

At any rate, there are a lot of little details like that that don't work if you think about it too hard (or at all), but, still, I liked the episode well enough. I find R2 and 3PO together enjoyable, and there really isn't much of that in Clone Wars. It was a nice diversion that also is setting the groundwork for the next episode.

But that would be telling...

Clone Wars -- "Assassin" (Ep. 3.7)

-- The future has many paths: Choose wisely.

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Remember when Aurra Sing died? Yeah, me, neither, because, as it turns out, she didn't die. Which is why I was rather confused at the end of "Lethal Trackdown." I kept thinking, "I don't remember her dying." Because she didn't, and, now, she's back. Thanks to Hondo.

The episode itself is about an assassination attempt on the life of Padme, or, more specifically, Ahsoka's vision of said attempt. Or Ahsoka's vision of Aurra Sing. Well, let's just call it an episode about learning to trust yourself and your own instincts.

Now, I want to take a break from the episode itself for a moment:
I sort of hate the whole "trust yourself" or "trust your instincts" message. That's what it is: a message. And it's a message that has pervaded our society. For instance, a new study has shown that young, first-time mothers, especially teenage ones, are more likely to trust their instincts than the recommended scientific advice when it has to do with their babies; as a result, infant deaths due to things like suffocation are on the rise. The mother just felt like the baby needed that fluffy blanket despite the fact that it's a suffocation risk. It's that whole, "My opinion is as good as your fact," thing, and, well, it's not. Sure, you're entitled to believe in whatever stupid thing you want to believe in, but it doesn't make it valid just because you believe it or because your instincts tell you it's what you ought to do.

Having said that, trusting one's instincts is valid for a Jedi, because a Jedi has the Force; we, however, do not. There is a distinct difference between believing in oneself and doing whatever it is you feel is right in any given moment.

So, yeah, Ahsoka has to learn to trust in herself and her visions... and Padme's life hangs in the balance.

It's a good, solid episode with some teaching from Yoda, since Anakin's off on a mission in this one.

Clone Wars -- "Corruption" (Ep. 3.5) (Gadreel)

-- The challenge of hope is to overcome corruption.

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One thing I think (know) people often (almost always) miss about the prequels, especially The Phantom Menace, is how much political commentary is contained therein. People get all distracted and wound up by Jar Jar and miss everything else. Some of everything else being a kind of warning about the state of politics, right now, and I think we can see even more of what was in Phantom going on in the US, right now, with the polarization of Congress and the fear-mongering of the Republicans, especially Donald Trumpatine. This episode touches on the same material.

And it's eerily reminiscent of the water issue in Flint, Michigan.

All of that said, I like seeing Satine back even without Obi-Wan in the story.

Mandalore is having some issues due to the fallout of the previous Mandalore story line in which they assert their neutrality. Now, no one will trade with them, and things like food prices are skyrocketing. Corruption and the black market are booming. That's really all you need to know. That and Padme joins Satine in an investigation dealing with sick school children.

Just go watch it.



Now for Angel week!

"Gadreel" is FREE! today! Go get a copy!

Clone Wars -- "The Zillo Beast Strikes Back" (Ep. 2.19)

-- The most dangerous beast is the beast within.

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Remember last episode and the conflict I mentioned? It was about whether to keep the zillo beast alive or not. You know, a philosophical conflict between the Jedi and Palpatine. One of the reasons Palpatine wanted to get rid of the Jedi is that you can't just say "no" to them, so, when Mace Windu wanted to spare the beast and move it to some other world to live on, Palpatine couldn't say "no" even though he wanted to. So, of course, he turned the situation to his advantage.

By having the zillo beast taken to Coruscant instead of wherever it was supposed to go.

You can imagine the results.
Actually, you should just watch the episode so that you don't have to imagine them.

I do have to wonder, though, how much of what happened Palpatine foresaw, because... well, again, you should just watch the episode.

All the creature stuff aside, I think the most significant thing about this episode is what's revealed about the relationship between Anakin and Padme. Padme takes Anakin with her to support her in convincing Palpatine to not have the zillo beast killed, but, during the conversation, Anakin waffles and comes to Palpatine's defense at one point. Padme pulls him aside and asks him whose side he's on. Anakin, of course, says hers but that he can see both sides and Palpatine has some valid points. Basically, he becomes the only Jedi who doesn't 100% believe the zillo beast should be saved. That's the implication anyway.

Of course, that's not just about the relationship between Anakin and Padme but about Anakin and his relationship to the rest of the Jedi. Hints of the growing rift between Anakin's ideology and the ideology of the Jedi as a whole. It's these little things that happen within the overall arc of the show that make it interesting and bridges the gap between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith and reveal how it is that Anakin came to betray the Jedi Order.


"A lot of the general's plans involve falling."

Clone Wars -- "Senate Murders" (Ep. 2.15)

-- Searching for the truth is easy. Accepting the truth is hard.

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This episode, I believe, is the first episode where we begin to see what and who become the core of the rebellion. I could be wrong about it being the first because I'm not looking back to see, but it is the first episode with Mon Mothma, so I'm going with it. The episode revolves around the issue of putting a halt to the creation of anymore clone troopers for the war.

Which is an interesting question when you're in the midst of a war against an aggressor. The contention of Padme, Bail Organa, and Mon Mothma is that if troop production is halted then diplomacy would have to take its place. They believe diplomacy is the road to peace. Palpatine, of course, believes that peace can only be achieved through victory on the field.

At least, that's his stated belief.

I suppose that must be somewhat like playing chess against yourself only with some of the pieces making their own decisions. Hmm... Maybe it's more like playing The Sims. My wife used to get constantly frustrated by her sims going off and doing things she didn't tell them to do.

The action in the episode has nothing to do with any of this, though. All of this is just the backdrop, but I find the backdrop more interesting than what's going on center stage. Not that there's anything wrong with what's going on center stage, because there's not. It's a fine episode and one that doesn't involve the Jedi at all. Or the clones. It's very rare in that. Still, it's the philosophical questions that are touched on that are of real interest, the things you see played out in the background.

Star Wars: A Discussion (Episode II)

Star Wars fans of my generation (and older) tend to have an inordinate dislike of the prequels. I blame the fans. "But how can it be their fault for not liking the movies?" you might ask. "Isn't it Lucas' fault for not making something that the fans would like?" Well, no, it's not Lucas' fault. It's the fault of fans for, basically, assuming ownership of something that doesn't belong to them. Unwarranted expectations will get you every time.

I want to go back to something I said in my last post, that thing about how I never quit on Star Wars. I think this is a significant point. See, I was there when Zahn's books came out, so to speak. I bought them in hardback. Because I was into comic books, I have first printings of the Dark Empire series from Dark Horse. For a while, I was reading all of the Star Wars novels for no other reason than that they were Star Wars, and I think reading them taught me a lesson.

See, some of them... well, some of them sucked. And sucked hard. In fact, I'll just say it: Kevin Anderson's Jedi Academy trilogy was so awful that not only will I never read anything else by Anderson, but they broke me from reading anymore Star Wars novels. The lesson was not that some things that "are" Star Wars won't be good; it was about expectations. I somehow expected that these things would be great just because they were set in  the Star Wars universe. Well, I didn't really expect that, not in my head, but on some emotional level that is what I expected.

Of course, what I wanted was to be taken back to that feeling I had when I was seven when that star destroyer first "passed over my head" and made me see the world in a way I had never seen it before. But you can't have that feeling again. You can't go back to seven and experience that thing in that same way ever again. You can't have your eyes opened for the first time more than once. That can be a hard thing to learn, but Kevin Anderson beat it into me with his horrid books.

So it was that when Lucas announced the prequels I determined to have no expectations. Or as little as possible, at any rate. I knew these weren't going to be the same movies. I knew the time period they were going to be set in, and I knew what they were about. My goal was twofold: to avoid finding out stuff about the movie beforehand (because I had known absolutely nothing about Star Wars when I was seven and my grandmother took me to see it) and to not have expectations. I already knew where expectations would get me.

Which is not to say that I was not excited. I was right there with everyone else camping out for tickets for the opening midnight show of The Phantom Menace and camping again to get in so as not to have to sit in the front corner of the theater.

Also, I was in no way disappointed with The Phantom Menace. Not even with Jar Jar. He's funny. He makes me laugh. And my kids like him.

I want to make a point here: I was seven when I first saw Star Wars. I was a kid. I'm not saying that I loved Star Wars because I was a kid, but, essentially, Star Wars was a movie for young people, not for adults. There were toys because the target audience was kids. When I went into Phantom Menace, I wanted to go in with as much of that as possible. I wanted to see it with eyes that were fresh and young and with no preconceptions. Part of that was looking at it through the lens of my kids. Well, just one kid, at the time, but each of my kids has loved Jar Jar as they have come into contact with him. Lucas said Jar Jar was a character in the movie specifically for kids, and, from that standpoint, he totally works. So, really, the problem with the Jar Jar-haters is not actually Jar Jar, it's the people who hate him. And, you know what, it shows your age and your unwillingness to be a kid again, as you were when you first saw Star Wars.

And that takes me back to my opening statement: the problem with the prequels is "the fans," the original fans.
It's the truth, and you should just get over yourselves. You don't own Star Wars and Lucas doesn't owe you anything. Didn't owe you anything.
And, actually, you, all of you, should be ashamed of yourselves, because it's because of you that Lucas sold Star Wars to Disney.
/end rant

Yes, I like the prequels. Love them, even. Sure, in my list of Star Wars movies, they are not my favorite, but one of them does come in at #3, and they are Star Wars, so even the one at #6 is way ahead of most every other movie out there.

That being said, there is one problem I have with the prequels: the death of Padme during childbirth. The problem is, as it worked out, that kind of had to be the way that happened but it doesn't fit the previous narrative of Leia having gone with her mother when the twins were split up at birth, and it doesn't fit with Leia's memories of her mother from when she was a young child. So, see, despite the fact that I can see that it Padme's death is necessary from a story perspective, it doesn't work for me because of my own expectation that she should have taken Leia away and raised her in hiding for several years before her death.

But that's it. That one thing is the only issue I have with the prequels.

I don't want to get into anything about how I feel about The Force Awakens, right now, but, regardless of that, I wish that Lucas was the one making them. Just as I wanted to see his story for the prequels, I wanted to see his story for the sequel trilogy, too. As it turns out, despite what Disney said they would do (which was to follow Lucas' original story), according to Lucas, they have strayed from that, and that disappoints me.

But more on that later.

Clone Wars -- "Senate Spy" (Ep. 2.4)

-- A true heart should never be doubted.

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This is an episode with, kind of, a deliberately misleading title. I'm not going to explain that more than to say it; if you want to know what I mean, you should watch the episode. It's a stand alone, so you can get away with that even if you haven't been watching the series.

However, it isn't the story that interests me about this episode, though the story is fine. Good even. No, what interests me is the continued exploration of Anakin and his attachment issues.

I suppose it might not be entirely clear why the Jedi are not allowed to have attachments, at least from the prospective of the movies. I mean, it's never stated why Jedi are not supposed to own things or form romantic entanglements or, well, have children. Because it seems like having Jedi have children would be the thing to do if you wanted more Jedi children, right? So the underlying reason for the "no attachments" rule is never given. Anywhere. But The Clone Wars gives us plenty of examples, through Anakin, of the issues that arise from having attachments, everything from disobeying orders to retrieve some personal object, to making some one person a priority over completing a mission, to, well, jealousy.

And that's the real issue: Attachments open the Jedi to the negative emotions that lead to the Dark Side of the Force. And that's what's explored in this episode: Anakin's jealousy over a previous lover of Padme's.

So, yeah, the story of the "Senate Spy" is fine. It's good. But it's Anakin's jealousy and his anger and attempt to control Padme's actions because of those things that make the story of real interest.

And, actually, importance.

It's these episodes where we can see Anakin's slide to the Dark Side and that it wasn't some sudden change during Revenge of the Sith.

Also, we get to see, again, a glimmer of Obi-Wan's suspicions about Anakin and Padme, which is good. I mean, it's good that we get to see that he had suspicions, because it's a bit much to believe that Obi-Wan, of all people, had no idea what was going on.

Clone Wars -- "Mystery of a Thousand Moons" (Ep. 1.18)

-- A single chance is a galaxy of hope.

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Picking up on the heels of the previous episode, we see the release of the deadly virus Dr. Vindi was making. This episode becomes one of those "find a cure" episodes that so many TV shows employ at least once. And who's infected with the virus? Padme and Ahsoka, of course. Fortunately, a clue to a cure is near at hand, though you have to wonder how the virus was ever a scourge to the galaxy when they key to the cure turns up so easily.

Yes, yes, I know! Just because they Jedi have knowledge of the cure now doesn't mean anyone knew about it when the virus was a threat. Still...

The problem for me with this episode, at least on this re-watch of it, is that there really isn't any tension. You know that Anakin and Obi-Wan will find a cure for the disease. Of course, you know that. But the whole thing felt too easy for me. I don't remember how I felt about it the first time I watched it. There's also the issue that I'm not overly fond of the racing-the clock-to-find-a-cure-for-a-deadly-disease plot. I have a difficult time buying into those, because, on the whole, they never work the way diseases actually work.

There are some good points in this story, though.

We get Obi-Wan's first (I think (I'm pretty sure (at least, I don't remember any earlier ones))) look of suspicion at Anakin to do with his feelings about Padme. It's unfortunate that the series can't really deal with this dynamic in any depth because Obi-Wan still has to be surprised during Revenge of the Sith that Padme's pregnant by Anakin.

The side character Jaybo Hood is interesting.

We get to meet the Angels of Iego, which Anakin compares Padme to all the way back in The Phantom Menace.

The one other point of interest in the episode has to do with some of the clones who have also contracted the virus. Padme makes a comment about it being a shame that so many of them are sick and one of the other clones tells her that she shouldn't be so bothered about it because it's what the clones were made for. Again, the dynamics between the clones and their "masters" is one of the most interesting aspects of the show, and I'm glad they continue to explore the relationship.

The episode has its good moments, but it's not one of the more interesting ones. Even though it carries the "plague" idea over from the previous episode, it's still really a one-off, and I prefer when they do the story arcs that include character development.

Clone Wars -- "Blue Shadow Virus" (Ep. 1.17)

-- Fear is a disease; hope is its only cure.

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This is another one-shot episode. I want to like it, but I don't quite, I think. The villain, Dr. Nuvo Vindi, is too cliche, too Nazi mad scientist. He even defends the right of life for a virus, the most deadly virus the galaxy has ever known.

And, fine, I get that. It's an interesting philosophical question. What right do we as humans have to try to eradicate diseases, which are also living things? But I don't think anyone is going to say that any living thing doesn't have the right to try to defend itself against things that are trying to kill it and a disease, by default, is attacking the host. So, yeah, I find the argument that a killer virus has just as much right to life as humans to be a little... weak. To say the least.

The threat is one of biological warfare. Dr. Vindi, working for the Separatists, wants to release a virus that could, potentially, wipe out all life in the galaxy. Of course, it wouldn't affect droids, so the droid army would be able to advantage of the chaos of a plague and defeat the Republic while they tried to halt the spread of the virus. From that perspective, I can't say it's a bad plan. And it mirrors the efforts of certain groups in our world to weaponize diseases for use in war.

Beyond that layer, though, it's just another rescue mission. Padme and Jar Jar, because they go off on their own, get captured by Vindi. Since Anakin's along, the focus is on rescuing Padme even though he knows the stakes are much higher. So we do get to see that some more, that Anakin's attachment to Padme is something that interferes with who he is as a Jedi. It's good development. But I do think I'm ready for them to lay off of the rescue missions for a little while, especially ones that involve Padme getting caught because she goes off like Lois Lane in pursuit of a story knowing that Superman will rescue her.

Okay, well, it's a fine episode. Taken on its own, it's an especially fine episode. Jar Jar is fine. Everything is fine. For the season, though, I don't think this one is particularly strong in comparison to some of the other stories.

Clone Wars -- "Bombad Jedi" (Ep. 1.8)

-- Heroes are made by the times.

[Remember, you can sign up to join the Clone Wars Project at any time by clicking this link.]

This is probably the episode that no one was waiting for, considering the general view of Jar Jar, that is. Which is not to say that the episode doesn't have its moment, because it does. It's just that most of those moments are slapstick.

The actual conflict in the episode revolves around someone close to Padme betraying her in order to hand her over to Nute Gunray, who is still seeking revenge against her because of the fallout of The Phantom Menace. The real question, though, is why was Padme taking Jar Jar with her on a diplomatic mission. Maybe she thought this was a safe one to take him along on considering that she was going to see someone she was close to. And, yes, we know that Jar Jar becomes part of Padme's diplomatic contingent even by the time of Attack of the Clones, but it's unclear what his role was supposed to be during this particular mission.

What his role ends up being is "Jedi rescuer" as the battle droids mistake him for a Jedi after he throws on a cloak to hide himself during his attempt to rescue the captured Padme. Hi-jinks, of course, ensue.

My issue with the episode has nothing to do with the actual hi-jinks. For what it is, the episode is generally amusing. The issue is that it feels thrown in in order to give some screen time to characters who have mostly been left out of the narrative to this point: Padme, C-3PO, and, even, Jar Jar. So, while the episode does have an important plot point, overall, it feels a little strained and as if it's a bit of comic relief in the very serious story arcs that have so far dominated the series.

This is not an episode I would recommend to a first time viewer, but it's enjoyable enough within the context of watching the series.

"The ship has been destroyed."
"Battle droids?"
"No..."
"Jar Jar?"
"Jar Jar."

Clone Wars -- "Duel of the Droids" (Ep. 1.7)

-- You hold onto friends by keeping your heart a little softer than your head.

[Remember, you can sign up to join the Clone Wars Project at any time by clicking this link.]

Anakin continues his search for R2-D2. Sort of against orders. It's not that they (well, Obi-Wan) told him to stop, they just told him to do something else. And he does do that thing, but he does it while attempting to rescue R2. His rational for his devotion to R2 is that R2 is a friend, not a mere droid as everyone else sees him. Still, R2 is an attachment he's not supposed to have.

In going after R2, Anakin leaves Ahsoka to face off against General Grievous in order to complete their actual mission while he goes to rescue R2, who has fallen into Grievous' hands. Of course, he didn't know Ahsoka would end up having to face Grievous, but, still... Ahsoka fails to understand how outmatched she is and proceeds to almost completely wipe out her clones.

This episode continues the layering of Anakin and his attachments, including his growing attachment to and dependence on Ahsoka. Yoda has already (in a previous episode) brought up that the true test for Anakin in training Ahsoka will be in his ability to let her go, and we see shadows of how all of that is going to play out within the relationship Anakin has with R2. A droid.

And we haven't even gotten to Padme, yet. Of course, most of what happens between Anakin and Padme is in the movies, but they play with all of that stuff in these episodes of Clone Wars.

One other note, the change in the music from the previous episode is carried over into this one. There are hints of it in a couple of places, but "Duel of the Droids" pretty much returns us to the standard musical scheme.

Also, I've skipped what is probably the essential question being dealt with in both this and the previous episode, but it's too much of a spoiler, so I've left it out on purpose. If opportunity arises, I'll return to that question in the future.

"No need to fear; we're all droids here."

Clone Wars -- "Destroy Malevolence" (Ep. 1.4)

 -- A plan is only as good as those who see it through.

[Remember, you can sign up to join the Clone Wars Project at any time by clicking this link.]

This episode hearkens back to A New Hope and the Death Star rescue. See, the Malevolence is a huge ship. Massive. It's three times bigger than the standard Imperial Star Destroyer (though still dwarfed by the Super Star Destroyer). Grievous, through the machinations of Darth Sidious, is able to take Padme (almost) hostage while trying to escape from Republic forces. Anakin, of course, goes to rescue her. There are also overtones of the droid factory from Attack of the Clones.

This episode also has what I think is the first physical confrontation between Obi-Wan and Grievous. Without looking up and cataloging all of their meetings, this seems to me to be an ongoing theme in Clone Wars which, of course, culminates in their final duel in Revenge of the Sith.

Probably, the most interesting part of the episode has to do with transportation inside these huge ships. Imperial Star Destroyers are pretty close to a mile long. Haven't you ever wondered how people get around inside of them without it taking forever? Especially on something like a Super Star Destroyer, which is close to four miles long. Imagine: You have a meeting with Vader in half an hour, but you're on the wrong end of the ship. How do you get there?

Of course, the Space Balls answer was interior teleporters. But Star Wars doesn't actually use teleportation, so maybe being force choked for being late is your only option.

Or is it? The answer "Destroy Malevolence" provides is a kind of high speed tram system. Considering that the Clone Wars series is canon, I have to assume that this is the official answer as to how people (or droids) get around on these huge ships. We don't get to see much beyond the bridge area of the Star Destroyers in the movies, but I would love to see how these would look. Not that I expect that we'll get any better look at the interiors of Star Destroyers in episode VII.

At any rate, it's a fun episode. It's fun to see Anakin on the rescuing side of the whole rescue-the-princess thing.

You Know You've Made It When... (part 2)

Sometimes it's good to ask questions. My last post on Lego minifigures inspired a friend of mine to go into research mode and look for figures that I may have missed, and he came up with some. It made me feel a little inadequate, actually, because I didn't even think to check for most of these guys.

First, though, the fails. The Lego fails, that is. Here are some ones that at least one of us checked only to find out that a very obvious character has never been made into a minifigure.
1. Sallah:

Despite being in half of the Indiana Jones movies, Sallah was never made as a minifigure. John Rhys-Davies does appear as this minifig, though:

Rhys-Davies did do the voice for this one, so I guess he can get partial credit for it:

2. Jane Foster:

Despite having more than a dozen Avengers related Lego sets, Jane does not appear as a minifigure.

Natalie Portman does appear as this figure, though:

3. Galadriel:

Explain to me how, exactly, Galadriel

does not get made into a minifigure while

Irina Spalko gets a figure in three different sets (while Sallah has none!). If I was Cate Blanchett, I'd feel robbed.

Also, a retraction. As I was working up this post, I realized that I was in error about Chris Evans.

The Fantastic Four have not, yet, been made into physical minifigures, although I could have sworn they had some sort of Lego set out several years ago with their flying car. When the FF re-boots, soon, it will no longer be Evans as the Torch, so it still won't count for him. He got robbed, too!

But there are a few new editions to the list of actors made into two different minifigure characters!

1. Ryan Renolds

2. Ben Kingsley

(Again, really? Nizam from Prince of Persia gets a figure but Galadriel doesn't?)

3. Alfred Molina

Another Prince of Persia figure on the list? Seriously? And he gets one from Raiders of the Lost Ark, too!

Which brings me back to my question of how the heck does Sallah not have a figure? Satipo, here, dies in the opening sequence of Raiders, but Sallah doesn't get one? I smell a conspiracy! Or a rat! Or Denmark!

But that's not all! Because there's also

Which gives Molina three different characters in three separate movies which may just make him the greatest actor of all time! Except, then, there's

4. Warwick Davis. Davis has been four different characters in two different movie franchises, though two of the movies from one of the franchises were 15 years apart. Who's greater, Davis or Molina? I guess you will have to decide. Here are Davis' figures:

5. Gary Oldman! And, really, how could I forget him the first time? I feel so bad. I love Gary Oldman! And he was by far the best thing about the Nolan Batman movies.

And he's also

Well, there you have it. The best actors who have ever lived. Or something like that. If I ever get a movie made out of any of my books, I'm going to make sure I'm some side character, some vital side character, so that if they ever get Lego sets, I will get to be a minifigure, too! Now that's the DREAM, folks!