Clone Wars -- Season Four

So... Here we are at the end of season four of The Clone Wars. When the Squid and I started this "little" venture back in -- oh, man, that has been a while ago, now! -- sometime ago, I didn't remember the specific low points of the series. Well, if the series has a low point, season four is definitely it. At least, the beginning of season four, at any rate.

Well, you can go back and look at the individual reviews if you want on the beginning of the season, no need to pick at the scabs, right?

Season four doesn't really get going until episode seven, "Darkness on Umbara." I think the Umbaran arc and the introduction of General Krell is the high point of the season. It's too bad that Krell had to die; he was a great villain. But that story line left some threads lying around that I'm pretty sure we go back to in season five. Or, maybe, six. I don't remember.

Of course, the big reveal of the season is that Darth Maul survived being bisected in The Phantom Menace and, now that he's back, he's out for revenge against Obi-Wan. As I said in my review of "Brothers," I'm still ambivalent about the resurrection of Maul. I think I'm a bit more negative about it, right now, than I was after I finished watching the Maul arc, though, which doesn't conclude at the end of season four. Yes, mostly because I can't remember what happens. What I do remember is being somewhat reconciled to the whole thing after watching the story. Something akin to, "Well, it was dumb to bring him back but, in the end, worth it." I guess I will let you know for sure when we get there.

Possibly, the most significant even of the season, though, is arc in which Obi-Wan goes undercover as Rako Hardeen by faking his own death... without telling Anakin. In the grander scheme of things, I think it's important to show the cracks in Anakin's "faith" so that his fall from grace is more... not really believable... has more context. It's always annoyed me when people talk about how sudden and abrupt Anakin's fall is in Revenge of the Sith. First, a "fall" is always sudden and abrupt, because things are always okay right up until they aren't. But, also, it's not like you can't see it, even just in the movies. The seeds of Anakin's fall are apparent all the way back to Phantom Menace. It's nice to have these Clone Wars stories, though, where we see the development of what will become Anakin's break with the Jedi.

So, yeah, even with season four being the low point of the series, there are still some good arcs in it and what I would call essential viewing.

Clone Wars -- "The Box" (Ep. 4.17)

-- The strong survive; the noble overcome.

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Okay, so, the ship they come in on at the beginning of the episode is pretty sweet. I don't remember seeing it in the last episode -- I don't know if I missed it (I get interrupted a lot by child-things) or if they only talked about it, but it's cool -- but it was a cool ship to open with.

Beyond that, though, I'm ambivalent about this episode. On the one hand, we're introduced to a dozen or so new bounty hunters (and there's a great bit dealing with Cad Bane and his hat fetish), and some of them look really cool. However, they are mostly window dressing, and we don't really get to find out any more about them than how they look. Then, again, I suppose that's how the bounty hunters were introduced in The Empire Strikes Back. Other than Boba Fett, it was years and years before we found out anything else about them.

Oh, and don't worry; I'm not forgetting the other hand.

On the other hand, this is one of those video game-like episodes where the bounty hunters are put in "the box," and they have to survive a series of challenges to earn the privilege of being on the team to capture Palpatine. I'm bored of these kinds of episodes, especially in a twenty minute format. It's just a ridiculous idea that has been perpetuated in popular culture through video games, but it makes no sense as something real. Everyone would die, so you wouldn't have any winners from which to form your team.

But Bane and Hardeen seem to bond, which is an interesting development.

Basically, this episode is just a bridge between parts two and four of this arc, but it would have worked just as well for me (okay, actually better) for them to just have introduced the rest of the team of bounty hunters with a "here's the rest of your team."

Clone Wars -- "Friends and Enemies" (Ep. 4.16)

-- Keep your friend close, but keep your enemies closer.

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Cad Bane needs a new hat. Of course, the first one he picks up is a very familiar looking fedora. It's worth the whole episode.

Which is saying a lot, because it's a good episode. This is a good arc, possibly a very important arc; I just can't remember how important.

Anakin is hot on the heels of Obi-Wan's killer, the problem being that Obi-Wan's killer is in fact Obi-Wan. (Oh, come on. If you watched the previous episode (and you should have watched the previous episode!), you already know this.) Considering the animosity between Rako Hardeen and Cad Bane, this only makes things worse.

Of course, it's Palpatine who plays on Anakin's anger and puts him on the trail of Hardeen. Every time we have one of these instances where Palpatine encourages Anakin in his anger or jealousy or whatever negative emotion it is, I wish I had kept a record of how many times it had happened. How many times does a Jedi have to give into anger to fall to the Dark Side?

This arc is where season four really begins to heat up.