Clone Wars -- "Orders" (Ep. 6.4)

-- The popular belief isn't always the correct one.

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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's worse than looking for a needle in a haystack? Looking for a needle in a needlestack,
I mean, sure, the clones have adopted identifying markings and such, but being tasked with finding one specific clone among, at least, thousands... Well, that's a job I wouldn't want to have.

But it is the job of the security forces on Coruscant after Fives take flight after a frame up to make it look like he was trying to assassinate Chancellor Palpatine. And, of course, we know it's a set up, and that's part of what makes this episode so difficult to watch. We know who Palpatine is, and we know how those around him are playing into his hands, and we want to yell at Shaak Ti, "No! Don't do it! Don't leave Fives alone with him!" But she doesn't listen to us.

To say this episode ends tragically is an understatement, because we now know just how close the Jedi came to finding out about Order 66, how close one clone came to changing everything...

For me, that makes Revenge of the Sith even more sad.

Aside from all of that, it seems pretty clear to me as of this episode that Count Dooku had no idea that Darth Sidious and Palpatine were one and the same. Interesting...


"Have you seen this clone?"

Clone Wars -- "A Necessary Bond" (Ep. 5.8)

-- Choose your enemies wisely, as they may be your last hope,

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

Ahsoka is still being rescued as the episode opens but, as she says a bit later in, there are complications. Grievous being one of those, as Ahsoka has to go back and rescue Hondo from Grievous so that she and the younglings can get a ship and finish their escape from... Hondo.

Remember way back in... season two? I think it was season two. Okay, fine! I'll go look! Well, no, it looks like it was the episode "Dooku Captured" back in season one. Anyway, remember that episode? The one where Dooku was captured by Hondo and Hondo attempted to ransom him off to the highest bidder? Well, Dooku really knows how to hold onto a grudge, and he's finally coming for Hondo in revenge for being held captive that one time, so Grievous has shown up and overrun Hondo's base and captured him.

While somewhat coincidental (what, as a writer, I would call contrived), it makes for a good episode, and I 'm willing to overlook the part where this whole plan of Hondo's, from a couple of episodes ago, to steal the kaiburr crystals happens to coincide with Grievous' attempt to take over the system Hondo is in, a fact that Hondo is either oblivious to or is intentionally ignoring.

Also, remember how I was recently talking about how you should never forget that Hondo is a pirate? Well, this episode is a reminder of why it's so easy to forget.

"Well, today is a new day, and, lucky for you, today I like children."

Clone Wars -- "Massacre" (Ep. 4.19)

-- One must let go of the past to hold on to the future.

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We return to the Nightsisters story line we last saw in episode 3.14, "Witches of the Mist." Asajj Ventress has been in hiding since her failed attempt on Count Dooku's life, but she is finally returning home to Dathomir to become a full Nightsister. Dooku, finally discovering the whereabouts of Ventress, seizes the moment to take his revenge upon her... by sending a full fleet to Dathomir with Grievous at the head of the army.

And that's really all you need to know about the episode other than that there are zombies.
And the zombies are gross.

But let me take this moment to highlight something we frequently see with bad guys: their thirst for revenge.

Dooku is in the middle of a war with the Republic. You'd think that would be the thing he would focus on most. I mean, it's a freaking WAR. But as soon as Ventress shows up, he goes after her. Let me point out that the Nightsisters are reclusive. They do not go out into the galaxy and get involved in what's going on out there. All of the problems that Dooku has had with Ventress and the Nightsisters are because HE went THERE and got involved in what they were doing, not because they came after him. That and he tried to have Ventress killed.

Basically, he diverted resources against someone who wasn't bothering him and had almost no chance of seeking him out to bother him or cause him any problems.

Because of a personal grudge.

Classic bad guy behavior. Classic bad guy behavior we can see mirrored almost daily in the actions of our own petty tyrant, Trump.

Seriously, if you want to know who the bad guys are, just look around at the ones who stay focused on getting revenge against their enemies, even when their "enemies" aren't seeking to do them any harm. Like the Republicans who have been gnashing their teeth to get vengeance against Obama and who are now set to undo everything he accomplished while he was President. Not because it's for the good but because they hate him.

You can see how much they don't care about what is for the good as they begin to dismantle the Affordable Care Act while spewing their propaganda about how they aren't going to take away any of the coverage of the 20 million people who are now insured due to the ACA.

Now, the Nightsisters are not good guys, but it's time for those who oppose Trump to take to heart some advice from Mother Talzin:

"There is no time for regret; now, we must fight."

Clone Wars -- "Crisis on Naboo" (Ep. 4.18)

-- Trust is the greatest of gifts, but it must be earned.

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This arc bounces back from last episode with an attempt to kidnap Palpatine. Obi-Wan is, of course, undercover within the group of bounty hunters attempting the kidnapping. Even so, Dooku still nearly succeeds in his attempt. Clearly, though, this is not the abduction attempt that leads into Revenge of the Sith, though it could have been! Considering the fact that Palpatine is later abducted, this is some vital part of the Sith plan, of Palpatine's plan.

That is kind of intriguing in and of itself.
But I suppose that's a question for another time.

This arc drives a clear wedge between Anakin and the Jedi Council and, more importantly, between Anakin and Obi-Wan. Or deepens an earlier wedge. This isn't the first time that Anakin and Obi-Wan have come into conflict over something due to some manipulation by Palpatine, which could be the point, the only point, of Palpatine's schemes, though I suspect Palpatine's schemes are quite multi-layered.

At any rate, Anakin is quite self-righteously pissed at being left in the dark about Obi-Wan's faked death and, possibly, righteously pissed that Obi-Wan made that decision himself. What it comes down to, though, is the planting of seeds of doubt in Anakin about the Council and what their intentions are.

Episodes like this really help to fill out Anakin's fall to the Dark Side.


"One shudders to think where the galaxy would be without the Jedi."

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 -- "Escape from Kadavo" (Ep. 4.13)

-- Great hope can come from small sacrifices.

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Things didn't end well for the Jedi in the last episode. Anakin has been taken by Queen Miraj to be her personal slave while Obi-Wan and Rex have been sent to the Kadavo slave camps. If it was just Obi-Wan, it wouldn't be a big deal, but the commander of the camps has threatened to kill people of the Togruta anytime Obi-Wan disobeys. He does just that to about half a dozen of them to prove the seriousness of the situation.

Basically, then, the whole episode is a prison break type story but they have to rescue an entire population. With the complication of Dooku trying to have them all killed.

It's a good arc, and this is an exciting and interesting episode to wrap it up.

But I want to focus on what was probably sort of a throwaway line in the show or, at least, not meant to carry the kind of weight I'm going to give it.

One of the Togruta is punished for something innocuous Obi-Wan has done. It was totally arbitrary on the part of the slaver and completely because he wanted to punish Obi-Wan and prove that he had more power. After the incident, the Togruta slave blames Obi-Wan saying, "Keep away from me. Jedi only make things worse." It seems to me this is the Separatist line that people in the galaxy are buying into during the war: Jedi only make things worse.

It reminds me a lot of our current political turmoil. The abusers spin out lies about who is at fault as they continue to heap on the abuse. It's rather like the abusive husband blaming the wife as he abuses the child. Or, you know, blaming the Mexicans for the loss of jobs while you have your own products produced in China.

Clone Wars -- "Shadow Warrior" (Ep. 4.4)

-- Who a person truly is cannot be seen with the eye.

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After the horrible titles of the last three episodes, we finally get a good title. Of course, it has absolutely nothing to do with the episode. Seriously, the term "shadow warrior" never even comes up. Unless it was mentioned in the bit of dialogue during which my children were arguing, which would not surprise me, but, just in case that's what happened, I tried looking it up and couldn't find it referring to anything other than the title itself, so I'm going to go with the title having nothing to do with the episode. Which makes it kind of a wasted effort.

As you can see from the picture, we're back with the Gungans again. While doing my "shadow warrior" research, I found that this episode was originally meant to be the lead episode of season four, which in my mind would have worked much better considering the beating the Gungan army took on Mon Calamari. Here, the Gungan army, due to the machinations of the Separatists, is preparing to march against the humans to take over Theed.

I think I'm seeing a pattern. Quarren against Mon Cala, now Gungans against the Naboo. It makes me wonder if we're going to see more of this. At least this is just a one-shot and not a whole arc.

Which is not to say that this is a bad episode. It's easily better than the previous arc, and it has a few really great moments in it, like when Jar Jar comes face to face with General Grievous and plays with the height adjustment on his chair to cover his discomfort. That moment is a real gem. And the confrontation between Dooku and Anakin is good. Previously, Dooku took on Obi-Wan and Anakin simultaneously without any real concern but, this time, it's just Anakin against Dooku, and Dooku feels the need for droid backups. He is clearly worried during the duel.

The real issue with this episode is that it feels rushed. They could have taken out the middle segment of the previous arc and made two two-parters and done much better. That and the Gungans... well, the Gungans manage to capture Grievous, something no one else has been able to do, and that feels somewhat, I don't know, either forced or out of place. It's like, "No, look! The Gungans really are competent!" And I get that they want to make a statement that Jar Jar is not representative, but just sticking that in without giving us a basis for believing it makes it feel like one of Jar Jar's fumbles.

Clone Wars -- "Witches of the Mist" (Ep. 3.14)

-- The path to evil may bring great power, but not loyalty.

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The Jedi Council discover that it is a kin of Darth Maul's who has murdered two Jedi at one of their outposts. Not just the two Jedi, either, but wiped out the whole outpost. Considering his connection to Maul, they send Kenobi to investigate. He takes Anakin with him, which, actually, was probably a really good idea.

One of the things that has begun to bother me a little is how quickly characters gain mastery over the force these days. It's not that I don't understand the expediency of it; I mean, they want these characters to be able to pose a threat to the heroes, but it still bothers me. It hasn't really happened in Clone Wars before this, but Savage attains his power and some (enough) control very quickly. Basically, we get a brief training scene where he learns to harness his hatred, and he's a match for Anakin and Obi-Wan at the same time.
[A similar kind of thing happened in the most recent episode of Rebels I watched. And it's one of the things I have an issue with in The Force Awakens.]

But aside from that -- it is actually a small thing in this show because I don't remember it happening any other time -- this is an episode that probably shouldn't be missed. This whole arc shouldn't be missed.

And, well, I'd like to say more than that, but you should really just watch it.



"So much for not starting something."

"This place is all kinds of fun."

Clone Wars -- "Monster" (Ep. 3.13)

-- Evil is not born; it is taught.

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If you haven't watched season three, episode 12, yet, you should go do that before reading this review. While I didn't spoil that episode in the review for it, I will be spoiling it in this review.

The fallout from Dooku's failed attempt to kill Ventress continues.

After her failed revenge assassination attempt against him in the previous episode, an attempt made to look like the Jedi had done it, Dooku, ironically, goes to the Nightsisters for aid in finding a replacement for Ventress. Of course, not knowing that Ventress is still alive, he doesn't know that Ventress has already returned to Mother Talzin and that they have already formed a plot against him. He is, in effect, playing into their hands.

Darth Maul's origins are never explained or elaborated on in the movies, but we find out here that Maul was one of the Nightbrothers of Dathomir. Talzin convinces Dooku that he needs one of Maul's kin, one of his brothers, as his new assassin. Mother Talzin will provide just the right one.

And, so, we are introduced to Savage Opress, a literal one-man (um, alien) killing machine. And, still, Mother Talzin is the more scary of the two.

Clone Wars -- "Nightsisters" (Ep. 3.12)

-- The swiftest path to destruction is through vengeance.

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The first thing I want to say is that Asajj Ventress has a cool star fighter.
Oh, yeah, Ventress is back!

The second thing is that it's nice to be back on Dathomir, kinda like going home. Wait a minute, you say, we've never been to Dathomir. Well, that's true. But Dathomir was one of the planets available for exploration in the old Star Wars Galaxies MMORPG, and the Nightsisters are an enemy I'm familiar with. It's nice to see the home of the rancors finally make its way into Star Wars canon. Even so, The Clone Wars is not Galaxies.

When Asajj Ventress was first introduced, it was without any kind of back story. She just showed up and kind of demanded that Dooku train her (this was back in the original Clone Wars micro series in 2003), which he relented to do after she managed to impress him. Now, after years as Dooku's top assassin and most effective agent, Darth Sidious has decided that she has become a threat.

You know the whole Sith thing, right? There can be only two. During the Clone Wars, those two are Darth Sidious (Palpatine) and Darth Tyranus (Dooku), but Sidious has come to believe that Ventress is becoming strong enough as Dooku's apprentice that Dooku will be able to displace him as the master. For Sith, such displacement means assassination.

So Sidious calls up Dooku on the holophone and tells him to put Ventress down. Period. Prove his loyalty and kill her. Now.

Which is an interesting thing with the Sith, since it's common practice to kill your most powerful agents because they are your most power agents. You know, that's why Palpatine has Anakin kill Dooku rather than just take them both on as his apprentices, and, yeah, there's some history to why this is, but, right now, as far as I know, none of that is canon.

All of that to say that this episode takes us off on a new path in The Clone Wars, a path full of all kinds of interesting things and interesting characters. Oh, and there are a lot of light sabers in this one. It's definitely a must see episode.


"There's a disturbance in the Force."

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 -- "Heroes on Both Sides" (Ep. 3.10)

-- Fear is a great motivator.

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Everyone remembers the financial crisis, right? And everyone remembers that the thing that enabled the financial crisis to happen was the deregulation of the banks, right? Well, this episode deals with deregulating the banks of the Republic in an effort to drive the war machine even farther. Basically, the Republic needs more money for more clones, but it's the corporations who are making money off of the war who are pushing for the deregulation. After all, it's all about the profits.

With that as the backdrop, we get our first real look at the people fighting on the side of the Separatists. Not the droids, the people, a point the episode highlights as Ahsoka meets the son of a man who was killed during a Republic attack. Before the war, the  boy had believed the Jedi were good; now, he's not so sure. After all, they were the leaders of the attack that lead to his father's death and, of course, the Separatist rhetoric is that the Jedi serve at the will of the corporations and are therefore as evil as the corporations.

What we really get to see, though, is how it's the same bad guys driving both sides of the conflict. The Trade Federation and the banking clans might be a part of the Republic Senate, but they take their orders from Count Dooku. And, of course, then there's Palpatine, the man pulling all of the strings.

In the end, the people fighting on both sides of the conflict, the normal people and the Jedi, are all good guys. They are all people who could have sat down and worked things out in a rational manner. They could have if, you know, there weren't other people who were making money off of the fighting.

The episode isn't quite all philosophy and politics, though that is what it mostly is. For a look behind the curtains, so to speak, this is definitely an episode worth watching.


"In this case, our business is violence."

Clone Wars -- Season One

I've watched more than my share of sci-fi on television, not all of it very good. Some of it downright bad. Some of it, like the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, so horrible that there's no legitimate reason it should ever have been allowed to continue. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is not one of those shows. The Clone Wars, in fact, is good sci-fi, even in its first season. It "suffers" from only two things, at least in the minds of most people:
1. Its connection to the prequels.
2. It's animated.

Seriously, in this day and age, why do people still belittle "cartoons." It's not a cartoon, okay. Quit calling it that. And, really, when you say, "I don't watch cartoons," in reference to, say, a Pixar movie or a Studio Ghibli film, you just sound dumb and/or weirdly prejudice. The Clone Wars is in the same realm. Sure, it's "targeted" at kids, except that it's not. Really, it's just produced to be "kid accessible," but kids are not necessarily the target audience. The target audience is anyone who wants a more fleshed out view of the Star Wars universe.

As for its connection to the prequels, you just need to get over it. My gosh, they happened. Get your collective heads out of your asses and grow up.

So The Clone Wars does flesh out the Star Wars universe, and it did it on an ongoing basis for six years. For me, the best part of the series is seeing the relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin develop. From just the movies, you don't get to see the bond between the two and just how strong it was, so, unless you can fill in the gaps yourself, you fail to grasp the trauma for Obi-Wan when Anakin turns to the Dark Side and he's forced to confront him. I think most people failed to grasp that simple concept. The Clone Wars allows you to see and experience the brotherhood of the two men.

The other thing The Clone Wars does really well is explore just what it means to be a clone. A product. Within that, what does it mean to be an individual? What is the importance, the value, of one clone? Or, more appropriately, one person?

What I'm saying is that The Clone Wars explores real questions and looks at real issues and puts those things in a context that pretty much anyone can understand. It's no mere cartoon. The first season is strong. It didn't need time to "find its legs," as so many other, especially sci-fi, shows do. This series should be a must watch for any Star Wars fan. Any real Star Wars fan, at any rate.

However, as good as it is, there are still some episodes I like, I'll say, less well. Only two, though, really. You can see the reviews for those two:
"Blue Shadow Virus"
"Mystery of a Thousand Moons"

Picking a favorite episode from the season is much more difficult. For instance, I love half of the episode, "The Gungan General." The parts where Anakin and Obi-Wan have to work with Dooku to escape the pirates are some of my favorite moments of the season, but, then, they are countered in this episode by it being the absolute worst usage of Jar Jar in the entire series (or, at least, season one, but I think it's true of the series as a whole).

But, fine, I'll pick one! I'm going to go with
"Storm Over Ryloth"
as my single favorite episode. As I said in the review, I highly recommend it.

Next week, we start season two! I hope to see you there, and, remember, you can decide to participate in this blog event at any time. Just go here to sign up!

Clone Wars -- "The Gungan General" (Ep. 1.12)

-- Fail with honor rather than succeed by fraud.

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This episode is modeled after all of those World War II prison break movies and TV shows. Count Dooku, Obi-Wan, and Anakin have all been taken prisoner by a group of pirates, and they're trying to escape. The only problem is that they keep getting caught by Hondo, the pirate leader just as they're about to get away. That whole part of  the story is quite amusing, especially since Anakin and Obi-Wan are forced to work with Dooku since they are all chained together. So to speak. Not real chains, you know. Some blue glowy stuff.

On the other side of things, Jar Jar has come to bring a ransom from the Republic to get Dooku to face charges. They don't know that Anakin and Obi-Wan have also been taken prisoner. To be clear, Jar Jar was not supposed to be in charge of this mission. He was sent along because he gets sent on anything like this where they need someone whom Palpatine looks at as expendable. However, a faction of the pirates betray the Republic (and Hondo) and shoot their ship down. As a senator, Jar Jar becomes the highest ranking member of the survivors.

This is actually one of those Jar Jar story arcs that is unenjoyable, but it might be largely due to the fact that Jar Jar has a substitute voice actor for this episode, and he just sounds... well, he sounds dumb, and that's saying a lot for Jar Jar. Look, I like Jar Jar, but Ahmed Best has a particular quality to what he brings to Jar Jar that this other guy, B. J. Hughes, just didn't have. Rather than being Elmo-like, Jar Jar just seemed like he'd been kicked in the head 20 too many times.

What it boils down to is this:
Half of the episode, the escape half, was a lot of fun. Especially once Obi-Wan and Anakin found out that Jar Jar was there and were trying desperately to escape before he found out that they's been captured. However, the Jar Jar sections were probably the worst pieces of the season so far. Fortunately, there aren't many bad parts, which makes arcs like this one stand out even more.


"You reject my hospitality, refuse to wait in your cell, and, now, you're going to insult me?"

Clone Wars -- "Dooku Captured" (Ep. 1.11)

-- The winding path to peace is always a worthy one, regardless of how many turns it takes.

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I think I can safely say that this is my favorite episode, so far, of the first season. That, in and of itself, is interesting to me, because, while I remembered this episode from my first watching of the series years ago, I didn't remember any of the things about it that made me love it so much this time.

One of the purposes of showing us the Clone Wars, according to Lucas, is so that we can see the relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan and how close they were. So that we can see the betrayal and, actually, trauma involved for Obi-Wan in the confrontation on Mustafar. Obi-Wan says, "You were my brother!" But we really have no experience of that.

This episode gives us that experience. It's the first Anakin/Obi-Wan episode, since almost all of the other episodes have really revolved around establishing Ahsoka and her relationship with Anakin. This is a full on Anakin/Obi-Wan adventure, and it's pretty awesome.

It opens in the middle of a plot to capture Count Dooku which involves Anakin allowing himself to get captured. Then, Obi-Wan comes to rescue him, which is where we pick up the story. There's an immediate argument between the two about why it is that Anakin is the one that always has to be the one to be captured. It's really a classic sibling argument, and it had me chuckling. But it gets better.

As soon as they finish the argument, they come across Dooku and he makes a comment about how Obi-Wan has had to come and rescue Anakin. Again. They don't show it, but you can just about imagine the eye roll going on with Anakin.

Dooku escapes, by the way. The title of the episode is not precisely what you might think.

Anakin and Obi-Wan spend the whole episode bickering and, well, acting like brothers. It's a nice dynamic and provides some good moments. Plus, there's the continued banter, started in Attack of the Clones, about Anakin and his inability to retain a lightsaber.

This episode also introduces another of my favorite recurring characters: Hondo Ohnaka. Hondo is a Weequay pirate who Obi-Wan and Anakin run into from time to time. Or maybe I should say they have run-ins with him from time to time. At any rate, Hondo and his band of pirates are always good for a bit of amusement.

This is a great episode and one that doesn't carry over any previous story lines, so it makes a great jumping in point.


"They are devious and deceitful. And, most importantly, stupid."

Clone Wars -- "The Lair of General Grievous" (Ep. 1.10)

-- Most powerful is he who controls his own power.

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Generally speaking, we travel through the Clone Wars with Anakin and/or Ahsoka. Frequently, Obi-Wan is around, although he isn't so often the focus, though we do get some of those episodes. Only rarely do we depart from those characters entirely. This was one of those episodes.

The Jedi are still after the escaped prisoner from the previous episode, but it's Kit Fisto who has picked up the trail... right to Grievous' lair. Like his own private hideout. Which is, not surprisingly, mostly a monument to himself. Seriously, Grievous has statues of himself in his lair. And all the trophies from all the Jedi he's killed.

Of course, it's a trap.

But who's the trap for?

Continuing with the theme of betrayal, we get to see it from the other side in this episode. But, then, that's how the Sith operate.

We also get to meet the former Padawan of Kit Fisto, Nahdar Vebb, now a Jedi Knight. Vebb is also Mon Calamari, so the only thing that could have made this episode more complete would have been for Vebb to have said, "It's a trap!" Alas, he did not say that. He does provide us with a lesson of why Jedi strive not to give into the lust to use power, though.

As what amounts to a standalone episode, this is a very good one. Not only do we get to see Kit Fisto in action, but we get some pieces of Grievous' backstory. And we get to see him at his toughest, when he's cornered. There is a reason he's killed so many Jedi.



"Wait. Where's the other Jedi? ...oh, no."

Clone Wars -- The Movie

-- A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

I got to see The Clone Wars at a special Lucasfilm premiere event. It was a pretty big deal, and they had a special display area set up at the Presidio offices with original, concept art and maquettes, which are like concept sculptures. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures, so I don't have any to show you. However, we got lunch in Star Wars lunch boxes created specially for the event. My friend didn't want his, so he gave it to me. I'd show you a picture of the lunch boxes, but they're in storage somewhere, and I'm not going to go dig around for them right now.

I'm not sure how widespread this information is, but one of the things we were let in on at the event is that the movie actually started out as individual episodes of the series. It was the first story arc. If you pay attention and are familiar enough with the series, you can actually see how the movie breaks down into its constituent episodes. On the one hand, I think launching the TV series with a movie was a great idea; however, I think they probably would have done better to have actually developed a movie rather than to string the several episodes together into a movie.

Which is not to say I didn't like it, because I enjoyed it very much, but the general response to the movie was a little underwhelming and I think part of the reason for that is that it didn't play like a movie. Because it wasn't.

The other failure of the movie was to involve the offspring of Jabba the Hutt. I think that's something people didn't want to look at. One, they don't want to see slug babies and, two, they don't want to view Jabba with any kind of sympathetic light. It's hard not to have sympathy for a parent who just wants his kid back. Personally, I found it an interesting take on Jabba, but I can see how it could cause people difficulty.

All of that said, the movie opens with a tremendous battle scene between the clones and the droids. It's, in a word, spectacular. The movement is very much like a video game, say Battlefront, and it's almost worth the whole movie just for that battle scene.

Also, this is where we're introduced to Ahsoka Tano, so the movie is essential from that standpoint. Anakin doesn't want a Padawan, but they send him one, anyway. A plot between Yoda and Obi-Wan, though they don't admit to it. He's set to get rid of her until he has to work with her during the battle, at which point he changes his mind. His comment to her is something like, "You wouldn't have made it as Obi-Wan's apprentice but, as mine, you just might work."

There are some other significant elements as well.

• Anakin faces off against Dooku. The Anakin vs Dooku dynamic is important not just in the series but in the movie mythos as a whole. Anakin has to rise above Darth Tyranus in order to become Darth Vader, so it's always interesting to see how that relationship develops.
• There is this incredible vertical battle between the clones and the droids during which the tanks walk up the face of a cliff. I know it's animated, but it's amazing.
• Anakin comes by his ship, the Twilight.

Basically, the movie serves to set up all the essential elements for the ongoing television series. It's not that you can't watch the series without having seen the movie, but the movie helps, especially for the dynamic between Ahsoka and Anakin. I think, also, if the approach to the movie is that of watching several episodes of the series back-to-back that it becomes much more satisfying. It's all in the frame of reference.

It's not, by any stretch, the best story arc in the series or, even, the best story arc in season one; however, it possibly does have the best battle scenes. I'm not remembering anything more epic than the one the movie opens with, at any rate. It's a solid arc, and it ought to be included in anyone's watching of the series.



"Why can't you be a tiny, little mouse droid!"

Clone Wars -- "Shadow of Malevolence" (Ep. 1.3)

-- Easy is the path to wisdom for those not blinded by ego.

"Shadow of Malevolence" is one of the best episodes from season one. I say that from the stance that I still strongly remembered it (before I watched it again) more than five years after my original watching of it. My younger boy did, too. As soon as it started up, he said, "Oh! It's this episode!"

Visually, it introduces the Neebrays of the Balmorra Nebula, large manta-like creatures that fly through space. When I say large, I mean large. Like star cruiser size. They dwarf the squardron of y-wings that Anakin is leading so much so that Ahsoka is worried about being eaten. It's a brief scene, but it's very impressive.

Most of the episode features Anakin being cocky. He's come up with a plan to defeat Grievous and the Malevolence, and he's sure he will succeed. He's the leader of Shadow Squadron, a group of elite fighter pilots, and they have never failed in a mission or even lost many of their members. It's not just Anakin, then, who is cocky but the whole group of them. It's not that they believe they will succeed; it's that they believe they cannot fail.

Ahsoka, who has seen what the Malevolence can do, isn't so sure, but she's just a Padawan, so Anakin brushes aside her concerns as unimportant. However, Plo Koon, who also isn't as sure as Anakin (and who also has seen the Malevolence at work), comes along as an escort to keep an eye things.

Side note 1: We see that the Jedi are not as familiar with which other as we might have thought. Plo Koon is largely unfamiliar with Anakin other than in reputation. He doesn't actually trust Anakin's judgement despite the fact that Anakin is a Knight and a general. The lack of familiarity gives us a vague sense of how large the Jedi organization is and how much the individual Jedi spend working alone (or only with their Padawans).

On the other side of things, we see Grievous being just as cocky as Anakin. He has supreme confidence in his ship and its inability to be defeated. He takes no precautions against the raid Anakin is leading against the Malevolence despite being tipped off by Sidious via Dooku.

Basically, it comes down to whether either of them will see that clinging to their individual beliefs that they cannot fail is what is leading them to failure.

Side note 2: At one point, Grievous knocks the head off of one of his gunner droids for failing to hit any targets, and Dooku tells him that the droids are expensive. Grievous asks, sarcastically, if he's expected to start caring for the droids the way the Jedi care for their clones. A brief philosophical discussion ensues that, again, reveals the belief by the Jedi that the clones are valuable individuals, a belief the Sith believe will be the downfall of the Jedi.

This episode is an excellent example of how seemingly small things are added into the shows that reveal the larger picture of the Star Wars universe.

Clone Wars -- "Ambush" (Ep. 1.1)

-- Great leaders inspire greatness in others.

The first episode of The Clone Wars television series starts us off with some good old-fashioned Yoda shenanigans. I'm talking a Yoda that hearkens back to The Empire Strikes Back, mischievous laugh and all. And teaching moments. It's interesting how little teaching we get from the Jedi's greatest teacher in the overall scheme of things in the Star Wars universe, so it's nice to see him sit down with some clones for a nice teaching moment.

For many, this is also the first real introduction to Asajj Ventress, the semi-apprentice of Count Dooku. Ventress is an interesting character and one integral to the Clone Wars story line, but, here, she plays the more passive role of temptress, serving in the background rather than as an opponent to Yoda.

The most important aspect of this episode has to do with the clones and the acknowledgement that, though clones, they are each individuals. Or, at least, have the capacity for individuality. They don't often see it in themselves, but Yoda makes it clear that the force lives in each one of them making them unique beings, one of the same themes the widely popular Orphan Black is currently exploring (but it was done here, first). [This is a theme that will be revisited throughout the series.]

And there are the droids. The droids do get played off for comic relief throughout the series, and I can understand that being upsetting to certain people, the same people who get upset about Ewoks and Jar Jar. All I can say about that is some people project too much seriousness into a story that was always meant to contain humor. So, sure, the battle droids AI is a little faulty. Or just not very bright. Which makes sense, since you want the droids to be just smart enough to follow the order of, "March out there and be killed," but not smart enough to respond with, "No way! I'll get killed!" They allow for a little bit of fun in a show (for kids) that would otherwise be way too serious.

"Ambush" is a good starting place for the series. It's hard to go wrong with Yoda.

"I just got promoted!"

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